Fuel line choices are making me batty!
03-16-2018, 12:54 PM
#1
Launching!
Thread Starter
Fuel line choices are making me batty! I am trying to order some AN hose for my LQ4 swap into my Nova. I am going -8 feed and -6 return. There are several choices and I don't want to screw this up and I also don't want to over spend! Never done this before so I appreciate the instruction or advice!
Brands: Summit, Russell, Vibrant, Fragola.. etc..
Type: Stainless braided, nylon braided, synthetic rubber, PTFE..
Summit brand has good deals but is it crap? Vibrant has decent deals too?
Please help!
Brands: Summit, Russell, Vibrant, Fragola.. etc..
Type: Stainless braided, nylon braided, synthetic rubber, PTFE..
Summit brand has good deals but is it crap? Vibrant has decent deals too?
Please help!
03-16-2018, 01:57 PM
#2
The inside depends of fuel used as E85, E98, and Methanol are were the need for PTFE comes in play. Most lines will say what they can handle. In take fuel line needs to handle fuel on both sides and that is why it costs $20 a foot.
The outside is more of personal choice. I hate stainless, it hurts to work with and later as the strands breaks it can hurt to service. The Nylon is lighter, but costs a little more usually. I really like the Earl's Pro-lite 350 hose because it has no metal in it and cuts like butter with a razor (craftsman accu-cut tool is perfect). But choose the one with properties you desire or look you like.
The fittings are last. Fragola are awesome in my mind, but most of the good ones are about the same. They either have all full flow or a model with full flow and some of the cheap ones are more or way more restrictive turns. This is a large part of people using larger lines and spending more money when not needed. Some times a couple better fittings would have kept them -6 instead of going -8. Best is to use as many straight fittings as you can with any project within reason. I use Redhorse to save money, but it will fade in the sun and is not good for something you will take off often. I have not had any fail out right, but they don't service a lot well. Put good fittings anywhere you will be servicing often at least. I have no experience with summit's or other such ones, but I have not heard good things.
Many over do the hoses, but this can help you have only what you need.
https://www.lmengines.com/fuel-line-calculators/
I'm running -6 and stock 3/8 line on my car with a 450lph pump.
The outside is more of personal choice. I hate stainless, it hurts to work with and later as the strands breaks it can hurt to service. The Nylon is lighter, but costs a little more usually. I really like the Earl's Pro-lite 350 hose because it has no metal in it and cuts like butter with a razor (craftsman accu-cut tool is perfect). But choose the one with properties you desire or look you like.
The fittings are last. Fragola are awesome in my mind, but most of the good ones are about the same. They either have all full flow or a model with full flow and some of the cheap ones are more or way more restrictive turns. This is a large part of people using larger lines and spending more money when not needed. Some times a couple better fittings would have kept them -6 instead of going -8. Best is to use as many straight fittings as you can with any project within reason. I use Redhorse to save money, but it will fade in the sun and is not good for something you will take off often. I have not had any fail out right, but they don't service a lot well. Put good fittings anywhere you will be servicing often at least. I have no experience with summit's or other such ones, but I have not heard good things.
Many over do the hoses, but this can help you have only what you need.
https://www.lmengines.com/fuel-line-calculators/
I'm running -6 and stock 3/8 line on my car with a 450lph pump.
03-16-2018, 03:02 PM
#3
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I am building my fuel system up right now as well and got all my fittings and hose from ANfittingsdirect.com. Their hoses are PTFE and their prices are really cheap compared to others. It was 3.50 per foot for -8 and -6 line and the fittings were around 9-15 bucks per fitting. Very cheap overall compared to others and the quality so far seems stout. I'm a mechanical engineer at a leak test company and I already assembled 2 lines and tested both lines and neither of them leaked, so that makes them good in my book.
03-16-2018, 03:46 PM
#5
Launching!
Thread Starter
Thanks for the info guys I appreciate it.... I am a little worried though cause I already ordered some Summit fittings :/ maybe I will stay away from their fuel line...
Good to know about the stainless braided line.. that helps narrow down a lot! I don't want to deal with getting barbed while working on these lines.
Good to know about the stainless braided line.. that helps narrow down a lot! I don't want to deal with getting barbed while working on these lines.
03-16-2018, 05:27 PM
#6
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Thanks for the info guys I appreciate it.... I am a little worried though cause I already ordered some Summit fittings :/ maybe I will stay away from their fuel line...
Good to know about the stainless braided line.. that helps narrow down a lot! I don't want to deal with getting barbed while working on these lines.
Good to know about the stainless braided line.. that helps narrow down a lot! I don't want to deal with getting barbed while working on these lines.
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03-18-2018, 10:40 AM
#9
that seems like the biggest problem we face now with fittings. You can get them for $5 but fitment varies greatly. Last thing you want is a $5 fitting blowing off the fuel hose and burning the car to the ground. That is why I do not trust the $5 stuff on my fuel or oil side. Transmission fine: I will see and smell that **** leaking within the first 3-5 quarts out of the 15 quarts it has to blow and I can save it. The engine though? A small spray of fuel is all it takes. And the other last thing I want is a leaking oil fitting somewhere difficult to reach. Like the turbo drain (sigh, yeah, oops)
03-19-2018, 08:51 AM
#10
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that seems like the biggest problem we face now with fittings. You can get them for $5 but fitment varies greatly. Last thing you want is a $5 fitting blowing off the fuel hose and burning the car to the ground. That is why I do not trust the $5 stuff on my fuel or oil side. Transmission fine: I will see and smell that **** leaking within the first 3-5 quarts out of the 15 quarts it has to blow and I can save it. The engine though? A small spray of fuel is all it takes. And the other last thing I want is a leaking oil fitting somewhere difficult to reach. Like the turbo drain (sigh, yeah, oops)
03-19-2018, 10:34 AM
#11
TECH Fanatic
Fragola 8700 series hose and 8000 series fittings.
Push-lock is the way to go. With the Koul Tools push-lock jig, I can make up the necessary lines in minutes.
Push-lock is the way to go. With the Koul Tools push-lock jig, I can make up the necessary lines in minutes.
03-19-2018, 01:17 PM
#12
Launching!
Thread Starter
Ive had all the china fittings and hoses. He is right. But, if you're smarter then the fitting its not a big deal, and quicker to fix the issue then to send it back. AN stuff (PTFE included) is all about tight enough clearances that you get proper clamping but not too tight where they dont fit together. You'll find with the china stuff ONE dimension is slightly off. Most of the time quickly corrected with a file or sanding or patience etc.
.
.
03-19-2018, 01:25 PM
#13
03-19-2018, 02:16 PM
#14
It isn't the line bursting that is the problem. It is the difference in sizes one encounters when buying fittings of the "same size" from cheap sources.
If you go into ebay right now, and order 1x of every 6AN hose end fitting they offer from different sellers in various colors, and the same for hoses,
they will not all be the same exact size. Some will fit well on some hoses. Others will potentially slide right off or leak. Depends on the hose/fitting combination.
Russian roulette with fuel lines, nty
not when a $0.46 hose clamp is a sure, safe, and secure enough to be track legal in my application.
If you go into ebay right now, and order 1x of every 6AN hose end fitting they offer from different sellers in various colors, and the same for hoses,
they will not all be the same exact size. Some will fit well on some hoses. Others will potentially slide right off or leak. Depends on the hose/fitting combination.
Russian roulette with fuel lines, nty
not when a $0.46 hose clamp is a sure, safe, and secure enough to be track legal in my application.
03-19-2018, 04:25 PM
#15
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It depends on the vendor, size hose etc. I plumbed a dual trans cooler setup with standard black nylon -6AN and i think the hose didnt want to engage the collar all the way. Ended up sanding the ID of the collar a smidge to get the hose seated. I did a PTFE nylon -6AN the other day and the teflon engaged the ferrule fine but the fitting wouldnt go into the teflon so i lightly touched it with a round file right at the end to solve that. Those are just two things I can think of off the top of my head. Just gotta try em and see how they fit and take your time. Same style hoses in say a -8 may not have that issue. Ive got -4,6,8,10AN (PTFE nylon, nylon, and stainless braid) on my car currently and not all of them gave me issues.
Last edited by 01ssreda4; 03-28-2018 at 07:58 AM.
03-19-2018, 04:29 PM
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It isn't the line bursting that is the problem. It is the difference in sizes one encounters when buying fittings of the "same size" from cheap sources.
If you go into ebay right now, and order 1x of every 6AN hose end fitting they offer from different sellers in various colors, and the same for hoses,
they will not all be the same exact size. Some will fit well on some hoses. Others will potentially slide right off or leak. Depends on the hose/fitting combination.
Russian roulette with fuel lines, nty
not when a $0.46 hose clamp is a sure, safe, and secure enough to be track legal in my application.
If you go into ebay right now, and order 1x of every 6AN hose end fitting they offer from different sellers in various colors, and the same for hoses,
they will not all be the same exact size. Some will fit well on some hoses. Others will potentially slide right off or leak. Depends on the hose/fitting combination.
Russian roulette with fuel lines, nty
not when a $0.46 hose clamp is a sure, safe, and secure enough to be track legal in my application.
03-24-2018, 11:50 AM
#18
I don't take the chances. Theres all kinds of warning online if you google up cheap hose / cheap braided / chinese fuel fittings /etc you can read post after post about people having issues with the different sizes. Even chevy magazine's did some articles a while back about how 1 brand wont fit the other brand and that trying to mix and match is sure to result in failure. Some kind of failure.
03-27-2018, 04:25 PM
#19
Launching!
Thread Starter
I ended up buying some Vibrant nylon braided hose and most my fittings are Summit except for the adapters which are Vibrant and Russell.. so we will see.You can read all sorts of crap on the internet about anything and everything. I will keep a close eye on it and if it doesn't work out you guys will know first!
03-31-2018, 09:36 PM
#20
Just did a Chevelle with Summit black braided hose and a few different brands of fittings. It all went great. Ran short on hose, and had to get some from a local shop. They only had the Russell brand. It was the more expensive proclassic hose with the little blueish spots on it. The Russell did not like to assemble nearly as easily as the Summit brand. In the end, no problems with any of it, just typical AN seaps from not wanting to over tighten things on the first assembly. Once things got snugged up, all was good to go.