any one use stainless steel brake lines?

[garlicbreadman]

my integra has a bit of miles on it now..120k and the brakes feel great still however i do miss that firm pedal i had when i bought the car with half the miles.

i'm thinking of getting stoptech or russell or even goodridge ss lines....

anyone want to shed some thoughts/experience they had transitioning from oem rubbers to stainless steels brake lines?

 

[SubyRoo]

The only difference I could feel is just a harder pedal. I used the Goodridge lines on my car.

 

[copperlocks1]

I have them on all my cars..they make the pedal feel more responsive..make sure they mount up at factory locations..if they do not then they will rub like a file on whatever it touches..I have used EARLS;Techna-fit and Goodridge....if you do not go the braided line route..then bleed the brake system every 24 months to purge moisture/contaminants from the system.. I drive aggressive and i am a late braker..so i maintain mine regularly;I drive mostly Honda

 

[Trav]

Great pedal feel with the braided stainless just be sure to get them with a plastic cover over the braid.
The ones without can begin to fray and leak prematurely, dirt and sand get in the braid and rubs through the teflon liner.

 

[SteveSRT8]

Can't say anything bad about stoptech, they are a great company for braking stuff.

Braided stainless lines are a wonderful upgrade on almost anything, especially big single piston calipers on older trucks and cars. The more volume it seems the better they work, jmo.

Consult with my old friend Dave Zeckhausen at Zeckhausen racing online. he's a great source of quality info.

 

[garlicbreadman]

yeah i notice the stoptechs have a rubber protective layer.....does goodridge or russell have it? i have the russell ss clutch line and there isnt a protective layer over it.

a firmer brake pedal is exactly what i want....its almost beginning to feel like a brand new toyota brake system..MUSHY!

my bmc is perfect..no leaks and i vacuum flush the system out once every 2 years.

 

[bdcardinal]

I have them on my Volvo and had them on my Mustang. The ones on my Volvo are have a sleeve around them to prevent chafing, real nice touch.

 

[garlicbreadman]

went to check my russell line and it does!

 

[mechtech2]

They are not really stainless lines, but rubber WRAPPED in steel braiding.
You can get a firmer pedal feel with them.
But so what?
In normal braking, the slight give with stock parts can be a benefit.
The need for SS braided lines is shown by the very many high performance cars that DO NOT use them.

 

[Loobed]

Braided SS brake lines are Teflon plastic line with a braided stainless sheath. I had a set on my 69 Vette. I made the lines myself from Aeroquip line and fitting. They didn't have street (DOT) versions when I made mine. They worked great. I also used Cartel Dot 5 fluid. I didn't have power brakes but I never noticed a weakness in braking.

 

[wiswind]

I greatly improved the braking on my '96 Ford Windstar by just replacing the OEM hoses on the front with the standard Raybestos hoses from Rockauto.
No stainless steel cover, just OEM style.
Turned out, my original hoses were in need of replacement and replacement with OE style was all I needed.

 

[mechtech2]

loobed, they can be many different materials that are wrapped in SS, and they are.

 

[bowlofturtle]

I like this thread. I asked on my g35 board and a couple people told me i wouldn't notice anything while daily driving so i just let that be. Since my lines were costing about $200 at the time.

 

[HTSS_TR]

My brother in-law changed his '92-93 MB E500 to stainless steel brake line to get firmer brake feel but he said he didn't feel any difference. To him, may be the brake system of that high performance car was so good already, it was a waste of money.

 

[Ken2]

If the original brake hoses aren't getting mushy, then new brake hoses, either stainless reinforcement or stock fiber reinforcement, won't change anything. If the original hoses are mushy, then any new hose will feel great. OEM brake hoses are fiber reinforcement over a synthetic rubber tube, with a protective cover over the fiber.

 

[SS1970chrysler]

I use all stainless steel flex and hard lines on my antique cars. I was never a fan of fixing stuff twice.