Here I sit in the back of an Uber....

"Flynorcal: pilot, offshore sailor, car racer and panty thief" (flynorcal)
03/12/2018 at 14:35 • Filed to: Track day, racecar, Corvette

Meanwhile I was expecting to be on the track at Sonoma Raceway all afternoon. Alas....

See that? That’s what is left of my brand new brake hose. You see the old one was looking a bit tired so why risk blowing as brake hose when they’re cheap to replace. So I put on a brand new part, which has now failed after two months. The original lasted 26 years.

It happened early in the morning so I could have gone back out on the track but no hoses are available anywhere until tomorrow.

On the upside the hose failed while in the hot pits waiting to go back out. If I’d have lost that hose just about anywhere on this track I’d be in a world of shit as there’s no shortage of walls. The failure was immediate too. I was there with my foot on the brake and then pedal went right to the floor. Bam. No warning. The crimp between the hose and the fitting blew out entirely taking all my brake fluid in one go.

I’ll live to fight another day.

DISCUSSION (13)

Discerning > Flynorcal: pilot, offshore sailor, car racer and panty thief
03/12/2018 at 14:58

Yikes. I had something similar happen to a DSM I had years ago. Sitting at a light, crept up a bit and hit the brakes. Car stopped and the pedal sunk to the floor. Crawled in 1st to a parking lot adjacent and found the line had blown off somehow. Fun times

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Flynorcal: pilot, offshore sailor, car racer and panty thief
03/12/2018 at 15:24

Where did you buy the part? Delco or reboxed offshore rubbish?

RacinBob > Flynorcal: pilot, offshore sailor, car racer and panty thief
03/12/2018 at 15:48

Is that an OEM hose or is it aftermarket braided hose. If aftermarket, is it installed exactly as the OEM or did it not have attachment points so you had to improvise the attachments? Are you sure it was the same length?

I ask because I have witnessed a brand newly built car where the owner tied the lines to the struts because there were no attachment points on the lines. The lines looked great with the car in the air but the instant it was on the ground and hit a bump, it ripped the lines off at the crimp because there was not enough length in the way it was mounted.

Braided brake lines are generally highly reliable components. I suggest looking long and hard at finding a mechanical reason related to how you mounted it for the failure before blaming quality....

Flynorcal: pilot, offshore sailor, car racer and panty thief > RacinBob
03/12/2018 at 16:06

It’s OEM and the right length. It’s not braided as the car is old enough I’m trying to not put a ton of money into it. I figured since the originals lasted as long as the did they’ll outlive the diff or the engine or whatever ultimately ends the car. They are short hoses and hang free but I had better double check there’s nothing that could possibly snag them.

It’s hard to see exactly what is going on in that picture but I’m holding the end of the hose and the fitting it goes into is the shiny bit directly below. The other end is also in the photo where it goes to the frame.

The crimp looked kind of jacked up but it would probably look that way had the hose been ripped out too. I guess it’s also possible I ran over something too and just didn’t know due to it being loud, helmet, etc.

I’m gonna triple check the install when I get the car back to make sure the shop’s work matches what’s on the other side and that nothing is there to snag the hose and make sure I’ve got enough length for pull travel at full lock. You might very well be on to something. Thanks for taking the time to respond.

Flynorcal: pilot, offshore sailor, car racer and panty thief > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
03/12/2018 at 16:10

While I was cheap and slipped on the braided lines (and regret it) I didn’t skimp either. New hoses, pads, rotors, fluid and master cylinder are all reputable.

Tapas > Flynorcal: pilot, offshore sailor, car racer and panty thief
03/12/2018 at 16:24

Can’t tell if you’re unlucky to have a failing hose or lucky to have it fail in the pits.

RacinBob > Flynorcal: pilot, offshore sailor, car racer and panty thief
03/12/2018 at 16:39

Glad to see you are taking a hard look at it. Who knows, maybe they installed them on the wrong sides and routed them the long way around the shock, it can happen.

Brake lines are interesting in that they have PSI but not a lot of force at the line level. If the end looks torn, or the fitting is distorted or bent, those are all indications that you ran out of travel.

I’ve seen guys before who lucked out after having the brake line “fail” due to bad quality only to not be so lucky the second time. I figure brake hoses are like fuses, they very rarely fail on their own, usually something else is causing them fail.

Flynorcal: pilot, offshore sailor, car racer and panty thief > RacinBob
03/12/2018 at 16:52

Just to give you a better look at things:

Kinja'd!!!

I don’t think that fitting looks like it’s seen any side load. I’ll be closely looking at the car when I pick it up tomorrow. Curious to see the length in particular. If what goes in is longer I’ll swap out the other side ASAP.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Flynorcal: pilot, offshore sailor, car racer and panty thief
03/12/2018 at 17:47

I hope that didn’t come across like I was assuming rubbish. Even for my billion-mile Safari, I only ever buy Delco parts.

Hey: Mrs. O.C. is traveling this weekend. Do you wanna do that bro thing with the pizza and the PS4 or whatever on Saturday night at your place?

Flynorcal: pilot, offshore sailor, car racer and panty thief > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
03/12/2018 at 18:44

Yes! But I can’t do Saturday night. Friday night and all day Sunday are wide open. How about Friday night?

Flynorcal: pilot, offshore sailor, car racer and panty thief > RacinBob
03/13/2018 at 20:40

Hey Bob — you were on the money! I called the shop today and asked if the other hose seemed a bit short. They ran out and put the car to full lock and the good hose was getting pulled a bit. I’m sure it’s worse with track forces in play. Seems redundant the correct part but maybe not for how I drive the car. I’m having a set of braided stainless for all four wheels shipped to the shop along with a few bottles of Motul 600 racing brake fluid.

For being so close to a race track they didn’t seem to know much about brake fluid. My request for fluid with a high boiling point seemed to confuse them so I figured sending then everything they need to get the car properly drivable would make everyone’s life easier.

I’m betting the old hoses stretched a bit over time which is why they’d not failed like the new ones.

Thanks again!

RacinBob > Flynorcal: pilot, offshore sailor, car racer and panty thief
03/13/2018 at 21:38

That’s a head scratcher as it’s a regular hose from I presume a major supplier. All I can guess is it’s a tad short but does not show up unless you get full compression and turn the wheel full lock which is something that never happens on the street.

I’d suggest going to a Miata Specialist like these guys http://5xracing.com/p-422-5xracingabout.html and buy whatever they use themselves.

Glad it worked out!

PS = Quality braided lines are nice....

Flynorcal: pilot, offshore sailor, car racer and panty thief > RacinBob
03/13/2018 at 22:44

The car is lowered. Factor that plus compression and full lock... That extra inch or two might make a difference and I know I hit full opposite lock on that car earlier in the day.

I think you spotted the problem and likely saved me from things failing on the other side. I doubt I’d have been so lucky the second time.