C5 Aftermarket Coolant Hose Options

[FRC Joe]

I've seen the Pfadt silicone hoses, the LGMotorsports silicone option, and the CCA braided option. I'm leaning towards the Pfadt hoses in black. Are there any cool choices out there that I'm overlooking?

[Sneaks]

If you're going with black silicone hoses, why not just keep the stock rubber ones on and shine them up?
My thinking is that if you're going to go through the job of changing hoses, why not jazz it up? But that's just me......

[Cobra4B]

My opinion is that the hoses detract from the engine... I think of opening the hood like opening a nice watch case or jewelry case... you want the item in the box to be the focal point. In the case of the car it's the engine. The hoses are just ancillary items that the egine needs. When you make them all a color or braided stainless you make them very visible and they detract from the engine itself by making the area more busy.

The OEM ones are good qualiy, but if you want to replace due to age I'd get the Pfadt or LG in black... whichever are cheaper. I'm sure they're all made by the same suppiler and then re-labeled.

LG and Pfadt obviously don't mfg the items and I doubt they contract to have them mfg'd. The mfg probably goes to the major Corvette shops and offers them labeled... I mean you can get the same stuff in the Corvette catalogs like Zip's and Eckler's etc.

[WKMCD]

The braided stainless from Chip look great - specially if you have other braided lines going on.

[FRC Joe]

Originally Posted by Sneaks

If you're going with black silicone hoses, why not just keep the stock rubber ones on and shine them up?
My thinking is that if you're going to go through the job of changing hoses, why not jazz it up? But that's just me......

The stocker hoses look really beat, and attempts to clean them up have been futile. In this pic you can really see the brown discoloration on top rad. hose.

I cant get that stuff off. The rationale behind replacing it with black is, much like Brian posted, to keep the hoses low key and let the more mechanical bits carry the visual load.

Love your engine bay WKMCD! I'm in the process of a similarly "less is more" approach myself.

[Sneaks]

Originally Posted by WKMCD

The braided stainless from Chip look great - specially if you have other braided lines going on.

Will they fit a 427?

[WKMCD]

Originally Posted by Sneaks

Will they fit a 427?

They'd better or I'm in trouble.

[Sneaks]

Originally Posted by WKMCD

They'd better or I'm in trouble.

A little duct tape, and they'll fit fine.

[FRC Joe]

I ended up ordering the Pfadts, I'll post pics once they're on.

[Garb55]

Originally Posted by FRC Joe

I ended up ordering the Pfadts, I'll post pics once they're on.

Any Pics Yet??

[FRC Joe]

No pics of the hoses specifically yet, but this top view shows them.


Overall I'm pleased with the kit. It was pricey, but the look is exactly what I was after.

[71corv]

Engine bay looks A-one.

Gene

[Munch]

Looks really good! What did you use to black the throttle body?

[FRC Joe]

Originally Posted by Munch

Looks really good! What did you use to black the throttle body?

At the moment it's been smoothed and painted with Rust-oleum Appliance Epoxy Enamel. I'm not all that happy with it though, and am seeking out another solution. What I'd like to eventually do is have TPIS or Accufab make me a TB that has one half of a wiggins clamp on the bellmouth. Add a wiggins clamp at the IC to charge pipe connection and call it done.

Re: the Appliance Epoxy, it's pretty cool paint with a sheen that's not quite glossy and not quite satin. It's fairly easy to apply too. It does have some quirks though. It's best to put it down on bare metal and a single coat looks much better than multiple coats.

[Tulsa Vette Guy]

I would like to see some pic's if you make the change,, But, why black ?

[FRC Joe]

Originally Posted by Tulsa Vette Guy

I would like to see some pic's if you make the change,, But, why black ?

I dunno, seemed like the right thing to do at the time The stock casting was just a little too complex for me to want to try polishing it, and most everything under the hood is now either painted or polished.

[J.Belknap]

Looks awesome Joe.

Bringing yourself and the Vette out to Jenro's soon?

[FRC Joe]

Originally Posted by J.Belknap

Looks awesome Joe.

Bringing yourself and the Vette out to Jenro's soon?

Welcome to the board Jay!

If I EVER finish it I will. I suffered a setback when I snapped off the boss for the bleeder screw on the slave cylinder during driveline re-installation. The slave cyl. was apparently hard for GMPartsHouse to get, and it wont be here until next tuesday. So maybe weekend after next, if I can get an inspection etc.

[J.Belknap]

Gotcha, well... Jackie and I will catch up with you at some point soon then!