DAYCO flexible coolant hoses?

[beeman]

Saw a thread here from 2016, also saw some pics of DAYCO Flex hose part # 81221 used on a nice SL-C build. Looks like a good cheap option to replace the flexible metal hoses with the kit... Anyone had good/bad experience with them? Is it OK to just cut to the length you need and clamp it?

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/dac-81221

Thanks!
Dave

[DaveS53]

I used one on my LS3. It works fine, but they come in different lengths, so you can cut a little off and make it work, but you can't cut the straight ends off and expect it to seal.

[crash]

Anything that is corrugated is horrible for flow rates. Whether that is the metal tubes or rubber hose makes little difference. The much better solution is to get the properly bent rubber hoses. There are threads on the other forum with part numbers.

[beeman]

Thanks! I'll look into the smooth ones.

[GoDadGo]

I looked at using universal style hoses, but in the end went a different route altogether.
I used the metal hoses that came with the kit to make patterns, then went to the local auto parts store to find preformed hoses that came close.
Basically, I cut up 4 preformed hoses to fabricate my set up an did use a 45 degree 1.5" aluminum tube as part of my lower set up.
Just understand that things got a tad more complicated because of my SBC set up.
Also, you may want to call Mark Reynolds at Breeze Automotive because he's helped me with quite a few issues.

[edwardb]

No doubt the corrugated hoses, SS or the Dayco rubber variety, don't flow as well as smooth hoses. But is that engineering technical data and can the cooling system do it's job with these kinds of hoses? In my experience it's not an issue. Many don't like the look of the SS corrugated hoses that FF provides. I get that. Some also have had issues with them blowing off. Using a better clamp, like T-clamps, has worked great for me. Jeff Kleiner suggest putting a sheet metal screw in the end and using the clamp on the other side of that. Ran #7750 with the FF provided SS corrugated hoses for thousands of miles with zero overheat issues. The new owner hasn't reported any issues either. This was soon after getting the engine in and everything hooked up.



Having said that, the mandrel bent hoses that Breeze has available are really nice. If he has them that fit your engine installation (and you want to spend the money, they're not cheap) it's a great alternative. Searching and picking various stock rubber hoses works too (done that) but the corrugated varieties do work OK. I wouldn't hesitate to use them again.