Stainless Steel Brake Lines

[Vortec-Z71]

I recently read that stainless steel brake lines are supposed to improve braking because they expand less than the factory ones. Is this true? Are they worth the money? Are there any brands that make kits specifically designed for our trucks?

[Crazy Canuck]

I think you are referring to the braided steel lines they use in place of the factory rubber portions of the lines at the wheels and such and not the steel hard lines themselves. If that is the case, yes they do improve breaking as they don't expand like their rubber counterparts (which tend to expand a little more over time). I don't know that you would really see that much of a difference unless you had a high performance braking system in a high performance situation. Myself, I would not spend the extra money to change them unless I was replacing them anyway and the cost between the rubber and braided steel was pretty minimal.

[old-chevy-dude]

not going to see any real life improvements unless you have a high performance braking system and do a lot of road course racing with your vehicle.

 

 

I had both on my Chrylser, a 8 piston front and 4 piston rear (vs the factory 2 piston front and 1 piston rears) aftermarket Brembo kit with larger rotors and braided steel lines.. for daily driving, meh brakes is brakes in stop and go traffic.

 

but for my weekend road course play time at the local track, it made a huge difference..

[jblakeney]

Braided stainless hoses will give you a firmer pedal. Stock rubber hoses expand and allow a spongier pedal.

 

If the brackets come off the hoses easy, then changing to stainless hoses would be a good choice. But most brackets are a pain in the can to remove from the stock lines. Without the brackets they just flop around and can cause a failure. I have never found a company that always has the required brackets pre-attached as the aftermarket and OE do.

 

If you don't notice the difference in pedal feel you probably don't have all the bubbles out yet.

 

Jbo

[BlcDog]

Yep, firmer pedal. I changed lines, rotors (cross drilled and vented and Hawk pads). Stopping distance decreased noticably.