Hose & Line

This is the plumbing department: bulk hose, pre-assembled hose assemblies, hose ends and tubing for moving fuel and other fluids around an engine bay. Everything here is sold by size and fitting style rather than by vehicle, so it suits custom builds and repairs alike.

There are two ways to buy. Pre-assembled hose assemblies from Vibrant Performance arrive with the ends already fitted, in a set length such as 36 inches, with straight, 45-degree or 90-degree ends. Building your own means buying hose by length and choosing the ends separately: DeatschWerks, Russell, Aeromotive and Radium Engineering all list swivel, push-on and full-flow ends. A ready-made assembly saves tools and guesswork when the length is known; building your own suits a line you have to route and trim to fit.

Sizes follow the AN dash system, from -3 and -4 for small lines up to -8 and -10 for larger fuel feeds. Pick the size your pump, regulator or port calls for, then keep every end and adapter on that line to the same dash size.

End angle is about routing. A straight end is simplest; 45-degree and 90-degree ends turn a line close to the fitting without kinking the hose; 120-degree and 180-degree ends double a line back in a tight engine bay. Lay the hose in place along its route before you cut, so the ends land where the ports are.

Two specialised groups sit here as well. Snow Performance water injection kits and check valves run on braided -4 line, and Radium Engineering sells submersible PTFE tubing for use inside a fuel tank. For the rest of the fabrication range, see plumbing and fabrication; for oil and transmission coolers that use these fittings, see cooling. Prices are in Canadian dollars.