Clear Rad Hoses

In the June edition it was mentioned that one of the Challenge teams used clear tubing for their cooling system. This sounds like a cool idea for the Europa rad piping since it's a bit convoluted and is prone to air bubbles. I've been to my local TSC and Princess Auto and they have a clear reinforced chemical resistant hose but it's only rated to 70c. I'm thinking of picking up a piece, capping the ends, pressurizing it and dropping it in boiling water to see how it holds up. Does anyone see a hole in my logic or have an idea of what the challenge team noted used? I'm likely way over thinking this.

since i sell industrial hoses.......the black EPDM rubber hoses take the temp best. rubber usually maxes out at 250dgF or so. PVC has issues at the colder end of the scale -10dgF. it gets brittle and rubber is the best here.

pete240z wrote: since i sell industrial hoses.......the black EPDM rubber hoses take the temp best. rubber usually maxes out at 250dgF or so. PVC has issues at the colder end of the scale -10dgF. it gets brittle and rubber is the best here.

Thanks for the input Pete but I was hoping to have the clear hose so that I could see if there was any air in the system and that I had a decent flow. I'm running a Toyota 4AGE engine with an aluminum rad out of a Honda Civic turned on it's side mounted in the nose of a Lotus Europa . I think that I may have bought myself some trouble here.

That team you're thinking of is Georgia Tech, and their website is wreckracing.com. You may want to send them and email and just ask directly.

In reply to Wayslow: I have used clear plastic/pvc type tubing from Home depot in cars/bikes/karts, and even one sprint car for years, for that exact same reason. Just make sure to get the reinforced tubing. The ones that look like they have fiberglass strands running through them are what has worked well for me. They will get much softer and more flexible than the regular rad hoses so make sure they can't touch or get caught in anything. Given that you have alot of tubing in your car, I would probably use a small section of this tube up at the high point of the system, and not worry about the rest. Good luck Paul

The rice boys replace the straight sections of radiator hose with rigid, clear pipe of some sort. Might serve the same purpose.

http://www.killerglass.com/