**The Concerns with Stainless Steel Brake Lines**

Stainless steel brake lines are a popular choice among car enthusiasts and racing teams, but they also come with their own set of concerns. The main issue with stainless steel brake lines is the fittings that terminate at either the caliper or hard mounting point. These fittings can be prone to binding, which can cause stress on the brake line, especially when turning the wheel.

**The Risks of Binding**

When a stainless steel brake line binds, it can lead to problems such as separation of the fitting, which can result in loss of brake fluid and control over the vehicle. This is a significant liability for manufacturers and car owners alike, as it can lead to accidents and injuries. In fact, there have been cases where oil cooler lines, which are similar in design to brake lines, have failed due to separation, resulting in fires and other safety issues.

**The Benefits of Stainless Steel Brake Lines**

Despite the risks, stainless steel brake lines do offer some benefits. One of the primary advantages is that they are more resistant to shearing or puncture, especially when compared to rubber brake hoses. This makes them a popular choice for track driving and competition-level racing, where the risk of damage is higher due to high-speed braking.

**Track Driving Benefits**

When running at high speeds on a track, stainless steel brake lines can provide several benefits that are not relevant in street driving situations. For example, they reduce the expansion of the hose due to hot brake fluid, which can cause issues with the brake pedal and affect the driver's confidence behind the wheel. Additionally, stainless steel lines are less prone to damage from debris or other hazards, making them a more reliable choice for high-speed driving.

**Conclusion**

While stainless steel brake lines offer some benefits in certain situations, they also come with their own set of concerns and risks. For street driving, rubber brake hoses are often sufficient and may even be preferred due to their lower cost and lack of complexity. However, for track driving or competition-level racing, stainless steel brake lines can provide a significant advantage in terms of reliability and performance.

**Why Manufacturers Choose Stainless Steel Brake Lines**

Despite the potential risks, many manufacturers choose to use stainless steel brake lines due to their benefits in high-performance applications. For example, some car manufacturers offer stop-tech rotors, CarBog Tech brake pads, and Endless Brake Lines as part of their aftermarket product lineup. These products are designed to work together to provide optimal performance and reliability for track driving and competition-level racing.

**The Fine Print**

It's worth noting that stainless steel brake lines are not inherently bad or flawed. Rather, they require a certain level of care and attention to installation and maintenance in order to function properly. As with any product, it's essential to read the fine print and understand how things work before making a purchase or installation decision. By doing so, car owners can ensure that their brake lines are installed correctly and functioning as intended, which is crucial for safety and performance on the track or road.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enwelcome to the fine print of stainless steel brake lines an upgrade that is often talked about in the automotive world first we're gonna talk about what stainless steel brake lines even do why you would want to use them and kind of an overview of the brake system as a whole now you're always gonna hear oh bro I want to do some serious brake upgrades so I put stainless steel lines on now there's a ton of manufacturers that make these you have Goodrich you have stop Tech's Bigler endless and it really doesn't matter what brake line that you choose it's just a matter of understanding what they are and why you would use them so in this car it used to have rubber lines and now it has stainless steel lines that I've installed and you can see here's the hard line so this hard line is is metal and it runs from the ABS module to each corner of the car and then here it terminates and then it goes to a flexible rubber hose now if you look at almost every single car on the market including high-performance cars like Ferrari or Porsches they use rubber brake lines to the caliper and one of the reasons why is liability and the second reason why is serviceability stainless steel lines like many high-performance parts tend to wear out quicker they are a liability in some cases if you're not constantly doing inspection on them well why is that let's talk about it the big reason for concern with stainless steel lines is the fittings the the ends that terminate either into the caliper or into the hard mounting point now stainless steel lines are extremely rigid depending on what brand you get and if they have a coating they're even less flexible now if you miss install these or you don't install them right and there's binding like I can move this wheel obviously the brake line moves with the hub especially on the front as you turn the wheel it puts stress on the brake line now some stainless steel lines don't have swivels on the fittings either at the caliper mounting point or at the hardpoint which means the ends will swivel likes Bigler has swivel stainless lines which means you'll have less binding problems installs easier some don't swivel at all and basically you have to route it perfect so you know over time if you hit a bump if you have debris and it pulls on the lines all that pressure is on the fitting and if that fitting separates you lose all your brake fluid and you're gonna lose control of your car because your brakes aren't going to work that is a huge liability for a manufacturer and you're starting to see similar problems well we've seen similar problems with oil cooler lines on cars you had the Ford or the Shelby gt350 with potential fires from the oil cooler line separating same thing with the now the dodge charger hellcat has a recall on the oil cooler lines Lotus had separation problems with their lines and this is why so many manufacturers aren't using liq oil coolers because there is a high probability of failure with them if you're not inspecting them or if they're missing they're not installed properly stainless steel brake lines carry the same liability as that now we already know rubber brake lines from the termination points of the calipers are tried-and-true they've been used forever they're on millions of cars the failure rate is so low you just don't have to worry about it so why would you add the level of complication or anxiety of doing this why would I do it when I'm basically telling you not to do it well here's why you would add a stainless steel line 99% of it is for track driving for competition level driving when you're on a race track and you're getting up to 100-plus miles an hour and you slam on those brakes this caliper is clamping down on the disk and as it's clamping down in the disk you're generating heat throughout this disk which transfers into the brake pad which transfers into the hub into the back of the caliper into this line and then of course the byproduct is that heat gets into the brake fluid and as that brake fluid heats up to four five six hundred degrees Fahrenheit what happens with hot brake fluid well it expands the rubber line that you have if you don't have a stainless steel line now on a track when you're coming into a corner flat out you have to nail those brakes if there's expansion in a rubber hose it will create a little bit of Machinist in your brake pedal and it might be slight enough to either one throw off your confidence or to make you want to back off because you're not sure if there's a problem so putting a stainless line on reduces or almost eliminates that expansion of this hose that's here or that brake fluid expanding a line that's why you would get rid of a rubber line but the reality is this is not something you're going to experience on a street car if you're on eight if you don't take it to the track and you're not doing competition level driving where you know seconds or milliseconds matter in a lap it's just almost pointless to do the second reason why you'd do a stainless line is well they're more remor resistant to shearing or puncture again this is almost exclusively a track problem if you're going 140 miles an hour somebody's a bolt or a dust shield or some wheel weight flies off and it flies up into your wheel well it can shear a brake line or cut it if you have a rubber hose that's not something that is as likely on a stainless steel line so those are two of the primary benefits of running a stainless line and almost none of that is going to benefit you on a street car and it's certainly not enough to warrant the added well checklist of things to do with a car like this now like anything companies want to solve products and obviously you can see I have stop tech rotors I have car Bo tech brake pads and I have endless brake lines here that doesn't mean that it's bad or you should steer away from it you should just know how things operate and that is the fine print of stainless steel brake lineswelcome to the fine print of stainless steel brake lines an upgrade that is often talked about in the automotive world first we're gonna talk about what stainless steel brake lines even do why you would want to use them and kind of an overview of the brake system as a whole now you're always gonna hear oh bro I want to do some serious brake upgrades so I put stainless steel lines on now there's a ton of manufacturers that make these you have Goodrich you have stop Tech's Bigler endless and it really doesn't matter what brake line that you choose it's just a matter of understanding what they are and why you would use them so in this car it used to have rubber lines and now it has stainless steel lines that I've installed and you can see here's the hard line so this hard line is is metal and it runs from the ABS module to each corner of the car and then here it terminates and then it goes to a flexible rubber hose now if you look at almost every single car on the market including high-performance cars like Ferrari or Porsches they use rubber brake lines to the caliper and one of the reasons why is liability and the second reason why is serviceability stainless steel lines like many high-performance parts tend to wear out quicker they are a liability in some cases if you're not constantly doing inspection on them well why is that let's talk about it the big reason for concern with stainless steel lines is the fittings the the ends that terminate either into the caliper or into the hard mounting point now stainless steel lines are extremely rigid depending on what brand you get and if they have a coating they're even less flexible now if you miss install these or you don't install them right and there's binding like I can move this wheel obviously the brake line moves with the hub especially on the front as you turn the wheel it puts stress on the brake line now some stainless steel lines don't have swivels on the fittings either at the caliper mounting point or at the hardpoint which means the ends will swivel likes Bigler has swivel stainless lines which means you'll have less binding problems installs easier some don't swivel at all and basically you have to route it perfect so you know over time if you hit a bump if you have debris and it pulls on the lines all that pressure is on the fitting and if that fitting separates you lose all your brake fluid and you're gonna lose control of your car because your brakes aren't going to work that is a huge liability for a manufacturer and you're starting to see similar problems well we've seen similar problems with oil cooler lines on cars you had the Ford or the Shelby gt350 with potential fires from the oil cooler line separating same thing with the now the dodge charger hellcat has a recall on the oil cooler lines Lotus had separation problems with their lines and this is why so many manufacturers aren't using liq oil coolers because there is a high probability of failure with them if you're not inspecting them or if they're missing they're not installed properly stainless steel brake lines carry the same liability as that now we already know rubber brake lines from the termination points of the calipers are tried-and-true they've been used forever they're on millions of cars the failure rate is so low you just don't have to worry about it so why would you add the level of complication or anxiety of doing this why would I do it when I'm basically telling you not to do it well here's why you would add a stainless steel line 99% of it is for track driving for competition level driving when you're on a race track and you're getting up to 100-plus miles an hour and you slam on those brakes this caliper is clamping down on the disk and as it's clamping down in the disk you're generating heat throughout this disk which transfers into the brake pad which transfers into the hub into the back of the caliper into this line and then of course the byproduct is that heat gets into the brake fluid and as that brake fluid heats up to four five six hundred degrees Fahrenheit what happens with hot brake fluid well it expands the rubber line that you have if you don't have a stainless steel line now on a track when you're coming into a corner flat out you have to nail those brakes if there's expansion in a rubber hose it will create a little bit of Machinist in your brake pedal and it might be slight enough to either one throw off your confidence or to make you want to back off because you're not sure if there's a problem so putting a stainless line on reduces or almost eliminates that expansion of this hose that's here or that brake fluid expanding a line that's why you would get rid of a rubber line but the reality is this is not something you're going to experience on a street car if you're on eight if you don't take it to the track and you're not doing competition level driving where you know seconds or milliseconds matter in a lap it's just almost pointless to do the second reason why you'd do a stainless line is well they're more remor resistant to shearing or puncture again this is almost exclusively a track problem if you're going 140 miles an hour somebody's a bolt or a dust shield or some wheel weight flies off and it flies up into your wheel well it can shear a brake line or cut it if you have a rubber hose that's not something that is as likely on a stainless steel line so those are two of the primary benefits of running a stainless line and almost none of that is going to benefit you on a street car and it's certainly not enough to warrant the added well checklist of things to do with a car like this now like anything companies want to solve products and obviously you can see I have stop tech rotors I have car Bo tech brake pads and I have endless brake lines here that doesn't mean that it's bad or you should steer away from it you should just know how things operate and that is the fine print of stainless steel brake lines\n"