Author Topic: Silicone hose kit, e30 M42 (Read 34821 times)

DesktopDave · « **on:** July 03, 2011, 12:29:39 PM »

Figured I'd post a quick review of this item. You can also find them on EBay as seller "hiperformancestore." Search for "318is" (he has a lot of listings) and you'll get all the color choices. He currently stocks black, red, silver, blue and even purple.

I ran into a few small difficulties, but I've contacted the seller to let him know. Once he responds I'll post the rest of my review. I don't have any long-term experience with silicone hose, but I'll update this as time goes on. I'm recommending the kit with small reservations at this time.

BTW, that is a cigar cutter included with the kit. While it seems like a mickey mouse tool, it worked perfectly (even with mech's work gloves). Just be careful not to bend the blade while you're cutting. It is tough enough to cut high-pressure OEM fuel hose too. The silicone lube is a nice touch as well, much appreciated.

M5wanaB · « **Reply #1 on:** July 03, 2011, 04:34:29 PM »

did this come with a hose to replace the hose that goes from the bottom of the overflow tank to the plastic piece under the intake?

DesktopDave · « **Reply #2 on:** July 03, 2011, 05:37:34 PM »

Nope. I'd figure that would make a great kit, one to replace the coolant hoses. He stocks one for the M20 but not the M42 from what I've seen.

I'll let everyone know where this goes; from what I've seen silicone rubber seems to be one of those miracle materials that are a true improvement over OEM.

keflaman · « **Reply #3 on:** July 03, 2011, 09:04:15 PM »

I have to admit I thought any color other than black would look too ricey to me, but after seeing the red car with red hoses I'll have to retract that thought.

Looking forward to further updates.

DesktopDave · « **Reply #4 on:** July 04, 2011, 11:37:58 AM »

I hate to admit it, but I was sorely temped by the purple hoses. My kids would have loved that!

M5wanaB · « **Reply #5 on:** July 04, 2011, 02:10:38 PM »

Quote from: DesktopDave;105023

Nope. I'd figure that would make a great kit, one to replace the coolant hoses. He stocks one for the M20 but not the M42 from what I've seen.

I'll let everyone know where this goes; from what I've seen silicone rubber seems to be one of those miracle materials that are a true improvement over OEM.

darn, That is the only stock cooling hose I have in place on my m42 swapped car and I would love to upgrade it. My engine sits fairly close to the radiator and my alternator fan keeps grinding away at the stock rubber one. I know its not going to last long so I need to get a replacement. Anyone know of a silicone version of the overflow hose?

Hey-u · « **Reply #6 on:** July 04, 2011, 05:50:34 PM »

I picked up the Kit from Hi Performance Store. Very good service and they seemed to truly interested and knowledgeable. The kit looks good but I haven't finished the install. Black of course.

Found this M42 rad hose kit but haven't purchased.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120737766836&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

DesktopDave · « **Reply #7 on:** July 05, 2011, 07:20:30 AM »

Quote from: M5wanaB;105047

darn, That is the only stock cooling hose I have in place on my m42 swapped car and I would love to upgrade it. My engine sits fairly close to the radiator and my alternator fan keeps grinding away at the stock rubber one. I know its not going to last long so I need to get a replacement. Anyone know of a silicone version of the overflow hose?

Could you use a stock hose & just bend it as needed? This kit I installed is all straight lines, none were pre-formed. That would have greatly helped with the ICV to intake elbow - I had to move the entire ICV to make it all fit correctly.

From what I've seen, some grades of silicone aren't as abrasion resistant as the OEM rubber too. I worried about that when I pulled a few too-tight barb fittings apart and a little of the red silicone abraded off onto the barb.

monty23psk · « **Reply #8 on:** July 05, 2011, 08:29:13 AM »

Dave, did you remove the heater plate with this install?

unt0uchable · « **Reply #9 on:** July 05, 2011, 03:33:36 PM »

Dave, it's funny you should post this kit because I was checking it out about 3 weeks ago about midway through my "mess under the intake" delete. I was worried about spending the money and the realizing that I would have a mess of left over hoses since I deleted all the crap under the intake. Could you list what hoses are included in the kit? That would be awesome, and possibly make me go for it this time around. What color did you end up with? And do you have any pictures of under the hood now? Glad to see someone else tried it out....

DesktopDave · « **Reply #10 on:** July 05, 2011, 05:21:16 PM »

I was tempted to keep some of the pre-heater, but I ended up just deleting the whole deal. I also cleaned out the intake, replaced all the fuel lines (with OEM 8x13 BMW high-pressure rubber line) & swapped in some 4-hole yellow top "Ford by Bosch" injectors.

I'm still waiting for a response from the seller about the short ICV hose before I post a full review. The kit isn't complete from what I'd guess...there isn't enough line to replace all the coolant hoses, only enough to do the vac hoses. I'll go & take a look at what it contains; I'll have to guess about lengths as it's mostly installed. There isn't a lot left over as the vac hoses are about the same length either way.

What color, you ask? Why red, of course! I posted these pics on my profile, but here's a link. Sorry for the dirty hoses, haven't cleaned them yet. I hear WD40 is the ticket.

monty23psk · « **Reply #11 on:** July 05, 2011, 07:27:54 PM »

I guess ordering the hoses by the foot might be the ticket, at least for me. Just looking at the ones for vacuum from the valve cover to the elbow/throttle plate. The kit replaces so many hoses though. Did the hoses that come with 2 different size end come like that already? Pretty cool kit in the end.

DesktopDave · « **Reply #12 on:** July 05, 2011, 09:43:01 PM »

None of the hoses are bent in our kit, they're just straight silicone line. The hose that runs from the coolant manifold to the head was one of the medium sized ones. It fit easily on the head but I had to stretch the devil out of it to fit on that coolant manifold nipple. It's also the only one that I clamped. The rest are just slip-fit, they're really pretty tight.

The only problem with the kit IMHO is that their ICV line cannot easily bend 90deg into the intake manifold. It's too short a run for that. Worse, the largest hose wasn't quite long enough to replicate the stock routing. So I ended up relocating the ICV (reversed & bent the mount) and pulled the ICV elbow (swapped it to the other intake boot port) so that the hose would reach. No big deal, but it wasn't what I expected.

However, I've already gotten a response from Misty over at hiperformance about the ICV; she's quick to respond and even offered to send along more hose. Based on that, I'm changing my rating to "highly recommended." I'm still not sure about ultimate longevity, but it seems that quite a few of the Alfa and Volvo guys swear by this stuff. I'm tempted to look into coolant hoses as well.

monty23psk · « **Reply #13 on:** July 05, 2011, 09:54:31 PM »

I need to replace some hoses for the vacuum system so will give this a shot, just need to take care of other items first. Thanks for th reviews and bringing this up to the board.

unt0uchable · « **Reply #14 on:** July 06, 2011, 08:58:17 AM »

The only reason I am looking into the silicone is because currently I have 5/8 heater hose and it's compressing under normal vacuum. I need something that's durable and stiff. As someone mentioned above, I'd probably just buy it by the foot since it sounds like that's all it is anyways when you get the "kit". Did the diameters work out alright for you? Your ICV is in the same place mine is now. I moved it there for easier access, I just wish I could extend the wiring and place the ICV right into the intake boot....but looking at your picture, I think pelican sent me the wrong boot last year, lol. Oh well, it works. Looks nice! I'll be looking more into it now...