Coloured fuel hoses

[dave tvr]

Does anyone know if/where I can get coloured ( blue) fuel hoses for my speed six? Does ACT do them?
I've recently ordered a set of coolant hoses and steel pipes from ACT and then today a fuel hose in the engine bay resembled my old garden hose! ( many holes in it) mainly due to where it had been cable tied previously , so I thought if I'm going to change that one , change them all, and make them all blue to match!
The hose in question leaves the fuel rail at the top of the engine and goes down to a cylindrical thing of which I have no idea of what it is.
Thanks

[Supateg]

dave tvr said:

The hose in question leaves the fuel rail at the top of the engine and goes down to a cylindrical thing of which I have no idea of what it is.
Thanks

That will be the fuel cooler via aircon gas.
Pipes come in black R9 or black R9
Maybe with some shiny stainless overbraid if you wish.

[dave tvr]

Supateg said:

That will be the fuel cooler via aircon gas.
Pipes come in black R9 or black R9
Maybe with some shiny stainless overbraid if you wish.

Thanks
Sorry but never dealt with fuel lines before, is R9 a size? Blue or overbraide aside I do need to temporally replace it before the really cold weather sets in and I can drive it no more !

[Supateg]

R9 is the spec standard of the rubber,

Some light reading

http://www.volksbolts.com/faq/fuelhose.htm

[Stunned Monkey]

Stainless over braided PTFE is suitable for petrol and can come with a blue sleeve. Ends must be professionally swaged though.

I saw the fuel heat exchanger and thought "WTF?!". Playing devil's advocate for a moment, what do people think this is for (ie what the undesirable effect of hot fuel is)?

[Tanguero]

It cools the fuel returning to the tank to avoid the tank temperature rising. The cooler doesn't have suitable barbs for PTFE lines, I know, I tried!

[GT6k]

I'm pretty sure my fuel cooler is attached to the fuel rail supply side so it is cooling the fuel prior to injection so that the charge density is increased, I would have thought that cooling the fuel in the tank was at best a secondary purpose particularly as i believe that some older cars have pipes through the tunnel which conveniently reheats the fuel before it gets to the tank.

[Supateg]

GT6k said:

I'm pretty sure my fuel cooler is attached to the fuel rail supply side so it is cooling the fuel prior to injection so that the charge density is increased

I would like to think the same, however I haven't disconnected it to see, so if I'm wrong I'm happy to be re educated

[GT6k]

I suspect thinking about it that the reason for cooling could be both for the supply and the tank. My cooler is definitely on the input end (the front) whilst the rear end of the rail connects to the tank return via the pressure valve (which must be on the outlet of the fuel rail). I wouldn't put it past TVR to have done it this way simply because it is easier. As the tank is inside the car body then it would tend to retain heat so cooling the fuel might be a good ides and if it was done on fuel rail supply then it might give a minor power advantage as well. I am not familiar enough with fuel injection systems to know whether cavitation or vaporization within the rail are ever a problem.

[Stunned Monkey]

Thanks for the input guys, and apologies to the OP for hikacking the thread!

Vapourisation can be a problem as it can cause hat soak, but this is fixed with the use of an accumulator, as seen on all K-Jetronic cars from the late 70s to mid 80s.

Keeping the tank cool would seem to be the most likely story. I doubt the charge cool would add up to much.

[Tanguero]

GT6k said:

I'm pretty sure my fuel cooler is attached to the fuel rail supply side so it is cooling the fuel prior to injection so that the charge density is increased, I would have thought that cooling the fuel in the tank was at best a secondary purpose particularly as i believe that some older cars have pipes through the tunnel which conveniently reheats the fuel before it gets to the tank.

The original plumbing on all the unmolested 4.2s I have looked at has been that the cooler is on the return side.

[GT6k]

Yet another difference between the 4.2 and the 4.5 then.

[dave tvr]

Stunned Monkey said:

Thanks for the input guys, and apologies to the OP for hikacking the thread!

Vapourisation can be a problem as it can cause hat soak, but this is fixed with the use of an accumulator, as seen on all K-Jetronic cars from the late 70s to mid 80s.

Keeping the tank cool would seem to be the most likely story. I doubt the charge cool would add up to much.

I've been hijacked !!
Well all info helps to learn from, I only want a blue fuel hose to match the rest of my engine bay , how hard can it be !!
No answer from ACT at the moment .

[Tanguero]

GT6k said:

Yet another difference between the 4.2 and the 4.5 then.

I am not sure - I have certainly seen at least a couple of 4.5s that have the cooler in the return line. All goes to prove they are TVRs!

[dave tvr]

ACT does not do fuel lines but Tim recommended ' Think Automotive ' who will do something that will dress up my fuel lines!
He doesn't think anyone does coloured fuel hoses ( maybe I've just cornered the market! ) but they should do full braided hoses with anodised clamps on the end .

[Stunned Monkey]

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&id=1...

Edit: ignore me, just read the description ...

Edited by Stunned Monkey on Tuesday 2nd December 19:51

[GT6k]

Try Earls http://www.earls.co.uk/earls/hose/speedflex.html

Note the ebay article above says not suitable for continuous transfer of fuel.