Hard Intake Piping Vs Soft Intake Piping?
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Ant,
IMO, hard Piping has virtually no drawbacks, unless it is so thin that it can wear through easily with extended engine vibration. The plastic we use is 1/4" thick and designed not to crack in extreme cold or melt with extreme heat. It is virtually indestructable and offers a very high degree of safety. When I say safety - a failure of this pipe results in dirt and debris being sucked into your turbos and subsequently the motor, so it is not an area to be taken lightly. Aluminum is a thin, soft metal and retains heat, so there are some considerations with the various aluminum designs. Soft hose, another method offered, runs the risk of puncture by road debris, or premature wear as compared to some of the other thicker, stronger materials. The good is that a well designed hard pipe kit will last the life of the vehicle without incident. The bad and the ugly is a puncture or wear through point resulting in a stone, sand or other debris being sucked into your motor - before you even know you have a breach of the pipe. This type of failure can and has caused catastophic damage in cars with less than ideal plumbing in this area and can go undetected for quite some time, as a lot of the area is impossible to inspect without removing the motor or the pipe, which does not happen often in most cases.
Years ago when I was researching kits for own car, I was faced with the soft vs. hard pipe decision. I learned at that time of some failures of various soft or thin pipe kits on the market and quickly decided to use the same thick pipe we offer on our kit today. It has been on my car for 6 years and approx. 60,000 miles. In that time, I have had occasion to lower my motor twice, once as recently as last year. The pipe showed some signs of scuffing behind the motor, but was not really damaged at all - just rub marks. I feel certain that If I had used a softer or thinner material, I probably would have worn through it with that type of mileage and use. The thick pipe I use (and offer on our kits) gives me complete peace of mind and total confidence that everything is OK back there, for the life of the vehicle. It is considerably thicker and larger than the OEM plastic it replaces and is truly an upgrade in every sense of the word!
Here is cross section picture of the 1/4" thick plastic pipe we use:
IMO, hard Piping has virtually no drawbacks, unless it is so thin that it can wear through easily with extended engine vibration. The plastic we use is 1/4" thick and designed not to crack in extreme cold or melt with extreme heat. It is virtually indestructable and offers a very high degree of safety. When I say safety - a failure of this pipe results in dirt and debris being sucked into your turbos and subsequently the motor, so it is not an area to be taken lightly. Aluminum is a thin, soft metal and retains heat, so there are some considerations with the various aluminum designs. Soft hose, another method offered, runs the risk of puncture by road debris, or premature wear as compared to some of the other thicker, stronger materials. The good is that a well designed hard pipe kit will last the life of the vehicle without incident. The bad and the ugly is a puncture or wear through point resulting in a stone, sand or other debris being sucked into your motor - before you even know you have a breach of the pipe. This type of failure can and has caused catastophic damage in cars with less than ideal plumbing in this area and can go undetected for quite some time, as a lot of the area is impossible to inspect without removing the motor or the pipe, which does not happen often in most cases.
Years ago when I was researching kits for own car, I was faced with the soft vs. hard pipe decision. I learned at that time of some failures of various soft or thin pipe kits on the market and quickly decided to use the same thick pipe we offer on our kit today. It has been on my car for 6 years and approx. 60,000 miles. In that time, I have had occasion to lower my motor twice, once as recently as last year. The pipe showed some signs of scuffing behind the motor, but was not really damaged at all - just rub marks. I feel certain that If I had used a softer or thinner material, I probably would have worn through it with that type of mileage and use. The thick pipe I use (and offer on our kits) gives me complete peace of mind and total confidence that everything is OK back there, for the life of the vehicle. It is considerably thicker and larger than the OEM plastic it replaces and is truly an upgrade in every sense of the word!
Here is cross section picture of the 1/4" thick plastic pipe we use:
Quote:
My 'soft' piping, I meant reinforced flexible piping
It's smooth on the inside and cannot collapse
How is it reinforced?Originally Posted by ant_8u
To be clear(er).....My 'soft' piping, I meant reinforced flexible piping
It's smooth on the inside and cannot collapse
If there is anything holding it open from the inside, it could come loose and be ingested by the turbo.
i use hard pipes in my car . companies that offer soft piping use special stuff that is designed for intense vacuum. im not going to comment on the price charged for soft piping given that i know how much it costs per foot lol 
Quote:
If there is anything holding it open from the inside, it could come loose and be ingested by the turbo.
Reinforcement is on the exterior of the pipeOriginally Posted by MBailey
How is it reinforced?If there is anything holding it open from the inside, it could come loose and be ingested by the turbo.
http://www.javelinirrigation.co.uk/h...uctionhose.htm
www.sfsperformance.co.uk/wire_reinforced.asp
IMO, to install and test something like this on your car, hoping you do not have any rub points that will eventually wear through, or other weak links...you're playing with fire...the hard pipes are firm and pre-shaped to follow a specific path through some very close tolerance suspension parts that would wear that hose through in no time, if allowed to come in contact with it.
Quote:
Soft piping will collapse under boost. Hard piping is harder to install but is the only way to go, imo.
The one we use has a metal ring in it. It will never collapse... Originally Posted by MBailey
John is dead on.Soft piping will collapse under boost. Hard piping is harder to install but is the only way to go, imo.
advantage is that you don't have to drop the motor... and you don't have to go up and down with the motor a few times to line everything up like you do with the hard piping... It may seem easy to install but its hard. We sell the hard piping kit too but I tend to stir clients towards the bendable if they do not have an experienced mechanic in after market installs...