Motorsport Plumbing Systems: Materials
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Materials
08.31
| 00:00 | - In this module, we'll be discussing all the different materials that are commonly used in the coolant plumbing system from factory configurations through to aftermarket and custom setups for performance and motorsport applications. |
| 00:13 | Again, the core components themself such as the radiator, thermostat or water pump aren't the focus of this section, we'll be primarily talking about the plumbing between the components. |
| 00:24 | The same material requirements apply generally here as with the other plumbing systems in a vehicle. |
| 00:31 | Chemical, corrosion and heat resistance, weight and of course strength and structural integrity. |
| 00:36 | Additionally and more specific to the coolant system, it isn't just about the weight of the plumbing and the components but also the coolant fluid itself as there are relatively large amounts of coolant held and any increases or decreases in tubing size can have a significant effect. |
| 00:54 | While heat resistance is also important, how well the materials exchange heat is also a critical function of the performance of the system. |
| 01:03 | This means that the material has n impact on the performance of the system to do its job in this case. |
| 01:09 | Similar to the intake air plumbing and other systems we'll be covering, some components like the radiator are hard mounted to the chassis and in this case the plumbing clearly needs to connect to the engine. |
| 01:21 | Since the engine moves relative to the chassis, some flexibility will be required and if the plumbing was all hard lines it would likely crack and break very quickly. |
| 01:30 | From factory the most common material used for coolant plumbing is reinforced synthetic rubber hose, more specifically EPDM reinforced with fibres to add structure and prevent any swelling or distortion with internal fluid pressure. |
| 01:46 | This is primarily used over other viable options due to the relatively low cost but is more than capable of holding up to the typical temperatures and pressures seen in a road car as well as the chemicals in the coolant it conveys. |
| 02:01 | Rubber also provides the flexibility between the chassis and engine that we just discussed and in some cases, the rubber hose can be used without hose clamps due to its elasticity. |
| 02:12 | It isn't however great when exposed to the hydrocarbons in our fuel or oil which although this shouldn't happen, with the nature of motorsport and increased servicing, it tends to occur more often, causing the rubber to degrade. |
| 02:25 | The higher temperatures seen in motorsport also cause the rubber to degrade faster than it otherwise would, causing it to become more brittle and split more easily. |
| 02:35 | Injection moulded plastic and cast aluminium parts are also commonly used but the concerns are the same as with the intake parts in that the manufacturing process costs put these methods out of the question for anything low volume as well as the difficulty involved in making substantial modifications to plastic parts. |
| 02:54 | Regardless, these plastic and cast aluminium parts can perform well in regards to our material requirements, the same advantages as with the intake air system around weight, corrosion resistance and design with smooth surfaces and curves all applied. |
| 03:10 | Plastics however will not last very long when exposed to the high temperatures and harsh environment that is a motorsport engine bay. |
| 03:17 | The parts will degrade, become brittle and crack, causing coolant leaks so while plastic piping is common for some smaller hard lines, or piping in factory applications, we also see aluminium, steel, stainless steel, as well as copper nickel used as alternatives. |
| 03:34 | These materials are more prevalent in performance aftermarket, motorsport and high end factory applications. |
| 03:41 | On the topic of hard lines, we'll generally see the use of aluminium or stainless steel, both of which offer big improvements in strength and reliability with aluminium being easier to work with but not as strong as stainless. |
| 03:55 | This works great, especially for turbo water lines which are usually routed very close to high heat sources so the integrity and resistance to heat is paramount. |
| 04:04 | We can also bend up sections of smaller diameter tube to custom make these lines and flare the ends for fittings. |
| 04:11 | While we can use larger solid piping for the main radiator to engine plumbing, this can't be bent so it's more a matter of manual bent sections, pie cuts and welding to get what we need. |
| 04:22 | The key thing to consider here is that doing it this way won't give us any flexibility so using hard lines between the engine and turbo will be effective 'cause the relative movement between the two will be very minimal, we'll need some form of flexible sections between the radiator and the engine. |
| 04:40 | This could mean the use of rubber hose but in more demanding conditions, we'll typically use nitrile rubber or CPE as opposed to EPDM for better chemical resistance. |
| 04:50 | Alternatively we could use reinforced silicon hose which will hold up to higher temperatures than rubber hose and while it generally isn't as flexible as rubber, it'll retain its flexibility in harsh environments where rubber could break down and become brittle. |
| 05:06 | Depending on the layout of the system there might be off the shelf parts with the dimensions and bends needed, allowing for single pieces of silicon or rubber hose that span the entire distance and reduce potential failure points at connections. |
| 05:21 | Alternatively, we might need to use short sections of hose to connect the solid piping to the engine and radiator. |
| 05:28 | The next step up and most suitable for motorsport use is braided hose. |
| 05:33 | From here on in, we're getting into more aerospace grade plumbing and some variations of these lines and fittings are referred to as AN for army navy which is the specification for these components. |
| 05:46 | The braided hose is made up of a reinforced rubber with a smooth bore as per standard radiator hose. |
| 05:53 | Typically nitrile rubber or CPE which is reinforced with an integral fibre braid made from varying materials such as nylon and stainless steel. |
| 06:02 | Some of these hoses will have another smooth outer layer of CPE, these are commonly referred to as push on or push lock hoses due to the fittings that they're used with. |
| 06:12 | In other cases, there's also an outer braid made from stainless steel, nylon or aramid for extra abrasion and corrosion resistance while the weave of the braid still allows for flexibility. |
| 06:24 | Often with an inner and outer braid, this hose will be referred to as a double braid. |
| 06:30 | Hoses with an outer braid require a fitting with a cover that also secures the outer braid, preventing it from unravelling. |
| 06:38 | Other than the high cost, another downside of these outer braids is while they protect the internal hose from abrasion resistance, they can also be abrasive themself and damage other components that they come in contact with. |
| 06:52 | Another step up in price and heat, pressure and chemical resistance is PTFE braided hose. |
| 06:58 | PTFE stands for polytetrafluoroethylene but we'll stick with PTFE from here on out. |
| 07:05 | This is similar in construction to the braided hose we just discussed but uses a PTFE inner tube. |
| 07:11 | This is most beneficial when it comes to fuel lines which we'll discuss soon, but we can still use PTFE braided hose for coolant plumbing. |
| 07:20 | While being more reliable and a little lighter, it's also generally a bit stiffer and therefore harder to bend if required for routing compared to CPE braided hose. |
| 07:31 | With that covered, let's quickly summarise what we've talked about in this module before moving on. |
| 07:36 | It's important our coolant plumbing system is resistant to high temperatures, corrosion and the chemicals it carries as well as the chemicals it could be exposed to. |
| 07:45 | It's also important that it's lightweight while still being strong enough to hold up to the internal pressures of the coolant system and offer flexibility between the engine and chassis mounted parts where needed. |
| 07:58 | In more demanding and severe motorsport uses, we'll often see a combination of hard lines made from aluminium, stainless steel or copper nickel as well as flexible lines which are usually smooth or unbraided CPE or for more abrasion, chemical and heat resistance, as well as strength, these can include an integral and outer braid. |
| 08:20 | PTFE offers more chemical resistance for the fluid it conveys which although is not required for coolant, it is still commonly used. |
