Hose clamps suck...

[Def]

Testing my car last night for an upcoming track event this weekend. Checked to make sure all hose clamps are tight on the IC tubing. Things were good, nut one on the IC outlet was a little loose. Not a bog
deal, it tightened up.

Drive the car, few low boost pulls, car feels like a beast and sounds like a pissed off drill(subframe bushings). Jackass in an Escalade with blue HIDs is riding my ass, so I downshift to 3rd and go WOT. Car rockets ahead, then BOOM! No power, just some gear rattle and bucking when giving it throttle. Almost get hit 3 times getting over to the shoulder since DFW drivers can't drive and don't know what a turn signal is.

Fight for 1.5 hrs to get the coupler back on, but the pignose bumper is right up against it. Try duct tape, not happening.
Finally take things apart and duct tape the MAF to the TB and cruise it home NA style. Good thing the harness is from a RHD car and the wires reached over there for the MAF!

The hose clamp was a high quality USA made(Breeze, Ideal or The Trident sounding one, too dark to tell. The shell on the back of the worm screw opened up enough to allow the clamp to pull all the way through. This is the 5th time I've had a hose clamp fail on me on the IC pipes. They work fine whenthey hold together, but they tend to fail after years of being cycled with pressure.

T-bolt clamps are expensive for what they do, and the cheap ones on eBay are pure junk.

Something drastic has to happen, so it's just convinced me to take the next step in reliability mods...

[e1_griego]

Wiggins clamps, nice!!


For the record, all my ebay t-bolt clamps on my ka-t and SR have always worked great.

[CodyAce]

T bolts are absolute **** if you ask me...sure they work, but it's not something designed for cars who take pipes off. Plus they can easily be split. We see failures of them all the time on trucks. Again, just not my personal favorite when it comes to clamps.

The best clamp (and cheaper than T Bolts) IMO are Consta-Torque clamps. Big rigs use these on all connections, and I did the same (for all boost and coolant lines). Most newer applications use these, and man oh man what a nice difference they make!

http://www.google.com/products?hl=en&safe=off&q=constant+torque+clamp&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=ZE-_S4mFN4P68Ab6xZHGCA&sa=X&oi=product_result_group&ct=title&resnum=3&ved=0CCEQrQQwAg

(you can typicaly find these cheaper at truck supply stores, just did a quick google)


THey were great! 3-4 little washers with rubber between them help prevent them loosening, and from being over tightened. Tighten the clamp until all the washers stop spinning and it's perfectly tight...and what's nice, is that it also 'breaths' per say a bit...so they dont' tend to blow out or break. Plus you can use these over and over and over. Sillicone hose safe as well.

[WorkInProgressK]

I mean Def, don't tell me you can't afford T-Bolt clamps. They aren't that much more expensive, In my area they aren't . You could swap the high stressed areas and keep the cheap ones.

On another note are you sure its not just your motor swinging one side to the other pulling on the IC? Motor mounts maybe?

[veilside180sx]

T bolt clamps get a flat spot as you tighten them down. Wiggin's are much better at maintaining consistency, as are the clamps Cody posted.

[McCoy]

I've had good success with the cheap ebay T-bolt clamps that came with my ebay piping kit for the past 3 years... been off/on several times without one failing. Not a fan of them for the amount of time it takes to get them installed right, but no issues once their on and not blowing off.

If I was to redo it, I'd most definetly go with the torque clamps that Cody mentioned.

[DuckyD]

T bolt clamps get a flat spot as you tighten them down. Wiggin's are much better at maintaining consistency, as are the clamps Cody posted.

At $50 - $200 per clamp, I think I would make do with the occasional blown coupler.

[veilside180sx]

At $50 - $200 per clamp, I think I would make do with the occasional blown coupler.

C'mon, I know your loaded...

[2Fass240us]

Wiggins are a bit silly for intercooler piping IMO.

Those constant-torque ones are nice, but I also think t-bolt clamps (nice ones) are fine.

[logr]

My local Napa carries the constant-torque ones(it is a logging truck kind of Napa).
I like to put a bead around the pipe with the clamp behind it.

[Def]

All my pipes are beaded of course...

And yes, the idea now is Wiggins clamps. They can be cheaper than burns stainless if you're resourceful. Not sure why they aren't a good idea, as they were designed for exactly this(reliable fluid conveyance with easy maintenance).

I've been stuck twice out on track from hose clamps breaking or slipping. I've also seen enough flattened IC pipes to stay away from them.

The problem with those constant torque clamps is they look like they use the same cheap folded metal construction around the worm. It's just prone to fatigue and it doesn't take much deflection to allow the clamp to completely fail(what happened here).

[Colorado S14]

I bought a ton of E-Bay T-Bolts and welded a small bead at the folded joint to make sure they were solid. No problems yet.....

[SM240]

MAP setup ftw.....sorry to hear about your pressure loss though

[Def]

I will say that Wiggins clamps are some of the coolest things you'll ever use. Once you realize just how easy it is to take two fingers, unclip the clamp and clip it right back again. Have it move axially as well as have angular misalignment capabilities all while never leaking at over a 100 PSI. It's just badass, and I say that with being very hard pressed to be impressed by most mechanical things I see coming my way.

[Black R]

Got a cheap source for the wiggins clamps?