**URGENT** brake line exploded in germany


Hi All

As a reseller of HEL hoses, I was obviously concerned about this so have spoken to the manufacturers directly and pointed them to this thread.

Their response was it will be down to the usual bad fitting issues. If the lines aren't upto the job in terms of quality they would have failures every day given the number of lines in the market.
HEL produce lines for both car and bikes, so there are a lot of kits in use out there.

Line failures aren't common, but unfortunately do occur from pretty much every manufacturer - as mentioned some have experienced this with Goodridge. I have had an OEM line fail on my MX5 as well.
Lines fail for various reasons, such as the line snagging (nature), lines being incorrectly routed compared to original (fitting issue), people not considering the line length after lowering the car (fitting/owner issue) etc etc... None of which actually are down to the product itself.

HEL lines are covered with a lifetime warranty, so if you have any problems, please contact the supplier you purchased them from to get the issue resolved. Most of the time they will require the failed line back to assess the reason for the failure.

ALL aftermarket parts fitted to a car will need some degree of looking after. If you drive your car hard, your brakes should be checked over weekly regardless of whether they're standard or aftermarket because you rely on them with your life.

You spend a lot of money buying a performance car, those 5 minutes a week won't cost you all that much :)
 
I was also advised to stay away from HEL lines,

I got Stoptech, costs a bit but its worth it, important component.
 
Nothing is perfect but there is less recorded incidents for stoptech lines than HEL, never heard a bad word said about it, HEL are cheap for a reason tbh.
 
FreakyParts said:
Their response was it will be down to the usual bad fitting issues.
Click to expand...

considering so many failures dude to bad fitting a detailed fitting guide might be a good idea

especially since the hel lines seem unusually sensitive to bad fitting
 
A point worth noting is all the braided hose for all manufacturers comes from a single place, hence the name, Teflon.........so the quality, unless on hoses borne out of China, which HEL's aren't, as everything is made in the UK, no one manufacturer will have a 'better' quality.

All the kits should be supplied with detailed fitting instructions as well. If these aren't followed it's difficult to ensure the lines wont fail.

For instance, I am talking to a customer on another forum who's had a set fitted but isn't happy with how the garage have fitted them:

Photo0284_Edit001_zpsed6799ff.jpg


In my view any part is only as good as the person fitting them :)
 
^ I agree.

Im sure the manufacturers would simply state “Should be installed by a qualified person”, that would remove all risk to them.

To the OP, when you say that the lines burst what do you mean by that? Has the line itself split, or has it failed at the threaded end? The issue I had with mine I wouldn’t blame the manufacturer, but its strange how it failed after a short time for myself and how I was able to turn the thread relatively easy.
 
Had a look at mine today,
Sure enough minor surface damage to the protective outer casing on the drivers side.
The line won't slide through the bracket and gets caught on full lock, which pulls on the casing and has cracked it slightly, this also puts tension on the line from the bracket to the chassis, mine wasn't super tight but tight enough on full lock
I've greased the bracket hole and the line and now slides freely.
Also worth fiddling with the angle that the lines sit at, being braided they aren't exactly super flexible like the oem ones and only really want to bend one way once everything is tightened down. If you've got braided lines its defo worth taking an hour out of your time to check they are okay and grease them up/check the lines aren't snagging.

The rears are fine in my case it's only the fronts. Passenger front was quite tight on full lock but not as bad as drivers side.
 
Il defiantly be having a look at the lines, and greasing the points as needed. ^
 
FreakyParts said:
no one manufacturer will have a 'better' quality
Click to expand...

i highly doubt that! besides, we are talking about fittings, the way these are designed and the way the line its is designed to run (the length, mounting points, how much its bent, does it have enough free movement when turning the wheel) and so on.

a good teflon hose does not mean you cant cause it to fail by poor design of the rest of the product

and please elaborate on them all being produced in the uk, teflon is a material patented in the us by dupont in the 50s or so, used for various products all over the world, its not a brand

i totally agree with you that poor fitting causes most of the failures but for me the hel lines seem to fail a bit too easily

anybody on here know how to install them correctly, might be a good sticky?!?!?!
 
Fitting instructions as supplied with the hose kits from HEL.
Quite detailed really.

HELInstructions_zpsbc4d027e-1.jpg
 
HEL originally started out making lines for bikes. The differing requirements for bikes and cars are massive. I don't think HEL have realised this and made the necessary changes.

Stick OEM or go with Stoptech :nice:
 
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FreakyParts said:
Fitting instructions as supplied with the hose kits from HEL.
Quite detailed really.

HELInstructions_zpsbc4d027e-1.jpg
Click to expand...

These are the instructions you NEED to follow,
Picture clearly shows the line tightening when there is twisting pressure applied across it. So basically if you fitted your lines caliper end first you need to redo them as the twisting force from tightening them at the chassis end causes that stress we see in the picture.
Still grease your lines and bracket just to be safe.
 
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