Earl's Pro-Lite 350 AN hose

[Anthony]

I am going to do some plumbing for my oil cooler, and have been reading alot about the fittings and hoses, specifically the common stainless braided hose, and about difficulty cutting the hose and getting it onto the fittings.

From my reading about Earls pro-lite hose, the outer nylon sheathing appears to be bonded onto the inner hose, so it may not fray when cut, and no metal strands to stick your fingers.

Has anybody tried using this hose? How easy is it to work with? Would it be better to go with the standard AN braided hose?

http://store.summitracing.com/defaul....asp&x=28&y=12

Thanks.

[blykins]

I haven't used that....but I have used Aeroquip Socketless hose....I love it.

[Rick Parker]

I have used it exclusively. Pictures are in my gallery. The liner is the same that is in the stainless hose. The braided exterior is nylon. The best way I have found to cut any of these hoses without a set of large sharp shears is to use a thin (.035) abrasive wheel in a hand held 4" grinder. Wrap the area to be cut with masking or gray duct tape and cut it squarely. There is some confusion regarding which hose ends are acceptable even on the Holley/Earls website. I was set on using Nickel fittings as I was not a fan of the red & blue and at the time the Auto Fit was the only ones being produced in Nickel. After calling the tech line at Earl's they assured me that the Autoo Fit had been tested and approved by them and they had been able to achieve the static line presures to allow them to be recomended. A word of caution is in order however. To create the proper amount of bite on the hose tghey have a knurled piece of round steel about an inch long that must be pressed through the collar prior to assembly. It roughs up the interior collar's surface to increase the friction on the exterior of the hose when assembled. This evidently addresses some potential problems.
The hose is good looking, more flexable than the stainless counterpart, quite a bit lighter, and easier to work with, but IMO a little more tricky to get a good seal, at least with the Auto Fit hose ends. I currently have one that I cant seem to get to seal completely and may need to tighten the collar on it more, and of course it is the most difficult one to access. Overall I would recomend it.

Rick [IMG] [/IMG]