Discussion on AN (Earls) fittings - worth it for race/rally sedan?

[Jonny Rochester]

Car: Toyota 2 door
Spec: tarmak rally / hillclimb/ club days/ drift practice

Last year the engine bay in my car was near 100% Toyota fittings, and I was trying to prove a point with reliability. Original style low pressure oil cooler. Mechanical clutch fan (RWD). Spring style hose clamps (where used originaly). Stock hard fuel and brake lines. No allen head bolts or zip ties to be found. It took a bit of time to setup (only cause I'm slow) but everything worked perfectly and no leaks or anything. But I got a bit of flack for the lack luster engine bay (mainly the low pressure oil cooler) because this car had a roll cage and I was doing a few events.

Anyway, I'm rebuilding the car now. Im going in a different dirrection with fittings. I will use a Earls style full flow oil cooler etc. Will use Teflon stainless brake lines here and there. The main advantage I see with AN fittings is that it would be easier to swap an engine or brake part as they maybe quicker to undo?

I know a formula car probably has 100% AN fittings, and all the brake lines are Teflon/stainless braid.

If you have an existing Japanese car in good condition, (for the racetrack) how far would to go in replacing everything with braided hose and AN fittings?

[td42gq]

IMO,
Earls style fittings are great but can be very expensive when switching everything over to them. If you have a vehicle that is running its original motor configuration 3k in corolla or so forth I don't see a great deal of benefit in swapping over to more expensive speed flow type fittings. Yes the fittings are good quality and don't leak but in most case the cost to swap a standard configuration car to speed flow if outwayed by being a little practical.

If you have an engine that doesn't really belong in the car such as a 1j in 1st gen celica etc then I see the point as nothing fits anyway and you have to route lines all over the place to make it work so teflon lines and fittings are more durable in this application. For obvious reasons though if you are starting to replace things cause they keep leaking or coming loose then by all means I would spend the money on the better gear.

just my 2c
Aaron

[trdee]

if it aint broke dont fix it....

for new lines and setups i would use speedflow fittings yes, but i wouldnt change lines/fittings that are working fine just for the sake of it. also braided hose is nice but is not necessary on every component. depends on the application.

[Billzilla]

If you're looking at using those sorts of fittings then use Speedflow as they're aussie-made.

[LeeRoy]

Be prepared to spend a decent amount of coin if you want to go all out on fittings. Even though i'll be doing this myself, using -10 braided hose with speedflow fittings on cam cover breaters etc is overkill, but on oil coolers and fuel lines it is a good choice.

If fast connection/disconnection is the reason then you can get quick release fittings, like what they use for hydraulic lines.

[SilverRA23]

The biggest drawcard for teflon hoses is the weight saving.. every gram counts at the top end of town in motor sport and big $$ are spent to save the weight.

I wouldn't think the weight saving vs cost equation adds up too well in a club racer / rally car.

[Animal15]

currently I'm rebuilding my car (AE86), i change to all AN speed-flow fittings and 200 series lines so far bought all da fittings & lines cost me nearly $1000 (+ some connections u can't use speed-flow hose ends , u have to weld and convert them, it's not too expensive if u get da right person for it ), ( car came with earls fittings for brake lines). so i think If you are rebuilding da car and specially use it as a race car it's worth doing it .

[trdee]

my oil cooler, relocation and water to air lines and fittings topped out at a smidge over $600

not doing that again in a hurry. next time im buying that shit from the states BEFORE i need it