Fuel Hoses for Sprint

[RoySne]

I would like to change the fuel hoses on my Sprint as mine are starting to break down, as they are just R6 unleaded hoses.

I’m having difficulty getting gates barricade R14 ethanol proof fuel hoses. Moss Europe are out of stock and don’t know when they will be getting new stock in. I’ve seen this hose on eBay but reluctant to buy because of all the terrible rubber hoses that are available. I have found Cohline Hi Spec ethanol proof fuel hose at Car Builders Solutions.

When I spoke to Matt of the Vivas he told me Cohline was a German make so should be good quality.

Has anybody has trouble getting gates barricade or know of any other supplier apart from Moss?

At the moment I am using unleaded + Castro’s additive + Octane boost. Would it be wise to change to Super Unleaded and do away with the additive? I am also running webbers, any help would be much appreciated.

Lastly, does anyone know the best place to buy coolant hoses for a Sprint?

I’d like to thank everyone who’s replied to previous posts,

Kind regards

Roy

[Carledo]

Whilst R14 is technically the "correct" hose for your Sprint, being a low pressure system, most of the usual suspects now supply R9 which is good for high pressure applications too. Still ethanol proof, just a bit of extra capacity you'll never need.

On Fuel itself, i'd be spending the extra and getting super unleaded, a lot easier than faffing with additives. With E10 rolling out in September even the majority of pre 2003 cars won't like it, i'll be switching to super for the Dolomega, it's 2001 Vauxhall Omega engine can handle E5 fine but will run poorly and be down on power on e10. I wouldn't even THINK about putting E10 in a Sprint on Webers!

Steve

[yorkshire_spam]

I bought a role of Gates' hose via Amazon.com and just paid the carriage+vat+duty, I wanted a decent quantity of known good stuff.
A lot of the "R9" being sold is trash - I tried a couple of batches and neither lasted more than a couple of months (hence my willingness to spend some money and stop messing about)
Do you need 5/16 or 1/4" or a mixture of the 2?
Cheers, Sam

[Carledo]

I bought a role of Gates' hose via Amazon.com and just paid the carriage+vat+duty, I wanted a decent quantity of known good stuff.
A lot of the "R9" being sold is trash - I tried a couple of batches and neither lasted more than a couple of months (hence my willingness to spend some money and stop messing about)
Do you need 5/16 or 1/4" or a mixture of the 2?
Cheers, Sam

A Sprint runs all 5/16" hose, except for the 2 x 3" long hoses that enter the float bowls which are 1/4" bore.

If you bought a roll Sam, I'll take a couple of metres of 5/16" off your hands for whatever the going rate is. I have had some (obviously counterfeit) duff stuff as well! Fitchetts are still living in the past on this, only selling R6, as do my local factors. I've told both (politely) they are behind the times, but no obvious results so far! Since I dropped out of the TSSC (3 lots of club subs TDC, CT and TSSC, was a bridge too far) that source is also denied me now.

Harder to get still and frequently overlooked, is the 1/2" bore tank breather hose. This doesn't seem to be a problem on standard cars as it rarely sees petrol and most cars I see still have the original hose. But my cars use the breather as part of the EFI fuel return system and original hose often lasts only days in that application. I'm using some hard won 12mm R6 ATM and just replacing it every year.

Steve

[cleverusername]

I bought a role of Gates' hose via Amazon.com and just paid the carriage+vat+duty, I wanted a decent quantity of known good stuff.
A lot of the "R9" being sold is trash - I tried a couple of batches and neither lasted more than a couple of months (hence my willingness to spend some money and stop messing about)
Do you need 5/16 or 1/4" or a mixture of the 2?
Cheers, Sam

A Sprint runs all 5/16" hose, except for the 2 x 3" long hoses that enter the float bowls which are 1/4" bore.

If you bought a roll Sam, I'll take a couple of metres of 5/16" off your hands for whatever the going rate is. I have had some (obviously counterfeit) duff stuff as well! Fitchetts are still living in the past on this, only selling R6, as do my local factors. I've told both (politely) they are behind the times, but no obvious results so far! Since I dropped out of the TSSC (3 lots of club subs TDC, CT and TSSC, was a bridge too far) that source is also denied me now.

Harder to get still and frequently overlooked, is the 1/2" bore tank breather hose. This doesn't seem to be a problem on standard cars as it rarely sees petrol and most cars I see still have the original hose. But my cars use the breather as part of the EFI fuel return system and original hose often lasts only days in that application. I'm using some hard won 12mm R6 ATM and just replacing it every year.

Steve

I find this baffling, what is the point of selling hoses that are effectively obsolete and even potentially dangerous when used with modern fuels? Do they warn customers that if they fit this to their cars they are risking the hoses breaking down, fuel leaks and even potentially a fire risk?

[yorkshire_spam]

If you bought a roll Sam, I'll take a couple of metres of 5/16" off your hands for whatever the going rate is. I have had some (obviously counterfeit) duff stuff as well! Fitchetts are still living in the past on this, only selling R6, as do my local factors. I've told both (politely) they are behind the times, but no obvious results so far! Since I dropped out of the TSSC (3 lots of club subs TDC, CT and TSSC, was a bridge too far) that source is also denied me now.

Sorry Steve, just checked my roll and it's 1/4" not 5/16" - quarter is what's common on the Spitfire.
If I acquire a roll of 5/16" I'll let you know.

Cheers, Sam

[Carledo]

If you bought a roll Sam, I'll take a couple of metres of 5/16" off your hands for whatever the going rate is. I have had some (obviously counterfeit) duff stuff as well! Fitchetts are still living in the past on this, only selling R6, as do my local factors. I've told both (politely) they are behind the times, but no obvious results so far! Since I dropped out of the TSSC (3 lots of club subs TDC, CT and TSSC, was a bridge too far) that source is also denied me now.

Sorry Steve, just checked my roll and it's 1/4" not 5/16" - quarter is what's common on the Spitfire.
If I acquire a roll of 5/16" I'll let you know.

Cheers, Sam

No worries mate, think i'll have to bite the bullet and buy a roll myself, I do seem to get through a lot of the stuff!

Steve

[new to this]

Im tring the stainless hose and using an6 fitting

Dave

[Aldpilot]

TSSC have recently had an order in and non members can buy from them at a small premium. Although I am also a TSSC member, I have just replaced my fuel hose on my Sprint.
Mike

[Manta]

I got my R9 from here, you have to order over the phone, it’s Continental or Goodyear hose so good quality, http://www.flexiducting.co.uk/?product= ... -fuel-hose

[new to this]

I got my R9 from here, you have to order over the phone, it’s Continental or Goodyear hose so good quality, http://www.flexiducting.co.uk/?product= ... -fuel-hose

Doesnt say how much it is

Dave

[Mad Mart]

I always ran my Sprints on super unleaded.

[mahony]

I always ran my Sprints on super unleaded.

Same here

[TrustNo1]

Have you tried car builder solutions' ?

https://www.carbuilder.com/uk

[yorkshire_spam]

Frankly I don't think the problem for us is whether it's R6 or R9 hose, the bigger issue is the amount of utter crap being sold as R9 by vendors (event supposedly reputable ones)
For that reason the only hose I'll fit is stuff that I know the source of and properly branded. (At the moment, Gates Barricade from a US based Gates agent trading on Amazon) Most of the time I'm not a "snob" about this sort of thing, but having had more than one batch of supposedly R9 fall apart in a matter of months (and I only use E5 super unleaded in my Triumphs) I've become seriously picky.