Driven by higher safety demands, lower Green Gas House emissions and availability of alternative fuel resources, the technical requirements for hoses transferring fuel, oil, air, gas and coolant in the world of automotive and other moving vehicles are getting tougher and more critical. Typical applications are turbo, exhaust gas recirculation, fuel transfer, hydraulic brake, aircompressor, exhaust sensor lines and coolant for various subsystems.
In general, operating temperatures are going up and fluids are becoming more aggressive like biofuel blends and additives in coolant and oils. Less available packaging room, due to downsizing and more features and subsystems on the engine and vehicle, is increasing the risk of leaking hoses by abrasion. Together with the always present vibration, fluid transfer hoses have to operate safely in harsh environments where traditional hoses like rubber, Nylon, and Silicone usually fail.
PTFE hoses are the ideal solution and are used throughout the global automotive industry—from OEM’s to Aftersales autosport. PTFE Hoses are temperature resistant, compatible with every kind of fluid and biofuel blend, and are non-flammable; moreover, these hoses do not age and show excellent flex fatigue life and unsurpassed volumetric expansion resistance. The addition of a small percentage of carbon black also allows the fuel lines to dissipate any potential static charges for added safety.
Compared to steel and rubber lines, PTFE hoses are light weight and, compared to Nylon and rubber, show very low permeability. PTFE does have the lowest coefficient of friction of any solid material known, making the fluid transfer smooth with minimal pressure drops. Additional PTFE hoses can be pre-shaped to fit tight packaging.