SloGS3

Well I got back in town from vacation yesterday, havent driven the car in a few days, so I figured id go get it aligned at my buddies shop since my tires are just about gone. So I took off the 20s and threw the stockers on there, put air in the tires since they have been sitting in the garage for about 4 months since last time I used them, and took off. Drove to his shop which is about 5 miles away from where I live, they were busy so I drove back home since I didnt feel like waiting for 2 hours, and I was gonna go back before he closes to get it aligned. Well I installed the new pads rotors and brake lines about 3 weeks ago, checked all clearences with the 20s on, no problem. Now that I had the 16s back on there, the front right line was rubbing against the wheel. So the second time I rode out to my buddies shop I heard some noise coming from the passenger front, but I thought it was just the rotor making some noise since the pads are still brand new, no biggie. Get to my buddies shop and no problems while driving, car stopped fine, when I went to park it the pedal felt sort of mushy, I though that was unusual, pumped it about 2 times and it stiffened up. Well about an hour later, he gets in my car to get it on the alignemt rack, starts it, and then i hear the horn going off, thinking to myself wtf, go out to the parking lot and see a huge puddle next to my wheel. He says "I think you are out of brake fluid" we pop the hood and sure enough, the reservior was all the way down, look at the side of the car and I knew it already, something was wrong. We take the wheel off to find out that the Goodridge line was completely stripped, through the metal, all I saw was silicone, the whole fenderwell is covered in fluid. Well, now I have to leave the car at the shop until I get another line, I dont know if i can get just one from Goodridge or if im going to have to order a whole new set of lines. To make a long story short, I guess i was fortunate enough to have the failure in the parking lot instead of the street, sad part is that it happened with factory wheels on the car, and now Im down for a few days. Just figure I would vent to the CL family.

P.S. Make sure you check for clearences on your lines guys, dont let this happen to you!!

mikal

From their website

"We are the only company that offers a "Lifetime Guarantee" on its Stainless Steel Brake lines. If there is ever any problem related to manufacturer defect, the kit will be replace FOC, no questions asked"

line splitting by itself should be considered a defect. Hope they replace that for u

mobilyte

iTrader: (3)

yikes, hopefully the brake fluid didnt get on any painted surfaces!

TunedRX300

Brake lines are safety items, you can get warranty but I hate to say the obvious - next time it is stripped you may not be around to make warranty claim or repaint damaged fenders.
Shink wrap the SS braided line if you have the courage and absolute need to use it. Left unprotected, SS line is known to cause brake failures.
Read this article, it may save your life.
http://www.nsxprime.com/FAQ/Performance/brakelines.htm

GSteg

iTrader: (15)

I know at one time, many of the people were selling their unused SS lines because there were many people who had leaking lines. As much as I like the idea of firming up my pedal feel, I dont think i'll use anything else besides OEM. It's not like a blown shock where you can still drive around with

I'm just glad nothing major happened to you. Would hate to see something happen all because of one simple line.

engin_ear

iTrader: (1)

I agree with GSteg. No SS lines for me, though I've debated it over & over again. It's not worth the risk. The OEM lines are a known commodity. I've improved my braking enough with rotors & pads that I really don't care about the feel anymore, I'm not on them long enough.

SloGS3, sorry to hear about this. I guess I just also don't understand why there isn't an additional tie-back to keep a stainless-steel line out of the way of everything else.

JLAM

iTrader: (1)

I was also debating for a long time is I wanted to use SS lines. I had SS lines on my old GS3 for about 2 years with no problems. I just recently installed goodridge SS lines on my GS4 about 2-3 weeks ago...i'll have to double check the clearance.

SloGS3

Thanks for the replys guys, I called goodridge and they told me to shaft myself, said that its not a manufacturer defect, and they are not responsible for the rubbing against the factory wheel!!! What makes no sense to me is that they make these lines longer than oem, they are less flexible so you dont really have that many options as far as bending them to clear everything, and then they have the nerve to say its not a manufacturer defect and they wont swap out one single line!!! What they did for me is give me a number to some guy in Cali that sells them individually, I called him and he wants $38 for a single line, plus shipping which would be close to $30 since i need it asap, and it would take him 2 weeks to get goodridge to make one! Then he gave me a second option, he can have it made by tomorrow, the line would end up costing me close to $70 plus shipping. After its all said and done I ended up ordering a new set from Carson and it will be here on Thursday. Now the problem I am facing is the air that got in the system, I will have to bleed the abs, which will be a huge pain, I dont even kow if i will be able to do it without taking it to the dealer. No fluid go on any painted surfaces, I think, from what I saw it was all inside the fender well. Wish me luck with this, hopefully I can have the car back by Friday night!
Ivan

engin_ear

iTrader: (1)

You can always go to plan B - cut a hole in your floorboard, and brake like Fred Flintstone. Also have a podiatrist handy.

SloGS3

Lol, I could do that! Im sure it would be a winner at HIN. What I decided to do actually is send those lines back and just go back to my old oem ones. It was too late to cancel the order since Louis sent them out already, but he will refund the money back to me and Im throwing the stockers on there for good, I read some of the reviews on the lines, and its a hit or miss type deal in my opinion, so ill just let it be! Thanks for all of your input guys!

TunedRX300

A little puzzled, bleeding and flushing brake fluid would give you similiar benefit as a SS brake line, for less $ and a lot less risk...

It is not only clearance, but there are additional risk such as sand particles caught between SS braids, causing SS braids to cut brake lines. I would not use it unless there a protective sleeve to prevent this type of danger.
I seriously doubt anyone would think a few% of airbag not deploying is OK. Just image traveling 70mph and the brake pedal goes to the floor...and car does not slow down...
Here is a thread in my Acura forum. Read what Jerry posted carefully, it may save your life.
http://tl.acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=66743

SloGS3

RX, thak you very much for posting this stuff. I searched CL before i got them but I never found any posts that indicated failures or problems so that was good enough for me and I just got them based on the assumption that they would be ok! Now I have googled around a bit, read a few more things plus what you posted and decided to go back to stock for safety reasons. To be honest, I didnt even notice a difference in pedal feel when I put them on, pads and rotors were pretty much the main contributor to the stopping difference. Im sending the lines back to Carson tomorrow and puitting the stockers back on tonight. Any recomendations on what fluid to use?? I used Valvoline Synthetic last time, worked pretty good, and other recommendations??

LEXSOOS

If it will change something, I would like you to read this thread:https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=200484

ROTORA COATED SS LINES ARE WAY TO GO

TunedRX300

I think you made a smart choice, better safe than sorry. You can always sell your SS line on ebay.
Also I think the Rotora SS line is better because SS braids are not exposed. You can do it cheaply by putting properly sized electrical shrink wrap on the outside of your SS lines, then use a cigarette lighter to heat it up, making a nice seal. Of course you have to take off the brake line from calipers to install it, and make careful inspection (often) since your life depends on brakes.
I used ATE SuperBlue, it is made in Germany and have very good wet boiling point for <$20 per quart. I pick ATE with blue dye since change of color will tell me when all old fluids are bled out.

Kbueno

I feel your pain...one of my goodridge lines got cut from a rubbing tire. It was my fault for not checking the routing during install. I wound up purchasing another set....I noticed 2 of the lines have a bigger bend at the connection which I used on the front originally...I wound up using the new ones (with the bigger bends) on both sides of the rear. The lines clear the tires alot better.