Hoses - Rubber or Sillicone?

Technical Area Engine, Transmission, Exhaust etc
1
  1. My model of MX-5 is: 1993 1.6 NA
  2. I’m based near: UK
  3. I’m looking for technical help or recommendations on: Coolant Hoses

Hello All,

I’m currently carrying out some recommissioning work on my 1.6 NA. As part of this I’ve decided that now is probably a good opportunity to replace the likely to be original 30 year old rubber coolant hoses.

When looking at replacement sets (Like on Autolink), I’ve noticed that the two main offerings are either original spec rubber hoses which would be a like for like replacement, or sillicone hoses which supposedly exceed the factory spec.

The car will be predominantly used on the road, maybe with the occasional track day here and there, so with that in mind I’m just curious to hear what the general consensus on rubber vs sillicone is when it comes to hoses ?

Does anyone have any experience with fitting and running a replacement set of any type ? Any points of interest of longevity, performance, quality etc.

Thanks.

2

You could argue if the original rubber hoses lasted 30 years then there would be nothing wrong with just replacing them like for like.

Silicone hoses are also great, can look better and last a long time so it just comes down to personal preference and price.

1 Like
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It’s personal choice really, but silicone hoses come in a variety of colours so can be a good way to customise your engine bay.

4

Prefer rubber myself. Cheaper, easier to seal, will easily last long enough.

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Silicone hoses tend to develop an unsightly white bloom.

6

Thank you for all the responses, I think I’ll go ahead and stick with rubber. Seems like the logical choice.