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High Performance Hoses & AN Fittings
Braided line and AN fittings
Stainless braided rubber, PTFE lined and socketless hose with the full AN range behind the counter. Assembled and pressure checked here rather than shipped in a box for you to work out on the garage floor.
The Trap
Dash eight is not dash eight
Both systems label things with a dash and a number, both count in sixteenths of an inch, and both are used in this building. What they are measuring is not the same thing at all.
Hydraulic dash sizing counts the bore. A dash 08 hydraulic hose has a half inch inside diameter, and that is exactly what you get. AN sizing counts the outside diameter of the rigid tube the standard was originally written around, so an AN-8 fitting suits half inch outside diameter tube, and the actual flow path through it is smaller than half an inch.
The practical result is that a builder who thinks in hydraulic terms and orders AN by bore ends up a size small, and one who thinks in AN terms and orders hydraulic hose by outside diameter ends up a size large. Neither mistake is obvious until the parts are in hand.
None of which matters much if you buy both halves in the same place from somebody who asks which system you mean. Hydraulic sizing is explained on hydraulic hoses if you need the other side of it.
Size Disambiguator
Pick a dash number and see both answers
The same figure means two different things depending on which counter you are standing at. This is the part worth checking before ordering anything.
Suits half inch outside diameter tube. The flow path through the fitting is smaller than that figure, because the number describes the outside of the tube rather than the hole through it.
A half inch bore. The number is the inside diameter directly, so the flow path is exactly what the figure says and the outside of the hose is considerably larger.
Both columns show the same figure and mean different things. On AN it is the outside of the tube the standard was built around. On hydraulic it is the bore. When ordering, say which system you are working in and the confusion disappears before it costs you a part.
Hose Types
Four builds, and what each is for
Braided hose is not one product. The core inside the braid decides what it can carry, and that decision matters far more than the finish on the outside.
Stainless braided rubber
A synthetic rubber core inside a stainless steel braid. Handles oil, coolant, pump gasoline and general plumbing, looks the part, and is the least expensive of the braided options. The braid is protection and pressure support, not the seal.
- Best for
- Oil, coolant, pump gas
- Avoid on
- E85 and brake fluid
- Ends
- Reusable AN, cutter style
PTFE lined
A smooth PTFE inner tube inside a stainless braid. Almost nothing attacks it, it does not permeate, and it handles ethanol blends, brake fluid and aggressive chemicals that finish rubber. Stiffer, needs its own fittings, worth it where it matters.
- Best for
- E85, brake, fuel injection
- Trade
- Stiffer, tighter bend limit
- Ends
- PTFE specific, not interchangeable
Socketless and push-lock
A barbed fitting pushed into a purpose built hose that grips harder as pressure rises. No clamps, no crimping, no assembly tools. Low pressure only, and only with hose designed for it.
- Best for
- Low pressure fuel, vacuum, oil return
- Avoid on
- Anything high pressure
- Ends
- Push-lock barbed only
Nylon braided
A rubber or PTFE core in a nylon or aramid braid rather than steel. Lighter, kinder to painted surfaces and other hoses it rubs against, and easier to route. Common where weight and finish both matter.
- Best for
- Weight sensitive builds, tidy engine bays
- Trade
- Less abrasion resistance than steel
- Ends
- Matched to the core type
Fittings
What goes on the ends
Reusable AN ends
A socket and a nipple that clamp the hose between them, assembled with two wrenches. They come apart, which means a line can be shortened, rerouted or salvaged onto new hose rather than thrown away.
Straight through 150 degree
Straight, 45, 90, 120 and 150 degree ends so the hose leaves a port at the angle the routing needs. Getting the angle right at the fitting removes the tight bend that would otherwise kill the hose.
AN to NPT and metric
Most components you are plumbing into have pipe thread or metric ports rather than AN. Adapters bridge the two so the line itself stays a clean AN assembly end to end.
Anodised, black and stainless
Anodised aluminium is light and comes in the familiar colours. Black anodised suits a quieter build. Stainless goes where strength or corrosion resistance beats weight saving.
Bulkheads, tees and valves
Bulkhead fittings for passing a line cleanly through a panel or firewall, tees for splitting a circuit, and shutoffs where a line needs isolating. All sold individually.
Clamps, separators and sleeving
Line separators, cushioned clamps and protective sleeving. The parts that stop a braided line sawing through a wiring loom or a painted panel over a season.
Assembled Here
Cut clean and built properly
The cut is where most builds go wrong
Braided stainless cut badly leaves splayed wire that will not seat under the socket, and the strands that do not go in end up cutting the core from the inside. Taped and cut properly on the right tool, the braid stays where it belongs.
Bring your hose and fittings and we will assemble them, or buy both here and walk out with the line finished. Either is normal counter work.
Length, angle and clocking
Tell us where it runs and what it clears. Getting the end angles right at build time is what keeps a braided line off the header and out of the fan, and it costs nothing extra to decide it now rather than after the first heat cycle.
Building from a sample sits on custom hose fabrication, and thread standards on custom hose assembly.
Before You Buy
Common questions
No. AN counts the outside diameter of the tube the standard was written around, and hydraulic dash counts the bore of the hose. Both use sixteenths of an inch and both write it the same way, which is why the mistake is so easy to make. Say which system you are working in when you order and it never comes up.
Yes, and it is not a marginal call. Ethanol blends attack rubber cores over time and cause permeation you will smell before you see, and on a high ethanol fuel the deterioration is fast. PTFE lined hose resists it and does not permeate. The same reasoning applies to brake fluid.
No. PTFE hose needs fittings designed for it, because the assembly grips the smooth PTFE tube differently from how a rubber end grips a rubber core. Mixing them produces a joint that looks assembled and leaks. Buy the hose and the ends together and this cannot happen.
Tape the cut line tightly first and cut through the tape with a proper cut-off tool rather than a hacksaw, then leave the tape on while you assemble. Loose strands that do not seat under the socket end up cutting the core from inside. If you would rather not, bring the hose and we will cut and assemble it here.
Yes. Everything is sold individually rather than in kits, which matters on a build where you need three 90 degree ends and one straight rather than whatever the box contains. If a single adapter is what finishes the job, that is a normal purchase here.
Yes, provided the hose and the fittings are compatible with each other. Bring both and we will check the pairing before assembling anything, because a rubber end on PTFE hose or a mismatched brand combination is the usual reason a line weeps at the socket. Ask at either counter or through the contact page.
Get It Built
Tell us the fluid and the routing
Those two decide the core and the end angles between them. Bring the components or the measurements to either counter and take the line away finished.