Dave helms upgrades... question on value/cost?

1/3 of the way through my testarossa major...

I have heard great things about all of the Scuderia Rampante upgrades... fuel lines, oil lines, cooler lines, fusebox rebuild, etc...

Figured I would look at doing some of this stuff. There is a wife-assigned-budget for this major. This was the first time I heard mention of the prices... I was somewhat suprised...

Testarossa fuse box... $1700
Coolant hoses...$1000 or so
Fuel hoses...$400 or so
Gold Connector kit...$1700

Well, out the window goes that idea of doing those upgrades... In reading the threads on here about these upgrades, honestly, I never thought they would be this expensive...

Makes the kit for the major at $1300 seem cheap...

Is this what the prices have always been? I never got the impression from prior threads that this was the cost, or I assume someone would have mentioned it...

$30 coolant hoses from Jegs vs $1000 seems tough to rationalise...

I wish I were richer so this wouldn't matter...

Thoughts?

 

When I did the engine out major for Nicks TR I replaced the coolant hose with silicone from Goodyear, they carry metric hose now, got it from the local Parker supply house. I did use Dave's fuel hose though, worth the cost in my opinion. If you use silicone hose make sure the hose clamps are designed for it, smooth band with long tail, some have rolled edges as well.

 

Thanks...will have to look those up... Haven't seen Good-Year hoses mentioned prior...

What did you use for the cloth braided vacuum hoses? OEM?

 

Complet new fuseboxes for only 500 euro (532 US$). Better materials, thicker motherboard, bigger connectors and no longer with the plastic layers.
If intrested let me know.

Guido

 

yes on the fuel hoses....no one likes a Testaromancandle....

 

Pictures? Any more info? If this is the case, you could be a very busy man...

 

SRI makes the coolant hoses for the 550/575. It's $1500 labor to replace the oem $30 hoses. Which will fail again. His hoses are lifetime. I wish I knew about them when I replaced mine.

 

Dave had my car for a year, sorting it out.

The prices you mention seem inline with what I paid.

Worth every penny.

 

Dave's stuff is excellent and he stands by his work. You must understand that his is a specialized support/sustainability product set. It's not mass production like FIAT. The prices are relatively high, but the confidence is worth it.

FYI, I did the SRI fuel hose improvement. Coolant and other stuff, I was able to DIY.

WRT the 328 relay board, since I have soldering and EE skills, I DIY'd it with excellent success (no gremlins). For those uncertain, don't even think to tread into the unknown or you will catch on fire.

 

If you want perfection SRI parts will function as promised.

 

Way over priced. Save your money.

 

That's how I feel. Expensive but I bought it, installed it and now I have 100% peace of mind and having that feels pretty good. It's nice raising you hood and knowing you are looking at top-of-the-line parts, no exceptions.

 

Can folks give me some insight on why the coolant hoses are better? I know there is concern over the fuel lines going bad... But I haven't heard any issues with coolant hoses. Most of the threads I have seen over the years just recommend going with Gates...

My motor should be out this weekend or next. If the rubber is in good shape, it probably makes sense just to leave it I would think. It was all replaced about 10 years ago...

Bo

 

One issue for the cooling hoses is good sealability at cold temperatures. The silicone hoses are softer over a wider temperature range so are better for that, and some of the coolant fittings on an F can be a little rough surface finish-wise. I would characterize the Gates hoses as being really "tough" and much better for abrasion type-issues and rough use applications (like on a Caterpillar earthmover) but not as good for cold sealability. The cheapy aftermarket silicone hoses tend to be soft all over with little outer layer protection. The kit Dave H. has developed seems to have the best of both worlds (it's expensive, but nowhere near as expensive as the stock hoses from the F-pimp). Since so many of the TR cooling hoses are virtually inaccessible without huge work to replace, I thought/think Dave's kit was a reasonable value and went that way at my last major (and, yes, I've had to completely strip the whole intake/injection system just to replace one cold-weeping hose coupling that you can easily see and touch, but annoyingly can't replace easily). On a 308, with much better accessibility for their replacement, the Gates Green Stripe wouldn't be a crazy choice, but the layout of a TR adds too much future $ risk to try to save a few $s here (as does using 10 year old hoses and expecting them to get to ~20 years) - JMO.

 

I've done the fuel hoses and GCK on my 328. Fuse box appears to be less of an issue on my model. SRI coolant hoses will go in at next major. I have a couple other of Dave's items installed including spark plug wires and his shielded pickup sensor harness with grounded distal and proximal ends which worked wonders for an ignition irregularity I was suffering thought to be related to EMI interference between the sparkplug wires and TDC sensor.

I have the opposite opinion as Tim, I think the price is spot on for what you are getting. Dave's items are so much more than the products themselves. It is the piece of mind knowing that they will work the first time, the support you get if you have any questions. I live near Seattle, Dave is in Erie, CO, . . . he spent uncompensated time over multiple phone calls diagnosing my car and helping me out. Truly a class act!

 

When I had my 308, it was the "beta" car for Dave's 308 kits and I installed:

308-QV-328 Fuel Hose Kit
308i,QV,328 Evaporative Hose Kit
308i,QV Blow-By Hose Kit
308i,QV Air Injection Hose Kit
308i,QV Fuel Injection Hose Kit
308i,QV Brake Booster Hose
Petcock Drain Valve Kit
Tank Protector Strap Kit

When I removed the old fuel hoses, the insides looked like gelatin and I figured the car was 2-3 months away from an engine fire. The petcock drain made changing the coolant an absolute pleasure. And the Air and Blow by kits transformed the car in terms of engine smoothness, the old hoses must have gone porous and caused a lot of vacuum leaks.

The parts where of very high quality and the cost amortized over 20 years was a bargain.

 

IMO the problem is less about hose type or maker and more about sizing. In the USA we get hose made that straddles the fence between SAE sizes and metric. The Ferrari spec is metric and we get what is close but not really metric. Combine that with Ferrari male ends often time having very small rolled ends makes fitting SAE hose difficult. The dirty solution is people over tightening hose clamps cutting the hose trying to get a hose that does not freely spin on the male nipple on 1st application. So #1 issue is getting good hose fit. Sometimes you have to try a couple of different makers of say 1/4" hose to fit snuggly on a 6mm nipple.

Next is hose clamp design. There are many. I am a huge fan of the gates powergrip hoseclamps. PowerGrip® SB Clamps | Gates Corporation

Yes they seem dumb. Try one and you will become a believer. Two crucial things about them is surface area of clamping and clamp action with temperature change that provides proper clamping force all the time. You just can't get that with the ubiquitous screw clamp. IMO the only time to not use a powergrip is if you have a racecar and need to get hoses on and off trackside.

 

Love my SRI fuel tank cross hoses and filler neck hoses - you shuld have seen what the Previous Owner left in there!
Don't compromise on fuel lines, get the best!

 

[QUOTE
Don't compromise on fuseboxes, get the best![/QUOTE]

Guido's fusebox for my mondial is the BEST investment I did on my car !

Enzo52

 

All very true and valid about sizing. I would love to try out those clamps!

As for metric hose size, can't they be found on foreign EBay sites?

 

Here in the UK there is no difference. Metric and Inch hose sizes are interchangeable as the difference is tiny. Hoses can be ordered in either form and the same item will be delivered:

1/2 in = 13mm
5/8 in = 16mm
3/4 in = 19mm
7/8 in = 22mm
1 in = 25mm
1 1/8 in = 28mm
1 1/4 in = 32mm
1 3/8 in = 35mm
1 1/2 in = 38mm

I always wonder about these expensive third-party hoses, how does the customer or the supplier know that they are going to last, for example, 20 years, when they have only been available for a much shorter time?

 

I have no dog in this fight, and have not (yet) bought his hoses.

I do remember the threads discussing them when they were being developed, and I recall that Dave is quite tired of defending them. I'm convinced that they're the best option available, period. If you want the best for your car, buy them. If you need to save money, you have plenty of alternatives. It's just like everything else in life, there's the best and there's everything else.

You could've bought a Corvette instead.

 

Everything I have gotten from Dave has been topnotch. Also the work he has done for me is also excellent. As a guy who does most of my own work I don't want to have to screw with it again after I fix something.

 

I can not comment on the fuse box. I would assume it is well made. Hoses? I'm sure they are high quality, but completely unnecessary. Gold connector kit? You pay your money and you take your chances. There has been plenty of discussion here about it. No need to rehash it.

 

Even if you don't plan to keep your car for a long time, the peace of mind using SR fuel hoses is worth every penny.

I had SR coolant hoses installed for my 550 - and resolved the worry of the manifold V hose ever going again. Well worth it. Just imagine the torture these hoses undergo with all that engine heat.

Just received SR coolant and fuel hoses for my Mondial 3.2 Cab - to be installed at the major belt service - the peace of mind is again worth every penny. And I'll not have to replace these again. (If I live a long time!)

If you believe Hill Engineering belt tensioners are worth installing at your belt service time, which I do, I recommend you consider upgrading to Scuderia Rampante hoses. (I have no experience of the electrical SR parts).

And bear in mind - we should be grateful to Dave for developing these high quality alternatives for us all. So, my feeling is support the SR products when you can. And have one thing less to worry about.

Happy motoring to all!