Whether its Earl's, or Russel, Goodrich, Summit and the many other suppliers, they do not make the hose itself. Most USA made stainless steel braided brake hose itself is made by Parker, Aeroquip, Gates, Stratoflex, maybe one other. Those manufacturers sell to the common names we see in catalogs. There are other hose manufacturers, but they are all off shore, many from China, Taiwan, Malasia, India. The strength of braided stainless from a hose viewpoint is not the braid itself but the Teflon inner tube, which is why it is very good for brake hose: much less expansion under pressure, much more durable, does not degrade/break down over time.
So of the common stainless steel brake hose suppliers it makes little difference who you buy it from. The hose end fittings can vary a lot, mostly in appearance, plating, finish. As long as the hose end supplier has fully qualified their product with the hose supplier, pretty hard to go wrong. A local hydraulic hose shop selling Parker, Aeroquip, Gates, Stratoflex can make up the hoses custom for near any application. However, they cannot furnish the hose assembly with the SAE/DOT labeling on the hose as required for an OEM to meet DOT Federal Motor Vehicle safety standards. The common supppliers: Earls, Russel, Goodrich, Summit do provide DOT approved brake hose assemblies which feature a clear or colored cover on the SS braid onto which is printed the DOT requirements. But the hose structure itself is no different than stainless steel braided Teflon tube hose from a hydraulic shop.
For certain, any stainless stell braid Teflon hose is a far better brake hose than any synthetic rubber OEM brake hose.
I've worked for the worlds largest hydraulic hose supplier as a field engineer for 23 years.
Last edited by Andyvh1959; 08/22/23 03:13 PM.
