Guys, this is a two-fold question. Your input is gladly appreciated.

After putting the new wheels on, i noticed a slight rub between the inner rim "lip" and part of the ss-braided brake lines.

I removed the wheel and adjusted the brake lines coming out of the caliper. (Made it point to the side, instead of top, which causes it to bend a bit more).

• The plastic tube covering the lines is slightly damaged. There's a tiny knick on there from the rub. You can't see it, but it can be felt. I can't tell if it's all the way through to the braids. I know the tube is mostly just for protection, but want to confirm with everyone that this is not a safety issue. Right?
  
  
• The portion of the line coming from the caliper to the first bracket/mount (not the strut) is now a little taut from adjusting the angle of its bend. There doesn't seem to be any stretching when turning the wheel left/right and it's not affected at all by the wheel moving up/down. I know it's bad for ss-lines to be kinked or curved a good amount, but this one is just taut enough to keep it from moving about, but certainly not tight enough (i think) to add any undue stress to the braids. Thoughts?

Thank you.

 

I had something similar and they were fine, but YMMV
Do you have any pics?

 

Thanks, Ian. No pics, but i'll do my best to take one tonight.

 

No PICS? Mike? INCONCEIVABLE!!!!!

 

I would think that is the single most crucial issue and the determining factor here. I wouldn't worry about the vinyl overcoat, but if the braid is frayed or broken, I'd replace it without question.

.02

 

Hey now.

Sorry, let me clarify. When i checked it, the braids looked fine, but i couldn't tell if the nick on the tube went all the way through (the tube, that is).

Okay, here's a quick snap to show the somewhat taut/tight bend of the line coming from the caliper. This was originally going up towards the top of the caliper, but it was hitting the rim, this was the only angle i could get it to work.

Please disregard the nick on the strut housing, that's from hitting a protrusion on the knuckle.

 

Thoughts from anyone else? Thank you.

 

Sorry Mike, it's still kinda hard to tell how sharp that bend is looking from the end. It looks like it's probably ok (I HAVE seen worse), but I think your looking for an answer beyond "probably".

 

I had a similar issue with my SST lines when I first installed them. I've since rerouted the lines all the way around the shock and moved the mount to the rear side of the steering knuckle using a zip tie. This keeps the SST line from contacting anything and also allows it more movement through the mount so it won't stretch. FYI... one of my lines is worn completely through the nylon housing (a small spot about the size of a peanut), but has been holding up fine for the past year otherwise. The guys at RacingBrake tell me that as long as the braided line isn't starting to fray then I should be fine.