Re: SS brake lines

["Barton P. Chambers" <bartonc@infi.net>]

Richard Funnell responds to Glen:

> The fact that they're not DOT approved would prevent the factory from using
> them.  It does make you wonder why they're not approved.  I like the idea
> of improving the pedal feel, but I am leery about reliability.

Yer Kindly ol' Unka Bart responds that this is a pretty good thing to be leery 
about.

I can't say fer shure, why DOT hasn't approved them, but it may be related to 
the the following:

1)  Catastrophic failure of the brakes on a car is apt to be just that.
2)  Failure of a brake line *will* result in Catastrophic failure of the brakes,
3)  Brake lines hidden inside shinny metal sheathing cannot be inspected.
4)  Brake lines hidden inside shinny metal sheathing *do* occasionally fail.

The remainder of this derivation is left as an exercise for the student, but the
unanimous wisdom on Porschephiles (where one or two serious racers reside) is 
that these things are great for the track, but *NEVER* to be used on the street.
Track toys get torn down regularly, and these lines get replaced regularly.

I know, the point has already been made here, but anything worth doing is worth 
overdoing, right...?