Intercooler Clamps......not The Average Sh!t

[STATUS]

Okay here starteth the rant:

t-bolt clamps... the worst... we average about 3-4 cars a week that need boost drop diagnosis of these 80% are due to t-bolts clamps... we can usually find 2-3.5 "lost psi in theses cars just by changing clamps. Many think bigger is better but unfortunately it is far from correct, even if your not blowing pipes i reckon i can still find a boost bleed on 70-80% of cars fitted with "t" style clamps.

years ago NORMA decided to go retail (into autobarn, repco, supercheap, bursons etc) and i remmeber having a few conversations with thier tech guy ( i was the purchasing officer for autobarn head office at the time) and we went through all the differrent clamps and thier uses.... after discussing all the clamps i bought up how inept these t-bolts clamps are that they sell only to be told that they are NOT designed to be used in high thermal changing conditions (engine bays) and for sillicon (cooler joins) BUT due to public demand (damn autosalon cars and thier polished bling) they and i still went ahead and blister packed them.

solution: NORMA constant torque worm drive clamps as pictured below. I have used these for about 3 years with great sucess even on cars running big boost like 2-2.3BAR they keep an even torque even in extreme temperature changes and ARE designed to work in sillicon applications. Oh and they are half the price of t bolt clamps.

Edited March 19, 2009 by URAS

[MrStabby]

Trent - is the norma worm drive robust enough to be re-used? I notice that the thread isnt cut all the way thru the band like on others.

Who sells them? Pirtek/Enzed?

[STATUS]

Trent - is the norma worm drive robust enough to be re-used? I notice that the thread isnt cut all the way thru the band like on others.

Who sells them? Pirtek/Enzed?

i have squashed cooler pipes before the worm drive fails the reason the thread is not cut all the way through is to stop the sillicon from being pulled through and torn and i have found most clamps with holes right through for the thread tend to bend and then the drive slips, i am yet to strip the worm drive on those clamps.

anywhere can source the clamps, i get mine in bulk (boxes of 20) from bearing wholesalers. Can also order online via the info link ive posted below.

http://www.norma.net.au/norma-constant-ten...ose-clamps.html

Edited March 19, 2009 by URAS

[N1GTR]

oi stevo did some more digging and found this very informative thread and vid

http://www.rx7club.com/showthread.php?p=8938406

Cheers mate!

[N1GTR]

Thanks URAS!

[WARLORD]

here are the ones i used on my car on turbo side and throttle body.

[grandmasterb]

Okay here starteth the rant:

t-bolt clamps... the worst... we average about 3-4 cars a week that need boost drop diagnosis of these 80% are due to t-bolts clamps... we can usually find 2-3.5 "lost psi in theses cars just by changing clamps. Many think bigger is better but unfortunately it is far from correct, even if your not blowing pipes i reckon i can still find a boost bleed on 70-80% of cars fitted with "t" style clamps.

years ago NORMA decided to go retail (into autobarn, repco, supercheap, bursons etc) and i remmeber having a few conversations with thier tech guy ( i was the purchasing officer for autobarn head office at the time) and we went through all the differrent clamps and thier uses.... after discussing all the clamps i bought up how inept these t-bolts clamps are that they sell only to be told that they are NOT designed to be used in high thermal changing conditions (engine bays) and for sillicon (cooler joins) BUT due to public demand (damn autosalon cars and thier polished bling) they and i still went ahead and blister packed them.

solution: NORMA constant torque worm drive clamps as pictured below. I have used these for about 3 years with great sucess even on cars running big boost like 2-2.3BAR they keep an even torque even in extreme temperature changes and ARE designed to work in sillicon applications. Oh and they are half the price of t bolt clamps.

Got any instock Trent i need to replace all mine

[SXC-R34]

Hey guys

Quick question for the guys running more than usual boost; what brand clamps do you use?

At 7500rpm in 3rd yesterday one of the pipes blew off the rear turbo, which is quite annoying to say the least. So instead of just putting it back on and having it go again, whats the *best* clamp to use? Also, from experience what boost have you run without pipes blowing off?

Here's 2 i found that look decent, from what ive read since yesterday the wiggins ones are the best - discuss

The best ones I've ever seen are the ones I got now, not sure bout the brand I'll check later for you but neways they're bout $22 each at Auto Barn and Super Cheap. But I got them from this asian guy in Bonnyrigg for $8 each. He sells them for $9 but just bargin him if you buying anything more than like 7or 8. Mate You'll liturally bend your pipes before anything happens to these clamps.

[Marko R1]

well it seems that beer baron has pointed me in the right direction to steer away from t-clamps (although i still think they look cool).

i'll contact norma as i recently bought fuel hose clamps from norma as well.

those constant tension items look good! can anyone tell me what size is required for the gtr i/c hoses?

[Angus Smart]

i use bodgy 3 buck tbolt things from ebay, never had a problem obviously done up vft

run 1.8 bar no problem pressure taken from inlet

[R377]

google search - 5 years on. Any more info or advice ?

[boostn0199]

google search - 5 years on. Any more info or advice ?

As the thread said lol norma tension clamps best clamps I have ever used.

[jet_r31]

Ive always used Jubilee clamps from the pneumatic supplier, never had a problem

cheers

darren

Edited July 16, 2014 by jet_r31

[juggernaut1]

Have used these with success.

http://www.turbosmart.com.au/news/how-strong-are-your-hose-clamps

[XRATED]

Have used these with success.

http://www.turbosmart.com.au/news/how-strong-are-your-hose-clamps

I started using them... but the worm drive case has fatigued too quickley and the slots bret out too easily.

I found the above norma clamps a few years ago and now don't use anything else.

J.

[Missileman]

Been using the standard SS Norma clamp for 2 years without issues, reused a couple of times when I changed turbos, clamps hold just as good as when new, Also pressure tested my system to 30psi.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/150968811647?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

[Dose Pipe Sutututu]

I run boring BREEZE clamps and my shit box sees 1.5bar day in day out

[89CAL]

In all honesty I think it has alot more to do with pipework prep and the condition of your joiners. I've only blown one clamp off at 23psi when I first got the car back on the road, only because it was too loose. Since then all has been fine. I use t-bolt clamps on pressure side and worm drive on suction side.

By prep I mean pipes are cleaned with wax and grease remover or similar, joiners are cleaned the same, beads on the pipe, joiners and pipes in a straight line or as straight as possible and enough joiner on each pipe. Clamp done up with enough pipe under it and to a tight enough clamping torque.

I dont have a real good photo of the clamps, but you can see im not using thin ones, and I'm not having problems. I dont even have beads on some of my pipes

[scotty nm35]

In all honesty I think it has alot more to do with pipework prep and the condition of your joiners. I've only blown one clamp off at 23psi when I first got the car back on the road, only because it was too loose. Since then all has been fine. I use t-bolt clamps on pressure side and worm drive on suction side.

By prep I mean pipes are cleaned with wax and grease remover or similar, joiners are cleaned the same, beads on the pipe, joiners and pipes in a straight line or as straight as possible and enough joiner on each pipe. Clamp done up with enough pipe under it and to a tight enough clamping torque.

I dont have a real good photo of the clamps, but you can see im not using thin ones, and I'm not having problems. I dont even have beads on some of my pipes

Exactly right. With a good bead any clamp is fine. Proven by me at over 3 bar with a very hot engine.

[89CAL]

Lol I left mine with my tuner expecting to get phone calls saying all these pipes had been blowing off on the pipes with no beads, but not a single problem while he was tuning.

Come to think of it, I've never really had a problem with clamps. The only time I had any sort of issue was when I'd put the wrong clamp on and it was the wrong size for the join (to big) so wasnt tight enough