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The Truth using About Nickel Copper Brake Lines

June 15, 2019


A few years ago, I was introduced to a wonderful world, rustless copper and nickel tubes, brake lines. I think these things are great, but how good is it, really?

The article was originally published on December 8, 2017.

In the rust belt of the United States, the service life of steel pipes often used for braking and fuel pipeline of household automobiles is very limited. It can rust and leak in just ten years. Repairing rusty parts (or entire lengths) with new steel pipes can be a bit of a hassle, especially if you make your own wiring.


Another option is to buy pre-bent pipelines, which are expensive to purchase and difficult to transport, and sometimes require the removal of major components (such as fuel tanks) to install.

If they are (non-stainless) steel, you can expect to replace them again in ten years, just as you made them yourself. Of course, you can buy some time for yourself by using polysteel coatings, but in the salt state, this will only give you limited time compared with the rusty choice.

If you really want to solve the corrosion problem once and for all (rather than in a more friendly climate), there will always be stainless steel pipes. However, in addition to higher costs (which may be worthwhile in the long run), stainless steel is difficult to process due to the hardness of the material. It’s not as easy to bend, burn or seal as ordinary steel (that’s not to say, ordinary steel is a walk in the park).

Copper-nickel tubes, such as Cunifer or Nicopp, offer a seemingly miraculous choice. Although it is arguably a softer material than steel, DOT is approved for hydraulic applications. In fact, its psi rating is only slightly lower than that of steel and is still strong enough to brake, usually in the range of 800 to 1500 psi. (In some cases, the figure may be as high as 2000.)


But the main attraction here is the corrosion resistance of the material. Copper and nickel tubes do not rust. It does oxidize, but it does not produce catastrophic rust like steel.

If that’s not enough, then soft materials make it a dream. It’s much easier to form, and if you’re careful, you can even bend the pipe with your hands without curling or restricting it. It burns easily and is easily sealed when fastened in place.

But you have to pay for it. Depending on where you buy nickel-copper tubes, nickel-copper tubes can run higher or lower than stainless steel tubes, but they are always much higher than cheap low-carbon steel. But when you look at the work ahead of you and the potential life of the tubing, higher costs quickly become insignificant.


(Speaking of life, I’m surprised to find that copper and nickel tubes have been used in some European cars since the 1970s! And it’s well supported in its age.
Sounds great, isn’t it true? You are not alone. Visit any online message board that discusses these things and you will find that people automatically suspect using anything softer than steel. They say it’s not worth the risk of failure. After all, imagine the consequences of losing the brakes. Or fuel leaks!


However, when discussing these issues, it is important to understand the materials, advantages and disadvantages, and consider their applications. Just like the wheel bearings of some vehicles are fixed by grooved nuts. When it comes down, its entire wheel of the car is eventually made up by…. Cotter pin! This does not mean that the car itself is unsafe, nor does it mean that the cotter pin needs to be made of hard material. Even when it comes to security, there is something “good enough”.
It is also worth mentioning that some of these discussions have revolved around the word “copper”, which makes you wonder if we are still talking about copper-nickel tubes, or just plain copper, and you don’t want to use it to do such things. The content of nickel, iron and manganese in the alloy is the key component to improve road performance and fatigue (and general) strength.

But there’s another line of reasoning against copper that caught me by surprise. They call it “copper corrosion”, which has something to do with ions and the metal breaking down from the inside.

But there’s another line of reasoning against copper that caught me by surprise. They call it “copper corrosion”, which has something to do with ions and the metal breaking down from the inside.

At first glance, there doesn’t seem to be a whole lot of information out there about it. It’s something different from moisture contamination. Unfortunately, articles on the subject range from long-form sleep-inducing technical gobbledygook to what almost comes across like a fearmongering upsell opportunity for shops to increase their profits. Thanks to the limited information available, skepticism about this interior corrosion runs high, especially in this thread.

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