Mishimoto Clamps

Mishimoto’s clamps are listed in inch sizes, with millimetres alongside on many, and they come in three kinds. T-bolt clamps are offered in plain stainless steel and in constant-tension versions, whose spring keeps the band tight as hose and pipe expand and contract with heat. Some T-bolts are finished in gold. Worm-gear clamps come as high-torque types, mostly in packs of ten, and as constant-tension worm-gear clamps.

The third kind is V-band clamps: stainless steel clamps from 1.5 to 3.5 inches, and aluminium clamps from 2.5 to 4 inches supplied with their flanges. Both are for pipe-to-pipe joints in turbo, intercooler or exhaust work that must come apart cleanly.

Choosing is mostly about the joint. A boosted hose joint calls for a T-bolt, ideally constant-tension if the pipe sees big temperature swings. A small coolant or vacuum hose is well served by a worm-gear clamp, and where two pipes meet without a hose, a V-band is the tidy answer.

Measure the hose once it is on the pipe, not the bare pipe, before choosing the size, since the wall thickness of silicone hose adds several millimetres.