What is the strongest and most durable material for automotive hoses?

Heat in the engine compartment is deadly - rubber hoses become brittle, causing them to crack and wear out. Obviously, you want to use the strongest and most durable material for your engine hoses to prolong life, ensure performance and avoid the possibility of getting stuck on the side of the road. However, which material is better? In fact, there is no definite answer here. The hoses must be specially designed for this task - you cannot use the same material in all parts of the engine.

Pressure

Hoses are typically used for fluid delivery (although some are used for air and vacuum). The fluid flowing through the hoses is under pressure. However, not all systems have the same amount of pressure in them. For example, your radiator is pressurized, but nowhere near the level of your power steering system.

Trying to use the same rubber in your power steering system as in your radiator would be a huge mistake - it will burst in a very short time simply due to system pressure (this is why power steering hoses have compression clamps/fittings). The same applies to your brake system - these hoses should be rated up to 5,000 psi.

Fluid types

Another consideration here is how well the material can withstand the liquid in question. Antifreeze is probably the least corrosive of your motor fluids, but even that will corrode your radiator hoses with enough time (the hose fails from the inside out). However, many systems use highly volatile mineral oil. Power steering fluid is actually highly flammable. Brake fluid is extremely corrosive. Both will eat through the wrong type of material and must have hoses specifically designed and engineered for that particular type of fluid.

After all, there is no one type of material that is better than another. Rubber may be the main component of your engine hoses, but not the only one. The hoses of each system are specifically designed to withstand the fluid in question, the amount of pressure in the system, and the heat they are exposed to during normal operation.