the wire-type spring clamp has the big advantage, if installed
correctly, of eliminating a dead space adjacent to the bead of the
pipe. The curved cross section of the wire fits closer to the bead
than the flat section of either the band or worm gear clamp.

The dead space can be a site of corrosion. No matter what form of
clamp you choose, the clamp should snuggle up to the bead, not a
distance away from it.

alistair

On 23-Feb-11, at 7:41 PM, David Beierl wrote:

> At 09:55 PM 2/23/2011, Scott Daniel - Turbovans wrote:
>> I don't like springey original vanagons either.
>
> Scott, I'm curious - what have you got against the flat spring-type
> clamps?  It seems to me that they're so much better than worm-type
> clamps over the long term that there's simply no comparison, because
> no matter what shrinkage of the rubber occurs they automagically take
> up to the correct tension.  Not to mention that it's impossible to
> set them to the wrong tension since it's built in.
>
> I agree that the wire-type spring clamp suffers from lack of clamping
> area, but I think the band type are absolutely superior, their only
> disadvantage being the need of a special tool to place and remove
> them, and the attendant awkwardness getting the tool into tight
> quarters.
>
> Yours,
> David