The reason yours and your buddies has stayed together was the mods to the thermostat that allow some coolant flow regardless of Tstat position. Which seems to be fine for you. But you left that part out of your response...lol As mentionned, I'd prefer to have the larger volume and smoother flow the hose provides. Personally, I've been driving only mopars since 1986. I have had the clamps leak, but I've never blown a bypass hose. Ever. I do routinely lose the heater hoses, but not the bypass. JMO.