Technology has taken us well past the days of rubber boots and hose clamps when it comes to intake tract tubing connections, and Vibrant Performance’s PINLESS HD Clamps are the pinnacle of design for situations just like that.

Vibrant’s original VanJen clamp was advanced for its time and did a superb job at securing the intake tract and ensuring no boost escaped, but the clamp’s retaining pins were occasionally lost by enthusiasts and racers. The VanJen clamps were eventually upgraded to the HD design, and more recently, Vibrant Performance updated it further with a pinless design that uses a spring-loaded clasp to resolve the issue and make engaging the clamps easier.

“We started seeing a lot of copies on the market that looked similar to our product, but they were not as robust nor were they holding boost,” explains Vibrant Performance’s Arthur Malczewski. “We felt we needed to update it and mark our territory, and tell people we were the originator of the product. With that, we realized that people can lose the pins and nobody was using safety wire on the through-hole we designed. Sometimes it was as simple as putting it down or sometimes racers would just drop them in the pits. There have been instances where people didn’t fully install them and they fell out while driving.”

Serious boost pressure requires serious clamps on your intake tract system. Don’t depend on $5 silicone clamps when the race is on the line.

“With the PINLESS HD clamp, released at the SEMA Show in 2022, we resolved that issue,” says Vibrant’s Kyle Hyatali. “Now it has a clasp and button. The clasp locks the clamp together and the button acts as a safety lock. It requires a two-step motion to open the clamp so it cannot accidentally open.”

One other update to the clamp is that it is now spring-loaded. This helps with installation, particularly in tight areas, as the clamp guides itself onto the sleeve it is retaining.

“The VanJen clamp was spring-loaded, and when we got rid of that feature, many end-users wanted to have that back. We are a market driven company, so we listened to what our customers were asking for and decided to bring back the spring with the new pinless billet design. When looking at what improvements we could make, we thought it was good idea to bring it back,” Hyatali noted.

Vibrant Performance’s PINLESS HD Clamp is manufactured from 6061 aluminum, and the ferrules you’ll need for your tubing are available in 6061 aluminum, 304 stainless steel and CP2 Titanium. As the O-rings on the ferrules are made from fluorocarbon rubber, these clamps are designed for intake and/or cold-side turbo tubing applications. According to Hyatali, Vibrant isn’t exactly sure how much pressure the clamping system can handle, as the third-party testing rig that was used broke at around 800 psi, which is far more than any automotive application is likely to see.

“The HD Clamps are super popular with a lot of diesel guys, where boost pressures can reach over 200 psi,” Hyatali tells us.

Alignment of the HD clamp is critical for its function, so Vibrant Performance sells it’s HD alignment clamps to hold the ferrules in place while you are welding them to your tubing. Not only do the stainless steel clamps perfectly align the ferrules together, but they also set the gap between them correctly, which is a common problem Vibrant hears on its tech line.

When it comes to choice of material for the ferrules, Hyatali noted that aluminum is the most popular for enthusiasts, while the diesel crowd often chooses stainless steel for their charge tubing. And for those who don’t mind spending the money for the lightest material, Titanium is available.

“One thing we are trying to do more of now is assist people with making HD Clamp installation easier,” Hyatali says. “Obviously, we have the alignment tool for fabrication, but some people want to put a clamp on a drive-by-wire throttle body, and they don’t want to weld on that electronic piece, so we came up with the throttle body adaptor that will bolt up to Bosch 74mm and 82mm throttle bodies. We are getting requests for other sizes and are looking at further accessories as well, and currently we offer these adaptors in 3- and 3.5-inch tube sizes.”

Along the lines of making things easier for its customers, Vibrant recommends using an HD Clamp on both ends of your tubing.

The new push-button and clamps design on Vibrant Performance’s PINLESS HD Clamps not only keeps the clamp locked in place, but also allows for quick and convenient maintenance on your vehicle.

“The nice thing about HD Clamps versus say, a V-band, is that you get roughly the same motion out of the billet clamp as you would with a silicone coupler. V-bands are rigid. Typically, in a charge tube like from an intercooler to a throttle body, we recommend using one HD for both sides,” Hyatali explains. It makes the tube floating so any motion between engine and chassis will be absorbed, and it reduces any load or stress to the welds. Being able to easily remove the entire tube also makes maintenance and working on your vehicle much easier.”

Hyatali concluded with the three main reasons why you should use Vibrant’s PINLESS HD Clamps.

“These clamps are very robust, they can hold a lot of pressure, and the quick-release connection is much easier than messing around with a T-bolt or hose clamps. To that point, the HD Clamp comes off in a matter of seconds, and they look really cool, they are anodized billet, and give the engine a refined and professional look that speaks to the quality of the build overall.”

If you’ve had enough of dealing with rubber and silicone sleeves and worm-drive clamps that seemingly take forever to remove, Vibrant Performance’s HD Clamps are what you are looking for.