Best brake fluid

oilboy123 · Mar 1, 2004

I have not seen much mention of the better brake fluids. Other than power steering fluids it is the most critical fluid in a vehicle. So I wonder why?
I normally use Amsoil products, but they don't make brake fluid.

I use Valvoline syn power from the local parts store. I wonder what some of the other brands are that would be considered good quality?
I live in the Northwest were it is wet a lot, so i like to change it every year or so.

Thanks I love this site

Ferb · Mar 1, 2004

The Synpower is what i have in my reservoir. Decent price, great availability, good specs.

Wouldn't have minded going with the ATE Super Blue / Typ 200. The good thing about that combo is the colour change. You know the blue is out when the fluid turns amber (from the Typ 200) and vise versa. No doubting yourself on flushes.

ferb!

ChrisW · Mar 1, 2004

http://www57.pair.com/lane/bfluid.htm

Has specs listed for the most popular fluids out there. The valvoline is a good buy IMO, it's $4.99 per 32oz bottle at autozone. I've used valvoline synpower with excellent results.

SteveD2 · Mar 1, 2004

What exactly do you consider "excellent results"? I just filled up the fluid in my cherokee when I noticed it was below the add line, I used STP brand only because that's the cheapest one I found. My brakes work fine...how could it be any better than that?

VaderSS · Mar 1, 2004

Valvoline is the best fluid available almost anywhere.

ZmOz, if you flush your fluid annualy, you'll probably never notice a difference...

ARRANGED BY DRY BOILING POINT:

DRY:401F -- WET:284F --- DOT3 MINIMUM
DRY:446F -- WET:311F --- DOT4 MINIMUM
DRY:446F -- WET:311F --- Castrol LMA DOT 3/4
DRY:500F -- WET:356F --- DOT5 MINIMUM
DRY:502F -- WET:343F --- VALVOLINE SYNPOWER
DRY:509F -- WET:365F --- MOTUL 5.1
DRY:527F -- WET:302F --- AP RACING 551
DRY:536F -- WET:392F --- ATE SUPERBLUE/TYP200
DRY:550F -- WET:290F --- Ford Heavy Duty DOT 3
DRY:590F -- WET:410F --- AP RACING 600
DRY:590F -- WET:518F --- CASTROL SRF
DRY:593F -- WET:420F --- MOTUL RBF600
DRY:610F -- WET:421F --- NEO-SYNTHETIC SUPER DOT 610
DRY:620F -- WET:425F --- COBALT SUPER XRF

ARRANGED BY WET BOILING POINT:

DRY:401F -- WET:284F --- DOT3 MINIMUM
DRY:550F -- WET:290F --- Ford Heavy Duty DOT 3
DRY:527F -- WET:302F --- AP RACING 551
DRY:446F -- WET:311F --- DOT4 MINIMUM
DRY:446F -- WET:311F --- Castrol LMA DOT 3/4
DRY:502F -- WET:343F --- VALVOLINE SYNPOWER
DRY:500F -- WET:356F --- DOT5 MINIMUM
DRY:509F -- WET:365F --- MOTUL 5.1
DRY:536F -- WET:392F --- ATE SUPERBLUE/TYP200
DRY:590F -- WET:410F --- AP RACING 600
DRY:593F -- WET:420F --- MOTUL RBF600
DRY:610F -- WET:421F --- NEO-SYNTHETIC SUPER DOT 610
DRY:620F -- WET:425F --- COBALT SUPER XRF
DRY:590F -- WET:518F --- CASTROL SRF

ATE 200

Neo

Motul

Valvoline

Wilwood

AP Racing

Ford

Cobalt

Castrol does not post it's data sheets online. You can call them and request they fax them to you. http://www.raceshopper.com/castrol_srf_brake_fluid.shtml

timmy8151 · Mar 1, 2004

I also use Valvoline Synpower. I like it because of its relatively good Wet & Dry boiling points along with its competitive price.

JohnBrowning · Mar 1, 2004

Motul and Castrol LMA. THese will take car of any over the road driven weekend warrior no problem!

Most people see a bigger improvment going over to SS heat treated seemless tubeing and braided lines. Most of the poor brake pedal feel on domestics can be solved by useing the above! Consider this the tip of the day!

TurboFrog · Mar 1, 2004

I use MOTUL RBF 600 on my rally car. This stuff is really amazing. It gives a rock sold pedal feel. My street vehicle, Trans Am gets MOTUL 5.1. MOTUL 5.1 is Non-Silicon based 100% synthetic fluid and also much much cheaper than RBF 600.

XS650 · Mar 1, 2004

quote:

Originally posted by T-Keith:
All my cars take DOT 3. According to my owners manuals you cannot use DOT 4 fluid as it will eat away at the seals in the system. Just something to keep in mind.

-T

What cars are those, and would you quote directly from the owners manaual?

wrangler · Mar 2, 2004

Ferb,

I wish I had bookmark all the articles I read that did indicate that DOT4 has a higher absorption rate than DOT3 (they even had graphs…). I spent sometime today looking around but I can't find them. Who knows, they might be wrong... I even looked at THE source ( http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/ ) but I couldn't find anything on absorption rates. Once I do have the time I'll do a bit more research and post it.

cryptokid · Mar 2, 2004

more important than the boiling point, is that you bleed the brakes at reqular intervals depending on youre climate.

if one were to live in the desert such as arizona where humidity is very low, an extended service interval would probably not cause harm to the brakes. on the other hand, i live in south florida where its 80-90% humidity, and i find that i need to service my brakes once per year to maintain that new feeling.

every year i bledd my brake system, and the petal gets firm again. thats not too say it is sloppy to begin with or anything, but i can definitly feel an improvment in firmness.

labman · Mar 2, 2004

Rebuild/replace cylinders or calipers when needed and otherwise you never need to touch them. Messing around with them unnecessarily is more likely to cause problems than prevent them. If you want to play with your brakes, fine. Just don't lead the unwary into trouble.

wrangler · Mar 2, 2004

Boiling my brake fluid is my last concern. I never have and never will, so for the non-racing, non-track, and average daily driver a very high boiling point is kinda useless.

Keep in mind that a DOT4 fluid will absorb moisture at a higher rate than a DOT3. So the DOT4s wet boiling point will be reached a lot faster than a DOT3s. And by wet brake fluid they mean 2%water absorption and in places like Seattle it can be reached in a few months. So if your primary concern is corrosion not brake fading, a DOT3 will serve you a lot better. Replacing a rusted and broken down anti-lock brake actuator will run you at least $1K for the part only.

Go for a quality DOT3 with a good corrosion inhibitor package and you will be fine. Who really cares about boiling points... I don't think that is the appropriate criteria to judge a brake fluid unless you do a lot of racing.

wrangler · Mar 2, 2004

So in two years time the boiling point of a DOT3 fluid might be higher than a DOT4s. Especially like a very expensive brake fluid like Castrol SRF DOT4 that has a dry boiling point of 590. This stuff has a very high absorption rate... and cost something like $70 a quart which makes it ideal for a few days on the track but horrible for street driving.

Ferb · Mar 2, 2004

quote:

Originally posted by wrangler:
So in two years time the boiling point of a DOT3 fluid might be higher than a DOT4s. Especially like a very expensive brake fluid like Castrol SRF DOT4 that has a dry boiling point of 590. This stuff has a very high absorption rate... and cost something like $70 a quart which makes it ideal for a few days on the track but horrible for street driving.

However, i've also read that SRF has one of the lowest absorbtion rates.

Do you have any data/sheets that show the absorbtion rates of 'typical' DOT3/4/5.1? I think this would DEFINATELY serve the community better than simply dry and wet boil numbers.

I've been looking for something that says something like "0.1% increase in water per volume when placed in a 90% humidity environment". Something concrete. I have read the DOT tests to determine DOT3/4 compliance. From that, i would assume the DOT4 absorbs less water, but if you have other numbers, it would be awesome.

ferb!

T-Keith · Mar 2, 2004

All my cars take DOT 3. According to my owners manuals you cannot use DOT 4 fluid as it will eat away at the seals in the system. Just something to keep in mind.

-T

oilboy123 · Mar 2, 2004

Wow! lots of replies

I want to use the best fluid that I can get that is resonable in price/quality. I feel that a high boiling point, wet and dry is a good thing.
I also want to minimize the moisture build up in the caliper/ABS system.

I also don't think that racing is the only reason to use a high quality/high boiling point fluid. How about going down a mountain pass?

I still have questions on the Dot 3/Dot 4 thing? My Taurus says use Dot 3 that meets Ford specs? Whatever that means?

XS650 · Mar 2, 2004

quote:

Originally posted by oilboy123:
Wow! lots of replies

I also don't think that racing is the only reason to use a high quality/high boiling point fluid. How about going down a mountain pass?

A real mountain pass is the last place you should be pushing your brakes to the limit. Brakes are for slowing down, engine braking is for maintaining speed for a long period of time.

jthorner · Mar 2, 2004

Valvoline SynPower is widely available, reasonably priced and a very good performer. I used to use Castrol LMA before Synpower came around and now use SynPower.

Bleed your brake system at once per year you are unlikely to need to replace wheel cylinders, master cylinders or calipers for at least a ten year service life. The millions of these things which are replaced are mostly because so many cars run without ever having this critical fluid changed.

John

Ken2 · Mar 2, 2004

quote:

Originally posted by labman:
Rebuild/replace cylinders or calipers when needed and otherwise you never need to touch them. Messing around with them unnecessarily is more likely to cause problems than prevent them. If you want to play with your brakes, fine. Just don't lead the unwary into trouble.

I know of two cases locally where boiling brake fluid cause problems. One caused a fatality...a child was killed in a nearby state park when the drive wasn't smart enough to go down a very steep grade in 1st gear, overused his brakes, the brake fluid boiled, and the car had no braking. The other was a friend towing his horse trailer down Mt. Adams. His brake pedal went to the floor...he was able to stop using his parking brake and trailer brake. As soon as his brakes cooled (and he changed his shorts) he was able to continue home. The only problem his mechanic found was old, moisture laden brake fluid.

Let's keep some terminology in mind---
I think of bleeding the brakes as removing air. I call a total change of the brake fluid flushing the fluid.

I'd like to see documentation of DOT4 brake fluid having a faster absorbtion rate for moisture than DOT3.

Ken

Best brake fluid

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