Best "normal" brake fluid......

[Zack1978]

Hi everyone,
I have a quick question regarding brake fluid, what is the best brand to buy?

I have a 2000 Toyota Celica GT-S that is my summer toy. I purchased the car brand new twenty years ago, and it now has 29,000 miles on it. I am ashamed to admit it, but the car still has the original brake fluid. I want to change it next weekend and I want to use a very high quality synthetic fluid. I don't race my car, the most I do is "spirited" mountain drives. So the best is?
I was in Wal-Mart and they only have synthetic Prestone brake fluid. Any ideas?


Thank you

 

[parshisa]

the question I have is HOW DOES IT BREAK? or, DOES IT STILL BREAKS WHEN YOU HIT THE BREAK PEDAL?

 

[Creekside]

I’m not sure if this will answer your question or not but I don’t race or do and “spirited” driving. I do however do a lot of towing with light duty trucks(farm and dirt work) and I generally use house brand O’Reilly DOT3 and Super Tech fluid. I have never been able to discern any difference between any DOT3 fluids in my application. Everything always stops fine and if a leak develop somewhere the cheap stuff leaks just as fast as the expensive stuff. The fleet of forklifts I oversee will see 10,000+ hours on the same fluid. When they are repaired they too get O’Reilly fluid.

 

[TheLawnRanger]

I use the Prestone Synthetic "for American cars" even though I suppose most if not all brake fluid is synthetic.

 

[Zack1978]

the question I have is HOW DOES IT BREAK? or, DOES IT STILL BREAKS WHEN YOU HIT THE BREAK PEDAL?

The car stops fine and the pedal feels good. With that said has there been some degradation in brake performance, probably but I don't drive it enough to realize it.

 

[Trav]

Anything is better than what is in there now. Get some Valvoline dot 3-4 at any car parts store and flush it though well, no need to go boutique with this.

Advance Auto Parts - Down for Maintenance

 

[slacktide_bitog]

They don't have Super Tech? Their house brand DOT4 is good stuff at a great price. But he most important thing is that you change it.

 

[92saturnsl2]

DOT3(4) is DOT3(4) as far as I'm concerned. I'm as much okay with buying $1.99 Rural King brand as I am expensive Valvoline Synthetic. I've used DOT3/4 fluid all over the price spectrum and I've yet to be able to tell a difference. DOT4 can be had for around the same price as DOT3 (usually within a dollar or two,) so I usually choose DOT4.

 

[Jim_Truett]

The best I have found for my use is Castrol Dot 4 GT LMA fluid. I have several cars, so they seem to sit longer than I care to admit. I have had good results with the low moisture activity fluid lasting without fade or corrosion. But honestly, Trav said it quite matter of fact:

Anything is better than what is in there now.

 

[ctechbob]

Anything is better than what is in there now. Get some Valvoline dot 3-4 at any car parts store and flush it though well, no need to go boutique with this.

Advance Auto Parts - Down for Maintenance

Yep, that's been my favorite for years.

 

[FordMan59]

Anytime in the last 45 years that I've been driving if I needed brake fluid I just picked up the cheapest thing on the shelf. Sometimes it's a major brand name sometimes it's a house brand. I think I've still got a full bottle of brake fluid I bought a few l years ago when I found it in a reduced cart. I doubt one brake fluid is much if any better than the other.

 

[Pew]

If you want the absolute best, Castrol SRF. It's not cheap. Motul 600 is one of the better price/performance ratio you'll come across.

 

[Lubener]

Use regular DOT3. It has worked for 20 years. No need for anything else. Brand isn't critical.

 

[oldhp]

I would flush the fluid with the most current DOT 3. "If" you want to use synthetic your system has to be flushed, I think with alcohol. As long as your doing all this, I would also change all the rubber brake hoses. Or if your feeling spiffy, stainless steel brake lines. Good Luck!!!!

 

[Snagglefoot]

I found my Napa branded brake fluid has good sale prices. I look at it as a commodity rather than a specialized brand. I’ll bet there are very few different manufacturers of brake fluid.

 

[CharBaby]

All DOT 3 DOT 4 & DOT 5.1 are synthetic.
Then there is Silicone DOT 5. Don't use this. It may not be compatible to some parts(O-Rings/Seals) in your system.
Use DOT 3 or 4 or the ones labeled for both.

Lots of brands are putting "SYNTHETIC" on their label.
I don't think that one brand of the everyday, off the shelf brake fluids brands are better than the one right next to the other on the shelves.

Sure there are some brake fluids that meet a higher spec as mentioned above(for track use etc.) but for the most part, they're all close to one another. I've personally never used anything but DOT 3 and mostly the store brands.