brake fluid

[944turboS]

That looks like a good price for SRF too.

 

[John Sims]

Or.... you could get some cheap fluid and some more blue.

Run the cheap fluid through to flush out the old blue and then use the new blue to flush out the cheap stuff ready for use.

 

[sawood12]

That's a good idea John but unfortunately I don't have enough axel stands to stand the whole car up and have all four wheels off the ground at the same time so i'm going to have to do it one wheel at a time so to minimise the jacking action so I think i'll stick with trying to use a different coloured fluid.

Just a few more questions:-

Is the ATE Type 200 an inferior product to ATE Blue as it is cheaper?

Is Castrol SRF a far superior product as I will be doing another track day or two before the end of the year so I might benefit - also what colour is it??

I take it all these products are Dot 4?

Cheers all.

 

[John Sims]

I used SRF on the Westie and never had any problems with it.

It is conventional brake fluid colour (gold) but is outrageously expensive - that said one fill up with SRF is cheaper than having the bleed your brakes every couple of hours of track time (if the SRF works).

 

[oilman]

The wet and dry boiling points are on my website in the RBF600 data sheet (pdf downloadable) it is indeed an impressive race DOT 4, used by the Subaru World Rally Team. Our biggest selling brake fluid followed by the Silkolene Pro Race 2000.

SRF is the dogs danglies but it is hellish expensive for extra performance.

Cheers
Simon

 

[Andy Duncan]

I changed from Castrol SRF to Motul RBF on my 944S2 racecar for this year so far so good. Price difference is staggering 40 pounds vs about 12 pounds per litre. Castrol is superb and last for ages but it is overpriced i feel.

I'll repost later in the year how the stuff has performed.

andy

 

[oilman]

I tend to agree, if you're running and F1 car then SRF is the way to go but RBF is just far more sensibly priced vs it's performance.

Cheers
Simon

 

[964RS]

Use ATE Super Blue racing. DOT 4. It's excellent on the track. []

 

[Riverside]

ORIGINAL: 964RS

Use ATE Super Blue racing. DOT 4. It's excellent on the track. []

Completely agree, I tried dot 5.1 (generic & branded) after my brakes overheated at my first trackday, they still boiled just the same. Now use Racing Blue & haven't boiled it since, it's no longer the weakest link, and I've had no problems (that I wouldn;t otherwise have had) with the fluid in normal use either.

Then I started to get a hard 'dead' pedal from heatsoak (pads/disk too hot), added the early turbo brake ducts & they no longer overheat at all. Standard pads (so far) too []

 

[AntB]

So this stuff is good for normal road use also and normal regular change intervals?

 

[Riverside]

ORIGINAL: AntB

So this stuff is good for normal road use also and normal regular change intervals?

It should last about a year, yes.

 

[eastendr]

Castrol SRF ....

 

[edh]

No need to buy anything expensive for road use - any dot 4 should be fine. I use Motul RBF 600, bu that's for track use. I wouldn't bother spending the extra for the road.

Brake feel is very different with new pads - travel gets much longer with well worn pads.

 

[Peter Empson]

ORIGINAL: eastendr

Castrol SRF ....

Same here, I boil the ATE fluid, but SRF is fine (I think it still boils/overflows slightly, but the pedal stays firm). I'm led to believe it is quite hygroscopic, so a yearly change is recommended (or more regularly if you race of course).

I used to use Castrol Response (a cheaper option) and that was good too, but not in the same league as SRF.

 

[AntB]

Yeah - was just mainly interested if people had noticed a diif between DOT4 and DOT5.1 for 'fast' road use as I did in my saab (which my son named KITT... lol jeez tho it was quick - it was the 'Turbo Boost' that did it for him..)

 

[tr7v8]

Be careful trying DOT 5.1 in some cars it can swell the seals, some Alfas suffer this.
If I ever rebuild mine completely I'm going Silicone which is DOT 5 no hassle with moisture & rusty brake bits! I've run it in the past & had no problems & a guy who sprinted a Cat 7 used it again no issues.

 

[Hilux]

No need to buy anything expensive for road use - any dot 4 should be fine

True

5.1 is hygroscopic (absorbs water) so needs changing every year.

ATE blue or SRF if tracking the car

 

[944Turbo]

Dot 4 is hygroscopic, didn't know dot 5.1 was as well, being synthetic I assumed they might have sorted this (DOT 5 is silicone and not) . I use halfords 5.1 I believe its the same as the Castrol 5.1 - certainly same shape bottle and identical specs.
I found when hot it expands, at the Nurburgring with reasonably fresh pads and fluid (about 1000 miles) it expanded enough to overflow the cylinder. I use it on road and track and havent had any issues I change it every couple of years. I quite like EBC yellows as well as a road /track compromise but maybe I am less hard on the brakes than some. (hate Reds though)
Tony

 

[Hilux]

Dot 4 is hygroscopic, didn't know dot 5.1 was as well

Its not [8|][8|] its a typo, sorry - Note to self: must not rush type when replying

 

[tr7v8]

ALL brake fluid is hygroscopic except Silicone, hence needing to be changed regularly.