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Thread: Which Brake Fluid? - Road and Track use

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    Which Brake Fluid? - Road and Track use

    Just upgraded my brakes to some R33 gtst ones front and back. Will be using the car on road and a few track days this year. Could someone recommend me a decent brake fluid please. Thanks
    Last edited by AHR_S14a; 28-02-2016 at 20:58.

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    For the last 6 years I have been using Halfords DOT4 "Racing" brake fluid. It is not cheap but it has been faultless on track, at the Ring and on the daily grind to and from work. Motul etc. have great fluids but I find them hard to find. Whereas I can pick up 500ml of the Halfrauds racing fluid even on a Sunday if I need it.

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    Dot 4 for performance with annual maintenance. Or dot 5.1 if you don't want to worry about changing it for 3 years

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    Guest Gazwould's Avatar
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    5.1 gets my vote .

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    Dot5.1requires changing more often

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    DOT 4 and DOT 5.1 are both gycol based fluids.

    Anything that has been tested to 5.1 standard is guaranteed to have a high boiling point when new.

    @Autosri - Are you thinking of DOT 5 which is a silicone based formula that doesn't mix with glycol fluids like DOT 4. It is more hydroscopic (absorbs water more readily) so needs changing more often particularly where the brakes are going to get used hard so more likely to boil the fluid if its absorbed water.

    Unless you are feeling flush, use your brakes unusually hard and you're competing, I'd say you were better off using a good readily available DOT 4 and changing it every 6 months than using DOT 5.1 and changing it every year.

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    ATE Super Blue

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    Quote Originally Posted by Sidewaysfun View Post
    ATE Super Blue
    That's been discontinued for ages, it's the regular colour TYP200 now. It is certainly good for the price.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Clarkey View Post
    That's been discontinued for ages, it's the regular colour TYP200 now. It is certainly good for the price.
    So it is. Learn something new every day! Bloody yanks

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    I am just about to buy some brake fluid, would this be an ok choice from opie?
    Car will be used for road and a few trackdays.

    http://www.opieoils.co.uk/p-742-cast...ake-fluid.aspx

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    It'll be fine pointz. Never met anyone on a track day that needed a 5.1 over a proper 4.

    So many Ayrton Senna's on the internet boiling their brake fluid....

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    Quote Originally Posted by piman2k View Post
    It'll be fine pointz. Never met anyone on a track day that needed a 5.1 over a proper 4.

    So many Ayrton Senna's on the internet boiling their brake fluid....
    Cool thank you!

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    ...or 1 litre of 5.1 from Halfords for £13.

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    After doing quite a few searches and reading the replies on this thread i went an bought ATE typ200 which is a replacement for ate super blue, exactly the same product but without the colouring. I have read many good things about this fluid on this forum

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    I bought 1 litre, do you think this is enough to do a full flush of the system?

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    Dorset & Hants Rep pointz's Avatar
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    I'm confused! I read this-


    Unless you are feeling flush, use your brakes unusually hard and you're competing, I'd say you were better off using a good readily available DOT 4 and changing it every 6 months than using DOT 5.1 and changing it every year.

    Then this-
    Quote Originally Posted by Jonny Wilkinson View Post
    ...or 1 litre of 5.1 from Halfords for £13.
    So what would you recommend?

    My car is having the fluid flushed and new stuff put in and am happy to use dot4.

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    ate super blue / typ200 over here. the dot rating as far as im aware is a minimum rating for the wet and dry boiling points. so thats what you should be looking at.

    ratings for dot 4 minimum dry boiling point is 230c and wet is 155c
    and.........dot 5.1 minimum dry boiling point is 260c and wet is 180c

    ate typ200 dot 4 for instance dry boiling point is 280c and wet is 198c
    and......halfords racing dot 4 dry boiling point is 230c and wet is 155c
    but...halfords racing dot 5.1 dry boiling point is 260c and wet is 180c

    and for this reason i always use ATE typ200 and previously superblue. there are brands with better/higher boiling points but are harder to find or much more expensive
    Last edited by mikeyrs; 29-02-2016 at 17:25.

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    Rich, 5.1 used to be more expensive but now halfords are doing 4 and 5.1 for the same price. I didn't know that til ilooked

    Sent from my XT1032 using Tapatalk

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    Ate for me too. Been faultless for a couple of years. only just changed it.

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    Quote Originally Posted by piman2k View Post
    It'll be fine pointz. Never met anyone on a track day that needed a 5.1 over a proper 4.

    So many Ayrton Senna's on the internet boiling their brake fluid....
    Well I was using a cheap Wurth DOT4 last time out at Oulton and I was having big problems with the fluid boiling, so much I was having to pump the pedal up every single corner to get them to work, and half the reservoir ended up all over the engine bay. Changed to TYP200, no problem whatsoever at Anglesey this weekend just gone. Admittedly, I did remove the disc shields and put more ducting in at the same time.

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