As per title really. I've rebuilt my entire brake setup on the car, running Brembo's up front and 256mm conversion at the rear.

 

I'll be running DS2500 pads up front.

 

What brake fluid do people recommend from experience?

 

I'm looking for something that will last for a couple of years on the road and will stand up to the odd track day without having to completely replace all the time.

 

 

 

Are there really benefits to proper 'racing' brake fluid or are they another placebo to make me part with my cash? Will a typical flush of DOT4 or 5.1 be more than fine?!

I use the Halfords 5.1 race fluid in mine, very good stuff, never boiled over or faded on me on a track day and well priced

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i use shell 5.1 never had an problem

It doesn't really matter what you use as long as it's very fresh, brake fluid itself doesn't really boil, it's the water content that boils forming steam bubbles.

 

Moral of this story is this; don't use brand new brake fluid that's been sitting on the shelf in the garage for years, buy a fresh bottle from someone that sells a lot of the stuff and change it every year in the spring because it absorbs moisture over the winter.

Cheers for the responses guys.

 

 

 

It doesn't really matter what you use as long as it's very fresh, brake fluid itself doesn't really boil, it's the water content that boils forming steam bubbles.

 

Moral of this story is this; don't use brand new brake fluid that's been sitting on the shelf in the garage for years, buy a fresh bottle from someone that sells a lot of the stuff and change it every year in the spring because it absorbs moisture over the winter.

 

Good advice thanks! Fluid has to eventually vaporise though surely? Which is what I thought the point was to have 'racing' fluids with a higher boiling point? Is it likely that these quoted temps of around 260 degrees celsius are going to be reached on track days?

 

Are 'racing' fluids more hydroscopic as a trade off then? Obviously the boiling temp comes down massively when water does start to come into the system.

Cheers for the responses guys.

 

 

 

 

Good advice thanks! Fluid has to eventually vaporise though surely? Which is what I thought the point was to have 'racing' fluids with a higher boiling point? Is it likely that these quoted temps of around 260 degrees celsius are going to be reached on track days?

 

Are 'racing' fluids more hydroscopic as a trade off then? Obviously the boiling temp comes down massively when water does start to come into the system.

 

AFAIK all 'racing' brake fluids are extremely hygroscopic apart from the Silicon oil based fluids.

From an engineering perspective a braking system is just a hydraulic system with a small piston at one end and a larger piston at the other thereby acting as a force multiplier, you could probably use sunflower oil and it would work just fine, the difference is the longevity, ester based brake fluids are immune to degradation from flora and fauna as opposed to oil based hydraulic fluids which are not, this is why hydraulic oils are used in dynamic systems which circulate and can be filtered, ester based fluids are designed for systems which are stagnant like brakes and clutches.

 

As ever, you pays your money and you takes your choice, racing fluids get renewed regularly during a season, road fluids do not. I would use DOT 5.1 personally since that guarantees seal compatibility, is road legal and gives a useful working temperature increase.

Right, so as I thought, longevity is the trade-off for higher boiling temps.

 

I plan on doing a few track days, so don't mind doing a couple of changes a year at most.

 

I guess the question is what temps does brisk driving on-track usually reach? Regular 5.1 seems the choice to make for a trade-off of convenience and performance, but only if it will still be within operating temperature and not become useless mid-session...

Right, so as I thought, longevity is the trade-off for higher boiling temps.

 

I plan on doing a few track days, so don't mind doing a couple of changes a year at most.

 

I guess the question is what temps does brisk driving on-track usually reach? Regular 5.1 seems the choice to make for a trade-off off convenience and performance, but only if it will still be within operating temperature and not become useless mid-session...

 

Your pads will cook off long before the brake fluid does.

Ok, so question answered! Nice one

 

Regular DOT 5.1 it is!

Stick with dot 4. Something like Castrol response super (or something like that) is good stuff has a decent high wet boiling point. Found it lasted well. Or silkolene pro race but its not cheap!

 

I found halford 5.1 didn't last long as had to be replaced often.

ARGH!!!!

 

More opinions needed please!!

Dot 4 for my cars, specifically ATE Super Blue (although the last two I picked up were renamed ATE200 race iirc). It'll go two years with the occasional track day

Ha,

I was having this exact dilemma myself before getting my brake setup on the weekend.

Was thinking how often am I going to get up to track temps using the track specific fluid as car will still be used as a daily.

So I picked up 5.1 spec fluid of a unknown brand quite cheap 1L for £11 and if anything replace it just after track season is over.

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Dot 4 for my cars, specifically ATE Super Blue (although the last two I picked up were renamed ATE200 race iirc). It'll go two years with the occasional track day

This is what I'm using in the Clio now. Seems to be copying well.

Just use a decent brand of 5.1 and refresh it before a track day. All I used for years on rally cars just used to run a bit of fresh fluid thru before every rally. rallying is much harder on brakes than a track day would be and I never had a brake related problem.

I've used the ate blue stuff in my latest car purely because it was available cheaply.

being fresh is more important than anything when your pushing the system to its limits.

i've had dot 5.1 in mine for a yr that inc 1 track day same fluid now never ever had a issue with my brakes

Think I'll be getting some basic 5.1 after reading all this then.

 

I don't think it's gonna be worth spending a fortune on expensive fluid if the gains aren't there.

 

If I have any issues then I'll just upgrade on the next change

I think demon tweeks gave dry and wet boiling point on most of the fluids they sell, but be worth having a look through to see if there's any real gains from basic stuff to expensive ones.