Old Library

Ray,

I have attached a post that was made to the E36 M3 mailing list that I
found quite informative on this subject.  As far as personal experience
goes, I use ATE Super Blue with good results.  Here you go:



Date: Fri, 12 Mar 1999 22:09:46 -0500
From: "Steve D'Gerolamo" &lt;&#115;teved3&#64;idt<img src=/i/dn.gif border=0 width=35 height=15>&gt;
Subject: Brake Fluids

Thanks to Dave Zeckhausen who is as obsessive about brakes as I am about
tools. This is one
of his well circulated postings:

Lets look at what the DOT ratings mean. The table below shows the MINIMUM
wet and dry
boiling points for DOT 2, 3, 4, and 5 brake fluid in degrees fahrenheit:
DOT 2 DOT 3 DOT 4 DOT 5

                    Dry Boiling point 374 401 446 500
                    Wet boiling point 284 311 356

The DOT 2 spec is for drum brakes and is obsolete. If you have any DOT 2 in
your garage,
throw it away! DOT 5 is for silicone brake fluid. Silicone brake fluid (DOT
5) should be avoided
because it is not compatible with regular brake fluid, it is hard to pour
without introducing
bubbles and
thus results in soft pedal feel, and moisture still gets into your system
and will pool in low areas
like your calipers and encourage rapid corrosion. STAY AWAY!

That leaves DOT 3 and DOT 4 fluids. These fluids are compatible with each
other and may be
interchanged or mixed with no ill effects.

Let's look at some popular brake fluids and their boiling points:
Fluid DRY WET
Castrol LMA DOT 3/4 446 311
Ford Heavy Duty DOT 3 550 290
ATE Super Blue Racing 536 392
ATE TYP 200 536 392
Motul Racing 600 585 421
Castrol SRF 590 518
Performance Friction 550 284

Castrol LMA is very good at rejecting moisture and may be kept in your
brake system for a
couple years. The LMA stands for "Low Moisture Absorption". This is the
minimum quality stuff
that I would use in my
Impala. It comes in plastic containers which do not have a long shelf life.
Don't buy lots of this
stuff at a time because moisture can make its way through the plastic
containers.

Ford Heavy Duty DOT 3 is VERY inexpensive and is popular among racers
because of its
excellent dry boiling point. It absorbs moisture quickly, but the racers
don't care since they
change their fluid frequently. Comes in metal cans so it may be stored. I
would not use this in
my Impala for the street.

ATE Super Blue Racing and ATE TYP 200 are the same brake fluid in two
different colors (blue
and amber, respectively). BMW recommends this brake fluid for their street
cars because it, like
Castrol LMA, absorbs moisture very slowly. The advantage over LMA is that
ATE has a much
better wet boiling point. You can put this stuff in your car and forget
about it for a long time.
An excellent choice for a weekend track car which also sees regular street
duty. Comes in metal
cans. This is what I use in all my street cars.

Motul Racing 600 is a very exotic and expensive synthetic fluid with high
wet and dry boiling
points. I use this exclusively in my race cars. Too expensive for the
street and requires frequent
changing due to its hydroscopic nature. Sold in plastic bottles.

Castrol SRF is a hyper-exotic and hyper-expensive brake fluid that is
generally used by wealthy
Porsche owners at track events. I've seen prices of $78 per liter for this
stuff. It is not suitable
for the street because it absorbs moisture quickly. Sold in metal cans. I
can't afford this stuff!

Performance Friction High Performance DOT 3 has a good dry boiling point
but a crummy wet
boiling point. It comes in metal cans which is good for shelf life and
sells for $7.87 per 16 ounce
container. If you are even
considering this fluid, I would go with the cheaper Ford Heavy Duty DOT 3.
In either case,
change this fluid frequently due to the poor wet boiling point.



At 01:12 PM 4/22/99 -0500, Ray Sissons wrote:
>It is time for a brake fluid flush on my car. This is a daily driver and
>the vechile I use for autocross; does anyone recommend any specific type
>of brake fluid that I should consider changing to. Like DOT5 instead of
>DOT3, silcone base or not. For those who do not know me yet I have a
>1997 Camaro Z28. Any suggestions will be read. Thanks Ray

If you want to add to that list, the valvoline stuff
is 513 dry and 333 wet.  And you can buy it at wal-mart!

Rick

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Yes, I flushed and filled my system with the Valvoline SynPower just over a
month ago and have been to two autocrosses on the stuff. Workes great and is
only about $5 or $6 a quart.

Michael G. Wells


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Contrary to what's been stated here, there are DOT 5 fluids that are NOT
silicone based.  Motul makes fluids that are NOT silicone & DOT 5
rated(in terms of boiling point, etc...)  I believe castol makes some
too...

The Ford heavy duty stuff is good & cheap.

ATE super blue is not too good.  At TWS last fall, a guy was using ATE
super blue & was getting boil over and he wasn't even braking *that*
hard into turn 2.  I've used Motul in my 968 and never had any boil over
problems at the track including TWS.  And, I did some *heavy* braking
into turn 2 from 130MPH to about 85MPH.  The pedal is firmer as well
with the Motul.

Motul is not that expensive.  I think a small bottle is like $15 and you
only need a bottle or two.

Bill Kim



Ray Sissons wrote:
>
> It is time for a brake fluid flush on my car. This is a daily driver and
> the vechile I use for autocross; does anyone recommend any specific type
> of brake fluid that I should consider changing to. Like DOT5 instead of
> DOT3, silcone base or not. For those who do not know me yet I have a
> 1997 Camaro Z28. Any suggestions will be read. Thanks Ray

Motul makes a DOT 5.1 (notice the .1) brake fluid that is not
silicone based.
I used this in the past with good results on the Integra with
Porterfield R4S pads.

---
John Nguyen
&#106;ohn.nguyen&#64;amd<img src=/i/dc.gif border=0 width=35 height=15>
AMD Technical Marketing
(512) 602-9122

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