Best Brake Fluid

[hyper7boy]

Hey everyone! What is the best brake fluid to use in your opinion? I will be replacing my brakelines this summer and switching over to stainless braided lines. I am also switiching to either slotted or drilled rotors.

I know this is an overkill set-up but it's just something thats nice to have. Also, I have been thinking lately about taking my car out to the track just to see what it is like. Maybe it will turn into a small hobby that I can take part of every few weekends.

Please disregard the price and simply state what you think is the best oil.

FYI I have been seriously considering ATE super blue racing fluid. Apparently it is also very good for daily driving and lasts quite a while :)

[ptfire]

Ford DOT 4

[Impressive]

Ford DOT 4

this.

[hyper7boy]

Ford DOT 4

Do you just buy this at the dealership? Why is it the best?

[shu5892001]

track=rbf600

[Impressive]

Do you just buy this at the dealership? Why is it the best?

Talk to the guys in the Mazdaspeed section they'll be able to point you in the right direction. I'd assume that if it works effectively for their Speed 3's, it'll more than suffice for our regular models.

[hyper7boy]

track=rbf600

To be perfectly clear your talking about Motul RBF600 right? Not another brand?

[rzapata]

Here's a small list of what MS3 folks use. :) The numbers are the dry and wet boiling point in Fahrenheit.

Ford "Focus Blue" Super DOT 4

Castrol GT LMA
-509/311

ATE Super Blue
-536/388

Motul RBF600
-593/420

Castrol SRF
-608/518

Valvoline SynPower

Sorry, I don't have the BPs for Ford and Valvoline... The Castrol SRF is apparently really expensive. The RBF600 goes bad easily as they say.. The Ford Focus Blue is a good one, I'm sure Fobio will agree on that. :)

[TheMAN]

the Ford DOT4 is hard to find and pretty expensive... so might as well get Motul 600 or ATE Super Blue, which are considered the best of the best

but if you just want something cheap and works good enough, Castrol GTLMA works very good for the money

if you have ABS, then I suggest going with Motul DOT5.1... it doesn't have quite as high of boiling point as the Motul 600, and is slightly less than the ATE Super Blue, but it works good for ABS cars because it is thinner and will allow the fluid to flow through the ABS pump/valves easier... the thinner fluid also lets the clutch work better on those very cold days :)

[hyper7boy]

Is the ATE Super Blue good for ABS as well?

How many litres would I require to do a full flush of the old fluid and replacement?

This may be a very stupid question but I did not realize that the brake fluid would reflect the clutch. Could someone expand on the brake/clutch relation?

[Shawn]

Same reservoir for Brake and Clutch on the 04-09, not sure after that.
1 litre should be enough to flush. Buy two and return if you don't use it.

[Fuman]

http://www.torontomazda3.ca/forum/showthread.php?19508-Brake-fluid-questions-FAQ
Have you seen the above wiki? If you have then I have a question for you.
What do you consider best?
Fluid with the highest wet/dry boiling point?
Fluid that lasts the longest (absorbs the least amount of water)?

If it is just a track day every now and then, even Ford Dot 3 (they have one of the highest dry boiling points) is fine.
You may just just want to start out with Dot 4 or Ford Dot 3,if you end up liking track then get something more hardcore.

to other members: if you see fluids that are missing from the sticky, feel free to add to the sticky

[hyper7boy]

To the mods: Any chance we can start a poll? It might be helpful for users in the future to see what people are running.

What is your preferred brake fluids for a track/street setup?

-ATE SuperBlue
-Motul RBF600
-Castrol SRF
-Ford DOT 4
-Motul DOT5.1

Thanks!

[CelestSpeed3]

Hey everyone! What is the best brake fluid to use in your opinion? I will be replacing my brakelines this summer and switching over to stainless braided lines. I am also switiching to either slotted or drilled rotors.

I know this is an overkill set-up but it's just something thats nice to have. Also, I have been thinking lately about taking my car out to the track just to see what it is like. Maybe it will turn into a small hobby that I can take part of every few weekends.

Please disregard the price and simply state what you think is the best oil.

FYI I have been seriously considering ATE super blue racing fluid. Apparently it is also very good for daily driving and lasts quite a while :)

The best thing for you to do it upgrade the lines and swap out to fresh DOT4 Prestone from Canadian Tire. If you really want to be ballin' then get some titanium backing plates for your pads. These will keep the heat in the pad and not in the fluid and you can say that you have 4 titanium plates on your car.

Anything more than that and you will be wasting your money, if you want to waste it you can just give me some.

For those that don't know much or anything about racing brake fluids here is the scoop. Racing brake fluids while they do maintain a high boiling point absorb moisture very quickly lowering there service life. They should only be in the car for a maximum of 6 months. When you read about guys saying ATE has a good life span, it does, 2 races instead of 1. It doesn't mean you can leave it in your car for 1,2 or 5 years. If you do switch over to racing brake fluids be prepared to FLUSH not bleed the system every 6 months at the least. If you do use racing brake fluid beyond it's service life then expect your brake lines to turn to slush in the winter. When you push the pedal it feels normal but the car doesn't stop, it doesn't do anything until the slush in the lines is melted. Also racing brake fluid like this is not needed on most vehicles. The OEM pads or even upgraded street pads will fade before the fluid has a chance to boil. The only time racing brake fluid is needed is when your are running R-comps (racing compound tires, ricers call them slicks) and a racing brake pad (Carbotech XP8 or better).

Since you don't sound like you've been to the track before, I wouldn't bother making this kind of commitment to maintenance.



the Ford DOT4 is hard to find and pretty expensive... so might as well get Motul 600 or ATE Super Blue, which are considered the best of the best

but if you just want something cheap and works good enough, Castrol GTLMA works very good for the money

if you have ABS, then I suggest going with Motul DOT5.1... it doesn't have quite as high of boiling point as the Motul 600, and is slightly less than the ATE Super Blue, but it works good for ABS cars because it is thinner and will allow the fluid to flow through the ABS pump/valves easier... the thinner fluid also lets the clutch work better on those very cold days :)

Everyone keeps telling me you are some Mazda mechanic but the more and more I read your posts you must be a plumber. The OP clearly has a 2010 Mazda3, since when is ABS optional on 2010's. Unbelievable, as a mechanic you should know more about brake fluid then I do. DOT5.1 better for the clutch on cold days, maybe the exhaust at your make-believe job is getting to your head. I've ran all types of fluids from DOT3, DOT4, and DOT 5.1 and the clutch feels the same for all of them.

Maybe you do work at a dealer as a lot jockey. Stop telling people unless information that you have no clue about.

[Fobio]

"Best" is a 4-letter word, that emcopasses many things...

Performance, application usage, availability, and costs, are just some of the factors I use to judge what's best.

Braking performance, like suspension setup, should be tailored to your driving style, rather than asking someone else, who may use the same car in a completely different situation, what the best brake fluids are.

Upgrading brake fluids, just for the sake of upgrading is self-defeating to someone learning to be on the track; have you even boiled your existing fluid yet to know what that means? do you believe that you can magically abuse your brakes cuz you have the "best" brake fluid some other dude told you? and if you boil the "best" fluid, then what will you do?

just like how I tell ppl to go to the track with their stock setup to start (street tires, stock brakes) is because you'll actually learn why ppl mod their cars. if you've never boiled your brake fluids to begin with, why would there be a need to change anyway?

In conclusion, "best" to me means it fulfills as much of the above 4 qualities as possible. And I have arrived at that conclusion through thorough researching AND testing at various sessions and I have decided for myself that this fluid is what I prefer.

[Rob23]

Thank you. It actually took quite a bit of searching to find this answer.
I do go to the track sometimes but not enough to have to worry.

Dot4 Prestone it is.



The best thing for you to do it upgrade the lines and swap out to fresh DOT4 Prestone from Canadian Tire. If you really want to be ballin' then get some titanium backing plates for your pads. These will keep the heat in the pad and not in the fluid and you can say that you have 4 titanium plates on your car.

Anything more than that and you will be wasting your money, if you want to waste it you can just give me some.

For those that don't know much or anything about racing brake fluids here is the scoop. Racing brake fluids while they do maintain a high boiling point absorb moisture very quickly lowering there service life. They should only be in the car for a maximum of 6 months. When you read about guys saying ATE has a good life span, it does, 2 races instead of 1. It doesn't mean you can leave it in your car for 1,2 or 5 years. If you do switch over to racing brake fluids be prepared to FLUSH not bleed the system every 6 months at the least. If you do use racing brake fluid beyond it's service life then expect your brake lines to turn to slush in the winter. When you push the pedal it feels normal but the car doesn't stop, it doesn't do anything until the slush in the lines is melted. Also racing brake fluid like this is not needed on most vehicles. The OEM pads or even upgraded street pads will fade before the fluid has a chance to boil. The only time racing brake fluid is needed is when your are running R-comps (racing compound tires, ricers call them slicks) and a racing brake pad (Carbotech XP8 or better).

Since you don't sound like you've been to the track before, I wouldn't bother making this kind of commitment to maintenance.




Everyone keeps telling me you are some Mazda mechanic but the more and more I read your posts you must be a plumber. The OP clearly has a 2010 Mazda3, since when is ABS optional on 2010's. Unbelievable, as a mechanic you should know more about brake fluid then I do. DOT5.1 better for the clutch on cold days, maybe the exhaust at your make-believe job is getting to your head. I've ran all types of fluids from DOT3, DOT4, and DOT 5.1 and the clutch feels the same for all of them.

Maybe you do work at a dealer as a lot jockey. Stop telling people unless information that you have no clue about.

[sunnydin]

I just bought a used 2010 Mazda3 GT with 72,500 kms on it. Should I be replacing the Brake Fluid? I love this little car and have replaced all the filters, and added Mobil 1 Synthetic oil. So I was wondering if I should start with fresh brake fluids too? Your thoughts & opinions on what to replace it with? Is there a "big"difference with the Dealership Brake Fluid vs the other "specialty" brands? I don't race, but 80% is urban and 20% Highway Driving.
Thank guys!

[stock3]

Spot on CelestSpeed3.

It's rather hilarious watching the "experts" recommend stuff that is only meant for track cars or exotics without having a clue of the ramifications for such decisions.
I just shake my head when people recommend DOT5.1 brake fluid or racing compound brake pads for street driven vehicles.

[kimchisoup]

I just bought a used 2010 Mazda3 GT with 72,500 kms on it. Should I be replacing the Brake Fluid? I love this little car and have replaced all the filters, and added Mobil 1 Synthetic oil. So I was wondering if I should start with fresh brake fluids too? Your thoughts & opinions on what to replace it with? Is there a "big"difference with the Dealership Brake Fluid vs the other "specialty" brands? I don't race, but 80% is urban and 20% Highway Driving.
Thank guys!

In short. NO.

In general, flush brake fluid when you replace pads... you have about same km as me so that should be soon.
To keep brakes operating at peak performance, remove calipers and thoroughly clean and grease sliding pins every year, as well as greasing the e-brake cables.

Unless you're a F1 driver, rotors should last 200km+/life. "rotor warping" is mechanic talk for "scam".
It is 100% true that brake fluid degrades with age, and especially if you do hard stops from highway speeds (boiling).

The brake fluid that "wears" the most is next to front calipers, so DO NOT check it in master cylinder.
Like when bleeding, open bleed nut on caliper as someone slowly presses pedal.
Clear or very light yellow is good. If its dark, has particles or smells like varnish, then its contaminated.

Finally, whenever you have car up (ie changing wheels), visually check pads are wearing evenly.
If a pad is dragging, that rim will get hotter than the rest, after 10+ min of city driving.

[Cab0oze]

I'm liking your posts kimchisoup!
Although, I dont 100% agree with your comment about rotor warping. Maybe warping isn't the right word, but rotors sometimes do get totally fncked up. I don't have a great picture unfortunately, but when I did my gf's brakes this past spring her rotor surface had a sharp drop off followed by something that is best described as jagged ripples.

Anyhow back to the original question, brake fluid is brake fluid. For a daily driver they're all going to perform the same (although its true that some will last longer than others).

My car is over 5 years old and I took it to the track with new brakes and old fluid (what most people that go to the track would consider very stupid). So, old fluid with 100k on it. Did it work? Yes, it worked just fine. After 20+ minutes of me abusing the brakes (because I sucked and didn't know how much braking was req'd lol) my fluid boiled a bit, and I experienced brake fade (very reduced braking capability until things cooled down, which took about 30 seconds of normal driving)

After going thru this twice, I replaced my fluid with ATE Superblue (which makes changing fluid a breeze due to the color) and now, zero fade on the track.

A daily driver will never see this unless his braking system is damaged or extraordinarily old. Most people never flush their brakes over 200k+ and daily drive/emergency stop just fine. Will they have problems if they do 3 emgergency stops back to back? Yeah you bet. But who does that?

or to summarize with Fobio's post:

just like how I tell ppl to go to the track with their stock setup to start (street tires, stock brakes) is because you'll actually learn why ppl mod their cars. if you've never boiled your brake fluids to begin with, why would there be a need to change anyway?