Brake Fluid recommendations please...

[derdle]

The brake fluid is due for a 2 yearly replacement soon - just wondering if anyone has any preferences/advice on which fluid to use?

Have RS+ brakes on the front and stock rears. Car is used on trackdays too.

Cheers all.

Paul

[GrahamS4]

After easily boiling branded fluid less than a two years old on track with my Porsche 4 pots (pads were low though whcih doesn't help the heat), I now use Castrol SRF and will have it changed yearly.

Doug (MRC) thought it a bit overkill, but the brake pedal on the floor and not showing signs of resurection through pumping is not a nice feeling!

You pay a premium but you only need a litre of the stuff each year, so it's an easilly affordable endulgence.

[Nige_RS4]

SRF in mine too (and my old S4) - why spend £1k on brakes and not another £30 on decent fluid?

[GrahamS4]

Funny enough it was Nige that recommended SRF to me

[TopBear]

I think if you are hard on the brakes regularly and definately if you track it then SRF is a must.
It doesnt last as long as 'regular' fluid, but if your tracking your car you'll be changing regularly anyway.

[TopBear]

SRF in mine too (and my old S4) - why spend £1k on brakes and not another £30 on decent fluid?

Where do you get it for £30 Nige? I thought it was a fair bit more than that for the quantity req'd for an RS4

[mbelle]

c£35 per litre I think it is...

How long do you think it would last under normal braking conditions?

[DolphiN_Tech]

I'm running Brembo LCF600 on the Integra at the moment, gets a definite 2-thumbs but can't be used on systems with magnesium components - not sure if this applies here?

ATE's Super Blue/TYP200 is an interesting combo - same fluid but different colours so you know when it's fully flushed through.

I've used SRF in the past, and it's really is the danglies, but I got a little fed up with the upkeep. The 2 above aren't too far off in performance, but don't seem to go off anywhere near as fast.

[derdle]

Thnaks for the replies so far - other than DolphiN Tech's reply, it seems pretty much a no brainer!

So is the Castrol SRF more hydroscopic than normal brake fluids?

[tdiquattro]

Always use dot 5.1 where I can, difficult to find though, but excellent. Just check the Dot specs to see the benefits.

Halfords used to do it in a gold/bronze can (own brand Halfords) I seem to remember, not sure if they still do, better then the "enhanced" dot4 fluids above and cheaper.

[DolphiN_Tech]

Thnaks for the replies so far - other than DolphiN Tech's reply, it seems pretty much a no brainer!

Sorry, that might have seemed like I was spitting the dummy!

I do agree SRF is the best performing brake fluid, but it does seem to require more frequent changing - in my experience it was starting to feel off after just 4-5 months, whereas the LCF600 has managed a year under the same abuse and still feels ok, albeit never quite up to the standard of SRF.

It really comes down to what you want - the very best, or a fit-and-forget option that's quite close.

[derdle]

Sorry, that might have seemed like I was spitting the dummy!

Hey - not at all! the whole point of the posting was to get opinions from people with better knowledge on the matter than me (and the stealership)!!

So does anyone else feel as thought the SRF goes off so quickly (i.e 4-5 months) or has DolpiN Tech really "abused" his brake fluid to some real extremes?

TBH I prefer a "fit and forget" option BUT don't want to find myself at the end of a long straight with boiling brake fluid! (But I guess everyone prefers that too!)

Paul

[Andiroo]

I used SRF all the time on my RS and 996 Cup. I have to be honest in that I didn't notice it going off at any time, although it would have been difficult to tell if I was changing discs/pads in the same timeframe. It probably is wise to change it twice yearly just as a precaution as the guys say.

Cheers,

Andiroo

[Nige_RS4]

I change mine annually - haven't noticed any difference in my brakes. I guess it depends on how you drive, especialy how many track days you do.

As Graham says, better to be safe than sorry.

Where do you get it for £30 Nige?

I only paid for how much they used, which was less than a litre + VAT of course.

[Doug_S2]

I use SRF.

I found alfords dot 5.1 is not very good - some of the better dot 4 fluid is rated high than the cheap 5.1. I used to use Castrol Super Response DOT4 - i think it was rated better than the spec for 5.1 and that stuff was only £10 a litre.