For daily driving and about 20-30 autocrosses, 2-3 track days per year. I know DOT 3 is good all around but am I going to see any difference with DOT 4? Cost is also a factor as I'm limited

 

Even the most expensive type of fluid I can think of is still 12 bucks a liter.
Regular stuff is 5/6 bucks a liter. It's not that much more, but anything helps, even fresh DOT 3 fluid. Autocross isn't going to tax a brake system very much, so I would go with a good bleed with DOT 3/4 synthetic. That will hold up pretty well on track as well, as long as you aren't a a very brake intensive track.

 

ATE super blue... ~$10/ltr.

Will

 

Ditto...

Bryan

 

me three...Super Blue is good.

 

Motul RBF 600 is just fine for me.

 

I am currently using the Valvoline Synthetic in my GSR. It is a little light for track duty but I do use it for that so you will have NO problem with it in an autocross enviornment.

One thing to remember is availability. If you run something exotic like Motul or ATE where are you going to buy it if you need it in an emergency? The Valvoline is available at Pep Boys, AutoZone, Trak/Auto, Advanced Auto Parts and Wal Mart. If you ever need it you can get it just about anywhere.

 

Availability was my way of thinking too. Valvoline is cheap and as common as dirt, as well as offering above average wet/dry boiling points.

 

Exactly. The Valvoline Synthetic dry boils at 500 degrees to Motul's 580 degrees. The cost and availability out-weigh the temp rating in regards to autocross and other medium duty applications.

 

Just buy a whole pile of it. Why stop the financial bleeding now?

--Karl, who is broke

 

Motul 5.1

 

Castrol SRF, isnt that stuff like $60/liter?

I like superblue. It tastes good on my breakfast cereal.

 

Superblue!!

 

I like Motul RBF 600 because it's fairly inexpensive ($10 for a half-liter bottle) and its boiling point is 57 degrees higher than Superblue - that's a BIG difference.

Here are the dry and wet boiling points for many of the most popular brake fluids:

ARRANGED BY DRY BOILING POINT:

DRY:401F -- WET:284F --- DOT3 MINIMUM
DRY:446F -- WET:311F --- DOT4 MINIMUM
DRY:500F -- WET:356F --- DOT5 MINIMUM
DRY:502F -- WET:343F --- VALVOLINE SYNPOWER
DRY:509F -- WET:365F --- MOTUL 5.1
DRY:527F -- WET:302F --- AP RACING 551
DRY:536F -- WET:392F --- ATE SUPERBLUE/TYP200
DRY:590F -- WET:410F --- AP RACING 600
DRY:590F -- WET:518F --- CASTROL SRF
DRY:593F -- WET:420F --- MOTUL RBF600
DRY:610F -- WET:421F --- NEO-SYNTHETIC SUPER DOT 610


ARRANGED BY WET BOILING POINT:

DRY:401F -- WET:284F --- DOT3 MINIMUM
DRY:527F -- WET:302F --- AP RACING 551
DRY:446F -- WET:311F --- DOT4 MINIMUM
DRY:502F -- WET:343F --- VALVOLINE SYNPOWER
DRY:500F -- WET:356F --- DOT5 MINIMUM
DRY:509F -- WET:365F --- MOTUL 5.1
DRY:536F -- WET:392F --- ATE SUPERBLUE/TYP200
DRY:590F -- WET:410F --- AP RACING 600
DRY:593F -- WET:420F --- MOTUL RBF600
DRY:610F -- WET:421F --- NEO-SYNTHETIC SUPER DOT 610
DRY:590F -- WET:518F --- CASTROL SRF

 

Valvoline synthetic is $7.99 at PepBoys. I dont recall seeing it at AutoZone.

 

ditto ditto!

 

I paid $5 for it at the AutoZone in Charlestown WVA and that was the BIG bottle.


[Modified by Cobra, 4:44 PM 4/8/2002]

 

1 liter right? Its $7.99 in NY for some reason. I'm getting ripped off.

 

My bad, I just checked the reciept. Its $4.48 for the 32 ounce bottle.

 

That would be the one.

 

You should look more closely at Wet BP than Dry on a car which is daily driven and occasionally sees track events since you'll be bleeding/changing fluid less often. The difference is wet BP measures the approximate BP of the fluid after one year of use (normal water absorbtion). You'll see the 57 degree difference in Dry Bp between Motul RBF600 and ATE has now shrunk to 28 deg in Wet BP.

The gap of the valvoline (wet BP) is about 50 deg from the ATE. So IMO as well as several others go with the ATE. It's less than half as much as the Motul (which is priced by the 1/2 liter, now whole) and is almost as good.


ARRANGED BY WET BOILING POINT:

DRY:502F -- WET:343F --- VALVOLINE SYNPOWER
DRY:536F -- WET:392F --- ATE SUPERBLUE/TYP200
DRY:593F -- WET:420F --- MOTUL RBF600

ARRANGED BY DRY BOILING POINT:

DRY:502F -- WET:343F --- VALVOLINE SYNPOWER
DRY:536F -- WET:392F --- ATE SUPERBLUE/TYP200
DRY:593F -- WET:420F --- MOTUL RBF600

 

Michael,
I'm not sure why exactaly, but ATE Blue is not DOT approved fluid, and I know how much of a stickler you are about being legal for your Solo-II class . I've used Motul for a few years with no problems both for Solo-II and track events. If you go with Motul, just remember to bleed often and regular, especially if its been wet out. It likes to absorb moisture.

 

Motul RBF 600. My rotors got to 450+ degress and the brakes performed flawlessly.

 

I believe there was a post in this forum that had a link to a site where they actually measured the moisture in the brake fluid by Karl Fischer coulometry, and the Valvoline didn't do too badly after 1 year. Motul and ATE still did better, but Valvoline was way ahead of several pricier fluids by the one year point, depite those other fluids having higher dry BPs.

Too bad the archives aren't available.

 

ATE SuperBlue is not DOT approved solely because of it's color. Go with the Type200 (amber colored) as it is DOT approved and identical in properties if you have an ****, Solo **** breathing down your neck about it lol.