BimmerFest BMW Forum banner

Any difference in fancy vs. store bought brake fluid

3K views 10 replies 4 participants last post by  dave94502 
#1 ·
My wife has an interest in working on her Z3 and we are doing the tranny and diff fluids next weekend. Got a fancy brand of that (name withheld to avoid the giant debate) but I was planning to use plain old auto parts brake fluid DOT 4 and flush things while each end was in the air. For general use do I need blue or red Motul or ATE stuff or will just flushing it with a straw colored fluid work (it is currently like an ale, not like the Guiness color of her girlfriend's Montero that we are going to address the same day). I am thinking that just changing old for new has far more value than getting the bragging brand.
 
#4 ·
ATE 200 (normal) - don't try the blue stuff. Still trying to get it all out after 3 flushes!!

Brake fluid is safety equipment - get's changed every 2 years and <$20 for ate200 why save a couple of bucks for something that is pretty important.
 
#5 ·
Alrighty you folks convinced me. Got ATE Gold on the way from Bavarian Autosport. I got a quart of the best auto parts store stuff but will use that to flush the fluid of my wife's business partner's Montero. She has a deployed husband and takes great care of her car, but went to the 99 dollar brake store and the fluid is somewhere between a Porter and Guiness. :mad:

I wonder how long brakes last in a Z3 anyway. So far it is much longer than my E46 325Ci.

Thanks for the advice on fluid for brakes. At least this topic is not as controversial as diff and tranny fluid. :dunno:
 
#6 ·
Brakes????

Yuo actually USE the brakes????

:)

I like the Castrol LMA stuff because it absorbs less moisture, so lasts longer in normal cars. I do my cars every couple of years. I use Castrol SRF for serious use. Not cheap, but holds up under very hard use.
 
#7 ·
I agree w Pinecone-Castrol LMA ($4/12oz) is the one and it is now synthetic.

Brakes 101
On all brake fluids, look at the wet boiling point because brake fluid absorbs moisture extremely well. It seems the more expensive/exotic/higher boiling point fluids are the MOST susceptible to moisture. Motul 660 ($29/17oz) and 600 have nitrogen instead of air in the container to "extend its shelf life and eliminate moisture contamination while in its factory sealed container". (Ed: I added italics). AP PRF and 551 comes in .5 liter bottles with "double-sealed caps to ensure that the fluid stays fresh". The wet boiling point of Castro LMA (311 deg) is higher than AP 551 (284) or 600 (284) and equal to AP PRF. ATE Super Blue and Type 200 is not that much higher @ 396 and even Motul 600 has a wet boiling point of 399. Castrol SRF is the king @ 518, but it better be for $80/liter.

Racing or track pads tend to be metallic instead of ceramic like street pads. Metallic pads have high thermal conductivity compared to ceramic so the heat generated at the pad/rotor interface is transferred into the pad, then into the piston/caliper and then into the brake fluid. If the fluid boils, your brakes are toast.

The two best things you can do for your brakes for racing/track:
1) new pads- the thicker the pad material, the more insulation from heat it will provide.
2) new fluid-the less moisture it will contain

I use Castrol LMA even in the race car (but it weights only 1100 lbs w driver).
dave
 
#8 ·
We use Castrol LMA in the race cars (run by the shop I use). But again, they are not as heavy or as fast as my street car.

With using SRF, I flush annually, but I do track the car.
 
#9 ·
or as fast as my street car.
Terry, Terry. Terry
This is so wrong on soooooo many levels.
A street car should never, ever be as fast or faster than your race car. To correct this sorry situation, either:
1) get a slower street car (that ain't gonna happen, is it?-LOL), or
2) get a faster race car
I recommend a faster race car. A buddy of mine has a Swift 014 FA for sale for only $75K that NO street car could ever dream of touching. Let me know if you are interested.

dave (the big kidder)
 
#10 ·
My race car cost a LOT less than my street car or that race car. And it is about the quality of the racing, not the speed of the car.

Of, and my race car costs less to fix than my street car or an FA. Just had to do a tranny rebuild, $1800. And that will last about 70 - 75 races.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top