Brake Fluid: Dot 5/ Synthetic ??
 

Hello,

Just wanted to get some opinions/suggestions.

after driving a couple of hours i tend to feel some brake fade, and i do brake hard. (apart from moving up to Ceramic pads and drilled rotors, which i plan to in the future) i was looking through a couple of websites that offer Dot 5 brake fluid that sustain high temperatures and so on, but what about synthetic,, have any of you ever tried something like that.

I'm leaning towards what Amsoil has to offer, but i just want to get suggestions first.

thanks in advace,

Hi Centsless!

Brake fade is more often due to having reached the thermal limit of the pad and rotor. The brake fluid would have to boil under pressure to cause this. I always recommend stepping up to a better fluid, and flushing the system at least once a year (More often if you track the car). However, doing just this without an upgrade to better lines or higher friction pads and rotors will not benefit you all that much. I would recommend upgrading the pads and rotors before doing the fluid change, and while you are there flushing the system.

On the fluid, I am a HUGE fan of ATE fluids. Make certain that whatever product you purchase is in a METAL container (Plastic is pourous and allows moisture to leach into teh fluid). I have not used AMSOIL fluid, so I can't tell you there.

On the pads and the rotors, if you are looking for lower dust, ceramics are the way to go. If you are looking for better bite and higher friction, stick with a semi-met. Ceramics reflect the heat back into the rotor and cause it to warp very quickly when driven hard. For that matter, I won't tell you a drilled rotor is the way to go, either. The popular thought is that they allow the rotor to cool more quickly. Not true. They look very nice, but they reduce the mass of the braking systems heat sink, which REDUCES it's effectiveness. This is why you will never see a drilled rotor in competition. Really, the only way to affect braking efficiency in a rotor change is to chage the size of the rotor to something larger-Either in terms of thickness, diameter or mass.

Let me know if you need anything else!

Best,
Wes

do not use dot 5. it's not compatable with regular brake fluid and it can screw up your braking system. use some good dot 4. all brake fuild is synthetic, dot 5 is silicone. valvolene is using a advertsing scam to sell synpower as synthetic. it is, but so are all the other brake fluids.

motul and ate are greatdot 4 brake fluids.