DOT 4 / 5.1 How Much Do I need?
May-31st-2003, 09:54 PM
#1
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DOT 4 / 5.1 How Much Do I need?
Hi I am going to install the stainless brakes lines on my ride. In the mean time flash my brake system and put in some fresh DOT 4 /5.1 as well. But I don't know how much I need. Since I need to order them so I don't want to order too much. And is DOT 5.1 ok with the Non-ABS system? Please Help!!!
June-1st-2003, 12:04 AM
#2
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Location: Dallas, Texas
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1) Most types of brake fluid come in pint or quart bottles. A quart (2 pints) should be more than enough. 
2) DOT 5.1 will work fine regardless of whether you have ABS or not.
3) Why are you ordering it? FWIW, unless you road race your car, you don't need ultra-expensive racing braking fluid (Motul, Castrol SRF, etc.) When you buy this type of fluid, you pay a huge premium for a small increase in boiling point that you will NEVER notice on the street. If you bleed your brakes regularly, Ford High Performance fluid (from your friendly neighborhood Ford parts counter) or Valvoline SynPower fluid (widely available at discount auto parts stores) will work fine.
2) DOT 5.1 will work fine regardless of whether you have ABS or not.
3) Why are you ordering it? FWIW, unless you road race your car, you don't need ultra-expensive racing braking fluid (Motul, Castrol SRF, etc.) When you buy this type of fluid, you pay a huge premium for a small increase in boiling point that you will NEVER notice on the street. If you bleed your brakes regularly, Ford High Performance fluid (from your friendly neighborhood Ford parts counter) or Valvoline SynPower fluid (widely available at discount auto parts stores) will work fine.
Last edited by carguycw; June-1st-2003 at 12:11 AM.
June-1st-2003, 12:55 PM
#3
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I don't know. I have NOS on my car. I just feel it might help. I have the cross drill slots in the front and going to install the Good Ridge Stainless Steel Break line. I sometime street race just think that I should use DOT 4 at least. And my brother is paying since he is going to use on his WRX. If I don't really need it I will tell him to buy me a cheaper one. ( Try to save him some $$$)
June-1st-2003, 02:33 PM
#4
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IMHO you *definitely* don't need race fluid, and your brother probably won't either, assuming that he does the same kind of racing as you. Drag racing does NOT heat up brakes very much because you're only making one high-speed stop at a time, then staying put for several minutes while the brakes cool. [In fact, I've heard of some muscle-car drag racers swapping SMALLER front brakes onto their cars to decrease rotating mass, but I digress.]
In order to boil brake fluid, you need to be doing REPEATED high-speed braking because it will take a while for the heat to soak through the calipers and heat up the fluid. In fact, most modern high-performance brake pads (Hawk, Porterfield, EBC, etc.) have specially insulated backing plates to keep the heat from soaking through the pad and into the calipers. For the type of driving you're doing, Ford fluid or SynPower will be perfectly adequate.
In order to boil brake fluid, you need to be doing REPEATED high-speed braking because it will take a while for the heat to soak through the calipers and heat up the fluid. In fact, most modern high-performance brake pads (Hawk, Porterfield, EBC, etc.) have specially insulated backing plates to keep the heat from soaking through the pad and into the calipers.
For the type of driving you're doing, Ford fluid or SynPower will be perfectly adequate.
Last edited by carguycw; June-1st-2003 at 02:38 PM.
June-1st-2003, 10:16 PM
#5
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First We don't Drag Race. We Street race. When we race, we race from point A to point B. I know we shouldn't do but I don't want to bring up the racing part in this board. The question is that if we have the change our brake pads two times a year (He use EBC and I am just using the KVC one from Corksport) Will I need to get the high-end or just the Ford? If it is not really helping that much. I will stick with the Ford and let him buy whatever for his ride. Thanks again for the answer.
June-2nd-2003, 08:36 AM
#6
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1) Where I come from, street racing usually equals drag racing, or some version thereof. Sorry. 
2) If you are SERIOUS about brake performance, ditch the drilled/ slotted rotors. They won't improve performance if you're using good carbon pads. Run a search if you want to know the reasons why, I don't feel like reposting them for the umpteenth time.
2) If you are SERIOUS about brake performance, ditch the drilled/ slotted rotors. They won't improve performance if you're using good carbon pads. Run a search if you want to know the reasons why, I don't feel like reposting them for the umpteenth time.
Last edited by carguycw; June-2nd-2003 at 02:42 PM.
June-2nd-2003, 02:27 PM
#7
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Location: Buffalo NY
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If you're flushing the whole brake system, I'd go with the quart size just to be sure you do not run out of it when you're bleeding the brakes. As far as brake fluid, the valvoline or the ford fluid should be just fine for your application.
