Best Brake Fluid

[nuffsaid]

hi all

whats the best brake fluid to use on a GTT? and how much do i need? and is it dot 4 4.1 5 5.1?

nothing overly expensive but something that will put up well with some harsh hill driving and street braking

i will be using Formula Ferodo pads at the front, and Ferodo Excels in the rear (they dont have them for the front).

alot of brake places have recommended to not use Ferodo DS2500 (my original choice, everyone says they rock) because they can get noisy. so going with the ferodos below this model this . i think this is fine seeing the car is normally a daily driver so need something that will perform well on a cold biteand emergency braking

my current pads (no idea what they are) just dont seem to bite down hard at all!

i will be bleeding the brakes, changing fluid, and machining discs at the same time

car was only complied late last year which would have meant that they changed the brake fluid, but who knows! some of these compliance people dont do anything!

thanks

Edited March 3, 2006 by nuffsaid

[PMATT]

hi all

whats the best brake fluid to use on a GTT? and how much do i need? and is it dot 4 4.1 5 5.1?

thanks

ANY fluid is good for the road if you do a regular flush it prevents the fluid breaking down from contamination.

MOTUL RBF600 is a good fluid and has a higher boiling point

CASTROL GP600 the same and both good for hill climb or any motorsport where your brakes get hot.

Either fluid should cost around $25 a 500ml bottle you may need 2 as you will need to fluid flush.

When you flush the fluid run a clear piece of hose over the bleeder nipple and into an old coke bottle.NO MESS and you can see if there is any AIR TRAPPED as well.

Edited March 3, 2006 by PMATT

[Scooby]

beware of using anything that is silicon based as can play havoc with seals, might be better to use a good non silicon fluid if it's a daily driver. afaik if the seals are new then you can use silicon ok but if they've been exposed to mineral oil then you shouldn't.

the 2500s really are good, and work well at low temp. i've used them on a GTR and they don't squeal with one peice rotors but are beyond belief with two piece.

[scathing]

You might be the first person to ever say that their DS2500s don't squeal. Although some people have had good results using Wurth anti-squeal paste.

I reckon the DS2500s are a great sports pad. They don't need any heat to work well, and they'll cop a fair amount of punishment. Aside from the squealing, they will also dust up like you wouldn't believe.

[nuffsaid]

Still no idea on what fluid to use? any other suggestions?

The ones PMATT referred to might be a little too expensive and unncessary for me?

[Sydneykid]

Still no idea on what fluid to use? any other suggestions?

The ones PMATT referred to might be a little too expensive and unncessary for me?

Castrol Response Super Dot 4 (about $10 a litre)

Castrol Response Dot 4 ($less)

cheers

Edited March 7, 2006 by Sydneykid

[nuffsaid]

haha thanks SK. you legend!

Oh and how much do I need to get to flush the entire R34 GTT system?

Edited March 7, 2006 by nuffsaid

[Sydneykid]

haha thanks SK. you legend!

Oh and how much do I need to get to flush the entire R34 GTT system?

Depends on how good you are, usually a bit more than 500 ml and less than 1L

cheers

[Julzy]

i've just ordered some dba 4000 series slotted front discs, ebc greenstuff front pads, and blackstuff rear pads for my r33 gts-t. i was going to put in some castrol response super dot 4, but the guy i spoke to today told me the fluid will be inadequate for the setup im running. he's reccommending i should use a racing fluid. anyone agree/disagree with this? would response super dot 4 be good enough? car is used as a daily, but will occasionally see some decent thrashing!

[scathing]

The DOT rating for brake fluid, for the most part, tells you how much heat it'll handle before it boils.

So if you're not likely to hammer your brakes, and probably on a racetrack environment, then I fail to see how DOT 4 is "inadequate".

[axelmasok]

Coincidental topic, good timing.

Just left Auto1 and remembered brake fluid while driving away with $200 worth of diff/gbox/engine oils...

I'll grab some of the Castrol super dot 4, but whats this about fluid flush? I was hoping that the new fluid is different colour so pushing out the old will be pretty obvious?

Was there a guide on actual bleeding here somewhere...which caliper which order...

[Sydneykid]

Coincidental topic, good timing.

Just left Auto1 and remembered brake fluid while driving away with $200 worth of diff/gbox/engine oils...

I'll grab some of the Castrol super dot 4, but whats this about fluid flush? I was hoping that the new fluid is different colour so pushing out the old will be pretty obvious?

Was there a guide on actual bleeding here somewhere...which caliper which order...

There will most definitely be a colour difference. The theory of bleeding is to start at the furthest calliper from the master cylinder. ie; the rear left. But I have never seen any real world difference.

cheers

[Duncan]

Gary, in an ABS skyline isn't the passenger side closer (shorter pipe) to the master cylinder?

[Trex101]

Use ATE Super Blue Dot 4.

[PMATT]

Colour doesn't matter and just use a name brand fluid eg Castrol,Mobil etc

most std brake fluid has a boiling point of 270deg then it goes up to 310deg for racing .The main thing with brake fluid is to flush atleast once every year or earlier as the fluid gets contaminated from condensation etc .If you lift your cap off the brake master cylinder and put your finger in there check out the gunk build up, it happens.

The quickest way to change fluid is to bleed the old fluid out until the new fluid comes through.If you are picky the best thing to do is remove the reservoir and clean it out first.BUT it is always recommended to go to a brake specialist it costs about $70 to get a fluid flush.

Edited March 10, 2006 by PMATT

[Sydneykid]

Gary, in an ABS skyline isn't the passenger side closer (shorter pipe) to the master cylinder?

Don't know Dunc, none of our Skylines have ABS. The Stagea does though, I will have to have a look at it, it's due for a fluid change anyway.

cheers

[Duncan]

ahh thats right of course, I'm sure mine doesnt either like all the other N1s :Oops:

[Busky2k]

Castrol Super Dot 4 would cover 95% of the drivers here on SAU.

[Ghostrider]

Just something I'm renown for ..... stupid questions.

What's the who har about Castrol SRF? I know it's as expensive as hell, but is it what it says?

Does anyone know for sure?

[Roy]

Just something I'm renown for ..... stupid questions.

What's the who har about Castrol SRF? I know it's as expensive as hell, but is it what it says?

Does anyone know for sure?

Proof is in th epudding...there are a few Vic guys using it at sprints and thay are yet to boil the fluid in their GTRs. I use RBF600 which is alot cheaper, but im not convinced its as good as the AP stuff i use to use..so i wiull be reverting back to the AP stuff, may give the Castrol a go, only problem is iom having a play with brakes and dont want to be constantly flushing $$$$ fluid liek Castrol if its not required