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Racing Brake Fluid

Trance_LT4

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 11, 2001
Messages
140
Location
Suffolk, VA
Corvette
Red 96 LT4 coupe
I have a 96 LT4 Coupe as a daily driver that I want to use for an occasional trip to the track/road circuit. I've got some pretty good aftermarket brakes on there, but I don't know about the fluid. Is racing brake fluid bad for street use? If it is, I'd like some opinions on how well DOT4 rated fluid works for ppl who autocross or roadrace.
 
Brake Fluid options

The only times I have seen brake fluid boil, was when it was real dirty and old. Saturated with moisture, turns a darker color. This happens to some autocross cars that have two drivers, so the car doesn't get much rest between sessions.

I use and recommend DOT 4 fluid, like Vavoline SynBlend or equivalent. But, THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS: to change out your fluid by flushing at least once a year, more often if you do much autocrossing or track time events. Clean fluid is pretty transparent. If it's dark, flush it out.

DOT 4 is fine for the street.
 
Ive used the German Super Blue

Not that I race but I had to do my 88 and my neighbor has a gallon can that found it's way home from work when a forklift punctured the crate ( 60 gallons ) were in.

It worked.. the car stopped..it matched the paint..life was good till my master started leaking ( age ) and I didn't have enough left to bench bleed so I had to go back to the regular stuff.

Mike
 
Note:

DOT 4 and DOT 3 brake fluids CAN be mixed together.

But, DO NOT MIX DOT 5, "silicone" WITH ANYTHING ELSE!

Brakes are the most important part of any car on the road or track!
 
Brake Fluids

Good evening

Dot 3 & Dot 4 brake fluids are both glycol-based fluids & are cross compatiable. Dot 5 is silicone based, do not mix it with either of the above. Brake fluids are hydroscopic, which means they tend to absorb moisture. Moisture is the enemy of a performance braking system as it lowers the boiling point of all the brake fluids & creates corrosion within the system. The Dot 4 brands have a dry boiling around 450 Deg. & Dot 5 has a dry boiling point around 500 Deg. The appeal of Dot 5 is it does not absorb as much moisture as the others (read silicone). The road race guys use Dot 4 as testing shows that Dot 5 Silicone based fluids tend to compress at high temps & give a spongy feeling brake pedal.
In the Porsches & Mazdas I always used ATE Super Blue Dot 4 Racing Brake Fluid. I plan on using it in the Vette' also. The most important thing you can do is completly flush the system, when changing fluids. I do this by pumping an extra can of what I intend to use thru the system. I then close the system and fill/bleed with a new (sealed) bottle of fluid. I have never had any problems with AutoX. Roadcourses are another issue though, Corvettes tend to be high powered & are fairly heavy as road race type cars go. Any time I went to a track event (Heartland park) (Hallet) the stock Corvette's would overheat their brakes. Not intended to be a knock on Vette's I love mine....
 

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