The difference is probably going to be all about the master cylinder, brake booster and other components. The fluid has little to do with it. The only advantage to using super dot 4 is that it has a higher boiling temperature than regular dot 3 or dot 4. The only reason I use it is because it's speced by my Mercedes. Only drawback with it is that it absorbs water more readily than Dot 3 which is why they have a 2 year flush as standard maintenance. That might just be their way of getting cars into the dealership. In the old days I never use to flush dot 3 and went 8+ years on it. I don't think that was a good idea though, just the manufacturer never recommended any flush interval and things like wheel cylinders or brake lines would end up rusting out.
Brake fluid recommendations?
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Originally Posted By: Wolf359
The difference is probably going to be all about the master cylinder, brake booster and other components. The fluid has little to do with it. The only advantage to using super dot 4 is that it has a higher boiling temperature than regular dot 3 or dot 4. The only reason I use it is because it's speced by my Mercedes. Only drawback with it is that it absorbs water more readily than Dot 3 which is why they have a 2 year flush as standard maintenance. That might just be their way of getting cars into the dealership. In the old days I never use to flush dot 3 and went 8+ years on it. I don't think that was a good idea though, just the manufacturer never recommended any flush interval and things like wheel cylinders or brake lines would end up rusting out.
I wouldn't mind flushing my brake fluid every 2 years on the Z. I just don't want to waste money on something I won't see a benefit from.
The difference is probably going to be all about the master cylinder, brake booster and other components. The fluid has little to do with it. The only advantage to using super dot 4 is that it has a higher boiling temperature than regular dot 3 or dot 4. The only reason I use it is because it's speced by my Mercedes. Only drawback with it is that it absorbs water more readily than Dot 3 which is why they have a 2 year flush as standard maintenance. That might just be their way of getting cars into the dealership. In the old days I never use to flush dot 3 and went 8+ years on it. I don't think that was a good idea though, just the manufacturer never recommended any flush interval and things like wheel cylinders or brake lines would end up rusting out.
I wouldn't mind flushing my brake fluid every 2 years on the Z. I just don't want to waste money on something I won't see a benefit from.
Originally Posted By: Jimzz
Valvoline brake fluid is Dot3/4 and not to much more than just Dot3. Anything more than that is not worth it IMO unless you are racing or have other needs for much higher temps.
That's what I and many others use for racing. It's easy to find.
Valvoline brake fluid is Dot3/4 and not to much more than just Dot3. Anything more than that is not worth it IMO unless you are racing or have other needs for much higher temps.
That's what I and many others use for racing. It's easy to find.
Originally Posted By: Dumc87
Originally Posted By: Wolf359
The difference is probably going to be all about the master cylinder, brake booster and other components. The fluid has little to do with it. The only advantage to using super dot 4 is that it has a higher boiling temperature than regular dot 3 or dot 4. The only reason I use it is because it's speced by my Mercedes. Only drawback with it is that it absorbs water more readily than Dot 3 which is why they have a 2 year flush as standard maintenance. That might just be their way of getting cars into the dealership. In the old days I never use to flush dot 3 and went 8+ years on it. I don't think that was a good idea though, just the manufacturer never recommended any flush interval and things like wheel cylinders or brake lines would end up rusting out.
I wouldn't mind flushing my brake fluid every 2 years on the Z. I just don't want to waste money on something I won't see a benefit from.
It might be an aggressive schedule, but if you don't want to flush every 2 years, just stick with a dot 3/4 fluid. Super dot 4 is actually a slightly better spec that regular dot 4, but the drawback is more frequent flushing.
Originally Posted By: Wolf359
The difference is probably going to be all about the master cylinder, brake booster and other components. The fluid has little to do with it. The only advantage to using super dot 4 is that it has a higher boiling temperature than regular dot 3 or dot 4. The only reason I use it is because it's speced by my Mercedes. Only drawback with it is that it absorbs water more readily than Dot 3 which is why they have a 2 year flush as standard maintenance. That might just be their way of getting cars into the dealership. In the old days I never use to flush dot 3 and went 8+ years on it. I don't think that was a good idea though, just the manufacturer never recommended any flush interval and things like wheel cylinders or brake lines would end up rusting out.
I wouldn't mind flushing my brake fluid every 2 years on the Z. I just don't want to waste money on something I won't see a benefit from.
It might be an aggressive schedule, but if you don't want to flush every 2 years, just stick with a dot 3/4 fluid. Super dot 4 is actually a slightly better spec that regular dot 4, but the drawback is more frequent flushing.
edyvw
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Originally Posted By: Dumc87
Originally Posted By: BHopkins
ATE Typ 200 DOT 4. It has much higher wet and dry boiling points than most other DOT 4 brake fluids, and it is designed so that it binds to water in such a way that wet boiling point is not changed by moisture. At least up to some point. IMHO, it's the best brake fluid for the money. But it will run you about $20/qt. The only brake fluids that are better are ones that cost 2-4 times as much.
If you have an aversion to ordering online, since you probably won't find ATE local unless you live near a speed shop, my second choice would be Pentosin Super Dot 4. It can be found at your local Autozone, and it is less expensive than ATE Typ 200. It can be had for about $14/qt.
Chances are, your Cherokee and the Matrix are never driven such that they will ever benefit from the superior brake fluid. But the 300ZX might. And you just as well have one brake fluid in the garage, that can be used in all three cars.
P.S. If anyone runs across a stash of ATE Super Blue, I'd pay a fair price for a few cans. And please, no one lecture me on how it is illegal. I don't want to hear about how effective of a bureaucracy the U.S. Government can be sometimes.
Pentosin is interesting to me. I just wonder if using $14 (8.40 post discount) brake fluid versus $5 brake fluid will yield any significant difference in my vehicles.
The Jeep has the worst brakes of the cars. I upgraded the pads and rotors and did a brake fluid flush, which helped out quite a bit. I think I used Prestone or SuperTech. Something off the shelf at Wal Mart. I want to get stainless steel lines for the Jeep as well as the Matrix, as I feel that's the best brake upgrade one can do relatively easy. Once I get those, that is when I'd like to refresh the fluid with something nice
It will make. When I owned VW CC during move from one city to another, had circumstances not allowing me to do job myself, so I take it to Brake Plus to change fluid. They use DOT4 (not sure of brand).
What garbage. Year after I had issues wth fading. I put VW OEM fluid (supplied by Pentosin) and it will give you two years of good performance.
Still, ATE TYP200 is probably best out there that you can get, beside Castrol SRF. I used recentaly ATE in my BMW and will switch VW soon to it.
Originally Posted By: BHopkins
ATE Typ 200 DOT 4. It has much higher wet and dry boiling points than most other DOT 4 brake fluids, and it is designed so that it binds to water in such a way that wet boiling point is not changed by moisture. At least up to some point. IMHO, it's the best brake fluid for the money. But it will run you about $20/qt. The only brake fluids that are better are ones that cost 2-4 times as much.
If you have an aversion to ordering online, since you probably won't find ATE local unless you live near a speed shop, my second choice would be Pentosin Super Dot 4. It can be found at your local Autozone, and it is less expensive than ATE Typ 200. It can be had for about $14/qt.
Chances are, your Cherokee and the Matrix are never driven such that they will ever benefit from the superior brake fluid. But the 300ZX might. And you just as well have one brake fluid in the garage, that can be used in all three cars.
P.S. If anyone runs across a stash of ATE Super Blue, I'd pay a fair price for a few cans. And please, no one lecture me on how it is illegal. I don't want to hear about how effective of a bureaucracy the U.S. Government can be sometimes.
Pentosin is interesting to me. I just wonder if using $14 (8.40 post discount) brake fluid versus $5 brake fluid will yield any significant difference in my vehicles.
The Jeep has the worst brakes of the cars. I upgraded the pads and rotors and did a brake fluid flush, which helped out quite a bit. I think I used Prestone or SuperTech. Something off the shelf at Wal Mart. I want to get stainless steel lines for the Jeep as well as the Matrix, as I feel that's the best brake upgrade one can do relatively easy. Once I get those, that is when I'd like to refresh the fluid with something nice
It will make. When I owned VW CC during move from one city to another, had circumstances not allowing me to do job myself, so I take it to Brake Plus to change fluid. They use DOT4 (not sure of brand).
What garbage. Year after I had issues wth fading. I put VW OEM fluid (supplied by Pentosin) and it will give you two years of good performance.
Still, ATE TYP200 is probably best out there that you can get, beside Castrol SRF. I used recentaly ATE in my BMW and will switch VW soon to it.
I use DOT 5.1 in everything, performs better in the cold weather.
Originally Posted By: Kgrant
I use DOT 5.1 in everything, performs better in the cold weather.
Does it now. You measure this how, exactly?
I use DOT 5.1 in everything, performs better in the cold weather.
Does it now. You measure this how, exactly?
Originally Posted By: rooflessVW
Originally Posted By: Kgrant
I use DOT 5.1 in everything, performs better in the cold weather.
Does it now. You measure this how, exactly?
I used my foot. Fresh DOT 3 vs 5.1 at -40 in the brake and clutch system. Better braking response and easier clutch pedal.
Originally Posted By: Kgrant
I use DOT 5.1 in everything, performs better in the cold weather.
Does it now. You measure this how, exactly?
I used my foot. Fresh DOT 3 vs 5.1 at -40 in the brake and clutch system. Better braking response and easier clutch pedal.
Last edited:
edyvw
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Originally Posted By: Kgrant
Originally Posted By: rooflessVW
Originally Posted By: Kgrant
I use DOT 5.1 in everything, performs better in the cold weather.
Does it now. You measure this how, exactly?
I used my foot. Fresh DOT 3 vs 5.1 at -40 in the brake and clutch system. Better braking response and easier clutch pedal.
It is low viscosity. Same like DOT 4 LV.
Originally Posted By: rooflessVW
Originally Posted By: Kgrant
I use DOT 5.1 in everything, performs better in the cold weather.
Does it now. You measure this how, exactly?
I used my foot. Fresh DOT 3 vs 5.1 at -40 in the brake and clutch system. Better braking response and easier clutch pedal.
It is low viscosity. Same like DOT 4 LV.
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