I attempted searching this but cannot find a clear cut answer to this, is there any brake fluid that is readily available at the local parts store that will survive a DE at Summit Point main? I've been moving places for the last few weeks and completely forgot to buy ATE Gold so I need something to flush the system Saturday.

I remember for my first few DEs last year I ran stock BMW fluid with cool willies and I was ok so it leads me to believe that although not preferred I can get away with using something from Advanced Auto for a weekend.

:help

You can get Motul RBF-600 at most Japanese motorcycle shops. 600F dry boiling point. $14/500ml

I run Valvoline SynPower in the Spec Miata. They claim a dry boiling point of 500F, which is close to ATE SuperBlue/Type 200 (536F). I think it was $13 for a liter bottle at the local Kragen.

I attempted searching this but cannot find a clear cut answer to this, is there any brake fluid that is readily available at the local parts store that will survive a DE at Summit Point main? I've been moving places for the last few weeks and completely forgot to buy ATE Gold so I need something to flush the system Saturday.

I remember for my first few DEs last year I ran stock BMW fluid with cool willies and I was ok so it leads me to believe that although not preferred I can get away with using something from Advanced Auto for a weekend.

:help

If you order from OG Racing, you can have it in one day

There is a shop at the track that carries AP600 & ATE :)

I run Valvoline SynPower in the Spec Miata. They claim a dry boiling point of 500F, which is close to ATE SuperBlue/Type 200 (536F). I think it was $13 for a liter bottle at the local Kragen.

It's listed $5.94 for the 1 liter at local advanced auto :eek:

Anyone else have any experience with this particular fluid?

It's listed $5.94 for the 1 liter at local advanced auto :eek:

Anyone else have any experience with this particular fluid?

I used Valvoline Synpower in our Neon when I raced Showroom Stock C and it worked fine for me with Hawk Blues. Our car weighed 2700 lbs and the races were 30-40 minutes at Heartland Park, Midamerica Motorplex, Gateway, Hallett, Second Creek, MidOhio. I now use ATE SuperBlue and ATE Gold since I have an inexpensive source for it. I have no qualms about going back to Synpower if I need to.

Anyone else have any experience with this particular fluid?
I should have added some more thoughts...

1) The Spec Miata is 2300 lbs with me in it. Quite a bit lighter than even a race-prepped M3.
2) The Valvoline fluid has an OK dry boiling point. The wet boiling point isn't great, so if you do go with it, be sure to bleed it frequently.

That being said, I don't know if your M3 with you driving will challenge the 500F dry boiling point. My heavy E46 M3 (3600lbs with me in it) would go all day long at the track without any sort of fade running the Motul fluid and PF-01 pads.

What kind of pads are you running?

I use the Valvoline Synpower.

Worked well for me on hot days at Putnam and MidOhio. No worries.

It's listed $5.94 for the 1 liter at local advanced auto :eek:

Anyone else have any experience with this particular fluid?
I've used it in a pinch with no problems whatsoever. This was at Watkins Glen in a relatively heavy car (E28 535is). When I do intensive brake work (anything requiring removal of calipers or lines or master cylinder), and I know I'm going to be burning through a lot of fluid to get the system properly bled, I use a liter of the Synpower before switching over to the Ate stuff.

-tammer

I've been moving places for the last few weeks and completely forgot to buy ATE Gold so I need something to flush the system Saturday.

How old is your current fluid? You may be better off with the old "good" fluid instead of the new cheap fluid. All of that said, you can definitely buy fluid at Summit. And if it's just a bleed, the cheap fluid won't even make it to your calipers...just be sure to flush the entire system before your next event so you don't bleed the cheap fluid into the calipers.

olympic auto parts in the dc metro area carries ate gold/blue.

og racing will ship to you next day, or you can pick it up at the store in ashburn or summit point.

or you can ask in the midatlantic bf.com forum is anyone has a spare can in the area...

Valvoline is fine, I've used it in a pinch with no problem. I've been a lot happier with it as a street fluid than ATE, too.

Have used valvoline for years without a problem. Have it in my current CM level car.

How old is your current fluid? You may be better off with the old "good" fluid instead of the new cheap fluid. All of that said, you can definitely buy fluid at Summit. And if it's just a bleed, the cheap fluid won't even make it to your calipers...just be sure to flush the entire system before your next event so you don't bleed the cheap fluid into the calipers.

My fluid is about a year old at this point so it's way overdue. I don't know how "cheap" the Valvoline is since it seems a lot of people are having great results with it :shifty

FWIW I am running cool willies pads

I attempted searching this but cannot find a clear cut answer to this, is there any brake fluid that is readily available at the local parts store that will survive a DE at Summit Point main? I've been moving places for the last few weeks and completely forgot to buy ATE Gold so I need something to flush the system Saturday.

I remember for my first few DEs last year I ran stock BMW fluid with cool willies and I was ok so it leads me to believe that although not preferred I can get away with using something from Advanced Auto for a weekend.

:help
I used fresh valvoline 'synthetic' brake fluid for a driver's school @ tiny jefferson circuit. the fluid boiled over and my pedal was MUSHY at the end of the day. :(

the fluid wasn't that great for me and i wouldn't recommend running it for 2 days @ summit.


i stopped by Induktion Motorsports (one of the sponsors of the r32 club event :)) in Hanover (right up the street from arundel mills mall). Ed usually has motul rbf-600 in stock for $15/bottle. great fluid and will withstand SEVERAL weekends of HPDEs.

http://4induktion.com/contact.htm

also try calling or stopping by Racecomp Engineering in Elkridge.

http://www.racecompengineering.com/about.asp\

I used fresh valvoline 'synthetic' brake fluid for a driver's school @ tiny jefferson circuit. the fluid boiled over and my pedal was MUSHY at the end of the day. :(

the fluid wasn't that great for me and i wouldn't recommend running it for 2 days @ summit.


i stopped by Induktion Motorsports (one of the sponsors of the r32 club event :)) in Hanover (right up the street from arundel mills mall). Ed usually has motul rbf-600 in stock for $15/bottle. great fluid and will withstand SEVERAL weekends of HPDEs.

http://4induktion.com/contact.htm

also try calling or stopping by Racecomp Engineering in Elkridge.

http://www.racecompengineering.com/about.asp\

Good info man, I need to move to columbia so I can be closer to all of these places darn it. Owings Mills ftl :(

Edit: Owned by M-F, I really wonder if OG ships the stuff out tomorrow if I can get it on Friday.

If you are going to the local "auto parts" store, the Valvoline Synpower is pretty decent stuff.

You can also use Ford Heavy duty truck brake fluid. It's rated as a DOT 3, but it really is a DOT 4 as its boiling points far exceed what's req'd for DOT 4 (446F dry).

If you are looking for ATE Typ 200 and need it in a pinch, visit your local Porsche dealer and pay up the nose ($30/L), but at least you'll have it now.

i stopped by Induktion Motorsports (one of the sponsors of the r32 club event :)) in Hanover (right up the street from arundel mills mall). Ed usually has motul rbf-600 in stock for $15/bottle. great fluid and will withstand SEVERAL weekends of HPDEs.

http://4induktion.com/contact.htm


Next time you swing by there, say hi to Anand for me. We go way way way back.

I've done the Ford Heavy duty fluid and I didn't care for it. YMMV.

Stolen from www.Stoptech.com

http://www.stoptech.com/tech_info/wp_brakefluid_1a.shtml

Brake Fluid Dry Boiling Point Wet Boiling Point Suggested List Price
AP SUPER 600 590°F 410°F $18.00/16.9oz. .
CASTROL SRF 590°F 518°F $69.99/33.8oz.
NEO SUPER DOT 610 610°F 421°F $15.00/12oz.
MOTUL RACING 600 593°F 420°F $15.00/16.9oz.
MOTUL DOT 5.1 509°F 365°F $6.50/16.9oz.
ATE SUPER BLUE 536°F 392°F $11.99/33.8oz
VALVOLINE SYNPOWER 503°F 343°F $4.97/16.9oz. <--- found at most parts stores
ATE SL 500°F 329°F $7.95/16.9oz.
CASTROL LMA 450°F 311°F $3.50/16.9oz. <--- found at most parts stores
AP 551 528°F 288°F $12.50/16.9oz.

Another vote for Valvoline Synpower DOT 4. I've never boiled it at any autocross and the track day I did in the M3 it was fine as well. The rotors and pads got much more abused than the fluid.

Have used Castrol LMA for about 6 years in my race cars with absolutely no problems...easy to find at most auto parts stores. Chuck

I've used Castrol LMA in a pinch on both my M3 and my Spec Miata without problems. I usually use ATE200 or Superblue but I've never boiled LMA with track pads on either car in over 5 years (15-25 track days a year) and I don't change or bleed the fluid that often.

This might be a stupid question but how do you know when you have "boiled" the brake fluid. I ask because I've previously ran track pads on a 330 with BMW oem brake fluid and had not experienced any fade. I would think I would have boiled it :dunno

This might be a stupid question but how do you know when you have "boiled" the brake fluid. I ask because I've previously ran track pads on a 330 with BMW oem brake fluid and had not experienced any fade. I would think I would have boiled it :dunno
Pad fade=hard pedal with no braking
Boiled fluid=soft pedal, you may or may not have enough pedal travel to get braking

I typically only get fluid fade after I park the car in the paddock and air stops circulating through the components.

Have used Valvoline Syn Power for over 3 years in a E24 race car and an E30 race car. No problems. I change fluid every 2-3 events (about every 3 months) during the season.

Michael

I've used valvoline synpower and castrol LMA. I've never had a problem with either one for Auto-x use. I bleed my brakes 1-2 times a year.

I've been using ATE Super Blue for a while and it works just fine. On our old 330 we even had rotor temps at 1400 deg F (at three rivers) and never had a problem. I like it because it works, it's cheap and I can get it easily.

As for Castrol LMA, it is just as good. I used it back when brake ducts were not allowed (in Showroom stock and Firehawk). Trust me, those brakes used to glow red for hours upon end.

What's wrong with using fresh DOT 3 or 4? For years I've run that in either a Talon AWD (heavy car), a Honda (of course lighter) and the only problems I ever had is when I got lazy and didn't flush the old and replace with very fresh fluid.

My take on brake fluid is this: Use fresh DOT 3 or 4 (whatever your manual calls for). Let the fluid be the weakest link. You can always pump up the pedal but if something else is the weakest link (like the seals around the piston) then you have NO brakes.

Have you removed the splash shields from the front? If not do...unless they have ducting already built into them (I think of Miata heat shields). Otherwise they act as heat reflectors right back to the calipers and pads.

Have fun! Summit Pt is a fun track!

Ron

+1 for MOTUL 6! I have nothing but good things to say about it.

Sorry to hijack the thread a little, but is CASTROL SRF really worth the money? Anyone have anything to say on the subject?

Another vote for Valvoline! Valvoline Synpower in all of my Pro Rally and race cars for 15 years with NO problems. Keep it fresh and make sure the system is bled properly.

+1 for castrol srf
+1 for motul

I just bought ATE Super Blue. Note: many E36 parts are ATE such as ABS pumps, calipers, lines, etc

Bump from the past...

I used fresh Valvoline SynPower at CMP this weekend. Ambient temps were 100+ the entire time and I was on track for a total of almost 8 hours using Hawk HT-10 pads and Toyo RA-1's.

The fluid never gave me one second of a problem. I kept waiting for a spongy pedal, but it never came. I didn't even bleed them once the entire time.

Not bad for $7.

I won't say it is in any way better than the other fluids, but can work if you need it to.

Excellent! I was the VERY yellow CRX. Didn't spend much time on track as I was doing the yellow and blue class room sessions. Except for the heat it was a pretty good weekend even if the track decided to offer up little in the way of grip!

Ron

Nothing worng with "cheap" fluid, as long as you flush it regularily. What your gain with the better stuff is longevity. I flush my brakes 1 per season (RBF600) and just bleed occasionally. In the long run, you might find that the "expensive" stuff is actually cheaper, since you don't need to flush as often.

ScotcH,

You are right about the regular flushes. I have been using SynPower for the last 4 events, and have flushed at least 8 ounces (the size of the small $3 bottle at AutoZone) out of the system after each one.

While it may end be as or more expensive as the fill it and forget it approach with the good fluids, I don't mind doing the regular flushes as it makes sure I get in there and check out the other brake components. It also gives me that extra mental confidence in the brakes, which is VERY important.

ScotcH,

You are right about the regular flushes. I have been using SynPower for the last 4 events, and have flushed at least 8 ounces (the size of the small $3 bottle at AutoZone) out of the system after each one.

While it may end be as or more expensive as the fill it and forget it approach with the good fluids, I don't mind doing the regular flushes as it makes sure I get in there and check out the other brake components. It also gives me that extra mental confidence in the brakes, which is VERY important.

Absolutely agree ... confidence in brakes is #1 on track for me, and just to be clear ... I didn't mean fill and forget, as is, don't worry about it for a year :) Regular checks and maintenence of the brakes should be at the top of every track car's list.