Silicone Brake Fluid

[Gilles]

Does DOt 5 necessarely a silicon fluid? I use it and it doesn't eat the paint. But it's the common brake fluid availlable everywhere for all the cars, and it replace the old Dot 3 and Dot 4. "Real" silicon brake fluid is availlable at high price only from antique-cars parts dealers so I'm very confused!

On the Dot 5 bottle they say it can be mixed with Dot3 or Dot4.

I plan to replace the brake fluid on the 32 roadster because is 2 years old and I don't know if It's better to retrofit to Dot4. The brake pedal is a little spongy thought I bleeded very carefully 3 or 4 times.

Gilles

[Bruce Dorsi]

Does DOt 5 necessarely a silicon fluid? I use it and it doesn't eat the paint. But it's the common brake fluid availlable everywhere for all the cars, and it replace the old Dot 3 and Dot 4. "Real" silicon brake fluid is availlable at high price only from antique-cars parts dealers so I'm very confused!

On the Dot 5 bottle they say it can be mixed with Dot3 or Dot4.

Gilles, I saw some info at:
http://www.tccoa.com/brake-fluid/
which may answer your questions.

Does your bottle of brake fluid indicate DOT 5 or DOT 5.1?

[Gilles]

Thanks for the info. I will look this week-end if my brake fluid is DOT 5 or DOT 5.1.

Gilles

[Gilles]

I had a look at my brake fluid bottle this week-end. It's DOT 5.1 and also comply with DOT 2, 3 and 4. Finally is just a little  luxuous but nothing wrong. I can find DOT 4 around town but DOT 3 is a rarity now. Maybe it's because here we drive cars a little more on a sporty way than in the USA.

Gilles

[Phat]

A lot of people think they are running Dot 5 when in truth its Dot 5.1  Your  new harleys are probly some of them.  Dot 5 has never worked in any of our race cars or any car we have built.  I have yet to drive a car(street or race) that did not have a softer pedal with dot 5.  Good advise is never buy more brake fluid than you need.  Buy it in small containers and toss the bottle after the seal is broken.  I know a couple of guys at the local SCCA track that swear dot 5 works great in there vettes and camaros.  I drove one of them and got the guy to change over to GTX dot 4 and he could not beleive how much deeper he drove into the corner and he was not pumping the pedal all the time.  Something that we get used to in racing.