I know "conventional wisdom" says to use the Ford Heavy Duty DOT3 brake
fluid, but while browsing the local Autozone the other evening I ran
across the new Valvoline Synpower DOT4 brake fluid. It's claimed to be
a "synthetic" glycol fluid(I thought all glycol brake fluids were
synthetic - but what do I know) with a 513degF dry boiling point and a
333degF wet boiling point. The Ford HD fluid has a 550degF dry bp and a
284degF wet bp(the less than 300degF wet bp is why the Ford fluid is
DOT3 and not DOT4). At $4 a pint the Ford HD is reasonably priced, but
Autozone sells the Valvoline at $5 a quart.
I guess this should be a "no-brainer" - flush the system annually and
the 50deg difference in wet bp is not nearly as important as the 37deg
difference in dry bp. Valvoline's web site(www.valvoline.com) is
basically marketing hype with no technical info. While searching, I
found a couple interesting sites with brake fluid info:
http://www.yourkovich.com/brkfluid.htm
http://www.kartracer.com/tech_brake.html
Should I even consider the Valvoline fluid or am I all "wet"?
Patrick
- --
Patrick Flowers
Mailto
atri63
The GMC Motorhome Page
http://www.gmcmotorhome.com
fluid, but while browsing the local Autozone the other evening I ran
across the new Valvoline Synpower DOT4 brake fluid. It's claimed to be
a "synthetic" glycol fluid(I thought all glycol brake fluids were
synthetic - but what do I know) with a 513degF dry boiling point and a
333degF wet boiling point. The Ford HD fluid has a 550degF dry bp and a
284degF wet bp(the less than 300degF wet bp is why the Ford fluid is
DOT3 and not DOT4). At $4 a pint the Ford HD is reasonably priced, but
Autozone sells the Valvoline at $5 a quart.
I guess this should be a "no-brainer" - flush the system annually and
the 50deg difference in wet bp is not nearly as important as the 37deg
difference in dry bp. Valvoline's web site(www.valvoline.com) is
basically marketing hype with no technical info. While searching, I
found a couple interesting sites with brake fluid info:
http://www.yourkovich.com/brkfluid.htm
http://www.kartracer.com/tech_brake.html
Should I even consider the Valvoline fluid or am I all "wet"?
Patrick
- --
Patrick Flowers
Mailto
atri63The GMC Motorhome Page
http://www.gmcmotorhome.com
