Castrol GTLMA synthetic brake fluid

[m4dzl]

Anyone using synthetic brake fluid or sticking with DOT 3 or 4?

[John_in_VA]

on the street in my 2002s without problems. I have also used Valvoline Synthetic DOT 3/4 in the E28s and E30.

http://www.castrol.com/castrol/sectiongenericarticle.do?categoryId=9012213&contentId=7024043

http://www.valvoline.com/products/brands/valvoline/dot-3-4-brake-fluid/28#b

[wegweiser]

I use a NON-synthetic Castrol LMA or Ate SuperBlue, depending on my mood and availability while I have the car apart.

Benefits of Blue - decent boiling point and if it does leak, you can identify the fluid immediately. Downside - hard to get on a Sunday afternoon.

I crewed for a serious vintage race driver fella that swore the LMA gave a slightly better pedal feel than the Blue fluid.

I had a bad experience with silicone / synthetic fluid as a teenager. I neglected to flush ALL the old fluid out (and have been told this is a major "no no"), and one at a time, EACH and EVERY hydraulic part of my braking system failed over a 12 month period. An expensive lesson. I've never gone back to synthetics. Just my experience.

Your mileage may vary.

Paul Wegweiser

[John_in_VA]

(silicone fluid) unless you have replaced every brake component and plan to have a "show car."

[aa/fd]

I was always a big fan of Castrol SRF brake fluid, best brake fluid I ever found IMO. At speeds 200mph faster than a 2002 normally ever goes it always worked great. All the other fluids boiled out of the calipers, resulting in seal failure. A nasty side effect of carbon/carbon brakes (or any really high performance brakes) is a huge amount of heat generated. The heat needs to go somewhere and will soak into all surrounding components. Not all of them like it or handle it well so care in preparation and design is important.

[wegweiser]

We used SRF in Speed GT series cars a few years ago where I worked. It's great stuff for competition vehicles, but from my experience the rubber hoses on a lil ole 2002 will overheat and swell Loooong before LMA or SuperBlue will ever boil. The result is the same in either scenario - brake pedal goes to the floor! BTDT! *scary!*

paul wegweiser

[02for2]

Overkill!

LMA is sufficient!

GTLMA is silicone based. The issue with silicone brake fluids is that it is not hygroscopic - that is, it does not absorb water - the water remains separate.

This is a problem because water is heavier than silicone fluid. So, any water introduced in to the system (ambient humidity, rain, car washes, etc.) goes to the lowest point in the braking system. Where??... the calipers!

Stick with LMA!

Cheers!

[TobyB]

GTLMA is all now badged as 'synthetic'. It's still DOT 4 rated.

It's not silicone. The only similarity is that both words start with 's'.

I've used the LMA for 15 years with few ill effects (don't drink it)

and the 'synthetic' seems to be a direct replacement.

Was a little cautious with it at first, but it all seems to be similar enough

to not notice.

Used silicone fluid once on a 'Sunday Driver' car and hated it.

what I found.

t

[wegweiser]

Wow Toby! I never noticed it (LMA) was labeled as synthetic now (!) Thanks for clarifying!

[TobyB]

yeh, sorry- hadn't had coffee this am.

t