Anyone have thoughts on the pros/cons of using synthetic brake fluid in a RW-ABS brake system.

 

What flavor are you referring to?<br>I'm a bit interested in this myself. <br><br>Only time I've used other than std fluid is on the crotch rockets when I was much younger. We used a DOT 5 fluid in them. SS lines, also. Really improved braking.<br><br>Sorry for the lack of input, but I'll be watching. Good question.

 

One that comes to mind is the Motul RBF 600. Claims to be safe with the ABS.

 

I've heard the name, but know nothing about the company, or their products. I don't recall seeing anything from Amsoil, but could be wrong. Does Red Line have this available?<br>As you see it, what is the upside, what's the possible downside, if any?<br>My truck is nearly new, but another that spends a lot of time in my shop is going to be ready for a fluid change soon. He's the official &quot;guinea pig&quot; around here. Fact is, however, that his truck is way ahead of mine when it comes to completed installs <br>

 

I have been told that the synthetic allows for better heat dissipation and it will not absorb moisture. These sound like good things to me. But, I have also been told that this &quot;dryness&quot; is really not all that good for the ABS system. The moisture that standard fluid will absorb over time is supposed &quot;help&quot; the valves within the system stay free of &quot;gum&quot; and promote functioning of these valves. This is actually the part that sounds kind of screwy to me. Just wondering if any one has heard similar tales.

 

i have used several different synthetic brake fluids. one was the valvoline which seem to work ok. I am currently using the Motul which seem to work very well i have had it in for quite a while with no problems. Some things to consider: dot 5 fluid is not synthetic so to speak it is a full silicone fluid, it will not absorb moisture and is not compatible with abs because it foams. Castrol make a regular fluid which offers excelent performance it a has a hi boiling point both wet and dry. the wet number is what you should be concerned with. A key quality to brake fluid is its ability to absorb moisture which helps save your brake system from failure do to rust and corosion. When your brake fluid has absorbed moisture you may start to get whats called brake fade this is due to the fluid in the system boiling and turning to a gas. a gas can be compresed where as a liquid can not. this gas then causes your pedal to sink as your are now able to compress it. Synthetic fluids still maintain there ability to absorb water but has better wet boiling points than the best regular brake fluid. <br>Hope this helps.<br><br>Dan<br>It is a good idea no matter what type of fluid you use to bleed your system everytime you do a brake job this will insure that you have better fluid in the calipers and wheel cylinders where the heat is generated. It also helps to flush the contaminates out extending the life of each. it will make it easier to compress the caliper. When you compress a caliper without opening the bleeder you cause alot of presure to flow back into the master and toward the abs system this can push contaminants back and cause future problem.

 

[quote author=BigK link=board=5;threadid=12676;start=0#119712 date=1048487253]<br>My truck is nearly new, but another that spends a lot of time in my shop is going to be ready for a fluid change soon. He's the official &quot;guinea pig&quot; around here. Fact is, however, that his truck is way ahead of mine when it comes to completed installs <br><br>[/quote]<br><br>&quot;Guinea pig&quot;, hey I resemble that comment.

 

You probably don't want to go through the trouble to switch. I have heard that you cannot mix regular brake fluid with synthetic as it causes the synthetic to gell in the lines if mixed. This means you will have to clean out every bit of your existing brake fluid from all of the lines, distribution vales, ABS valves, etc. before putting in synthetic. I don't know about you, but I'm not willing to go through all the trouble since I don't think it will give much advantage.<br>Don't mix synthetic brake oils (DOT4 and 5) with mineral brake oils (DOT 2 and 3.x)<br><br>A quote from this page: http://www.britishpacific.com/disco/FAQ_synthetics.html<br><br><br>It mentions &quot;silicone&quot; with &quot;synthetic&quot;, which should be two different things. Give it the weight you think it deserves. <br><br>But above all, talk to a brake specialist you'd trust with your life before taking this on.<br><br>Chris

 

you can mix dot 4 brake fluids with dot 3 and synthetic is compatible with mineral based oils. but you can not mix dot 5 or silicone fluid with anything they r not compatable.<br><br>Dan