Quote:
Originally Posted by jphughan
Not all DOT 4 fluids are alike, fyi, not even close. But yes, both the blue and gold versions of ATE have a higher boiling temperature, which means you're less likely to get a soft pedal after hard driving on the track (your next problem will probably be brake pad fade). That said, you definitely won't see a benefit unless you're on the track; the OEM fluid is more than up to the task of "spirited driving", and in fact it'll even handle track duty while you're a novice if the track isn't too hard on brakes.
If you've never driven really hard and noticed your brake pedal go significantly spongy on you, you don't need to upgrade your fluid. And in fact unless you need it, switching to ATE could be DISadvantageous because the general recommendation is to bleed ATE fluid every quarter or after every 2-3 track days, whichever comes first, so if you're not tracking you just have more maintenance with no payoff. If you DO track and you don't want to deal with that kind of maintenance, you can use Castrol SRF which only needs to be changed every year or so even if you have tons of track days in that time -- but whereas ATE is about $15/bottle, SRF is about $70/bottle. But if you don't bleed/change your own brake fluid, the savings on mechanic labor might make SRF cheaper.
|
The Porsche Dealership uses ATE for all of their anual brake services. In other words it TUV approved. TUV meaning a much more stringent standard than DOT. I used it in my car and bled it yearly....no issues with brakes
ATE is "Designed to last up to 3 years under normal highway driving conditions"
http://www.tirerack.com/brakes/brake...cat=BrakeFluid