Has anyone used the re-skinned Valvoline Synthetic fluid? They used to call this SynPower, i've used it and it worked pretty darned well for over-the-counter fluid, but they re-skinned the label to just say DOT 3/4, there's supposedly no change in formulation, but looking at the specs it's quite obvious the dry performance has gone down by about 20 degrees, they no longer publish the number for wet either.

That brings the question, how good is the "new" fluid? And can anyone recommend an alternative? I would venture to guess it's probably still better than the OEM fluid.

I've used ATE before, and that was good, too, just harder to find locally. I'm not a fan of Motul 600 and the idea of having to replace the fluids more often. (Motul RBF600 is more hygroscopic, prompting more frequent changes in relation to others).

Thanks.

 

I seriously doubt anyone but a dedicated track ***** could answer you. Only someone like that would have gone though multiple types of fluid and stressed each one to the point of boiling it.

Unless you have some specific application that would stress this fluid, I wouldn't worry too much about it. Having fairly fresh quality fluid trumps almost all vs having any specific fluid type.

 

Thanks, Jeff. I'm taking the car to the track, it'll be a half-day session for the first time to get a feel for what needs to be changed, if anything.

I hear the fluid's ability to resist boiling also has something to do with the pads used (more aggressive, more prone to fluid boil... true?).

By the way, i saw in one of your posts where you used a grip-type vacuum bleeder, i just got a MityVac that works on the same principle but can't figure out how much i should suck out of each caliper. Thoughts?

Thanks.

 

I guess it depends on how much heat is transfered to the fluid IMHO.

You use the bleeder and watch how much air gets stucked into the tube. Just be careful not to over fill the drain container. If it fills up, it will back into your vacuum tool and maybe damage the seals. I think my vaccuum bleeder got damaged that way.

 

Yes i have and tracked on it no problems. Didn't boil with stock brakes with EBC yellow pads. Sure as hell hasn't boiled with my new setup. BTW get the pensoil Dot4 if possible, same price but has a 10 degree higher boiling point.

 

Great! Thanks, guys!

 

I had that, just flushed it out for ATE Super Blue ~6 weeks ago.

 

All i've ever used is the Synpower fluid. I've even autocrossed with it and don't notice a difference.

 

I installed new brakes (hawks pads and after market rotors) and I was rewarded with horrible braking performance until i flushed the whole system with Valvoline synthetic brake fluid. It cured a soft pedal, not enough grip to engage abs, and overall poor performance. It works as well as any brake fluid should.