Dot 5 Brake Fluid For My St202

[oldie2008]

hi, basically I've had my brake pipes changed and on the flexi's at the front of my Celica GT (97) it says 'Dot 5 / 97' BUT all I can find is Dot 5.1 or Dot 4, I know you cant mix Dot 5 with anything so where can I buy Dot 5 at a decent price???

or can I just flush my brake system and use 5.1??

also what do i use to flush the system before I put new fluid in?

[Parts-King]

5.1 Is the latest spec of brake fluid, it has anti corrosion properties in it for ABS/VSC systems etc. You dont need to flush out the old fluid, just bleed the brakes until the fluid coming through is clear (new fluid) keeping the reservoir full whilst bleeding. Your dealer will stock 5.1 and its part number 08823-80005, retail price is 6.16 for 0.5 litre, you will probably only need a litre to do the full job

Kingo

[Golden bay NZ]

Ive been looking at a brake upgrade

You should be able to buy a racing fluid, the same as used by Ferrari in Formula One

These are Dot 4 but have a higher heat rating than the Dot 5.1

They also are a 'low compression' fluid and you wont have to press your pedal down as far

[GTForbes]

there are racing versions of DOT4 fluid which has a higher boiling point than ordinary DOT5.1, but there is also racing versions of DOT5.1 which have a higher boiling point than the racing DOT4.

We use DOT 5.1 on all performance cars that come into our garage and manufacturer's reccomendation of DOT4 on peoples every day cars.

[oldie2008]

there are racing versions of DOT4 fluid which has a higher boiling point than ordinary DOT5.1, but there is also racing versions of DOT5.1 which have a higher boiling point than the racing DOT4.

We use DOT 5.1 on all performance cars that come into our garage and manufacturer's reccomendation of DOT4 on peoples every day cars.

Hi guys, thanks for helping me, much appreciated, it's a nightmare tryna get DOT5 so as reccomended at 1st I bought DOT5.1 although I haven't had the brakes bled yet so there's still time to take it back and get a different DOT if needed, the stuff I bought is made by CarLube and is standard DOT 5.1 not racing spec, would I best to get a racing spec? My st202 just has standard discs n pads on it, not uprated

[Parts-King]

Your car will be fine on standard 5.1 brake fluid, Don't panic. There is so much marketing claptrap around that you are made to feel you need the XYZ super boiling point racing fluid is a must for your car otherwise you will crash and burn Joe public would never know if he had racing fluid in or not, it will make no difference at all to the average man/woman

Kingo

[oldie2008]

Your car will be fine on standard 5.1 brake fluid, Don't panic. There is so much marketing claptrap around that you are made to feel you need the XYZ super boiling point racing fluid is a must for your car otherwise you will crash and burn Joe public would never know if he had racing fluid in or not, it will make no difference at all to the average man/woman

Kingo

Once again thanks!! I'd still be panicking about which to use. Great help cheers

[GTForbes]

Just been doing some reading up on this, the higher boiling points as stated are some clever marketing slants.

Basically brake fluid has 2 boiling points, dry and wet.

The dry boiling point is the temperature that the brake fluid boils if there is no moisture contamination, this is usually the temperature quoted on 'race spec' fluid as the dry boiling point is much higher than the wet boiling point.

The wet boiling point is the boiling point of brake fluid when it has moisture contamination to a specific amount, can't remeber the exact amount, this is the more realistic value for Joe Public as their fluid is less likely to be changed regularly and is therefore more likely to become contaminated.

The important thing to remeber about brake fluid changes is always to use fresh bottles and replace the reservoir cap quickly after you've finished topping up the fluid, if a garage is doing this for you then it'll be normal practice for them