Loading... Please wait...
Recent Posts
- Give yourself a “brake!”: When and Why should you change your brake fluid?
- Vagbremtechnic Expands Range To Include All New AP Racing Asymmetric Radical Calipers For The MQB Platform
- Big Brakes - We Take A Closer Look At Eight-Piston Calipers
- Vagbremtechnic – J-Hooked Brake Discs
- 'Weight Watchers – We Examine 3 Popular Brake Disc Options For The MQB Platform'
Blog
Give yourself a “brake!”: When and Why should you change your brake fluid?
Posted by on
Most of us are very good when it comes to regular oil changes and top up our screen
wash whenever it is needed, but how good are we when it comes to changing the brake
fluid? Have a read through our helpful guide...
What is brake fluid and why is it important?
Brake fluid is an incompressible fluid that converts the
energy you apply to the brake pedal to the four calipers.
The three main types of brake fluid are DOT3, DOT4 and DOT5.1:
- DOT3 and DOT4 and DOT5.1 are hygroscopic (i.e. they can absorb water from air)
- DOT5 are not. They can contain water in the system however it is likely the system has a leak or water has entered the system from other means – It’s not normal to find DOT5 used in cars.
The boiling point of the fluid is one of the most important
characteristics. Your braking system relies on the fact that the fluid is
incompressible. If the fluid boils it becomes a gas (which is compressible) and
will lose most of its ability to transmit the forces applied by the brake
pedal.
At the point that the brake fluid has taken on too much water; the water
content of the solution will be compressible. As the water content of the brake
fluid solution increases; your boiling point will also become lower.
When is it time for change?
The first and possible most obvious place to check would be
the service history of your car. If the history doesn’t show a fluid change or
it was outside of the manufactures schedule it’s probably best to get it
changed straight away.
You know your car! If the braking performance doesn’t “feel right” it probably isn’t, this could be down to many things including the condition of your brake fluid:
- Inspect the colour of the fluid in the Master Cylinder. If it is Dark brown or close to black it is in a bad condition and will require changing.
- Get a professional to check it for you. If you are unsure of the condition of the fluid or have any doubts about the performance of your braking system get it checked straight away.
A brake fluid change isn’t a service that will cost you a great deal but will
have huge benefits to your braking system.
Regular DOT4 fluids require changing at least every 2-years, whilst Performance
Brake Fluids ideally need changing every year.
Common reasons for brake fluid related issues
- Overheating or Boiling the fluid due to “over usage” of the vehicle brakes
- Undersized braking system whilst carrying heavy loads or increased power calling for heavier braking
- Stop/Start driving passing excess heat from Discs to the hydraulic system
- Poor quality or old brake fluid
Can You replace the fluid yourself?
Although you can change the fluid yourself the braking
system will have to be “bled” to remove any air that is in the system. There
are several bleeding kits available, but we recommend you take it to a
professional if you are at all unsure about the process.
Vagbremtechnic Expands Range To Include All New AP Racing Asymmetric Radical Calipers For The MQB Platform
Posted by on
The need to innovate is one of the fundamental tenants of the aftermarket braking world, so it should come as no real surprise that the team at Vagbremtechnic have released yet another brake application, this time based around AP Racing’s revolutionary asymmetrical calipers. It’s further proof of VBT’s commitment to advanced braking solutions, and should be music to the [...]
Big Brakes - We Take A Closer Look At Eight-Piston Calipers
Posted by on
We’ve talked before about certain aspects of the Vagbremtechnic range and the science behind stopping, not to mention specifying the correct brake pad compound and how it can impact your car, but today we’re going to focus on something far more blatant, the thing that we’re perhaps best known for, massive calipers! While size isn’t everything in the world [...]
Vagbremtechnic – J-Hooked Brake Discs
Posted by on
The need to ceaselessly innovate and improve is a trait of pretty much all aspects of the aftermarket car world, but nowhere is it more apparent than in the world of high performance braking. Perhaps this shouldn’t be all that surprising; after all, everyone wants to stop in as short a space of time as [...]
'Weight Watchers – We Examine 3 Popular Brake Disc Options For The MQB Platform'
Posted by on
We've talked before about the more obvious advantages associated with investing in a more capable set of brakes from Vagbremtechnic, with many of our previous blog posts having focussed on improved brake pedal feel, enhanced stopping ability in all conditions, and the massive upswing in driver confidence that inevitably follows the fitment of more capable discs, pads and calipers. This [...]
Brake Pads Explained – We take a look at the challenges behind brake pad selection.
Posted by on
At Vagbremtechnic we're consistently asked which brake pads we'd recommend for a specific setup, so much so that it's among the most commonly posed queries! We can't stress the importance of one-on-one customer communication when it comes to pad specification, hence why we recommend that buyers put aside 5 minutes of their time to talk to our engineering team. Forum [...]
Vagbremtechnic Explained – We Get To Grips With The Driving Force in Performance Braking.
Posted by on
'Braking Even'Get to grips with Vagbremtechnic, one of the tuned VAG scene's newest performance brake specialists and one with an innovative approach to doing business.The performance braking market has exploded in both size and popularity over the last decade and a half, and the market is now worth countless millions and features a dizzying array of competing systems from [...]