ATE Super Blue?!

[Tervuren]

Originally Posted by unclebilly

Yah, like I said, you have upgraded brakes that can shed the heat so super blue works with your setup.

If you had stock calipers and rotors and were doing real racing, super blue isn't up to the task. The Ford DOT3 stuff is better.

I have boiled this crap - I ran it in a pinch after making a repair at the track and it was all we could scrounge up in the pits that day. It doesn't belong in a race car.

If it is so great, list the F1, Lemans, NASCAR teams that use it...

So you are calling it crap, because of installing it in an uncontrolled environment? Good to know.

[unclebilly]

Winders and Tervuren,

I think we all agree on the same thing...

On a heavily taxed brake system, Super Blue is an inadequate brake fluid.

My definition of a heavily taxed brake system is stock brakes and calipers on a pre 964 non turbo / pre 78 turbo air cooled car in a real race environment (not a DE, lapping session, etc).

Will super blue work in a system that has been modified to shed heat more effectively (turbo brakes, newer system from a boxster, big reds, etc)? Probably and Winders has reported this works with his botched together turbo brake setup.

How much does LCF600 cost? I pay about $35-$40 per pint. Yup this is pretty expensive but is about the cheapest safety equipment on my car. I have run Endless before but didn't see any benefit with the braking systems in my race cars over the LCF600 (same argument Winders makes about not using anything better than super blue in his system - his system sheds enough heat to allow a fluid with a low boiling point to work).

I think we all agree here.

With respect to changing brake fluid at an uncontrolled environment... I can't understand WTF you mean here. Bleeding brakes is bleeding brakes. As a matter of fact, we generally do the final bleed on the endurance racer at the track the night before a race. We did it last weekend at BIR... This is not open heart surgery...

I stand by my initial point, ATE super blue is a crappy brake fluid choice if you are RACING with an older 911 with STOCK ROTORS AND CALIPERS. It is cheaper to upgrade your fluid to a performance fluid such as Castrol SRF, Endless, or Brembo LCD600 than it is to change rotors and Calipers to a more modern setup.

[winders]

Originally Posted by unclebilly

Will super blue work in a system that has been modified to shed heat more effectively (turbo brakes, newer system from a boxster, big reds, etc)? Probably and Winders has reported this works with his botched together turbo brake setup.

Botched together? Who the hell do you think you are? My race car was built from a bare acid dipped chassis and the brake system, the entire car, is anything but "botched" together.

You are making generalizations that are just wrong. Ate Super Blue, used appropriately, is a fine brake fluid. Period.

[TimT]

Here is a great way to keep your brakes cool...


Grassroots

[A930Rocket]

I used ATE super blue in my 930 with big reds at the track without a problem for years. We'd drive 200-300 mes a weekend. Just my experience.

[Jeff Alton]

Like I said earlier, ATE makes a perfectly good fluid, but it is nothing special. If your car has brake heat management under control, through pads, rotor size, caliper choice, brake torque and driver ability then it works just fine on the track. It isn't crap, but it is the best out there either.

As with any product selected for your car, you need to only spend and choose different products where you have an issue that needs solving when all else fails. Same applies for brake fluid, Big Brake Kits, big rear wings and so on....

So if you are using ATE and not experiencing any problems, keep using it. We fill the majority of street cars we service with it. But if you are having issues, consider some simple cooling mods and a change of fluid.