Originally posted by Auto-X Fil:
Rara is likely being tougher on it than Demon. There are a lot of variables that could affect the experiences they each had, but I'd bet that Rara just messes around with brakes a lot more, and hasn't liked it in his conditions. However, if Demon says he likes it, you can bet that it's not a bad fluid, and it is doubtless better than most fluids except stuff like ATE that we've been discussing. Any major brand synthetic will give you good results. If you have stock brake hoses and street pads, and don't drive agressively, the odds of seeing the difference within a couple years are slim to none.

So in summary: no reason to drain what you're using, but I'd reccommend that everyone who doesn't bleed or flush their brakes all the time find some ATE super-blue and do it right. Anything will work in a pinch, but if you are planning ahead the ATE is probably the least hydroscopic fluid out there and it'll last for a very long time.



My experience w/ the Valvoline SynPower fluid comes from doing a system flush when I replaced my pads a few years ago. I replaced pads, rotors, and flushed the system fully w/ the synpower. It was just fine when I was done, but within two months it had degraded so badly (with only normal street driving mind you) that I had to completely flush it again with ATE SuperBlue. The SuperBlue has been in the car, untouched for two years now, and still hasn't degraded anywhere near where the Valvoline fluid was after two months.

I don't pretend to have any great detailed chemical info as to why one is more or less hygroscopic than the other, only that my personal experience shows the ATE fluid to be more than 10 times better than the valvoline as far as moisture absorption while in a "closed" system. Further, I've had friends with other vehicles have a similar experience to mine. In fact, one friend, in CA, had a virtually identical experience with his Audi S4. Two months w/ the valvoline and the brakes were so spongy they needed square pants. Reflush w/ ATE and its been over two years with no need to reflush.

Balance is the Key. rarasvt@comcast.net