ok, you took the bait - I'll grab the reel.John Hearn wrote:OK I will take the bait!
NEVER use Silcone brake fluid in anything?
Why?
We have been using silcone brake fluid since Mike Smith bought a pressure brake bleeder from the former Formula one Toleman team when they sold up.
If it is good for F1 why not a 356?
Does not attract water, has a higher boiling point, does not attack paint and so on.
PS Formula 1 are the guys that turn left and RIGHT if you didn't know!
I would bet Toleman, as did many teams the world over in the 70’s, may have tried it. By the early 80’s (that’s 30 years ago!) it was pretty much history. It came and went faster than poop through a goose. It’s also a very safe bet they, like virtually every team that tried it, dropped it like a hot rock. The only places its used today is possibly some vintage racing (doubtful even there unless its in a truly vintage car that just parades around the track – even then it could be argued it’s a mistake) and maybe by a club racer who doesn’t know any better. The fact that it doesn’t attract water is not a good thing and there are fluids today with higher boiling points; not that that is an issue for any of us including the racers among us. Boiling brake fluid in a race car today is all but a thing of the past – if the car is put together correctly. But that’s all been covered very well here and everywhere over the last 30 years.
As for Toleman, just because they were around F1 doesn’t qualify for squat – maybe they did stick with it - they had more DNQ’s and DNF’s than finishes in their career. They never won a race. Maybe they never even scored a single point. They were kind of a laughing stock and an entry point for folks who went thru there (key word – thru) looking to get into a real F1 job. Not sure I would hang my hat on a decision they chose to follow.
Trying to make a case for silicone brake fluid is like trying to make a case for swing axle suspensions (all in good fun ).