opinions on ATE Super Blue race fluid
 

Well, I have some new Mintex pads on order from automotion and I just got in the sensors and 2 lieters of ATE Super Blue fluid. I hear it's good stuff. For bleeding purposes, it will be good because its a different color, plus I'm just a big fan of the color blue. At any rate, how many of you use ATE Super Blue fluid and what are your opinions about it?

I have a customer the races on the amateur level that swears by it.

I love the stuff. They make it in both yellow and blue so you can alternate to make bleeding easier.

I like the stuff better than anything else I have used. It has good moisture rejection and i haven't had any problems with it boiling, even on 95-100 degree days in the midwest summer heat at the track. I know some folks run Ford HD brake fluid cuz its cheaper with good succss, but I think SuperBlue is worth the extra money.

Regards,

the shiznit

Never boiled at the track on me yet, comes in sealed containers, seems to be very kind to Porsche brake components.

When I first got my 944, you would be AMAZED at the amount of junk and sediment that came out during the first two flushes. Since then, I only have to look for bubbles. ATE Blue is the stuff for me, but most important is timely flush/bleed of the system. This is often very neglected in non-tracked cars.

I am running super blue with mintex pads. Great!!!

Some info on boiling temps. Even more illuminating if you price a liter of each.

Fluid DRY WET
Castrol LMA DOT 3/4 446 311
Ford Heavy Duty DOT 3 550 290
ATE Super Blue Racing 536 392
ATE TYP 200 536 392
Motul Racing 600 585 421
Castrol SRF 590 518
Performance Friction 550 284

Sorry for the poor formatting. It looks fine when I try to edit it.

I have ATE Super Blue in my clutch right now. It felt good for the 20 ft I drove it until I realized my headgasket blew <img border="0" alt="[ouch]" title="" src="graemlins/c.gif" />

I use ATE Super Blue: great stuff: much less brake fade than regular brake fluid.

It does need to be changed/bled more often than regular brake fluid, since it attracts water more than the regular stuff. (Forgot the technical term for attracting water: hydro-something!)

HTH,
-Z.

Z-man, you sure? From what I've read ATE is actually less hydrophilic than many fluids. In fact for PCA-Potomac DEs we're allowed a longer interval between changes with ATE than with other fluids.

The Ford fluid mentioned above is very hydrophilic - it's good stuff but you need to change it often.

Hydroscopic or Hygroscopic. There is actually a big argument going on as to whether hydroscopic is a real word. What can we find to fight about next. <img border="0" title="" alt="[Wink]" src="wink.gif" />

I use the ATE fluids but also had all these clutch problems when I switched off Castrol LMA fluid. I'm sure it is unrelated.

ed devinney: from discussing this with my mechanics, they feel that the ATE Super Blue can be a little more hydroscopic than other fluids. (thanks for the tech word, Ice!) As a note, my mechanics, Powertech in Rockaway, NJ are Porsche independant shop: they are into PCA club racing, DE, and such. They note that it is best to minimize contact with air when changing any brake fluid. Since all brake fluid is hydroscopic, it will eventually attract water and it is this water that boils over and the end result is brake fade. So in most cases, it's not the brake fluid that is causing the fade, but the air to occurs when H2O vaporizes.

Last fall at The Glen, by the second day of DE, my brakes were fading a little after 15 minutes into the sessions: I should have bled the brakes after the first day. (They were bled before the event). Had I bled them, I probably would not have experienced such fade. AND: Had I used regular brake fluid, I would probably have experienced fade sooner. (Now you may ask, why am I using the brakes on my slow 'momentum' car?!? hehe...)

This is just from what I've heard and experienced. Note that I still use ATE: it is good stuff.

-Zoltan.

I think it's hydrophilic (literally water-loving). Ah, semantics :)

I use Castrol SRF ($$$) and find the extra money to be worth it due to the high boiling points and I can run it for 18 months before a flush. I've never had any fade or bleeding issues whatsoever, by far the best I have ever used. I tried ATE blue in my stock brakes and changed it out after my first day at Lime Rock, too much fade and other hassles, contrary to all these other posts...