<VV> silicone brake fluid

[Bill Elliott]

Not true. The main advantage of silicone is the higher boiling points,
which the synthetic non-silicone fluids now meet and/or surpass.
Synthetic glycol based fluids are also less hydroscopic than their
non-synthetic counterparts, BUT will suspend any introduced moisture
instead of letting it pool at the wheel cylinders like silicone will
(and moisture will often get introduced in vehicles that are driven
much.) And while it's not completely paint-safe like silicone, it's much
less damaging than non-synthetic. But the biggest advantages are the
non-compressibility (the #1 problem with silicone, reducing your volume
safety margin and making modulation difficult) Few racing organizations
allow silicone for these reasons.

It's only recently that synthetic glycol type fluids are readily
available at reasonable prices; just a few years ago the extreme high
prices of this product family made silicone much more attractive by
comparison.

I'm not saying that silicone fluids are categorically not a good idea (I
still use it in a trailer queen) but you have to be informed of the
risks of using whichever fluid. Too many people think you can fill the
system with silicone and forget about it. And that's true for
rarely-driven cars, but for drivers, it's important that the brake
adjustment be kept correct (to  minimize the system volume requirements)
and still bled every couple of years to get rid of any potential water
pools at the wheel cylinders. For those using glycol fluids, the brake
adjustments aren't as critical, but the routine flushing is much MORE
critical.

Nothing is perfect... you have to decide what is best for your situation.

Bill

Chris & Bill Strickland wrote:

>> > ... none of the recognized disadvantages of silicone ... < < 
>
>
> But none of the advantages, either.
>
>