Get a Demon Tweeks catalogue (or go buy something like Fast Car - or Revs?). Anything with some performance mail order companies etc.

Get some Dot5 or Racing Fluid. There is probably some form of compromise though with using these performance fluids - can anyone expand? There must be a reason why Mazda don't just use the best fluid in the first place (being that the '5 is a sports car and could be driven hard). Or is it just a cost factor? Will high-performance fluid need changing more often/wear out seals quicker? (2/00)

ATE Type 200, easy to get, red or ATE Superblue Racing, hard to get, blue

Both are the exact same stuff except for the colour, which is an advantage if one alternates between the two sorts - the new fluid is easy to spot when the brakes are bled. (2/00)

Don't get DOT 5 fluid - it's silicone based fluid and is guaranteed to make your brakes feel spongy. It is not hygroscopic, however, and is supposed to last forever. It is used by the US military and Harley Davidson, amongst others.

What you want is DOT 5.1 - despite the similar name completely different stuff (Polyglycol based). This is synthetic fluid, otherwise similar to DOT 3 and DOT 4 fluid. It is available in Bendix brand and no doubt others. Easily obtainable from brake specialists. Castrol do a range of brake fluids which are described as synthetic high performance alternatives to DOT 5.1, but meet DOT 4. Most are cheaper than Bendix DOT 5, except for Castrol SRF which is a racing DOT 4 fluid with a very high boiling point and is very expensive. (4 times the price of Bendix DOT 5.1) BTW, although DOT 5 (silicone fluid) is a bit oddball, and the makers say not to mix it with other fluid, in fact all stuff sold as brake fluid must, by law, be miscible with any other brake fluid. But if you mixed it, you'd have to change it. Best bet is to go with DOT 5.1 (I use Bendix) and change it every two years. It is no more corrosive or anything re seals, etc, but it has a higher boiling point with a given water content than DOT 3 or most DOT 4's. The compromise is cost. (About 10 a litre, which is what you need for a fluid change)

Confusing or what? BTW - you have to be very careful using "racing" oils and fluids on the road. Most have special characteristics to give excellent protection, but short term - they assume you'll be stripping your engine, brakes, gearbox etc frequently or at least changing fluids very often - several times per season. So there may be no detergent in engine oil, no noise reducing additives in gearbox oil, etc etc. Often not at all suitable for extended use on the road. (2/00)

Your average car parts place will have Girling Dot 5.1 brake fluid, note that Dot 5 is silicon based (I think?) and this is note a good thing if pushing on .. as the boiling point is about the same as 18 month old Dot 5.1. So the higher the boiling point the more hydroscopic it gets (absorbs water) and so the quicker it deteriorates .. hence the racing boys change it before every race.

I just use Girling 5.1 .. about 7 GBP instead of 5 GBP for Dot 4... for enough to bleed the brakes and clutch .. and I do it every year as performance of any stuff goes off after 6 months .... all in a steep descent until it approaches min boiling .. and it keeps the bleed nipples free .. in reality only the bit in the calipers and hoses needs replaced .. it is black from the carbon in the seals .. and more golden from the heat.

Main cause of water getting into system is the rubber hoses .. very permiable to water .. not sure on the SS lines but I suspect they are 50-100% less transparent to water (wild guess!) .. so not only do they improve feel (less expansion under pressure) but they probably make the brake fluid last longer. .. what I really cannot explain is why we still use brake fluid .. it is bad for absorbing water, poor lubricity, destroying paint work, making your hands yellow .. a pretty toxic material .. but it is uncompressible (relatively) and has a high boiling point (relatively) ... the silicon alternatives never took off .. lower boiling points and the water may pool in the pipes so the corrosion/vapour lock problems are worse. .. it is possible to feel the fade coming in .. a fast drive down Cairn'a'Mount up here does it to Moss HP as well as standard pads.. but you can feel it coming so back off well before. (2/00)

There are high(er) temperature fluids. However, unless one is actually racing the car these are prablematic because they are even more hygroscopic and deteriorate even faster, and threfore require changing out even more often. Much better to use the specified fluid and change it often. At a proper brake place here it doesn't take long at all, especially using a power bleed where the reservoir is slightly pressurised and the bleed nipples opened.

As to your other question, the pipelines themselves really have nothing to do with it. It is the fluid in the calipers that boils, and naturally that fluid is the the fluid that is most contaminated by water; though it does gradually suffuse through the system. (2/00)

Or, it hasn't been changed often enough, which in most cases is ignorance rather than stupidity.

Though if one is standing at the pearly gates with steering wheel in hand, ignorance is really not an excuse; more so if Mum and a couple of kids are also in the line. (2/00)

Whilst Richard at Maztek was replacing my bushings in a speedy and professional manner last Friday (more of which later) I was busy destroying the inner seal of my offside rear brake caliper.This resulted in a steady flow of brake fluid and the loss of this caliper for the trip back - Richard used a ball bearing to close off the brake pipe so no more fluid lost. [Aside - I know the fronts do most of the work but I was surprised at how little difference losing the use of one of the rear brake brakes made. Indeed it's only when using the handbrake that it's absence is an issue - the single caliper does a good job on it's own!] Val at Scimitar came to the rescue with a re-build kit and it only remains for me to rebuild the wayward caliper. I got the full monty rebuild kit - all seals, new piston and adjuster. My anxiety: I've never even bled brakes let alone rebuilt them and notwithstanding Val's reassurances and the offer of Steve at DS Engineering to act as "phone guide" (premium rates to apply!) I'd appreciate some guidance from pro caliper rebuilders.I have a track day on Monday so will only have one shot at this - the weekend.

1. The brake pipes are S/S so cannot be closed off with pliers so how do I stop fluid spraying out when I take off caliper? (I'm removing whole unit to do re-build as doing it in situ too restricted and I have no garage) Do I use the "Featherlite method" a johnny and gaffer tape?

2. I'll probably have no assistance - which "one man brake bleeder" system is best i.e. "does what it says on the tin"?

3. Will I need special tools other than usual spanners and sockets? (6/01)

If you trap a small sheet of plastic (plastic bag?) under the master cylinder cap it helps to reduce the rate at which fluid runs out. That together with the prophylactic should limit fluid loss.

The only special tool you need is circlip pliers (for an external circlip) - I have a pair which you can adjust for internal/external. You can probably get by without - but I always lost circlips under pressure before I got the pliers!

Clean everything with brake fluid, and wet the new seals with brake fluid as you go. Be careful not to score the cylinder when you remove the piston seal. You may have a problem removing the piston - the official method is compressed air. Sometimes they come out easily, sometimes not. Use the local garage tyre thing if really stuck.

I think I use a Gunson Eazi-Bleed kit - it has a valve on the end of a plastic pipe. It's easier if you can get someone to press the brake pedal while you run around the car though. It helps considerably if you can support the car all round and get all 4 wheels off.

You'll need to bleed all round - change the fluid whilst you're at it. The fluid level in the master cylinder goes down very quickly! You'll probably get through a couple of litres of brake fluid with the cleaning as well. (6/01)