Fareed's Auto Service Blog: Tips, Advice and More

Hello and welcome! My name is Fareed, and this blog is about car repair. I plan to write about smash repair, body work, painting and other aspects of the industry. I also hope to include a few posts that will help you assess whether or not something is wrong with your car. I have worked on my own car for years, and recently, I've been embraced as the neighbourhood mechanic -- all my friends come to me for help. I'm not a professional mechanic, but I feel confident sharing this info with you as I've been working on cars for years. I am happy you found my blog and hope that you enjoy reading!

Did You Know that Brake Fluid Can Boil?

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It goes without saying that the brake fluid in your car is a critical component. You may know that it is a very carefully engineered product, which is designed to put up with harsh conditions without failure so that you can keep everyone in the car as safe as possible. Yet not every brake fluid is the same, and if you drive your high-performance car a lot, you need to be careful to choose the right product. Why do you need to understand the fluid's boiling point, in particular?

How Does Fluid Function?

Hydraulic brake fluid is non-compressible, which means it can be used very efficiently in a mechanical braking system, where pressure on the brake pedal translates into equal pressure at the brake callipers. However, this fluid is also hygroscopic, which means that it can – and will – absorb water in certain circumstances. These tiny droplets of water can have a big role to play in any system which is heavily used and where the temperature of the fluid itself can rise past certain levels.

Why Boiling Point Matters

If you are an active driver in your high-performance vehicle, then you will undoubtedly put additional pressure on your braking system. As the temperature of the fluid rises, it may get close to boiling point, and when this happens, its efficiency will be considerably reduced. This is because the act of boiling produces a steam and unlike liquid, this is very compressible. Consequently, it won't perform as expected and you may even notice that the pedal itself sinks to the floor.

Wet and Dry

This is why brake fluid manufacturers produce different products for different scenarios. If you look closely, you will see that they refer to wet and dry boiling points on the label and you should pay close attention to this. "Dry" in this context refers to fluid that has not yet absorbed any moisture.

Choose a fluid that has a much higher boiling point in both wet and dry situations. This means that it will be able to absorb a lot more moisture before it reaches that critical boiling point threshold and it will be able to maintain its efficiency for much longer.

Getting It Checked

You should also ensure that you take the vehicle in for a brake service on a regular basis, especially as you are a spirited driver. The technician will be able to look at the condition of the brake fluid during the visit and advise if it should be changed or not.

For more information, contact your local brake repairs service. 

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26 July 2018