While I'm cranking away through various piles of automotive email, might as
well chime in on brake fluid. The Killer Spit [Yellow one on the web page
listed below] got Dot 5 synthetic fluid from NAPA when it was assembled.
Worked great for autocrossing, but required a few rounds of bleed, let rest
for a day or two, bleed, rest, ... when first installed.
Decent pedal feel, good modulation, no complaints when autocrossing. First
time out at Wendover running IVR races with what should have been an autocross
only car, I found out that the fluid was good for 17 minutes of racing on the
1 mile course. Problem is our usual session is 20 minutes. That dash past
the RX7 into the back kink on lap 18 was festive.
At the May IVR race a couple weeks ago I had a different car, another
Spitfire with GT6 uprights and calipers on the front, sporting Lucas
semi-metallic pads. Rears are standard Spit parts, with Kevlar shoes
from Ted Schumacher. Rebuilt calipers, new rear wheel cylinders, new
hoses, and Valvoline Synthetic DOT 3/4 fluid. Didn't quite have time
to bleed the brakes properly, so pedal travel was less than optimal,
but when they grabbed they grabbed. And they lasted the whole 20
minutes.
So I'll likely continue to use the Valvoline synthetic for the rest of the
season, assuming we have much of one. I did get a verbal confirmation of
the August 9/10 IVR date this afternoon from the Wendover airport manager,
so we should have at least one more race weekend. We'll see how it goes.
Or stops, I should say.
My vote at the moment - silicone no, synthetic yes.
mjb.
http://fatchancegarage.com
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