The Best Brake Fluid (Review) in 2023 | Autance

If you’re looking for the right kind of lubricant to help put your car back in shape, cool it down, and provide great maintenance service, then Castrol SRF racing brake fluid is a great option.

With superior braking qualities, this fluid was designed for rallying and racing and is an exclusive European formula with an exceptional high boiling point. It offers a wet boiling point of 270 Celsius as well as 310 Celsius for a dry boiling point. The fact that this item has a wet boiling point means that it is superior to the dry boiling point of other high-performance brake fluids.

This is a high quality Brake Fluid specifically designed to be used in ABS brake systems. To that end, it is specifically designed to have superior corrosion resistance.

In addition to that, it has built in resistance to retaining water. As we discussed above, that is an important feature to have for brake fluid that is going to last a while in the system without having to be drained and replaced.

DOT4 classification means that the fluid has a high boil point too, so it is suitable for use in a range of high performance formats.

This is a decent fluid with a low, low price. DOT4 classification means that this product brings a high boiling point. Its other main selling point is that it has been designed to mix well with other fluids – either DOT3 or DOT4.

In that sense given the low price but also relatively small bottle size of just 12 ounces, this could be a great top up fluid. Keep it on hand and apply it when a braking system is starting to feel spongy or you’ve partially flushed the system.

Of course the low price for the 12-ounce bottle means you can also pick up a few at a time for complete system overhaul.

ATE is a world-renowned manufacturer of vehicle fluids, lubricants and oils. Their great success is built on bringing products to market that have been well designed and thought out, and that is exactly what they have done here with their TYP 200.

Again, we have a DOT4 classification, meaning a really high boiling point for this fluid. In addition, the product is designed with outstanding Water Locking ability. This means it is designed to keep water from seeping through the porous hoses of the braking system and diluting the fluid.

This also means that the braking system stays responsive for longer – in fact, ATE suggests this fluid could be good for changing intervals of up to three years which is, frankly, a phenomenal performance.

All of that, and you get a liter per container, making this a great deal for such a high-performance product.

Another quality product from a great manufacturer is the Bosch automotive.  This lubricant ships anywhere in the world. From a recognized brand, this is the next generation brake fluid that has excellent lubricity qualities, exceeds all DOT standards and can be used with DOT 3,DOT4 and DOT 5.1. It’s long lasting quality allows for it to simultaneously combine both high wet boiling point and low viscosity when in operation.

If you fancy yourself as a bit of a Vin Diesel and like to chuck your car into 30 feet power slides as you rock up into the office parking lot, then this could be the fluid for you.

Or, in the real world, if you do have a high performance car, a sports car or take a route with frequent braking (such a twisting and turning country roads or stop start urban traffic) this is a premium brake fluid designed for you.

DOT4 classification means we have a lovely high boiling point of 312 centigrade (594 Fahrenheit) which means that this fluid is easily able to stand up to it’s Racing Brake Fluid tag. With just 500ml it is a relativity high price for not a huge amount of fluid. But the high spec nature of this product more than warrants the elevated price tag.

Our first DOT3, however this is still a pretty high performance fluid with a number of useful features. The main draw is the anti-vapor capability designed to stop dangerous gas vapors building up in the braking system tubing during high temperatures. 

As a DOT3, this fluid does have a lower boiling point than a DOT4 classified fluid. It does however have higher far higher boiling point than many other DOT3 fluids, and is well above the minimum boiling points set by the government.

In that sense then, it is kind of a middle of the road kind of product. It doesn’t give quite the performance of a DOT4, however it is far superior to a lot of the other DOT3s on the market. Price wise it’s also midrange, for a generous 32-ounce bottle.

This next product has been made from the best quality to meet the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard(FMVSS) No. 116 and SAE J1703 specifications. If you are looking for a high quality Dot 3 brake fluid for both disc, drum brake system and clutch system, then Lucas oil is recommended. It is compatible with all brake systems and made with quality additives to prevent seal hardening or softening and is a great lubricant with chemicals such as polyethylene glycol ethers that prevents corrosion and rusting.

If you have an upgraded brake system such as those used for heavy braking like on a race track, then this is your go to synthetic oil. This excellent lubricant offers high performance brake fluid that is perfect for track use. The RL-600 is designed to maintain lubricity, viscosity and compressibility in extreme temperatures.

MAG 1 are quite well regarded as a lubricants manufacturer, and this product, whilst being extremely basic, is still a decent choice if you need the bells and whistles of higher priced, premium products.

With a rating to DOT3, it has a lower boiling point than many of the fluids on this list. At 32 ounces, however, it also has the best price tag on the list! So if you’re looking for a product that will just quietly do its job without brakeing the bank, this could be the one for you.

You won’t get high performance, and you absolutely must not use this in your system if the vehicle manufacturer specifies that DOT4 must be employed. But for a smaller, lower performance vehicle this is a great fluid with a good price tag.

Another product that seems relatively cheap (under 10 dollars) until you see the bottle size (12 ounces). So you’re probably going to need 3 or 4 of these to completely refill a drained system on even a smaller sized car. Still, like the Castrol product above, this fluid does play well with others, so once again it’s ok to look at it as a top up fluid too.

It brings a range of features to the table too – a number of which are frankly missing from the similarly priced Castrol – such as the very handy ability to minimize moisture absorption. Again, this is going to potentially lengthen the time between fluid changes, as well as help to prevent the dreaded vapor lock.

It’s slightly strange that it is as advertised as DOT3 ad DOT4 classified, as this only really refers to the boiling points of the product – so technically, every DOT4 product is also DOT3 classified, because of the that higher boiling point it has.

We also have no idea what is so Xtreme about it (note to Throttle Muscle, that’s not how that word is spelt) but crazy labeling decisions aside this is a high performance fluid with a number of useful features.