Is fluid change based on time or use?

[Andy]

How long do you guys keep your brake fluid in your car? LetÔÇÖs say you do back to back track weekends or 2 track weekend within a month, do you change fluids twice? What about engine oil?

[white_2kgt]

On brake fluid the ford stuff is so cheap I usually do a caliper bleed Sat night then when I get home I'll run the rest of the bottle through it. I'll do a full flush once a season. On the oil I use to change it after every weekend then I started to get the oil analyzed and they had me going 4 weekends on 1 oil change (now keep in mind I run 12qts of oil) I eventually settled into just changing the pan oil after 2 weekends. So basically get your oil analyzed, that will tell you when to change it.

[Mike]

i go 2-3 events on oil and i only touch my brake fluid if my pedal doesn't feel good. i currently have 4ish events and 2 years on it.

[Andy]

i go 2-3 events on oil and i only touch my brake fluid if my pedal doesn't feel good. i currently have 4ish events and 2 years on it.

Damn. I definitely bleed my brakes before every event but it was based more on time than on use. Hmm. I've got things to consider I guess.

[.RJ]

When I used motul 600 in the ITR I flushed it once all season - no bleeding, ever. 4,000 track miles, 15-16 weekends, 8-9,000 street miles. In that time I destroyed rotors, ran brake pads through the backing plate, faded pads, chunked brake pads, chunked tires and did lots of lawn mowing.

Sure its more expensive, but if it means you never have to fuss with it while burning down your car, thats worth the cost to me.

[D_Eclipse9916]

blah I just tried bedding in my wilwoods...and instead of doing the last 8 hard stops, I did about 12 just to see how they would do...let it cool for about 5 minutes, then got out to look at my brakes...they looked good and for shits and giggles I Tried to see how hot they were...didnt seem much so I touched the caliper...and omg...it was cool enough to actually touch, then I tried the rotor...hot but not enough to burn.....Sorry, but this is one of the best upgrades to my car ever, my poor suspension has my front bumper almost touching the ground whenever breaking hard, and my poor tires, thank god my abs fuse is in, because it was squealing and chirping all the way down to 20 mph from 70.

I can definitely say, ill never use metalmaster axxis, when I took them off my car to install the wilwoods, the pads fell off the backing plate in pieces. Of course im running SS lines, I think ill stick with the advanced auto synthetic, and after a track event, ill bleed em and see how they are.

Oh and...muahha...I have enough credits for a track day.....

[Dave]

I usually flush my brake fluid every other year and bleed it when I change pads or if it feels mushy for some reason. I change my oil every 3 events or so. Coolant every other year if I'm doing well. Tranny fluid if it is feeling rough or if I just got the car.

[PDenbigh]

My schedule is very similar to Chad's. Bleed after a good track day (unless I'm fixing something else :evil, and flush at beginning and about 1/2 way through the season.

For oil, about once every 3-4 events depending on how hard I've run the car. That's with M1 15w40 and Blackstone says that I *could* go longer but that I'm safe with 3-4.

[Maengelito]

i think the fluids are both time and use dependent. that being said, on the subaru, i try to stick to the safe side of the factory recommended intervals except with the oil. the suby says 7500 on oil except if driven hard, then 3750. i usually change it every 5k. the tranny/diff, i go about 15k (or every 3rd oil change for those that are math challenged). the coolant i like to drain and fill once every year or year and a half. its a lot easier than flushing and i figure if i do it more often, then i dont have to worry too much about flushing. i've been meaning to flush the brake fluid in the suby, but have put it off for about a year.

for the miata, i try to change everything except oil once a year. the oil i want to change more frequently. i've been trying to get on a schedule where i do 2 colder events on an oil change or one warm/hot event and all the associated street driving on an oil change. i also mix synth and dino oil because i change it more frequently, it keeps costs down a bit (i know, only a couple of $$) but the miata valves chatter a lot less with dino i've noticed. i've always run ATE superblue, but this last event at VIR was the first one with this miata and the PO used motul600. the brakes felt fantastic, so i might stick to leaving it in for the rest of the year unless i feel some sponginess.