How Much Brake Fluid for BBK Install

[sadams930]

I'm finally getting a chance to get my Superforged big brake kit installed when my ST gets out of the body shop after clipping bambi a few weeks ago. Everything looks pretty straightforward except I don't know how much brake fluid to buy to do a line flush and fill after the install? Normally I'd just buy a couple quarts and call it a day, but I'm getting Castrol SRF and that stuff is $2 an ounce right now, so I'm trying to be a bit more precise. It comes in 1L bottles, $65 a bottle. Is one bottle enough or should I get two? Can't really find the stuff locally right now, so I don't want to get all the way to the install and not have enough, nor do I want to have a full bottle that I have to ship and return to an online seller at the end. Thanks!

 

[UNBROKEN]

Reality check…plain old Dot 4 from the parts store is all you need. All that race car shit is pointless in your daily driver. You’re never, ever gonna boil the fluid…I’ve tried more than once to the point of having 4 blued rotors and the Dot 4 never missed a beat.
AND…you’re gonna lose a shit ton of fluid fighting the soft oem fittings trying to get the braided hoses on. You need an M10 1.5 threading die on standby and if your fittings are really crappy your best bet is to cut the die in half, hold it on the fitting lightly with some channel locks and reverse spin the fitting out of the die. If you’re not super confident in your brake job skills you may wanna farm this one out.

 

[GearHead_1]

Reality check…plain old Dot 4 from the parts store is all you need. All that race car shit is pointless in your daily driver. You’re never, ever gonna boil the fluid…I’ve tried more than once to the point of having 4 blued rotors and the Dot 4 never missed a beat.
AND…you’re gonna lose a shit ton of fluid fighting the soft oem fittings trying to get the braided hoses on. You need an M10 1.5 threading die on standby and if your fittings are really crappy your best bet is to cut the die in half, hold it on the fitting lightly with some channel locks and reverse spin the fitting out of the die. If you’re not super confident in your brake job skills you may wanna farm this one out.

^This^

There are a lot of places where a little extra coin will pay you back. Just can't see the benefit of going above and beyond on brake fluid.

 

[sadams930]

Reality check…plain old Dot 4 from the parts store is all you need. All that race car shit is pointless in your daily driver. You’re never, ever gonna boil the fluid…I’ve tried more than once to the point of having 4 blued rotors and the Dot 4 never missed a beat.
AND…you’re gonna lose a shit ton of fluid fighting the soft oem fittings trying to get the braided hoses on. You need an M10 1.5 threading die on standby and if your fittings are really crappy your best bet is to cut the die in half, hold it on the fitting lightly with some channel locks and reverse spin the fitting out of the die. If you’re not super confident in your brake job skills you may wanna farm this one out.

This job is definitely getting done at my Ford Performance shop, Performance Evolution. All Matt builds is fast Fords, and his attention to detail is second to none. I'll definitely be sending him this info though, as it sounds like it will save him some time.

And with regards to the 5.1 fluid, that's what the installation info for the kit from Superforged says to use, that's why I was looking for the best 5.1 to use. I get that I probably won't ever push the fluid as hard as a track monster, but I also don't mind spending $40-50 extra for something that isn't replaced very often.

That being said, even with a less expensive fluid, how much should I have on hand for this job?

 

[UNBROKEN]

I can’t remember what the whole system holds…but at least that much. Chances are you’ll drain the master and the abs pump fighting those hoses. I’m sure that info is online. I know the first time I did it I burned 2 quarts trying to keep the reservoir full while I did the hoses …the 2nd time I just let it all drain and pulled all new fluid but I don’t remember the amount.