Hello,
I have a
Boxster S
2008´ that i bought New / unused 2009´
and has only been driven 4500 miles and
porsche
recomends that
the brake fluid should be changed every two years so that means
this year 2010´ according to the build date,but the car has been driven
very little time and has been stored inside almost all the time
and no trackdays,is it needed do you think to change the fluid this
year or wait until 2011 when the schedueld 2 year maintanance
is required ? One Tech i spoke to thought i could wait until
next
year.
Thanks / Best Regards
Of course this is just my opinion, but, you could probably wait. If your local
Porsche
service advisor says that it is okay to wait until your 2 year service interval is due, then you should be fine.
One thing to keep in mind though, is that brake fluid tends to absorb moisture over time, and lose effectiveness. On the other hand, it doesn't appear that you put much demand on your brakes anyway.
Hello and thanks for the reply,
No,i dont intend do any trackdays so the brakes dosent get to warm
but i really enjoy driving the car but i also want to
maintain the car to 100 % so i was qurios to hear your´s opinion here
regarding the brakes.
/ Best Regards
You don't need to change the brake fluid earlier than the recommended intervals.
Brake Fluid is Hygroscopic, which means it attracts moisture over time. This does two things to your braking system. It can introduce corrosion to your components that can result in master cylinder and caliper failure, and it also lowers the boiling temperature of your brake fluid.
For example, lets say your brake fluid has a boiling point of 600 degrees. That means should it come to that temperature it will boil and you will lose your brakes totally. Over time, that boiling point will be reduced to say 500 degrees by the absorption of water. Now your boiling point is reduced by that amount. In track driving, on a course with a lot of turns, you may generate temps at a typical driving school of say 450 degrees if driving at a A Group or Instructor level. You want more than a 50 degree margin, so you change more often when a track car, to keep to that 600 degree level. On a street car, even driving aggressively, you will probably never exceed 300 to 350 degrees temp so that 500 mark is fine. Then you change on the time requirement to not have to deal with the corrosion issues.
I used to to 20 track days a year as an instructor, and change my brake fluid once a year. I've cut way back on that and might go do a single event annually, so I change then every two years now.
There are test strips you can buy that you dip in the brake fluid and it will tell you the quality of the fluid.
I've never used them but have heard they will give you a good indication.
By the way, the other issue with the moisture in the brake fluid is the ABS system. It tends to corrode the valves and plug the little passages. So even without track use, it pays to change the fluid every two or three years.
200 bucks... pay the man and get it done, or just do it yourself. It's really a cheap way to avoid having to foot a larger bill later on.
Glad I found this thread. Thought the dealer was trying to hose me by telling me that in addition to the $750 he wants to charge for a 20k mile service, I should pay him another few hundred for a brake fluid change. Still seems like he's hosing me on prices, but at least I know what is realistic.
