TRD race brake fluid = Motul RBF600 just cheaper

[Mongolian]

Good afternoon everybody.

I was recently looking for some Motul RBF600 for my ninja as im upgrading the front master cylinder. I found that cycletreads now only stocks RBF660 for $58 per 500ml .
So I was having a look around and found that Motul has now teamed up with Toyota (Not sure how long this has been) and they are selling TRD Race Brake fluid which is just rebranded RBF600.
I managed to find that North Shore Toyota is currently selling this for $20.80 per 500ml bottle on sale and will then go upto $25 when the sale finishes which is around $10 cheaper a bottle than what i had seen RBF600 previously.

Just thought it might be useful info for some of you racers out there.

Cheers
Mongolian

[avgas]

Probably means its the same oil as the high performance Yamaha oil then

[Mongolian]

Probably means its the same oil as the high performance Yamaha oil then

Handy to know, is that also cheaper than the motul branded stuff?

[avgas]

Toyota and Yamaha have been in bed together for decades. If I were to hedge a bet - the Toyota oil will be cheaper (economies of scale). Also Yamaha NZ don't do deals on OEM which is why all the Yamaha dealers use other oils.

[Owl]

Personally I didn't like the stuff and swapped it out after 4 months. Though I only paid $12 for it.

[malcy25]

Question is, do you need a brake fluid that handles 600-660 degrees F? And if so, I trust this is on the track....

My experiences with Motul RBF a few years ago and talking to Tim at Motul, was that this fluid is very hydroscopic - ie it absorbed water quite fast as a by product of it's heat capabilities. Given that race vehicles are usually on very frequent or high maintenance schedules, where things like this get changed on a regular basis, this was not seen as an issue.

I'm not sure if this is still the case, nor whether the retailer would be able to confirm this. But the short story comes back to "where's the need" for RBF. Are you boiling dot 4/5.1 brake fluid already and if so, are there other reasons that may need correcting?

[Mongolian]

Question is, do you need a brake fluid that handles 600-660 degrees F? And if so, I trust this is on the track....

My experiences with Motul RBF a few years ago and talking to Tim at Motul, was that this fluid is very hydroscopic - ie it absorbed water quite fast as a by product of it's heat capabilities. Given that race vehicles are usually on very frequent or high maintenance schedules, where things like this get changed on a regular basis, this was not seen as an issue.

I'm not sure if this is still the case, nor whether the retailer would be able to confirm this. But the short story comes back to "where's the need" for RBF. Are you boiling dot 4/5.1 brake fluid already and if so, are there other reasons that may need correcting?

It's likely true that you would not need brake fluid with such high boiling points, but the same could be said of so much that we do, do we really need 1000cc sport bikes for the road for example?
I am happy to replace my fluid every few months anyways to be fair but for others this may not be the case, I do also like to go to the track in summer as well and found that this did help with my brake fade but so did installing better pads, calipers and now a new master cylinder.

So in essence it may not be necessary but for the price of $20-$25 a bottle im happy to fork out for that every few months to flush out my brakes.

Also from What I have read in the car communities the 660 is significantly more hydroscopic than the 600.

[imdying]

hydroscopic

hydroscopic

Hygroscopic.

[Mongolian]

Hygroscopic.

Damn, and I thought i was sounding so intelligent haha.

[Drew]

I am happy to replace my fluid every few months anyways

I'm not sure that a "few months" is often enough for a really good brake fluid. I don't know how good the stuff you're talking about is, but if it's branded a 'racing' brake fluid, you might find it's going off quicker than you thought.

Moisture content can be measured in brake fluid, loads of places can do it. Were I you, I'd be getting myself a more accurate idea of how often I should be changing the shit. I doubt you're going fast enough on the road to require the fluid to be working optimally, but the water in the system can fuck surfaces and all sorts.

Just two cents worth, from the bankrupt though.

[avgas]

Hygroscopic.

I was beginning to wonder why people were using brake fluid for taking photos of fish.

[Mongolian]

I'm not sure that a "few months" is often enough for a really good brake fluid. I don't know how good the stuff you're talking about is, but if it's branded a 'racing' brake fluid, you might find it's going off quicker than you thought.

Moisture content can be measured in brake fluid, loads of places can do it. Were I you, I'd be getting myself a more accurate idea of how often I should be changing the shit. I doubt you're going fast enough on the road to require the fluid to be working optimally, but the water in the system can fuck surfaces and all sorts.

Just two cents worth, from the bankrupt though.

From what I have read online most resellers and forums tend to advise this fluid should be changed once a year for normal street use and when needed for racing / track day use. (the next step up the RBF660 has to be changed much more often)
I have found it hard to find actual testing of this though so just going on others opinion really.

Not sure how you would go about testing for water content easily as most tests I have seen test for copper content in the fluid which I think accumulates over time. possibly testing the PH level of the fluid would work better?

As you say on the road it would be pretty unlikely that you would boil pretty much any brake fluid but seeing as it's not a huge cost and means I will more likely spend time keeping my brakes in good order I am happy to use it.

[SMOKEU]

I always thought that brake fluid is meant to be changed every 2 years for street use, or is there any real benefit to annual fluid changes for street riding and the odd slow paced track day?

[AllanB]

I always thought that brake fluid is meant to be changed every 2 years for street use, or is there any real benefit to annual fluid changes for street riding and the odd slow paced track day?

What he said - every two years is what you will find in a shop manual for your bike. I do mine every second Xmas, always use good shit and it must absorb a bit of moisture or air over the period as it always feels firmer after this. Hmmm nice clean fluids.

Racing changing more often would make sense due to the abuse the brakes get compared to street use.