Best brake fluid and pads?

[JTaylor2005]

Alright guys. 

Im getting my rear pads changed soon and have decided to get the fluid done as well.

I dont do hard driving much so regular pads will probably do. I was thinking of bosch ones tbf. Anyone know of any other good ones that would be worth it for a little extra money?

As for brake fluid what do you guys recommend? Pagid is what is on eurocar parts but as again if there is something better and worth the extra cash I will happily go for that.

How much fluid do I need to get for a full change and flush through do you reckon? 

Many thanks

[tigerstyle]

Standard Pagid DOT4 fluid is fine, best is to use normal fluid and replace annually rather than spending more for 'better' stuff. I believe you need about 0.5Litre to do a full flush, best to buy two bottles and have a spare.

I've got EBC Yellowtuff pads on mine currently, really like the performance, but really don't like the dust, I think they are about the dustiest pads going. in hindsight I should have researched that a bit more not knowing how much it'd annoy me. On the other hand, my silver alloys have a good anthracite look to them most of the time!

[JTaylor2005]

Brilliant. Cheers mate and haha I wouldn't mind the dust as much as you I don't think as I have metallic dark grey wheels anyway cheers bud

[Piggy]

Just get good oem pads if you dont do track days all the time.
The rears hardly get used anyway

[JTaylor2005]

Makes sense. As for fluid pagid sounds alright then?

[BiG K]

I use Brembo OEM pads and those work quite well with the handbrake. I found Pagid pads to lack "bite". In regards to brake fluid, good quality DOT 4 can have a higher boiling point than crappy quality DOT 5.1. If you aren't abusing on a track, any semi-decent DOT 4 will be fine.

[Frosty]

As others have said don't need anything to fancy for th tears. Padgid will be fine, that's what I have got the the rear of the estate.

Same with the fluid as well, padgid be fine. It's the amount of time the fluid has been in the car that's makes the difference. Better to change it more regular than splash out on expensive flour like others have said.

[JTaylor2005]

Cheers guys Pagid fluid and Bosch brake pads it is then

Thanks

[pug306driver]

Get your self a syringe and pipe, so you cant "flush" the m/c res tank first, agitate the black crap on its bottom and remove, add fresh fluid and flush that thru the system rather than the "old fluid", watch for new fluid coming from nipples. Your ( the cars ) nipples are all "free" and not sheared/siezed in??

[JTaylor2005]

I am taking it to a garage who are doing it for £50 brakes are one thing I won't do my self. I asked about stuff on here and sourced my own bits as I wanted good quality and not whatever the garage could get cheapest. Hopefully they know how to flush properly haha. I'll watch what they do and if it will take longer to do properly just offer them more cash

[BiG K]

I am taking it to a garage who are doing it for £50

Don't go offering any more! They should do a decent job for that price. It's not really that difficult, getting the nipples free is where the problem is. Suck out the old fluid from the reservoir, top up with fresh, loosen off a nipple, pump the brakes until the fluid changes colour (old should be darker), tighten the nipple, rinse and repeat on the other wheels. Just don't let the reservoir get too low (air locks are bastards).

[JTaylor2005]

Yeahh I won't don't worry haha. I'd rather them do it than me on brakes though I have done lots of engine stuff my self like injectors, fuel reg etc but I just won't touch brakes in case I mess them up haha.

[Toms306]

You can't really mess them up unless you're a complete idiot, pads only fit one way, what can you get wrong! However, I find it's pretty hard to perfectly bleed brakes on your own without a vacuum bleeder. I can get them 'good enough' just not 100% perfect, so for the price I'd rather a garage do it.

Oh just for reference, the last time I let a garage change a rear wheel cylinder and bleed my brakes (2009), they didn't do it right, the brakes became terrible on the way home, I checked the reservoir to find it empty. Make sure you trust whoever it is doing them!

[C2K]

Get your self a syringe and pipe, so you cant "flush" the m/c res tank first, agitate the black crap on its bottom and remove, add fresh fluid and flush that thru the system rather than the "old fluid", watch for new fluid coming from nipples.

Come again?

What kind of shit is living in your brake system? I've never found any such sort of filth in a master cylinder reservoir. There is clearly a noticeable difference when bleeding between old and new fluid, but considering 1L will enable a thorough flush of the system there is nothing accomplished by the above unless someone's been silly with the MC in the past.

Personally wouldn't bleed brakes by the pedal method anymore. It's not that I couldn't get a good pedal, far from it, but with a compressor and vac bleeder it's effortless.

[Toms306]

I'll grab a pic of the ST res later, it's full of black crap, never seen the same on any other car... . It's also the darkest fluid I've ever seen, guess it's probably boiled at some point.

Needs a change obviously but waiting to see if it fails mot on brake pipes first!

[Poodle]

There will only be black shit in there if the brakes fluid has been abused and never maintained, or of course if the people working on the car are careless with what they let get in there.

[Toms306]

How often do most people change it though...?

Probably never after they finish dealership servicing at the 3 years old lol.

[Toms306]

This is what 8 years of full service history looks like -

[Frosty]

How often do most people change it though...?

Probably never after they finish dealership servicing at the 3 years old lol.

Think it is advised to be done every 2 years which IMO is a bit extreme. I would say it should be done every 4 years ish depending on the mileage done. There is brake fluid testers out there that measure the amount of moisture I'm the fluid.

---

I am taking it to a garage who are doing it for £50

Don't go offering any more! They should do a decent job for that price. It's not really that difficult, getting the nipples free is where the problem is. Suck out the old fluid from the reservoir, top up with fresh, loosen off a nipple, pump the brakes until the fluid changes colour (old should be darker), tighten the nipple, rinse and repeat on the other wheels. Just don't let the reservoir get too low (air locks are bastards).

As he said the biggest issue I would say with bleeding brakes on a 306 is getting the nipples undone on the rear calipers as they are easy to snap off of they haven't been undone for a while.

[Pgtips]

How often do most people change it though...?

Probably never after they finish dealership servicing at the 3 years old lol.

Think it is advised to be done every 2 years which IMO is a bit extreme. I would say it should be done every 4 years ish depending on the mileage done. There is brake fluid testers out there that measure the amount of moisture I'm the fluid.

---

I am taking it to a garage who are doing it for £50

Don't go offering any more! They should do a decent job for that price. It's not really that difficult, getting the nipples free is where the problem is. Suck out the old fluid from the reservoir, top up with fresh, loosen off a nipple, pump the brakes until the fluid changes colour (old should be darker), tighten the nipple, rinse and repeat on the other wheels. Just don't let the reservoir get too low (air locks are bastards).

As he said the biggest issue I would say with bleeding brakes on a 306 is getting the nipples undone on the rear calipers as they are easy to snap off of they haven't been undone for a while.

If the nipples have had the rubber dust covers on then you've got more chance of them coming undone but i would still give them a good wire brush & a few applications of penetrating flluid a few days before you attempt to undone them & use a 6 sided socket & hopefully they will come undone