I recently experienced significant brake fade under street driving on my 2002 Ferrari 360 Modena !! After some spirited driving, I gradually lost the brake pedal. First it got soft, and then as I approached traffic light, the pedal would go all the way down and nothing would happen !! From 60 km/h (40 miles) it would take approx 80 meters (yards) as opposed to 30 that is normal. Very scary ! When I arrived at my destination, there was burnt smell from the back brakes... I took my car at the mechanic, and he realised he had tightened the handbrake calipers too much... this would boil the brake fluid leading to gradual fade and complete loss of brakes... Two weeks later with the hand brake caliper fixed, I experienced again brake fade under spirited street driving... Very weird... Sure the weather was hot (33 degrees / 90 Fahrenheit) but brake fade ??? So I changed mechanic and my new one suggested to switch to DOT 5. I told a friend and he said to be careful and choose DOT 5.1 because DOT 5 is not compatible. So help, what brake fluid should I choose ? Please note my car is manual, and I think it shares same fluid for clutch pedal too !!
I found this useful info, however I still would like your advice about Ferrari 360 brake fluid recommendations... DOT 4 / 5 or 5.1 ? http://www.epicbleedsolutions.com/resources/faq/difference-between-dot4-and-dot51-brake-fluid/
Aside from the obvious recommendation of not driving that spirited on the street, it sounds as though there is fluid loss somewhere. Should not be boiling brake fluid even on the track.
If you do a search you will find brake fade issues pretty common on 360's?? Mine did 5 laps on a "driver training day" and pedal went to the floor at the end of the main straight - that was fun but no damage. One solution is to make sure brake fluid is kept fresh and ensure your calipers are bled fully (both sides) - it absorbs moisture over time although none of my other cars seem to have this problem.
For the past 10 years, I never had issues with DOT 4 brake fluid... I think there must be a leak in the clutch throw out bearing... Every month or two I need to fill up a little, because otherwise I lose clutch pedal... (I will top up and pump the clutch until it gets operational again) I want to avoid replacing throwout bearing , as my clutch on my manual car is just fine... Already replaced the throw out bearing 15000 km ago, and I think it is going bad...
DOT 5.1 is compatible with DOT 4. DOT 5 is silicone based and isn't compatible with DOT 4 or DOT 5.1. The problem with DOT 5 is that instead of absorbing moisture, any moisture in the system "pools" in low points and either causes corrosion, or can boil. It can also exhibit very inconsistent behaviour for no obvious reason e.g. spongy pedal, complete loss of resistance etc. I've used good quality DOT 5.1 for years with no problems or issues at all. Paul
I've used DOT 4 for many years on all my cars with zero issues. The only time I've run DOT 5.1 was in my Ultima GTR and there only because it came with the AP Racing Big Brakes. I wouldn't necessarily choose 5.1 over 4, especially for street use; either should work just fine.
So you do have a leak. Have you performed a complete bleed of the system since the brake fade, or since last time you 'topped it off'?
I've used DOT 4, only issue was taken care by adding Titanium backers. And that was only after a very long hot day at the track. Fresh fluid + Backers = Zero issues.
It seems like something else is going on here, your fluid should not be overheating like that. I have personally melted brake pads before ever boiling the fluid... Seems like there is a cooling and or installation issue, and maybe even a caliper piston is sticking... Do you have even brake pad wear all around? Have you tried better rotors, different pads, shims, and motul dot 4 fluid? I would look at ways to improve the cooling and decrease the heat, rather then trying to increase the thresholds for heat.
