GT350 OEM brake fluid track worthy?

Just joined and new owner to a 2016 GT350. Wanted to get a few thoughts on the OEM brake fluid. Have track day at COTA and one at MSR coming up and wanted to know if the OEM fluid holds up well or is it recommended to swap out? Thanks!

It does. It is Motorcraft's DOT 4 fluid. Certainly not the best out there, but it does well. I ran my first few track days on it before flushing, and it surprisingly had barely changed color. So no need to go with a flush to start out. When it's time to change I'd go with something better at that time.

It's fine. I did two full, 5-session track days on the stock brake fluid a few months ago. I will replace mine with some Ate Gold fluid before my next track day this spring, since you should always bleed your brakes before a track day if the fluid is more than a few months old or has already been run on the track.

Awesome and thanks for the quick feedback. I figured as well. Have heard nothing but great things about the 350's brakes.

I did one HPDE and decided to flush the brakes with Torque 700. Glad I did as I had moisture in the fluid and was discolored. I wish I had taken a picture as I was a bit shocked how bad it was discolored (orange with gray - gray being moisture) That said the track is hard on brakes as am I. After your first event at least bleed some fluid from each caliper with the OEM fluid if not doing a complete flush. A complete flush with a Motive bleeder makes quick work of it. https://www.motiveproducts.com/coll...eeder-kits-power-bleeders-import-bleeder-kits

If you are going to track the car, bite the bullet and get some Castrol SRF or Torque 700. The stuff is not cheap and you will come up just short with only one quart, so buy two.

i ran my first track event with this car on the stock fluid. It held up well, but was a little discolored. That said, I moved to Castrol SRF as that is what I have run in all my cars the past few years. It costs more, but you will change fluids a lot less than the stock stuff, especially in our climate here.

Whether the OE fluid will be serviceable for you depends a bit on your skill level, your tires and the particular tracks: more speed, more grip, higher intensity braking will obviously put more stress on the fluid's capabilities. That said, the fluid is fine for several "average" track days. Don't ask me to define average, because, well, it depends . . .

I've run several track days on the OE fluid and the MPSS tires with no problems, including two back-to-back days at Watkins Glen. It's not a bad fluid, just not as high capacity as others mentioned.

So, for your first days on new-ish OE fluid, you "should" be fine. I do not think replacing the OE fluid is necessary when its fresh and you're looking at relatively light track events. But, if you flush with Motul, Castrol or Torque, you won't be wrong either.

CSL said:

It does. It is Motorcraft's DOT 4 fluid. Certainly not the best out there, but it does well. I ran my first few track days on it before flushing, and it surprisingly had barely changed color. So no need to go with a flush to start out. When it's time to change I'd go with something better at that time.

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Same experience I have had thus far, stock brake fluid did fine on first two day event with no issues. When bleeding these calipers, which bleeder screw do you bleed first, inside or out? I always started with the inside on my StopTechs and would assume this to be the same, but not sure?

I switched to castor SRF before my first track day. As noted depends on driving style, track, tires, etc. Extra insurance in my mind. Hate to have track day cut short if fluid did not cut it.

Best of luck and have fun.

KS10 said:

Same experience I have had thus far, stock brake fluid did fine on first two day event with no issues. When bleeding these calipers, which bleeder screw do you bleed first, inside or out? I always started with the inside on my StopTechs and would assume this to be the same, but not sure?

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I have hear all kinds of thoughts on which bleeder to bleed first :shrug: BUT if you ask WILWOOD tech support they will tell you to bleed the outside screw first. They have some reasons for doing it that way but all I needed to know was which way they recommended. So I'll stick with outside in

Based on the standard that you always bleed first from the point furthest from the master cylinder, I always bleed the outside first thinking that this will pull fresh fluid through the entire caliper system and be most effective in expelling any trapped air.

shelbyman said:

I have hear all kinds of thoughts on which bleeder to bleed first :shrug: BUT if you ask WILWOOD tech support they will tell you to bleed the outside screw first. They have some reasons for doing it that way but all I needed to know was which way they recommended. So I'll stick with outside in

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It does not really matter in the end. If you bleed them long enough with sufficient fluid, you will get air from both sides out - one line that splits. Also, I bleed both nipples on each caliper twice. You can't go wrong this way.

Sprintamx said:

Based on the standard that you always bleed first from the point furthest from the master cylinder, I always bleed the outside first thinking that this will pull fresh fluid through the entire caliper system and be most effective in expelling any trapped air.

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I used to think this way too. Seems logical. For whatever reason, the factory Ford service manual says otherwise for the GT350 calipers.

The Ford service manual says inside first then outside. I personally do inside-outside-inside and it's pretty much idiot-proof.