Brake Fluid Circulation in Res. w/r to Cooling?

[gordonliu]

I have a question about brake fluid circulation. I would like to construct a brake fluid cooler (instead of building ducts and tubing to duct air to the wheel wells).

I am wondering if an "in line" heat exchanger, screwed essentially directly between the brake line and the caliper will be sufficient (taking into account line pressure and everything else)...


alternatively, I am wondering about having a system that recirculates brake fluid directly from the coolant reservoir. Basically, suck in at the bottom (with an external pump), through a small heat exchanger, and back into the reservoir at the top)...



I have a feeling that recirculation is not a good choice. From my own experience/observation, it seems like most of the fluid that is repetively pumped in/out of the caliper during braking is never genuinely "mixed" inside of the reservoir.

it seems like most of the fluid never really makes it out of the hard lines.



at the end of the day, though, I really only need to scrub about 30-50 degrees (350 vs 400 F or similar range) to prevent boiling or significant fade.

[hannibal]

Interesting question!

I dont think recirculation is a solution. Brake fluid is not like oil or coolant. It doesn't really flow anywhere as you mentioned.

I found this for dirt bikes:


Seems like what you were thinking about. The only issue is that it needs to be close to the caliper to be very effective and thats probably not possible on a car. Mounted further away would still cool the fluid, but that fluid would never see the caliper.

I think a duct to to cool the rotor is the best solution. Cooler rotor=cooler caliper=cooler fluid

I'm curious why you've dismissed that option.

[hannibal]

Another thought... What kinda fluid are you using? Maybe upgrading to some expensive Motul fluid would be an easier and possibly cheaper method to keep your brakes cool.

[elwesso]

I kind of agree with hannibal, and I think that any time you would ever have ANY potential to boil your brake fluid you should at least bleed the stuff out of the calipers to get fresh fluid in the calipers.