Endless/motul/castrol brake fluid swap - will it change clutch feel?

[Amm5890]

Hello all,

Just curious if swapping brake fluid made the clutch pedal feel change at all?

The only car I used racing brake fluid in was a DSG VW GTI. It definitely changed the brake pedal feel and I am wondering if it will do the same with a clutch pedal. Endless was my favorite, pedal feel wise, and I was thinking of using the same in my FL5.

Thanks!

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[Spart]

First of all, you'll need to thoroughly bleed the clutch slave/master cylinder in order to see differences. If you just bleed the brakes, the fluid that's in those components isn't getting changed out and what's there will start mixing with the fluid you just put in the brakes, since they share a reservoir.

You'll notice it strongly in two situations: if you manage to get enough heat into the clutch slave cylinder to cause a problem (hopefully never) and when it's really cold out. Like freezing or below.

The minor amount of pedal firmness difference offered by boutique fluids may be something you can notice through the clutch pedal and it may not. I can't say that I've ever noticed it making a difference that I couldn't attribute to placebo, but I never tested it to find out.

If you want snappier clutch response, deleting your CMC damper will help with that as well as changing out the flexible line connecting the hard lines for a braided stainless one. This applies whether the fluid is OEM or whatever else.

A lot of DOT4 fluids are more viscous than the DOT3 that comes with this car. When it's cold, that means the clutch pedal will get sluggish.

Since you're going to bleed it anyway, I would recommend deleting your CDV at the same time. That will help with the increase in viscosity. The CMC delete may help with that as well, as it will smooth out the fluid path.