Here a cautionary note for anyone adding brake fluid. DOT 5 silicone fluid must not be mixed with glycol brake fluid. This compatibility chart should help:
I converted to DOT 5 in my 69 Camaro about 10 years ago. I did it because the DOT 5 doesn't take the paint off of metal. I didn't want that to happen when bleeding the brakes on it. I've seen too many at car shows where the notorious brake fluid drip off the master cylinder and down the brake booster. The owner wipes it up only to have the paint come off too. The same for the backing plate for drum brakes. It drips off the bleeder or brake line and takes the paint off the backing plate. I know a guy that accidently dripped some brake fluid on the front fender when touching off the master cylinder... it needed repainting. I spent too much time and effort getting the car to be a solid #2... better safe than sorry scenario.
About the only time I would consider using DOT 5 fluid is in an old car that's seldom used or a race car. I would not use it in any modern car (anything with ABS).
What silicone fluid offers that is outstanding is ZERO water absorption. What is BAD about it, I can tell you from direct experience, because I was excited about putting in some silicone fluid in my disc-brake Neon. It compressible. It turns the brake pedal into a trampoline. It should feel like a brick. I was surprised at how much I had to press the pedal to get the brakes to work properly. It was disappointing, as I was REALLY looking forward to the greater longevity offered by silicone. It is the only fluid I have ever found that was compressible, and compressible to a great degree. Having experienced that, I replaced it with DOT 4 normal brake fluid and the sponginess of the pedal immediately disappeared.
I'm surprised you had trouble using DOT 5 in your Neon unless there's research showing no to use it with ABS. (?) Or you had something else wrong. Early on there were some seals that were incompatible with DOT 5. Are you sure you flushed out ALL the old fluid? I've used it for years in my 69 Camaro (stock disc/drum setup) and the pedal has always been rock hard. I don't see the DOT approving DOT 5 as a brake fluid if it is compressible. It took them forever to approve aftermarket stainless steel flex brake lines because the first ones could expand and cause a soft pedal. Who would put a "compressible" fluid in brake system? That's like trying to use "non-combustible gasoline" to run an engine. Just IMO....
I did research the stuff before buying it, and they did mention a "softer pedal feel," but whoa, buddy, I had no idea it was that bad. I do like to do research, not form opinions based on emotions or hearsay. Your own good experience with the stuff is good for you, so I am not arguing that. I bet the system is pretty well rust-free, too, yes? The stuff sure hates water. It didn't have ABS. It was listed as DOT 5 or 7, don't remember which. 4 wheel disk brakes. (Neon ACR) I'm sure that I flushed out all the old fluid. I have done it more than once. The only time it was a problem was with the silicone stuff. Even if I somehow managed to leave 1cc of old fluid, the immediate transformation of my pedal into a trampoline was in no way able to be related to that. The two fluids don't form a gas when mixed together. I thoroughly flushed out all the old fluid and added the new fluid myself. I stopped when there were no bubbles and just the pale-purplish-colored silicone fluid was the only thing coming out. There were no air bubbles. I had someone else pumping the brake pedal while I bled each caliper, and I monitored it myself, as I was the one at the caliper. I did the exact same procedure when I replaced the silicone with DOT 4. I am not the only one to comment on this property. It was also mentioned in various car publications at the time. I didn't know how bad it was until I tried it. I thought I had the ideal brake fluid. Mucho Nope-O. It is just garbage brake fluid because it is compressible. Wait, you have a "rock hard" pedal with a drum and disk brake setup? I have never found that with a mixed-type brake system. The drums always absorb some of the pedal travel before engagement, except when I had a four-wheel-drum setup. That one was immediate in its pedal feel, just like the four-wheel disks in the Neon and Hellcat. It was one of the ironies of the all-drum setup on my old Satellite: immediate pedal feel, no waiting like the later Satellite with the disk-and-drum setup. This article, from which I quote directly: "This type of fluid is more compressible and can give the driver a feeling of a spongy pedal. Silicone based brake fluid has not been developed for, or intended for, use in race applications." https://www.merlinmotorsport.co.uk/pages/brake-fluids-glycol-silicone-explained-272 And more, which I quote directly: "LONG/SPONGY PEDAL - the compressibility of the silicone-based fluid is up to three times that of the more common glycol-based types, so needs more pedal travel to actuate." https://www.calverst.com/technical-info/brakes-silicone-brake-fluid/ It was not a matter of not bleeding the brakes correctly. I used LOTS and LOTS of that fluid to get every last bubble. The pavement was a mess. Summit racing's page: https://help.summitracing.com/app/a...~/what-is-the-difference-between-brake-fluids "Silicone is also more compressible than glycol, which can lead to a "spongy" feeling brake pedal." Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brake_fluid "Silicone based fluid is more compressible than glycol based fluid, leading to brakes with a spongy feeling. It can potentially suffer phase separation/water pooling and freezing/boiling in the system over time - the main reason single phase hygroscopic fluids are used." Note: the silicone stuff was bad immediately and I changed it the next or same day. I could go on and on, but, yes, silicone brake fluid is garbage. The one thing a brake fluid is supposed to do is immediately and directly transfer the pedal pressure to the brakes. It does not do that. The amount of pedal travel is alarming. Hey, if whatever it is you are putting in your car works, great for you. For the rest of the world, however, it seems to not be the case.
This information is common knowledge. Common and very-well-publicized. I'm not big on trusting government agencies or those who bribe them. Many didn't see the government approving the "Covid Vaccine" when it had many "side effects" including people dropping dead, as they seem to be doing with amazing regularity, now. Small children, teenagers, people in their twenties, everyone. Search #diedsuddenly on Twitter. https://twitter.com/search?q=#diedsuddenly&src=typed_query The corpses just keep stacking. People dying on live TV. Some while boasting about how super-vaccinated they are. I know a woman personally who was immediately paralyzed from the waist down after getting the "vaccine." She recovered, thank God, but hundreds of thousands are NOT. Teenagers are dropping dead by cardiac arrest in droves, for the first time ever in recorded history, or in any time at all. What they are calling "COVID deaths" are people dying from the "vaccine." Cute. BTW, no pilots who fly for the World Economic Forum are allowed to be vaccinated. Have you wondered why? 13 year old drops dead 3 days after the "vaccine." As I said, the evidence just keeps piling up like a log jam downstream from a landslide on a forested mountain. In spite of her skull fracture she suffered after bragging of her double-vaxxed, boosted, flu-shot self, she is evidently still alive, thank God. Pfizer CEO boasting about cutting the world population by 50 percent by 2023: https://twitter.com/i/status/1612662466085027840 I quote: “By 2023 we will reduce the number of people in the world by 50%. Today I think this dream is becoming a reality” Ah, yes, not so good optics to load people in train cars, but, hey, "vaccination" is quicker and easier, ja, herr doktor?
