what is the difference between DOT3 and DOT4 brake fluids?

DOT4 brake fluid has a higher boiling point than DOT3, making the fluid less likely to boil. Using cheaper, lower-grade fluid increases the chances of your brakes failing
in situations where they build up lots of heat, e.g., driving down a mountain on a twisty road.
Most people realize that brakes work by turning kinetic energy into heat. The brake rotors and pads get very hot, this heat is transferred to the brake fluid as well, if the
brake fluid gets too hot and boils it effectively puts air in the lines and will lead to brake failure.
You can put DOT 4 in place of Dot 3 but not the other way around.
Note DOT 5 is completely different and is silicone based, it is not compatible with DOT 3 and 4 systems
DOT 5 is not interchangeable or compatible with DOT 3, 4, and 5.1 fluids and can cause catastrophic system failure.
Dot 3, 4, and 5.1 are glycol ether based. They are compatible, but like motor oils, you should use the recommended or higher grade fluid. Dot 4 and 5.1 also have borate
ester to handle higher temperatures. DOT 3, 4, and 5.1 fluids are found in most brake and clutch systems.
DOT 5 is a silicone oil based fluid and can only be used in new, dry systems. It is found in racing, US Military, Soviet, and Finnish systems to handle low temperature,
excessive braking, and water exposure problems.

Viscosity of DOT4 is more than DOT3 and it maintains its fluidity at a higher temp. Also, the brakes shall be more effective when the system gets hot during a long drive.
DOT 5 is silicone based and is no way compatible.
Dot 5.1 is sort of OK but not recommended to mix with 3 and 4.
To use Dot 5, you MUST replace all rubbers, seals and flex brake lines as well as flush steel lines.

DOT 4 also absorbs less water than DOT 3.

DOT 3 is one of several designations of automotive brake fluid, denoting a particular mixture of chemicals imparting specified ranges of boiling point.
In the United States, all brake fluids must meet Standard No. 116; Motor vehicle brake fluids.[1] Under this standard there are four Department of Transportation (DOT)
minimal specifications for brake fluid. They are DOT 3, DOT 4, DOT 5 and DOT 5.1.
DOT 3, like DOT 4 and DOT 5.1, is a polyethylene glycol-based fluid (contrasted with DOT 5, which is silicone-based). Fluids such as DOT 3 are hygroscopic and will
absorb water from the atmosphere. This degrades the fluid's performance, and if allowed to accumulate over a period of time, can drastically reduce its boiling point. In a
passenger car this is not much of an issue[citation needed], but can be of serious concern in racecars or motorcycles[citation needed].
DOT3 has been all but replaced with the superior DOT4 as there is little cost difference between the two.

Minimal boiling points for these specifications are as follows (wet boiling point defined as 3.7% water by volume):
Boiling point ranges [2]
Dry boiling point Wet boiling point
DOT 3

205 C (401 F)

140 C (284 F)

DOT 4

230 C (446 F)

155 C (311 F)

DOT 5

260 C (500 F)

180 C (356 F)

DOT 5.1 260 C (500 F)

180 C (356 F)

BRAKE FLUIDS.

As mentioned elsewhere on the page, brake fluid does not compress. It's a good job too - if you put your foot on the brake pedal and it went all the
way to the floor, you'd be worried. But that's exactly what can happen if you disregard the "health" of your brake fluid.
Brake fluid is hygroscopic - that means it attracts and soaks up water. This is why it comes in sealed containers when you buy it, and why when the
crazy guy four doors down offers you some of the 15 gallons of brake fluid he's had in his garage since the war, you should turn him down. The
problem with it being hygroscopic is that if it does start to take on water, Bad Things can happen. Pull up a chair and allow me to explain.
Your typical DOT 4 brake fluid (see later for DOT ratings) boils at about 446F (230C). Water boils at 212F (100C). Imagine your brakes are
getting hot because of a long downhill stretch. Whilst the brake fluid is quite OK, the temperature of the brake components might get up over the

boiling point of water. If that happens, the water boils out of the brake fluid and forms steam - a compressible gas. Next time you put your foot on
the brake, rather than braking, all the pressure in the brake system is taken up with compressing the steam. Your brakes go out, you don't stop.
Getting a little more complex, the boiling point of a liquid goes up with its pressure (Physics 101). So when you step on the brake, the boiling point
of the brake fluid might actually go up to 500F (260C) and the boiling point of the water content might raise up to 250F (121C). This is great, you
might think, because now the boiling point is higher than the temperature of the brake fluid. At least it is until you take your foot off the brake again.
Now the pressure in the system returns to normal, the boiling points revert to normal and instantly the water boils off into steam again. The
symptoms are slightly different now. Under this scenario, the brakes work the first one or two times, but on the third or fourth press, they stop
working because now the temperature and pressures have conspired to boil the water.
The worst possible scenario is brake-fade (see right at the top) combined with air in the system. If this has happened to you, then you're likely
reading this page from beyond the grave, because in most accidents where weak brakes become no brakes, there aren't any survivors.

D.O.T RATINGS
All brake fluids are DOT rated. Your owners handbook for your car or motorbike probably tells you to use DOT3 or DOT4 from a sealed container.
The DOT ratings are a set of minimum standards the fluid must adhere to in order to get the rating, and thus work in your braking system. The
following table shows the various properties of DOT ratings. Remember that the values here are the minimum values. Most manufacturers make
sure their product far exceeds minimum ratings.
Boiling Point DOT 3
Dry
401F
Wet
284F

DOT 4
446F
311F

DOT 5 (silicone-based)
500F
365F

DOT 5.1 (non-silicone based)

The "dry" and "wet" boiling points in the table above are for brake fluid which is fresh from the bottle (dry) and which has a 10% water content (wet).
A DOT study in 2000 discovered that on average, the brake fluid in a vehicle absorbs about 2% water every 12 months.
The two types of brake fluids shown in the table are DOT3/DOT4/DOT5.1 which are glycol (Polyalkylene Glycol Ether) based, and DOT5 which is
silicone based. DOT3 and DOT4 fluids are interchangeable* - the only real difference is their boiling point. Theoretically you could interchange
DOT4 and DOT5.1 fluids too but I wouldn't recommend it. DOT3/4/5.1 and DOT5 fluids cannot be mixed or interchanged under any circumstances.
They mix like oil and water (ie. they don't) and the silicon based fluids can destroy the seals in brake systems which rely on the moisturiser additives
that are present in DOT3/4/5.1 fluids.
Other things you ought to know about silicone based fluids:
- they are resistant to absorbing water, which is why their wet boiling points are so high. Problem is that any water content eventually pools in the
low spots of the brake system and causes rust.
- they don't strip paint.
- they are not compatible with most ABS system because they doesn't lubricate the ABS pump like a glycol based fluid.
- putting this fluid in systems which have had DOT3/4 fluid in will cause the seals in the caliper and master cylinders to malfunction. Which means
they need replacing. Which is expensive.
Oh, and don't ask me why DOT5.1 is glycol and DOT5 is silicon based. It doesn't make and sense to me either.
* There has been some discussion as to the use of DOT4 fluid in Toyotas that recommend DOT3 fluid - apparently something in the Toyota braking
system doesn't play well with DOT4 fluid, particularly the master brake cylinder seals.