We thought our 1997 Dodge Viper GTS was well stored in the garage at home until we discovered the importance of changing brake fluids, even on a car that is barely driven.  A few summers ago I took my father's 1997 Viper GTS to Lime Rock Connecticut to attend a driving event that allowed performance car owners to learn how to drive their car on a road course. 

I pushed the car to its full limits throughout the event without any issues until about halfway through the day.  After many passes around the track, I was getting comfortable with the car reaching 120 mph before having to slow down and enter into a double apex corner.  However, on one particular lap I entered the straightaway, reached my top speed, and began to decelerate, but this time when I applied the brake pedal I felt my foot go right to the floor. 

Luckily I had enough room to slow the car, downshift, and enter into the corner without losing control. Knowing I had a brake issue, I slowly drove the car back to the pit area to examine the brakes.  We found that the brake fluid had reached its boiling temperature as a result of condensation that had formed in the brake system while the car was in storage.  The contaminated brake fluid was not able to withstand the heat generated from the competitive driving on the track, causing it to boil and evaporate, leaving me with less fluid to compress the calipers and apply the brakes.  Had the fluid been changed and the car been stored in a car storage facility with low humidity, I would never have run into this problem. 

This is a perfect example of why it is so important to maintain and store a car in the correct environment.