First of i should say what I actually have.

1.8 3dr freebie

New brake pads and discs couple of months ago on front (mintex)

Rear shoes was in good condition near new less than 12months (6k old)

Recently bleed with dot4 carlube fluid


Im having problems with the brakes fading. Towing a small sailing boat along twisting welsh a roads not traveling mega fast just going with the flow of traffic.

Any tips to stop/prevent them fading. Should i try a better fluid dot5.1???

The system was designed for DOT 4, you should stick with that.
Mintex pads should be fine.
Are the pistons free in the calipers ?-they are prone to sticking due to corrosion. New pistons and seal kits are cheap enough.

Well when I replaced/checked the braking system over a few months ago all seemed fine but...

As its now a few months down the line and has been stood/washed alot i should give it all a check over again. Things might have seized. I'm assuming light off road driving doesn't help.

It doesn't help as the only comparison I have is that of a golf and c4 with discs all round and being much lighter

My FL& Vectra are both parked outside and if they are not used for a couple of weeks the discs tend to get a thin coating of surface rust form on them from the sea air no doubt. Never had the problem when we lived in Ireland about 50 odd miles from the coast.
The surface rust soon disappears after a decent run and the brake performance improves.
I use the FL more than the Vectra and found the braking system was poor when I first had it, this was due to sticking pistons in the front calipers-replaced them and it's fine now but remember that he system is not going to be as good as discs all round but that said, I feel it's more than adequate for the car.

Think I have sorted the problem. Sticking caliper slider seems much better
Only time will tell