Disclaimer: Please don't lecture me about why I should have gone with upgraded pads, I know all about the virtues of doing so, did so for rear pads, and will be doing so for the fronts in the future. Now for the review:
Back in early February of this year I installed Duralast Gold Cmax front pads from Autozone. They cost $54.99 before tax. At the time, I was not planning on doing much modding and I know that most of the upgraded front pads are in the $100-200 range for street and prices go up from there. All things considered, I must say that I am pleased with my purchase, in spite of some shortcomings. Here's why:
Price:
Well, it's hard to beat $54.99 for some front pads
Dust:
These are not dusty at all. In fact, it takes about a month after the wheels are washed for the dust to be plainly noticeable (driving 250ish miles per week)
Noise:
No noise whatsoever
Braking performance:
Initial bite is slightly reduced over OEM pads, but I'd still give it a good rating. I like to drive spiritedly from time to time and I find the initial bite is only slightly reduced. These pads will haul the car from triple digit velocities to reasonable speeds without any sort of fade, though they do fade eventually. I have had some moments where I cursed these pads, such as when braking from 80ish to 30ish repeatedly in quick succession, but after reading some recent reviews of other pads (Hawk HPS in particular), I feel that these are just as good if not better than many of the more expensive "Street Performance" or "Better than stock" pads out there. Sure, these are not fit for track duty and really don't work all that well for AutoX, but they sure do get the job done on the street 99% of the time.
Conclusion:
If you don't track your car or AutoX and don't get on the brakes hard repeatedly, these pads should be just fine for you and you'll save some dough in the process. Me personally, I will be upgrading them soon because I plan to crank up the number of AutoX's I participate in next season and while these pads were ok for the Novice class, I feel I should upgrade to be competitive in my class (Tire B-Stock) and I don't mind the noise and dust of a more aggressive pad.
Back in early February of this year I installed Duralast Gold Cmax front pads from Autozone. They cost $54.99 before tax. At the time, I was not planning on doing much modding and I know that most of the upgraded front pads are in the $100-200 range for street and prices go up from there. All things considered, I must say that I am pleased with my purchase, in spite of some shortcomings. Here's why:
Price:
Well, it's hard to beat $54.99 for some front pads
Dust:
These are not dusty at all. In fact, it takes about a month after the wheels are washed for the dust to be plainly noticeable (driving 250ish miles per week)
Noise:
No noise whatsoever
Braking performance:
Initial bite is slightly reduced over OEM pads, but I'd still give it a good rating. I like to drive spiritedly from time to time and I find the initial bite is only slightly reduced. These pads will haul the car from triple digit velocities to reasonable speeds without any sort of fade, though they do fade eventually. I have had some moments where I cursed these pads, such as when braking from 80ish to 30ish repeatedly in quick succession, but after reading some recent reviews of other pads (Hawk HPS in particular), I feel that these are just as good if not better than many of the more expensive "Street Performance" or "Better than stock" pads out there. Sure, these are not fit for track duty and really don't work all that well for AutoX, but they sure do get the job done on the street 99% of the time.
Conclusion:
If you don't track your car or AutoX and don't get on the brakes hard repeatedly, these pads should be just fine for you and you'll save some dough in the process. Me personally, I will be upgrading them soon because I plan to crank up the number of AutoX's I participate in next season and while these pads were ok for the Novice class, I feel I should upgrade to be competitive in my class (Tire B-Stock) and I don't mind the noise and dust of a more aggressive pad.