My brake pads are worn and I'm looking to replace them. What kind of pads should I be looking at? What comes stock? Is there an affordable alternative? I'm not looking for racing pads yet, just something that's not a piece of junk.

 

I switched out my stock one for girodisc magic pads. Stock feel and bite with less brake dust. I'm happy with it.

 

for a street pad, the stock pads are the best in my opinion. i have yet to find a street pad that matches them.

there are plenty options out there and asking someone is just going to give you someone else's opinion. for example, i hated the magic pads but look at the poster above me. i also tried racing brake et500s and i hated those as well but have a friend who thinks they're great for the street. i run hawk hps on my daily driver and think that they stop the car just as aggressively as track pads on my evo but then you find people who run them on a heavier car like the evo end up hating them or loving them.

my point is brakes are all about opinion and preference.

 

My stock pads squeak like no other and it drives me crazy lol. I had them inspected and I have tons of pad still left on them. I will be switching to Ceramic pads in the near future

 

EBC Reds, StopTechs, or ET500s are great DD options.

Stock pads are way overpriced.

 

I was thinking about replacing my brake pads as well as I just purchased new rotors. Has anyone had experience with the HAWK pads?

 

Hawk street pads are awful. HPS or HP+ are not great. Hawk racing - good pads.

 

i had the racing brake et500 on my last x and loved them. very little brake dust and the dust that did get on the wheels came off so much easier than from the stock ferodos. also the initial bite was great, will prob use these again when it comes time to switch out my pads for my current x

 

^^^ Yeah that. I have the HPS up front and they are actually a downgrade from stock. And the stockers are waaay to expensive. Read Mike's review on the EBC Red stuff. Seems to be a good street and autocross pad. That's what i'm goin with this season. If you do decide to go with HPS though let me know. Still have the rear pads in the box never opened. Front was so bad didn't even wanna waste my time replacing the back lol

 

Less dust usually means more rotor wear.

 

I wouldn't go with another brake pad other than OEM for DD. Racing duty is a different story though. There are good reasons why Brembo/Mitsubishi chose the Ferodo pad over dozens of other pads out there.

OP, you should try braking later and harder if you're getting squeaky brake performance.