Pads: there are lots of options, of course. Generally speaking, the better performance a pad offers, the harder it will be on rotors. I like Pagid a lot, as well as Mintex. Akebono makes some nice ceramic pads that offer no dust and reasonable performance. I prefer a really aggressive pad. Most people underestimate that the pads are your biggest, easiest brake upgrade. My favorite pad is Carbotech. They are out of NC. The panther pad is almost a race brake pad. Constant squealing, lots of dust, and you have to warm them up to get them to work. But when you step on it, you're thankful for seat belts.
I ran carbotechs on my mkV, they are absolutely fantastic for the track. A bit scary on the street totally cold but very livable if you make sure to warm them up.
I was running Carbotech Xp12s in the front and XP10s in the rear. That and a good fluid is all it needs, but it's a relatively heavy car so it will take a toll on tires and brakes. Also, MDM (stability control) on the competition pack equipped models allows for quite a bit of of slip (yaw) before intrevening, which is nice whether is a novice driver or just wanting to approach the limit in a safer way. Tires are somewhat pricey especially with the 19" wheels, but not excessively so. A set of PSSs will run around $1400. Oil changes, DIY, are about $150 or so. Spark plugs should be changed at about 20K mile intervals. The only problem I had was a bad evaporator for the A/C which was replaced under warranty (book value on the job is about 9 hours). It's a great daily driver, except for the gas mileage and especially the range. It has a relatively small tank and you'll barely get close to 300 miles per tank. That's the most frustrating bit about it. I do wish it had a slightly bigger tank. The sound is great. It's addictive especially with a nice exhaust system (I highly recommend the M Performance exhaust).
However I have Carbotech brake pads, the 1521's for the street and then for the track day I had XP12 (front) XP10 (rear). Pads are compatible with the rotor, and I had the track pads well bedded in.
nobody mentioned Carbotech 1521 yet? they are pricey but work really well for a DD and have low dust.
Carbotech XP10 Front Pads Only - USED - $45 shipped to U.S. lower 48 -these are proper endurance racing pads (popular in Spec Miata, Spec E30, etc), I wouldn't try to use these on the street -used for 2 track days on my '09 TDI -11.6mm of friction material remaining (approx 85%)
Stock pads have always been like that. My MKIV was like that as well especially in the rear. So I changed them with Mintex pads.
Carbotech Bobcats are an excellent performance oriented street pad, very quiet, great longevity, and fairly low dust.
mintex are good, but they are not all they are cracked up to be, try EBC greenstuff pads
Now as far as brakepads go, stay away from Mintex Redbox and go with PBR/Axxis Deluxe Plus or Metal Master pads. I had really bad experiences with Mintex pads, and I'm currently running Axxis Ultimate pads on my W8!
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