Brake pads Carbotech or STOPTECH
I've had a bunch of stoptech sports on backroads and they have been good to go every single pair. Dust like crazy but they have good stopping power and hold on to their bite even when they start getting hot. You won't be setting any world records with them but for double duty they have served well.
I run StopTech Sport pads and they’ve been fine. Pretty quiet but also pretty dusty (comparable to stock pads). No full track days in hot weather yet though, just autocross and cooking them on backroads.
I’ve tried nearly every pad on the list here and for a dual duty casual track and street car without needing the change pads I have found the stoptech sport and carbotech ax6 good if you don’t want to swap pads which is better for a first timer in my opinion. Otherwise ferodo ds2500 and the other ones in this thread are good if you get more experienced given time. The carbotech ax6 I am selling a set if interested brand new in box but they are expensive as are many suggestions on this list. The nice things about the stoptech is they are a true do all pad that is cheap as well!
For mixed street and track use, I haven’t found a better pad than Stoptech 309. Lots of dust, but no noise on the street and they will take an absolute beating on track (for a street pad). Great modulation at mid temps, low and high temps are acceptable.
The xp12s are beasts. I pulled brake bias 1-click from full rear to get them balanced on level braking. This gives me one click for more rear, which was really enough for the track. I love late braking, and I can hammer these on a 20min session with NO change in performance.
Stoptech street performance (I believe renamed to Stoptech sport) has always been my go-to for spirited driving and track day use in a miata. In faster heavier cars, I use carbotechs for track days, but that's just overkill for a miata.
I sometimes daily drive on Carbotech XP10 front XP8 rear, and they’re totally fine but they dust and squeak like mad. First braking when cold isn’t super grabby but totally doable for a daily driver pad. They’re grabby once warmed up on the street but nothing to be worried about. I’ve gotten ~10,000 miles of driving and two TNIA track nights on a 450hp 3500lb car, and i suspect they can last a lot longer than that based on the pad wear I’m seeing.
Just for daily, whatever the best Duralast pads AutoZone had to offer with some centric blanks. For the mountains, I run Carbotech AX6 on DBA rotors and love the performance they offer. They just dust like hell and their expensive, so I don't run them back home.
Stock pads are terrible for longevity. They have to do too many different things from factory, buy a set of aftermarket to your needs. I had a set of Carbotech which lasted 50k in the front and over 60k in the rear, with aggressive driving.
I put stoptech pads on my 2011 hatch and they have been so beyond noisey they have been driving me insane. Gotta find something else to replace them with. Hope your experience is better!
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