Recommendations for DD brake pads

Sadly, it's time for me to change pads/turn the rotors on the kia (71k miles), and I'm looking for you guys' recommendations for brake pads for a daily driven little compact car.
The car has phenomenal braking performance stock, and I'd like to get something equally spectacular to replace the stockers, at a reasonable price of course, but a compound that I don't have to warm up to receive the full benefit, or anything of the like, as this car will not be seeing track duty for a while yet lol
being on the dealership mechanic side of the table, I don't have much experience installing aftermarket stuff, and thus I don't know what to trust and what not to.
I was looking at EBC greenstuff's (on the high end of the price scale), and the advance WearEver ceramics on the lower to mid range.
These will be going on lightly skimmed OE rotors.
Thanks in advance for curing my case of the noobies.

The second cheapest ones advance sells.

Akebono (or however you spell it) ceramic pads are good, or the lowest grade carbotech pads. Greenstuff pads don't last very long.

92CelicaHalfTrac wrote: The second cheapest ones advance sells.

This or AZ's version is what I run on the work van. The cheap ones won't last long.

For a little better, go to NAPA.

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/parts/Duralast-Gold-Cmax-Brake-Pads-Front/2010-Kia-Forte//N-jwlgdZ8ko29?itemIdentifier=237457_116848_16108
are the duralast gold's decent?

okay wow, rockauto has Raybestos ceramics (oe pad is ceramic) for $25 front, $30 rear.
Hell of a deal as long as Raybestos aren't all hype?
or Centric semi-metallics for $28/$38

Ugh! I did brakes for 5 years and would never use raybestos. Centric 105s all the way. I personally run Satisfied Gran Sports as often as I can and then the 105s if I can't. The Centric Premium rotors (I think the 100s) are great too.

I've had good luck out the the advance brand (wearever) golds on my past 2 DD cars. Good stopping power, low noise, and very low dust compared to the el cheapo pads.

I like Akebono's Euro pads. 90% of the cold brake performance of OEM BMW pads, with about 10% of the black dust. Not too expensive, either.

Akebono ceramics for a DD here also. Good wear, no noise, minimal dusting. Would not be afraid to AX with them, but would not recommend as a track day type pad.

corytate wrote: http://www.autozone.com/autozone/parts/Duralast-Gold-Cmax-Brake-Pads-Front/2010-Kia-Forte/_/N-jwlgdZ8ko29?itemIdentifier=237457_116848_16108_ are the duralast gold's decent?

The Duralast Golds are a decent pad.I have them on both my vehicles and I like them. The company actually improved the formula of the pad over the old style recently and they are better, imo.

The Cmax are really good too.

I bought a set of pads for my Jeep Liberty along with new rotors from NAPA..

Best brakes it ever had.

I have the cheapest CarQuest, which aren't Chinese BTW, pads on the Dakota. They probably are Raybestos or Akebono originally and stop WAY better then the Chinese Gold junk from Advance. Both are semi-metallics, everything else is slowly becoming ceramics, which I personally hate.

Another Akebono user here in both DDs.

damn apparently akebono doesn't make pads for my car=/
I found some EBC that aren't for track use lol. "ultimax semi-metallic"
So I've got Bendix, Beck Arnley, Duralast Gold, Bosch, and wearever golds.
All signs point to the centrix being crap.

corytate wrote: okay wow, rockauto has Raybestos ceramics (oe pad is ceramic) for $25 front, $30 rear. Hell of a deal as long as Raybestos aren't all hype? or Centric semi-metallics for $28/$38

I bought a pair of Raybestos front rotors and Advanced Ceramic brake pads for the DD off Amazon for 120(?) total with free 2 day shipping a couple months ago. I've been pretty happy with them, though I guess I would be since the front rotors were really warped and crusted up for driving around the northeast for years.