A little Disc Brake Quiet makes a world of difference. It's available at almost every autoparts store.

 

You can get the Ferodo DS2500 pads for the S2000 from Sam at stranoparts.com

 

I've found on the squeeling with race pads for the street that it all depends on how the pads are applied, firm braking is quiet and dragging is noisy. I too have had good luck with both synthetic and even the stupid red rubber goop. But that stuff seemed to help pad rattle more than squeeling.

 

True -- the pads that do squeal usually squeal with light pressure, and are quiet with higher pressure. Then there are some pads which squeal with no pressure, as you are driving down the road (I had this happen with Panther Plus, even with the red rubber goop).

BTW I have ordered a set of the Ferodo DS2500 from stranoparts.com. I would have waited to see what Cobalt determined with respect to the problems people have had, because I do like their pads, but I think mine must be really close to the end and I want to have something ready to install.

 

I have had excellent luck with the HAWK pads. I currently have the HAWK HP+ with fantastic pedal feel and great stopping power. Plus no rotor wear issues.

 

agreed, they do not squeal when braking firmly, but are incedibly annoying when in a parking garage behind someone, or pulling up to parking spots, etc... these ferodo's are downright embarassing. I have used many aftermarket pads on many cars, and have never seen it this bad. I DID use the antisqueal stuff on the backs of the pads, and tried a spray as well.

As for track wear, I have pics here of the ferodo 2500's:
https://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=531491

Definitely step it up to the 3000 for track duty!

 

My favorite pad ever has been the Pagid Blue. Rattled and squeeled, but unbelievable consistency. Not bad for dust either.

 

I got the Hawk HP+ installed and tested out this weekend. My initial impressions are pretty positive. They've dusted a lot, but I think thats mostly from bedding them in. I've noticed they do grab a lot harder and only having 1 day of driving on them, I found it a little tough to hit the brakes at autocross and not have ABS engage right away. Just gotta get the feel for them. They are definately a step up from the HPS in other cars I've driven. They're not as noisy as I was expecting either. A squeel here and there, but it doesnt always happen so I think they'll be easy to live with.

 

i got the ds2500 about 2 months ago for my first track day and haven't swapped them out ever since. my oem pads were starting to go so i decided to just keep them on for daily driving.

my impressions on the track (even though it was my very first time out there) was that they stopped well and that i had a LOT more room to brake harder. that + the motul fluid i have in didn't give me any sort of worries at all in the braking front that day.

on a daily basis, they do dust a little bit more than stock, but since i try to wash my car every week, it never gets offensive. i didn't put any anti-squeal stuff on them and they only squeal at certain pressures going to a stop. for the most part, it's pretty quiet compared to my gf's hawk hps on her evo and a few others i've heard.

i just autocrossed with it last weekend and loved it. i think it was with the tracking of the car that i got more confident in braking harder and later approaching the turns. i think it was that mixed with my re01r's that i surprisingly placed first in AS by a full second.

i got them from race shopper for around $92 shipped for just the front pads...not sure how much stranoparts sells them for, but i will buy again when the time comes.

 

Stock, we run a huge lot here in Dallas and I've never had a problem with brake fade even on 1.5 mile courses in 110 degree heat with speeds approaching 110.