I'm 100% sure they were Duralast C-Max pads. Are there more versions of the C-max pads than just one?

I know I paid $60 for them and that they were the best pads the store had available. They were SO soft it was disgusting. I had to put my foot halfway down to get a good grip on the car. With the Bendix CT3'* and Akebono Pro-ACT pads, I barely have to go an inch into the pedal and the car girps very well. I swear they felt like sponges. Terrible.

I would highly recommend you pick up some Akebono Pro-ACT pads. They're $65 a pair for the front if you get them off of Rockauto.com (otherwise they're $80 in-store). More expensive, but the difference is very noticeable.

Then again, do you drive like I do? I'm the guy who baked his cross-drilled and slotted rotors to a crisp and burned up Friction Ceramic pads on a winding road on a downhill stretch to the point where the car would barely slow down with my foot halfway down the brake pedal. Not implying you do, but I don't treat this as a family cruiser. I also average 16mpg highway/city simply because if I didn't want to have fun, I would have bought an SE/SLE. Last fill-up I actually averaged 15.8. I can definitely tell a difference when I modify anything on my car.

how have they been holding up? rotors ok?

Who are you asking?

My rotors are fine, and the pads are holding up ok (my Friction Masters that is). They do squeal from time to time, but otherwise they're great.

just did first brakes on my 05gxp and put Akebono ceramics since the dust was sooooo bad.

any recommended cleaners to get the old carbon crap off my wheels?

Thanx.

Dish Soap and stubborn gentle cleaning. A Powdered Cleaner called "Iron Out" available at most hardware stores helps this alot. Dont use any abrasive compound, or cloth. Iron Out is a rust remover and when mixed with soap and water helps because this grime is a mixture of both the brake dust and iron wore off the rotor. I found a gentle thin plastic brush that fits between the spokes all the way to the back of the rim that helps alot as well.

sounds good. will try.

Say what you must, but i have these from Autozone

on the front and rear of my intrepid with slotted / drilled rotors and they works perfect!!! Def no dust, but they have great stopping power compaired to the EO pads......... So im planning to get a full set for the GXP along with some slotted/drilled rotors this coming summer!!

I have the same pads on my car with R1 concepts drilled and slotted rotors. I was jumped on and told I had the worst brakes on the site. The rotors will crack and warp, the pads will last 6 month and I'm risking brake failure. That was 2 years ago. No warping, no cracking, and pads still have a ton of meat on them. No dust, and quite. The only problem is when hard stopping they do tend to fade a bit until they cool back down.

And thats with any ceramic I believe. My NAPA ceramics faded coming down off speeds we won't go into. Cleaned my rotors up nicely though. I went to the 50/50 Ceramic polymer and like them better. And still dont have that annoying all but impossible OEM dust that dirtys a new clean in 1 day.

Same here.. Im happy with those pads!!! It'* going on a year and a half and no issues at all... Mybe alittle bit of the fading.........