My 0-10 rating from street to full race.

OEM:
...... Rating = 0
...... Coefficient of friction probably 0.35
...... You can do better

Ferodo DS2000:
...... Rating = 0
...... cf = 0.40
...... Actually a Federal-Mogul (who owns Ferodo) OEM type compound with Ferodo's name on it. When overheated, it leaves deposits on the rotor, which then feels like a warped rotor. I'm not sure if these are still available, but they're not recommended.

SBS Ceramic:
...... Rating = 1
...... cf = 0.38
...... Low dust. When overheated, the pad becomes slightly compressible, and the resulting soft pedal feels like the brakes need to be bled.

Pagid RS4-2-1 Black:
...... Rating = 2
...... cf = 0.45
...... Excellent high performance street pad. Quiet, but moderate dust. I've never tracked this pad but assume it would be fine at an autocross.

Pagid RS4-2 Blue:
...... Rating = 3
...... cf = 0.48
...... Another excellent high performance street pad, though it may squeal slightly. The pad should be fine at an autocross, but when overheated on track, it melts.

Ferodo DS2500:
...... Rating = 5
...... cf = 0.50
...... This is the closest thing I've seen to a dual use pad, excellent on the street but also light duty track. Expect this pad to squeal occasionally.

I've used all of these, will never again use OEM pads, am currently using and satisfied with the Pagid RS4-2-1, but prefer the Ferodo DS2500. All have good friction when ice cold, usually lacking with full race pads. Also, be sure to use these pads both front and rear for best performance. Click these Pagid, Ferodo, or SBS links for additional information.

The RS-14 (front) + RS4-4 (rear) are now 2 days on my car. Last night I did the Pagid bedding in procedure and some positive things came to the surface; brake modulation is a little better, they brake a little harder and for the moment they are still completely silent (I really hope they stay this way; that would be great). Next weekend will be the real test on the Nurburgring to see how they behave versus my old Pagid blue. Fingers crossed!

For the moment I like my set-up more then the blue ones I had before. Maybe one day I will test RS29? I have a friend (a real race car driver) who also has a track day prepared e92 M3 (AP all round, Michelin Cup +, Akrapovic, KW cup suspension, etc). This M3 is also his daily driver. He tested the Pagid RS29, RS14, RS15... RS29 come last for him... They last really long (endurance pads) but for him the braking (on track) is not at the same level as the RS14 and RS15. He now drives RS15 all round and they are his favorite. RS15 are the most aggressive and I think for me a bit to much on a lighter car like a Z4M, but on his M3 they work great.

The new brake pads are now one month on my car. Since that time I did the Pagid bedding in procedure, a week of normal slow street driving and 3 trip's to the Nurburgring. The brakes are now awesome..! I use to think my AP set-up was great....now I think the complete AP set-up is really awesome! With changing the brake pads I now have everything on the 100% "I like" level. Everything I wanted more about the AP brakes is now there. I have an increase in initial bite (on street and track), a little more braking power, higher working temperatures on track (650°C => 800°C), slightly better modulation and less ABS interference! :thumbsup:

At this moment the new brake pads are not silent anymore cry . They were silent before the bedding in, after the bedding in, on the street, on the track…… I was filled with joy and it was to good to be true! But one day after the Nurburgring trip, they started to make the same squealing noise as the blue ones did. I have let my shop file of the edges (advised by Pagid) and put a really small amount of copper grease on the back of the pad where the pistond thouch the pads (did the same thing with my previous set of blue ones). I was worried that the RS-14 would not brake well when being cold on the street, but this is not the case...

We've tested the following brake rotors and pad compounds on the Grand-Am 996s and 997s, in an endurance format at the hands of people like Craig Stanton for 2-3 hour races, in a 3400 lb. Grand-Am Cup 996 or 997 with factory and aftermarket ABS systems.

Pagid RS4-4 (orange)
Pagid RS5 (blue)
Pagid RS14 (black)
Pagid RS15 (grey)
Pagid RS19 (yellow)
Pagid RS29 (yellow)

PFC 97
PFC 01
PFC 06

Cobalt XR1
Cobalt XR2
Cobalt XR3
Cobalt Endurance Compound

Hawk DTC60
Hawk DTC70

Raybestos ST43

with the following rotors:

PCNA OEM Rotors (front/rear)
Girodisc (Girodisc Fronts/OEM Rears) & (Girodisc Fronts/Girodisc Rears)
PFC (PFC Front Rotors/OEM Rears)

I'm sorry that my reply got everyone all excited, but without the release! Honestly, I didn't want to get into a battle of what is awesome and what is junk. We've been running Pagid yellow RS19/RS29 splits on the 911 since 2007 with the Girodisc rotors, but for two very distinct reasons. Longevity and ability to NOT upset the ABS. Given that's what dictates what we run, our package may not work for others. Furthermore, given that the pads above have different bite and release characteristics, driver preference has a very big influence on the feedback. If you do actually use the gas/brake like an on/off switch, some pads won't work for you.

The Pagid RS19/29 pad was developed for the GT3 Cup car for the 24 hour to last as long as possible. They physically are working less and therefore don't wear as much as other pads. For this reason they don't freak out the ABS because the initial shock of the pad doesn't overpower the front tire. A lot of drivers don't like that that they don't feel as they're stopping the car well. But after 2.5 hours of door-to-door battling in our series, they're still as thick as they were on lap 1 and they actually don't generate enough heat to create pedal fade. They have been unbelievable and really are an amazing wearing pad. But again, we went with that because of the endurance setup. For a much lighter car with better cooling and maybe 18" or 19" wheels that provide better cooling, may actually be able to run more aggressive stuff. I'm capped for two very important reasons.

Now, if you gave me a 2700 lb. 911 with a Hoosier R6 up front that was huge, that could accept the bite generated by real race pads, anything on that list can work for you. It just depends on what you like and how you drive and how much heat you can dissipate. The PFCs, the Hawks and the Cobalts have unbelievable bite and can stop just about any car. But they all generatd a bit too much wear and heat for our heavier car that needed a rock hard brake pedal for 3 hours.

Of those 3, Cobalt Friction has delivered by far and away the best customer support and interaction of any brake pad supplier we've seen that runs in the top series. Few companies give the club racer the same attention as the Pro team. And that means a lot in this industry. At Cobalt, Andy Lin is one of the nicest, most humble guys in the paddock, which means a lot given what he knows. On the lighter Cayman, we went with the Cobalts ultimately for the reason of support. Weekly feedback goes into the product R&D. It rocks. Things are always developing and improving.

There's no real correct answer to this question. I just chimed in because I wanted to defend the Pagid. If you’re curious about a particular combination, I’ll tell you how it worked for our car but…