Swapped my daily's $140 ceramic pads for $60 semi-metallic and the pedal came back
I ran ceramics on my Civic for about 18 months because a guy at the parts counter in Dayton swore they were the quiet choice. They stayed quiet, sure, but the pedal kept going soft on me and I was standing on it hard just to slow down from 70 on the highway ramp. Two weekends back I put in a set of cheap semi-metallic pads for $60 and the difference hit me on the very first stop, the pedal is firm again and the car actually bites when I ask it to. The tradeoff is dust, my front wheels look dirty after 4 or 5 days, and they squeal a little when cold. For a daily that sees a lot of stop and go, I'll take the noise and the dust over that mushy feeling any day. What compound are you guys running on plain commuter cars, and did the noise ever bug you enough to switch back?