Good, affordable aftermarket brake pads?

[Psychobroker]

Because I am replacing my rotors soon, I figure I should also replace my pads (~13k miles on them..). I've looked up EBC Greenstuff through tirerack.com, but $69/pair seems a bit steep to me. Does anyone have any brand suggestions for a GT? Thanks in advance!

[FusionVGT]

The EBC Greens are really good pads and worth the money. Another good choice is the Axxis, though I don't know if there's a part number for the VibeTrix. I've used both to stop much heavier/faster cars

[Psychobroker]

Thanks FusionVGT. Which one typically lasted longer for you? Approximately how many miles?

[Psychobroker]

PS, would I be able to use brakes designed for the Celica GTS? Brembo, for example, lumps the TrixXRS, VibeGT, and Celica GTS together in their applications listing for rotors, but they don't make pads for them..

[FusionVGT]

I sold the Axxis-equipped car, an Eagle Talon after 20K miles and the brakes were fine. The EBC-equipped car, a Ford Probe has 45K and counting. As for the cross fit to the Celica I'm not sure. I'd use either one again. You might like the Axxis for style purposes, as the Greenstuff pads are painted green. Not so nice if you're going for the open-face wheel, painted caliper look.

[Psychobroker]

I checked w/ Axxis and they don't have an application for our Vibes/Trixs yet :-(I am going for the open face/painted (blue) caliper look, so green wouldn't be my choice of color What about EBC Redstuffs...are they too much brake pad for a Vibe? Based on their description, they're simply overkill for a Vibe..

[FusionVGT]

No particular pad should be considered overkill for a specific car. Brake pads have different heat ranges where they are most effective. The green pad heats up quicker than the red, so they effective sooner. The green pad dosen't stop as well as the red pad when hot (autocross for example). The red pad takes longer to heat up, but deals with heat better and stops better when hot (compared to the green). Now based on this you may decide that the red pad is overkill for the way you drive, but they're not overkill for the car.

[Psychobroker]

Now that makes perfect sense. Thanks again FusionGT. I think I'll go with the greenstuffs then, considering the fact that I simply want better stopping power sooner under all weather conditions, and don't plan on autocrossing anytime soon.