Just an anecdote:
I had Hawk HP+ pads put on my STI a year ago. I helped put Hawk HPS pads on my Miata about six months ago. I liked the STI brakes just fine on either Hawk or OEM pads, but I was never entirely happy with how the Miata's brakes behaved. There was a very noticeable warm-up time before the Miata's brakes really started to bite. Even then, they needed way more pedal pressure than I would have liked, and it was alarmingly difficult to lock the tires. This was the second brand of pads to exhibit this behavior, so I just chalked this up to the Miata's smaller rotors and calipers, and decided to live with it.
Fast forward to today. I need to drive to Buttonwillow this weekend for a lemons race. I'd normally take the STI, but it threw another check-engine-light, and is soon headed for its sixth trip to the dealer in 6 months. (I'm shocked, I assure you.) Meanwhile, the Miata was down to 3mm on the old pads after the last track day, and the front right wheel rotor was starting to squeal. Clearly time for a change. In spite of their crappiness, I got 5 or 6 track days out of the HPS pads, so I guess I got my money's worth.
So tonight I did my first brake pad change, with a little help from Oleg. I'm still covered in brake goo, but I'm feeling pretty proud of myself. The hardest part was searching around the floor for 45 minutes, trying to find a goddamn spring that went flying.... Anyway. New HP+ pads installed. Very happy--they have BALLS![1] Guess it wasn't the calipers after all. Now I need to be careful _not_ to lock the tires.
[1]: My younger brother recently visited from the east coast. I let him drive the STI. After he picked his jaw off the floor, he said: "Wow, this car has BALLS!" I think that's the nicest thing anyone has said about any vehicle I've owned.
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