I've been researching which aftermarket brake pads to get, since I'm sick of the stock brakes emitting so much dust, and I'll be getting some rims soon. I'm going to stay away from the Greenstuff pads (to avoid squeaks) and will be getting pads from Hawk. But now that I went to buy them, I see that they make both the HPS and the ceramic pads. What are the tradeoffs of each? And which emits the least amount of dust? Which would you recommend? I've done some research on the forum and found in a thread that the ceramic emit less dust, are more rotor friendly and last long, but required more heat in order to perform well; while the HPS perform better, emit slightly more dust and don't last as long. Any insight, experiences or recommendations would be great. This is my daily driver and I don't take my car to the track. Thanks.

IMO Hawk makes a great product so you shouldn't be dissapointed with either.

My thoughts are that semi-metallics (HPS) always 'feel' better than ceramic pads. Bite, modulation etc. But I've only used OEM type ceramics which I detest and Carbotech ceramic race pads which are not really a true comparison to Hawks street ceramic compound.

So if low dust is your primary consideration I'd say go w/ the ceramics. I'd like to hear your feedback

i have hawk hps on brembo drilled rotors. very very minimal dust, almost none, but they squeal like crazy sometimes.

i got hawk hps in my stoptech bbk. I honestly feel that the bite for these pads kind of suck. The no-dust is absolutely great, but I think it's a huge trade-off in performance. So you either get no dust or ok performance. When these wear out, i'm going to upgrade to some buff pads

with ceramics, you need to generate a lot of heat to get it to bite. they would suck in cold and wet climates. Metallic and Semi-Metallic are less handicapped by those. If you're not feeling Hawks, check out Porterfield.

HPS = street and track use... HP+ = track use only...

the HP+ would more be relative to the OEM pads. If anything, the pads geared for track use only are the Blues, Blacks and other sintered pads. I had the HP+ on for a while and they worked really well on the street. I'm back use OEM due to a warranty issue on my front brakes. From what information I've gained from other drivers, the OEM pads are better than the HPS pads on track days. Between the OEM and HP+, the HP+ is more effective than the OEM, and does not grind down the rotor as fast as the OEM. The downside of the HP+ is its' brake dust. If brake dust is of concern, go with ceramics or HPS. If performance is what you're looking for without having to have to change pads out...HP+.

Thanks guys...exactly what I was looking for to make my decision....looks like the HPS is it! (since I do live in a cold climate...sounds like the ceramics would suck).

Really? I had the opposite experience. I've ran on tracks where I was up to 140+mph (CalSpdWay in SoCal) and had to come to hard corners and the HPS held up great. I've also ran my OEM's on a NOT SO FAST track (Big Willow in SoCal) and they faded...oh well, I guess everyone has their own impressions...

Have you tried Big Willow with the HPS pads?

*I wish we had tracks like you guys have on the Mainland *

No, Big Willow was done on OEM and CalSpdWay was done on HPS...in my opinion, CalSpdWay (which is where they held last years JGTC event) is more aggressive than BW.