I placed an order today for the Endless Super Street Sports-S pads.

http://endlessusa.com/products/indexSub.php?id=4

Most local shops and e-tailers did not seem to carry the pads in-stock. For example, I emailed Gruppe-S about them and they were backordered for 4-5 weeks! Anyhow, after much searching, phone calls, etc. I found an e-tailer that had them in stock and was able to deliver in 7-10 business days. (fingers crossed)

I got them at:

http://www.andysautosport.com/produc...ss?_v=vmd00225

Price was same as everyone else: $180 per pair, $360 for set plus shipping.

Sales rep told me that they will most likely ship next Monday. Hopefully they will be here by the end of the month!!!

I'll let you guys know if things go smoothly. Perhaps others wanting Endless pads can go this route as well.

 

There's so many Endless options, how do you know which to choose? What made you go with this one compared with others?

 

I looked at what I wanted in terms of performance, noise, and dust. Mainly I wanted something that could accomodate my spirited driving style on the street and take it a notch higher so that when I needed it, I would have the additional heat handling capabilities for when I would go on a twisty mountain road or perhaps even a track on a rare occassion. After reading the description on their higher end and lower end pads, I was able to narrow out the pads that I wanted. It just so happens that the Sports-S pads hit that median for me in terms of performance, noise, dust, and price.

After I install them, I'll post again with my impressions.

Good Luck!

 

"hit that median"..............less hope not..........Kidding
Winter cold is a good time to swap pad composition, that way you are not surprised in cold [first stop of the day] performance like the summer swappers.

 

Got a tracking number on the shipment. Should be coming in next week on the 27th. I plan to get it installed ASAP!

 

Nice, I look forward for the Pics & Review.

 

The chemicals used in all brake pad formulations from cheapest to most expensive don't vary by $1 per pad.

http://www.ifriction.com/reports.100.htm
http://www.ornl.gov/~webworks/cppr/y2001/rpt/112956.pdf
http://www.ifriction.com/reports.104.htm
http://www.linktestlab.com/Brochure%...FEV2005-01.pdf

 

Got the Endless Super Sports-S pads last week. Got them installed last Thursday. Most of the driving has been normal commutes back and forth from work and home. With some light driving during the weekend.

On Saturday night, I got to clamp down a bit when some BOOB decided it was a good idea to slam the brakes when he saw a popo pulled over off the left shoulder with some poor schlub. I wouldn't of minded since the cars in front of him were also hitting their brakes. I did mind when I put some weight to the brakes and had to swerve off the road to the left to prevent a crash and realized this **** had 50 yards of space in front of him.

Anyhow, during that emergency braking moment, there was decent bite (not the strongest I felt since the pads haven't been fully bedded) with good pedal feel for me to modulate the braking force predictably. Although I was a bit afraid that I might have prematurely overheated the pads/rotors, but after an inspection and drive the following day, they seemed fine. I also washed my car on Sunday and I have started to observe the dust levels as I drive the car. My OEM pads dirtied my wheels thoroughly within two weeks. I'm expecting these pads to keep the wheels looking clean much longer.

After the pads have been bedded and I switch back to summer tires, I expect to go on a windy drive one weekend and test out the performance during high temp conditions.

As for pad material costs, my opinion is that the material cost is minimal compared to the R&D, testing, and manufacturing processes which I believe takes up most of the expenses. Then again, high profile brand names will always command a healthy profit margin and the yen to dollar conversion doesn't help either.

 

^ hows the brake noise?

 

So far, none that I have noticed. During the pad install the mechanic put some anti-squeak solution on the pads and sprayed additional anti-squeak material on the backing side. I hope to give a better account of noise issues after a few more weeks. I am noticing good bite with feeling of progressive stopping power as I put more force on the brakes. Very controllable and I am thinking it will facilitate heel/toe driving much better. There is no "dead play" on the pedal and I get stopping power as soon as I start to apply pressure to the brake pedal.

BTW, I ordered the pads through Andy's Autosport. They actually had the pads in stock and was shipped the following business day. I asked a local performance shop and Gruppe-S and they had 4+ week lead times due to backorders in Japan. I looked at other etailers with similar results. Luckily Andy's is a big wholesaler and maintains huge warehouses for their bread and butter aftermarket bodykit business which worked out for my pads. My other gripe is the price. $360 + shipping which is alot for pads. I would attribute this to popularity of the Endless brand/quality and the crappy exchange rates between the US and Japan.