Its about time to repalce my rear brake pads?

Should I go OEM or aftermarket?

Do I have to resurface the rotor at the same time?

 

I'd say go aftermarket, there are plenty of pads to go with, a few recomendations are akebonos, Hawk, Stoptechs. As far as rotors depending if they are the original rotors that came with the car or if they have already been replaced. Measure the thickness of the rotor if they are within spec and if there room to have it resurfaced. But if I were you I would just replace rotors and get some slotted ones.

 

I need some pads as well. Lots of driving for work, but would like a mild performance upgrade. Recommendations and best place to buy?

 

Lots of options are available. I get mine from Tire Rack. They have a variety of pads and rotors to suit you and there are tons of reviews from people who have used that product before.

The stock pads tend to produce a lot of dust and has good initial bite.
Akebono ceramic pads are very quiet and produce almost no dust at all.
Hawk HPS pads are rated as having better stopping ability but they wear quick if you are hard on your brakes. In addition, they dust quite heavily and squeak under light braking.

For the rotors I would resurface them if it is still within spec mainly to clean off the layer of brake pad deposits and allow the new brake pads to properly bed themselves.

 

My rule is: if the rotor is not scored or warped then I just clean it and install new pads.