I replaced the Peformance Friction carbon-metallic brake pads (AutoZone)on my '97 GMC Sonoma today. I installed them a couple of years ago when I replaced the factory pads.

These lasted 43,000 miles, about average for me.

I liked the pads from the start since they were very quiet and stopped like nobody's business. At that point, I didn't really care how long they lasted. In fact, I like them so much that I put them all the way around on my wife's Cutlass.

But... I couldn't believe how well they had treated the rotors! The rotors looked absolutely perfect - like they had been turned and then burnished. PF says their pads like a very smooth rotor surface - smoother than the typical lathe job. They also suggested that rotor life would be extended by using their pads. I did check them for runout with a dial indicator, but I didn't turn them.

These pads, while a bit more than the typical commodity-grade pads, are still reasonably priced ($27 - $36 per pair, depending on applications that I have used). I'm not a huge fan of AutoZone, but I can definitely recommend the Performance Friction pads.

---> Bill