See below for a repeat of the survey questions.

In fact, a summary of the data shows that compared to the original FORD 10.1/SM combo, either the 10.1/CM combo or the 11.6/SM combo would cut fade and warpage roughly in half. The differences between the 2nd and 3rd setups were too close to tell if there were any significant differences. But going all the way to the 4th setup of the 11.6/CM combo would cut fade and warpage in half again, to near unreportable amounts.

The motto is: for those on a budget, try the CM (Carbon Metallic type) pads first! They may be all you need! If not, more help is around the corner (with larger rotors).

However, as in life, there is always a down side. These pads are a little more expensive, and a little nosier and dustier. It seems like a small price to pay for better brakes. However the dust & noise issue varies quite substantially between the different brand names. The average is somewhat worse than the semi-metallics, which can also be quite dusty. CM pads varied from the extremes of almost no dust to absolutely filthy in a day or two. Many SHO owners tire of washing their wheels after switching to CM pads. The SHO brake survey can also give us some insight on the more subjective side of these different brand name brake pads.

    Type driving you do:

    1-mild, commuting, occasional hard stop
    2-frequent aggressive street
    3-some autocross
    4-some high speed track use

    Severity of reported symptoms:
    (0-none,    1-some,     2-medium,    3-a good deal,     4-the most)

Organic Pads
Cheap     Fades badly during one traffic stop. Don't use.    Leigh Smith    89SHO/brakes

Semi Metallic Pads
Raybestos SM     Moderately warped rotors.  They have been through 4 AutoX's and 3 trips to the 1/4 mile strip.    Brad Rauch     91 SHO/rotors
Raybestos SM     Pads have good life but warped too easily due to small size and heat buildup.     Grady Cowardin    91 SHO/rotors
NAPA SM     Occasional high speed /hard stops seem to be no problem with quality pads.     Jeush     94 SHO/rotors
Ford  SM     Brakes seem to be holding up okay... 74,000 miles.     Jim Musser      92 SHO stock brakes
Ford  SM     The brakes squeaked real bad so I switched…     John Apostolos     94 SHO stock
Ford  SM     I can get the brakes  to fade with 3 or 4 hard stops. The warping problem is bad, but if I keep my speed in check, I don't notice     Mark Winner     94 SHO stock
Ford  SM     Noise:… they are probably the quietest set of pads I have ever used… Wear rate: I currently have 41K on the car and have approximately 1/2 of the pad surface left     Christina Casselton    94 SHO stock
Ford  SM     Except for fade, not bad at all.     Mike Smith     95 SHO stock
Ford  SM     The pads would last my mother 100K.     Tim Wright     97 SHO stock
Ford  SM     It is amazing in how much better the brakes (96) are…     John & Loni Parsons     91 SHO/96 brakes
Ford SM      Fade was almost non-existent, but I could feel a little at the end of the big straight (at Mid Ohio). I was going in at almost 120 and late braking at maximum.     Don Mallinson    89 SHO/96 brakes
GM SM    Never had a problem with fade on the street even while towing the trailer (about 3,000 pounds). ...for aggressive street driving they are fine.    Dave Zeckhausen    91SHO/12.5 in Baer/PBR calipers

Carbon/Metallic Pads
Raybestos CM     WAY less warpage than stock and better stopping.     Wayne & Kristy Stecker    94 SHO/rotors
Raybestos CM     My only complaints are the immense dust and the noise. The dust is constant, covering the rims immediately after a clean and detail!     Terri     94 SHO/96 rotors

SHO CM     These new brakes from the SHO Shop are excellent.     Shane Kenner     92 SHO/brakes

PFCM     Linear CF, fade free, moderately stiff pedal, long life 65K + mi.     Leigh Smith    89 SHO/rotors
Performance Friction CM     Stopping ability slow when pads are cold. PFCM have made a noticeable difference… Carl Prochilo     92 SHO/rotors
PFCM     ...reasonably pleased with the (stock brake) setup except for continually warping rotors.    Vasco DePinna    90SHO/rotors
PFCM     The PF pads wear like iron, stop great and don't wear the disk. ....for four years on my car through three conventions, several schools, autocross sessions and track time, plus the One Lap.  40,000 miles. ...and only half worn...  Less dust than stock Ford SM pads.     Don Mallinson    89 SHO/custom 10.2 rotors
PFCM    I'll second the massive brake dust for the PFCM pads, (not a good combination with white slicers)    Mark Nunnally    92 SHO/brakes
PFCM     I was able to consistently slow the car down from 130 - 140 mph bursts down to 50 mph
repeatedly with no fade or rotor warpage.    Don Donelson    91SHO/custom 2 piece 10.2 in.rotors

PFCM     1998: 6 track days at NHIS, 1 Mid Ohio, 2 drag days, 3 autocrosses     Doug Murray     95 SHO/rotors

PFCM     PFC pads solved the  fading problems on track and street, providing fairly good stopping performance on the track before fading.  SHO didn't stop well cold.    John Kuykendall     89 SHO/96 brakes
PFCM     96 upgrade rulz!     Stephen Peele     94 SHO/96 brakes
PFCM    Changed from OEM Ford '96 pads to PFCM '94-'95 pads - BIG CHANGE - much
firmer pedal!    Vasco DePinna    90SHO/96 brakes

PFCM Z     The dusting is so bad that I won't use these pads again.     Tony Antonuccio    94 SHO/96 brakes
PFCM Z     Increasing CF when hot, extremely dusty, no fade. A little worse cold than std. PFCM pads.   Leigh Smith     89 SHO/brakes
PFCM Z    Easily handled 60-70 laps at Road Atlanta race course with no fade.    Mark Price - Product Manager - Performance Friction    Dodge Intrepid

Carbotech "F" CM    Possibly the best autocross/high-performance street pad we've ever tested    Grassroots Motorsports Magazine    BMW 5 series
Carbotech "F" CM    Linear CF, very light pedal/high torque, NO dust, NO fade even with 89 rotors.     Leigh Smith  89SHO/brakes

PF93 Race Pads    On-track Rotor temperatures with Performance Friction 93 compound easily exceeds 800 F !    (Scott also reported glowing red rotors for about 1300 F!)      Scott Chan     91 SHO/12.2 in. Wilwood brakes