brake feel/performance with ceramic

[Mimizu man]

First time I'm considering going non-oem for brakes.
Was going to go with OEM pads and rotors but was reading that ceramic brakes produce less dust.
Then I read that there is a drop in performance vs metallic brakes, especially in the cold AND that it could put more heat stress on other braking components.
Are we talking huge difference in braking distance here?
For those who made the switch to ceramics, how much less braking performance are we talking about?
Also, how bad is the cold and wet performance vs metallic too?

Seems I'd save some cash too, although, I'll gladly pay to maintain the performance level that OEM gave me.

OEM pricing I got was $150 for front pads and $85 each for front rotors for my Mazda 5.
AKEBONO EUR1095 on rockauto was half the price.

[muchikori]

Interested in this too


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[XTOTHEL]

I don't think you'll notice a difference in day to day driving.

[morganc]

I wasn't impressed with performance of the Akebonos. Yes, they produce virtually no dust, they last a long time, but when you really have to give them sh*t (esp in the cold), they didn't give me the best feeling of stopping power. Normal day-today, you'll be fine and otherwise they're a great pad. I went to PBR Axxis ULT's (also ceramic, but much higher dust) and they feel like they have to power to rip my control arms off in comparison.

[Mimizu man]

Akebono just happened to be the most expensive one so I chose that for price comparison.

Do your PBR pads have the lower braking power in cold weather too?
Do you need to change your braking habits when you switch to ceramics?
ie, if you haven't braked in a while, you need to leave extra space to allow your brakes to heat up and grip better?

[morganc]

If you look at the PBR friction curves on their website, they have one of the highest cold friction coefficients. They grab immediately in the winter :) I don't need to leave any room with the PBRs, but I did with the Ake's. If you're looking to get them, I sourced them from Peninsula Imports in Oakville.