Need help choosing replacement brakes

[peter]

Its gotten to the point where my brakes are squeaking more than I can bear and I figure I should get everything replaced. Last did the front pads about 3 years 25k ish miles ago. Didnt replace or resurface rotors. Never touched the rear brakes since Ive owned the car and who knows how long its been. For sure replacing the front pads and most likely rotors as at least the right one has deep scratches/grooves. Could probably resurface but not sure the condition vs cost of new makes it worth it. I should probably do rear pads while Im at it but Im not too concerned with it. Now the hard part is choosing the right parts, any suggestions for something thats decent while not too expensive? And best place to buy from? Was looking at some StopTech street performance pads or the O'Reilly brand BrakeBest, are the ceramic pads worth the extra money? Also EBC Green Stuff and Ultimax replacement, and Hawk
'98 Legacy L sedan

[Wiscon_Mark]

On the subject of rotors, you should go with solid (OE style) rotors unless you're tracking the car regularly.

With pads, many recommend Hawk or EBC for a higher performing brake pad on a stock setup. Ceramic creates less dust, which is a plus for those of us with silver or gold rims, but I don't know if ceramic vs. organic makes a huge difference with lower end street pads.

I would avoid buying O'reilly parts. I haven't heard anything specific about their brake pads, but most of their parts are inferior.

[Matty2Hotty]

I did the entire centric package... Rotors, calipers, and pads on my 01 outback and loved the quality. That's what I will probably be going with again on my 97 legacy.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2011/02/09197763-1.jpg

[Navi271]

I used mostly Raybestos products on my brake upgrade. I've had no problem with any of the parts. I've heard positive things about Centric as well.
I have Stop Tech brake Street Performance pads, and I love them. They stop quickly during daily use, and supposedly work well for autocross, but I haven't autocrossed with them. I couldn't resist getting them for the price.
When getting rotors I would pay more for the pre-painted ones, like the ones pictured above in Matty2Hotty's post. I ended up painting mine, not pre-painted, after 1 rainstorm because that's all it took for the whole thing to turn into bright orange colored rust!

If getting a new rotor for one side, you should get one for the other side as well to keep them symmetrical. Front to rear symmetry doesn't matter as much.

Don't forget to buy some brake grease as well!

[peter]

Decided on Centric Premium Rotors and Posi Quiet Pads for the front, Ill check out the rears when I install these and see if I need to do anything. Got the pads and 2 rotors from JC Whitney for $100 shipped and with the reviews Ive seen that seems like a great price for what you get

[Matty2Hotty]

Good choice!

[veethreearr]

I chose the HAWK HPS because of my previous experience with Performance Friction Carbon Metallic... Unfortunately, they do not make direct replacement pads for the 99 Legacy, so I chose these pads instead. I did not need to replace the rotors, they were well within tolerance at 140,000 (go OE Brembo!) so I removed the glaze from the stock rotors with some 130 grit Emory cloth and put these on the front. (the pads and rotors were not bad, substantial meat left, the wife was jealous of my PFC's on my Chevy). I can say that I am most impressed with these pads after a few stops, as they like to be warm, but more importantly, the minimal fade that goes along with them. I can vouch for the great response of the Hawk pads as I live in oil field country, and my daily encounters with the renegade pirate style driving of semi trucks, coupled with non signaling farmers towing huge equipment has made me happy to have them. Highly recommended, purchased through Amazon.

[rougeben83]

My current fav are stoptech street performance pads, great performance, especially for the price (about $45 for fronts). Check rockauto.com, they have great prices for rotors and pads, among everything else they stock - sometimes on clearance too. Hawk HPS are also a good choice, but theyre a bit more expensive ($85+ for fronts for my application) in general. I've tried the more "daily driver" type pads (posi-quiets, etc) and theyre ok, but they don't have the bite and heat resistance that I like in my brakes. I don't really care much on how clean my wheels stay though, the general rule is the more aggressive the pad, the dustier it is.