I changed the brakes pads yesterday. It took more time to clean a caliper and wheel on one corner than it took to change the pads on all four corners. Changing pads on XJR with Brembos is almost as easy as changing pads on my race cars.

Because it's only a daily driver and the brake dust gets bad after about 20 miles of normal driving, I decided to get the Akebono pads based on reviews I read here. These pads are reported to match OEM performance, but are quieter and dust much less.

They dust less. As far as being more quiet, yes they are quieter but the Brembo pads weren't that noisy.

Performance? If I was to compare the OEM pads vs the Akebono pads for just normal city and highway driving, there is nothing really to compare. Both pad compounds stop the car about the same. I can feel the difference but it's not a big deal for normal driving.

But, if I was to compare the OEM pads (Brembo) to the Akebono pads for spirited driving (not like on a race track), the Brembo pads are superior. In fact, there is no comparison. The Brembo pads have much better fade resistance and bite harder. As soon as you get a little heat into the Akebono pads, they fade. All it takes is three or four hard stops at legal speeds and there is fade. How much? Enough to know that the Akebono pads are not performance pads. They're daily driver pads with little dust.

Will this bother me? Probably not. These pads are OK.

Will I buy the Akenono pads again? No. I'll probably do a little more research and choose a different compound that has less dust than the Brembo pads but fades less and has better bite than the Akebonos.