I pulled off my wheels to clean (and find a nail in one) and noticed my brake pads were down around 1/4 inch. I think ive still got some time left on then but i dont know much about brakes. I figured i might aswell plan ahead and see what im going to do. Id love to go with a big brake kit (mainly for looks) but i cant afford that. If i want a little more braking power without loosing pad lifetime are there any good products out there or should i just stick with stock? I dont track my car at all but i enjoy spirited drives pretty much everyday.

 

Lots of good products.
Thats the problem, there are too many available
to select without knowing all about brake pad selection.
Pick up this months HotRod (MARCH) to read
all about brake pad composition and proper daily driver
selection. There is also a way to bed the pads when they
are new and about removing the previous pads transfer
layer before installing the new pads and bedding them.

I would go with a NAO/CERAMIC for street use.

 

I'd recommend Hawk HPS pads. They are a great street pad and even work as a starter pad on the track should you ever catch the bug. I ran several sets before going to more aggressive pads and really liked their performance on the street. They dust a little more than the stock pads but not much more.

You may also want to try some of the EBC line. I used the YellowStuff pads as a step-up track pad. I was amazed at how little dust they made and how long they lasted. I wouldn't recommend the Yellows for daily driving as their cold performance was not really great. They do have several other pads that use basically the same compound but for lighter use.

Good luck