hi sorry to bring back a dead thread.
first, no, Protege pads are different than Mazdaspeed Protege pads.
i had original OEM pads on my protege ES for about 55k miles until it needed to be replaced. that was 4 years of driving. then i upgraded to an EBC slotted/dimpled front rotor + EBC greenstuff pads all around. the greenstuff pads were very noisy and dusty. sure it was better after initial install but the level of dust was still unbelievable. the EBC pads also ate up my rear stock rotors. there was a lot of deep grooves on the rotors. and they lasted about a year and a half which i thought was quick considering the original pads lasted 4 years.
then i upgraded to Hawk HPS pads front and rear. they were much quieter and i haven't had a dust problem at all. i had my rear rotors resurfaced and the Hawk pads are a lot less harsh on my rear rotors. that was a year ago, i'm getting paranoid if i'll need to change them out. i haven't had a chance to take a look at the pads yet but i am starting to hear a squeal.
what are everybody's average pad life with the Hawks and EBC pads? do they definitely have a short wear life? if that is the case i'd much rather get OEM or ceramic pads for the low dust and extended wear.
