"I'm no car expert, but I play one on TV." That's about the amount
of credibility I have. Now listen to my answer.

I've given the stock brake pads a positively brutal workout on
the Laguna Seca Racetrack. Out of three separate days (each day
doing six sessions of 25 minutes) there was only one occasion where
the brakes faded. So, at least for the 98 V70's I think the stock
pads are pretty good. I bought a set of "severe use" brake pads
(metal masters) after the first fading incident, but didn't have
opportunity to install them before the next track event. After the
second track event, I didn't even feel the same urgency to get them
in. The stock pads did a good job at the second event.

The different materials used in brake pads are for different
operating temperatures. In my humble opinion, the most extreme
material for street cars is carbon kevlar. This works best after
about 10 (no exageration) hard stops from 80+ mph. When they and
the rotors are *HOT* they still give good grip because the material
doesn't melt/evaporate even at that extreme temp. But at low temps
they squeal, they chew up rotors, and they don't stop particularly
well. I suspect these Repco pads are optimized for relatively lower
operating temperatures, where most drivers would go bonkers from
constant squealing. With your, shall we say, spirited driving
in the hills, I'll bet you had the rotors hot enough melt and
evaporate those Repco pads, which is better known as fading.

If the selling point of a brake pad is "dustless" they're probably
not optimized for severe use. If the selling point is "no
squealing" they definitely are not appropriate for my driving,
and perhaps not yours. It's impossible to find brake pads that
are good in both extremes (of temperature), but if you do that
type of driving on a regular basis, perhaps you could check out
the stock pads again or see if you can stand the initial squeal
of metal masters everyday. I'm going to try out the metal masters
soon and see if the initial squealing is out of the question
for everyday use.

Regarding dust, I just wash my wheels once a week with car wash
soap and water. It's a pain, but less of a pain than unwrapping
my car from a tree at the side of the road ;^)

Hope this helps!

-Greg
98 V70 T5M (stock, stock, stock, stock,...)