I had the same PROBLEM. The pads are so hard that the rotors wear at
about the same rate as the pads. The blackened metallic substance was
also a nuisance to remove from the wheels every week. I do not have this
problem with the new pads. They are cheaper and easier to replace than
rotors also.
Drive Safely & Good Luck
Ken Lewis     <Kernersville NC, The Heart of the Triad>
86 VW Transporter Three Door Pickup
60 Porsche T-5 Coupe
85 VW GL Vanagon<Elvis>awaiting engine

On Sun, 31 Aug 1997 02:32:43 -0700 TBill <tbill@STARTEXT.NET> writes:
>I've got 141k on my vanagon.  Still running the original brake pads, and
>they are still about half there.  So, when 280k comes around, what
>should I look for in brake pads?  Does everyone elses brake pads last as
>long?  Always had to replace them sooner on my other cars.
>
>Just wondering.
>
>TBill
>