Pad decision
 

Every day pad with fairly hardcore mountain use and a possible HPDE soon.
from my limited knowledge on the matter it looksl ike all of these are similar

Ferodo DS2500
ProjectMu HC+ 800
Winmax W2's
Carbotech AX6

I had DS2500's on my Cobalt SS Turbocharged, they came on it stock with 4-piston Brembos and 12.5" rotors. I didnt mind them at all. I boiled the stock fluid pretty quick and swapped to ATE Super Blue and never had a problem again. but again, thats the only experience i have with this stuff.

Another option was to do the 300ZX calipers up front w/ relocation bracket and Legacy GT rotors with a similar pad...

guide me in a direction...

Not sure about the others, but the W2 and the HC+ 800 aren't quite the same level.

W2-3 would be good for the mountains and such.

I think you want to do W4-6 for HDPE use.

HC+800 is equivalent to a Winmax W3.

Always was partial to Carbotech

I swap pads depending on use - Carbotech 1521 for street, AX6 for AX and XP12 for HPDE.

For a mixed use of DD and HPDE, I'd recommend XP10s. XP12s are just too noisy and dusty for DD and XP8s do tend to fade on track.

I've tried all three compounds and, like you, DD the car along with the occasional trackday.

I've had a good experience with the DS2500's, haven't tested other pads (beyond stock) to offer more useful info though. If you're tracking with sticky tires and are getting to be more experienced you'll overheat them, but then you're ready for a track pad anyway.