[BRGT350]

yes, they are dusty, but I doubt you will find a pad that works as good as the stock ones. The pads on the US spec 2011-13 Fiesta don't hold up at all to performance driving. Having been on track with both cars, the 2011-13 pads faded very quickly, where the ST pads took many laps without any issues. The tires overheated way before the brakes gave up. We were also on track with a Focus ST, which suffered a lot of brake overheating compared to the Fiesta. I would add some good wax (G2 actually makes some really good wheel wax that repels brake dust) and wash them once a week. As dusty as they are, they still dust way less than the Hawk HP+ pads I put on my Mustang. Those things turn the wheels black after backing out the driveway, but they work great on the track! I would rather have a dusty pad that can take abuse than a pad with little dust that fades.

 

[BRGT350]

My cousin used to work in OE friction material sales, and years ago told me that low dust is something that is never a consideration for pads being used in Europe. They tend to focus on pads that actually stop the car regardless of how much dust there is. As eRic pointed out, the EU Fiesta pads from the factory create a good amount of dust, but work great on the track. These are not high performance pads, but rather the ones you get on a normal Fiesta. I had them on the EU Fiesta Movement car and was shocked at how well they did. I was equally as shocked at how poor the US pads perform. Thankfully, the ST did not get a watered-down US brake pad that can't handle the task of stopping the car without fading.

 

[BRGT350]

I did try Porterfield pads, and I think they were the R4's. It was on my Mustang for a track day, but the car was still running horribly undersized front brakes. Since going with larger calipers and 13" rotors, I have only used the HP+ from Hawk. I had HPS pads on my SVT Focus, and found those to be good, but noisy. I will stick with the stock pads for the ST, unless somebody finds a pad that works as good and makes less dust.