Anytime you replace old stock glazed over rotors and old hardened stock pads you're going to feel a huge boost in stopping performance. I've put more brakes on vehicles than I can count, including every combination of dimpled/slotted/cross-drilled. Having properly trued and heat treated rotors combined with quality ceramic pads is where real stopping power, that lasts, comes from. I guarantee if I did a blind test and swapped your rotors/pads with the Centric +Akebono combo I use, you wouldn't notice a difference.
Now, again, I'm not saying the EBCs are bad. Nor am I saying they aren't "better". What I'm saying is that the actual performance gains are minimal for 99.9% of the driving we do so to directly answer Bones's question of "do I need them", its a simple "no".
Put another way.... no one "needs" high priced fancy rotors any more than I "need" resi-shocks. If someone has the cash and wants the best on the market, well you know me.... I'm all for going all out! But no one should feel as if they "need" those brakes. If they can't afford them, there are in fact affordable quality parts that will perform great, and likely be indistinguishable. Just my experience and $.02 worth
Edit: thinking back.... "gimmick" probably wasn't the right word since there is some logic in the design and potential gains to be had. Other than that, I stand by everything else I've said.
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