They are better than stock, but they all suck

DS2500 wear about as fast as stock, at least they did when I was running the 6 piston front brembo with rear sport brakes. I wasn't impressed with them on the 370Z.

I agree with. Cossie. Stock pads are good enough for most here even for spirted days. But if you are even slightly wanting to push it harder and worry about brake fade and all that you are going to have to suck it up and fork the cost for great more expensive pads. Also along with fluid and lines.

Alot of people here seem to have budgets and they want to spend there money on a wide arrange of items from styling and so on. But really concentrate on what you plan to do with your car and spend money there. You want to drive hard thenbrakes are going to be a big expense along with tires and alignments.

everyone wants a dual purpose pads, but there is really no such thing. also the z makes 300+hp, it is really fast and you need a lot of brakes. the typical ricer internet special pads are not going to work well at the track for any competent driver. i have a pdf of an article about brakes, i will post it up when i find a site that can host pdfs

Dual purpose would be XP 8's in my book. But most cant afford to track and dd on them. I actully am getting two sets for Xmas gifts. Woot. My last track event which was a two day event I wore the the c
carbotechs to about half maybe a little less. But I should get one more day out of them. Going to bed my next set on and be ready to change them out there. Amazing how friendly they were on my rotors.

do you have the base calipers?

No. I did the upgrade on my base

50% on one track weekend seems to be a lot. i can go almost 6 days on my xp10

Depends on the track also. Two days at Road Atlanta with over 5 hours worth of driving. There was three occasions I ran back to back due to they keep moving my skill level up. Plus I brake hard and very late. So I'm pretty hard on them.

any difference and recommendation on the braided ss lines and a decent pad for DD with only 4-5 track days a year?

Or am I better off swapping pads before and after?

I feel Z1 SS lines are just as great as the rest. If you get some tell them I sent you. But you are better swapping pads out. Depending on your braking habits you could get that many track days out of one set of pads. Defiantly worth it.

If you really want to the best possible performance from your brakes, you're better off swapping back n forth. If you don't want that hassle, you can always run the track pads on the street. Just expect more dust and possibly more noise, depending on the pad. As long as you don't go for a really agrrssive pad, it will still reach operating temps on the street.

As for lines, I recommend Agency Power. The price/performance ratio is great on most of their stuff. I'd do rotors before lines though if it were my car. The 370Z is new enough that your lines are still in good shape. Steel lines just give you better pedal feel and can make pedal modulation easier. The biggest improvements will be seen on older cars.

I am going to change my brake fluid and try the AMS pads 370guy recommended. If I end up getting more into it and going more often, I will think about getting the xp8s as track pads and change them out when I go.

Here is my 2 cents.....
 

All brakes can fade....It is simply a matter of a overheating. The best fluid with the best pads will still fade if you try to go balls deep into ever corner. You simply cannot do 100% braking into every corner. The trick is to creep up the limits for each corner. But each corner will vary based on cooling (time since last brake application), speed entering the braking zone, etc. Experience is only answer. The better the pads, the better the fluid, the higher the 100% is. Braking deep into a corner "feels" like racing, but exit speed from the corner is where more time is gained or lost. Don't destroy a corner by trying to carry 3 mph 20 feet deeper. It will usually cost you 5 mph at exit....and the entire distance after the corner.
I have fun tracking a rental car. Deep braking doesn't do it for me, maximizing apex speed and exit speed does. Neither of those need brakes. I tracked a rental at VIR and I needed a #7 braking sign for turn one, I was braking so soon. But it let me save my brakes. I still prefer a track ready car, but any time on the track is fun....

Teflon lines (or SS lines as people like to call them) they are rarely a waste, but you have to be fairly dialed into car to really notice the difference. They are just good insurance.

As for VDC...
Every time I hit a track (new or one I have +1000 miles on), I leave it on until I actual notice interfering (my previous car, I have not tracked my Z yet). As a newbie, it will save you more than it will hurt you. If you can drive smooth enough, the VDC will not be very busy.

Overall....the best advice I can give, leave your ego at home. Listen to experienced people. High performance driving and street driving require different skills. Just understand that you need to develop new skills and a new sense for the car. This learning takes time and practice.

7 marker at turn 1 at VIR? I was hitting the brakes a little bit before 5 on my Prius in the rain. The Z can easily do it in 5 if you have good tires and 4 if you have slicks.

Here is a good brake test article. The popular Carbotech is not listed there, I believe they will rank somewhere in the middle to lower middle of the test based on my experiences with some of those pads.

http://dc436.4shared.com/img/3nckZxe...e_Pad_Test.pdf