Pads are very good, got them from Apex Performance in Switzerland (
www.apex-performance.ch) when I went on a little watch buying trip. They provide much more feel than oem, less dust and are not noisy. They'll also take much more heat, not had any fade yet. The change of fluid I think made a big improvement but as I carried out all the changes to the brakes at the same time I cannot quantify which made the biggest single improvement.