Two sources found ( Are ceramic brake pads better than semi-metallic brake pads? - Yahoo! Answers ) and ( Brake Tech - Why Ceramic Brake Pads? ) say ceramic pads actually extend life of all the components (pads and rotors). I cannot see how a formulation of ceramic and copper can wear down a steel rotor more than a composit semi-metalic pad. In fact the tirerack article third paragraph says just that, the semi-metalic pads increase rotors wear more. Just saying!