+1 Hawk pads make a big difference. I've got Stoptech rotors, Earl's lines, Hawks, and the Motul 600. For me, the lines made no noticable difference in pedal pressure or feel, and the rotors just look purty since they are crossdrilled and powdercoated black in the center, so I painted my calipers black to match. But the pads made a huge difference.
Yes, the Earls brackets are backwards. No big deal really, but you'd think after a few years of people talking about them they would get around to flipping them before shipping out, ha! If I did it again and HAD to have SS lines, I'd get the Steeda, much better looking product and better connections. Earl's looks like they were put together out of a parts bin.
But really, on the street, SS lines aren't needed. It's not like on a motorcycle where you are replacing an entire rubber line from the master cylinder to the caliper, and feel a huge difference in firmness and lever feel. You are only replaced a small percentage (especially the rears) of the whole brake line (the rest is already metal) so the difference isn't as noticeable. But, you may be bleeding a 'factory air' out of the stock lines, so maybe that's why some people notice a huge difference. Mine was about the same. Maybe I put some air in there, ha!
But I got a great deal on the Stoptech rotors off an ebay clearance from Dream Car when they closed, so I just did everything for about $400.
