hmmm, sounds like theyre not to be considered shite then and to be fair they did seem to be doing the job well.
I noticed one wheel was excessively hot last night after a run and closer inspection has revealed one of the front calipers had seized and jambed on slightly. turns out the supposed high melting point grease id bought of ebay isn't so good and has dried out on the caliper sliders. a strip down and regreasing with proper Castrol grease seems to have solved that issue.
I remember I used to change the EBC green and red pads on my cossie bmw twice a year but that was getting used hard as a daily. I think I might try them again with reds on the front and greens on the back.