[986FortyEight]

On Tubes / plugs:
I changed mine recently after noticing some oil inside the tube. I was doing the 120,000 miles service and had to go back later to change the tubes and o-rings.
I got the set from sunset for the previously mentionned $40. Looking back I would just order the o-rings. the tubes were in great condition but the rings were no longer round.
Because of the wear on the o-rings and the oil sipage the tubes came right off using Pedro's recommended transom plug ($2 at bass-pro).
I would recommend you order the rings only and replace if there are any signs of oil on the plugs. Otherwise, leave it alone. It is not an exciting DIY and the space you work in is somewhat small and could be frustrating if you have to fight the tubes out of their place.

On Pads:
hard for me to tell since I just changed mine for Pagid yellow and have not done enough driving/braking to jusdge the amount of dust. Braking power sure is good.
Changing the pads was so much easier than I thought (Pagid yellow do not have a hole for the sensor).
my 2 cents.

Michael