I participated in a lapping day with ~1/3 pad material left on the front and Ford spec DOT3 brake fluid. I ordered pads before the lapping day, but they did not arrive in time. I decided to go anyway. During the course of an eight hour day, I was on the track for about six of those hours, much more than anyone at the event. By the end of the day I was the last person on the track., I decided to do one more lap. I went into the second corner and my brakes barely worked. I spun out and limped to the pits. When I got to the pits there was virtually no fluid left and I could push the pedal to the floor. I had blown the seal on a caliper which I had installed one month prior. Upon further inspection I discovered that the pistons had actually worn through the metal backing on the pads and were making direct contact with the rotor! One of the backing plates was actually welded to the caliper and the caliper had lost its seal! Later I attempted to remove the backing plate with force and hammering but was unable to! Under these extreme conditions the brakes never faded. I will admit that due to my modest skills I was not braking at 100% of what a more skilled driver would be braking at. That said, I was hardly out for a Sunday drive and I was substantially faster than some in faster vehicles and some with substantially more experience (as anyone who has been to a track event will knows is the primary factor). What I proved was that the four piston RX-7 calipers can withstand all but the most extreme situations. The Ford spec DOT 3 fluid is also incredibly robust (more on this later). Observe the brake calipers on high performance, ultra-expensive purpose built race cars and you will notice they are not substantially different in size. (especially relative to the RX-7 being a street car)