What are the advantages, and what do they do to rotor wear?

they will be harder on the stock rotors, but that is when you replace them with teh aftermarket. The main advantege is NO BRAKE DUST, and there other things also

NOT STOCK ROTORS! Ok, that'* been stated already.

Premium hardened slotted rotors and ceramic brake pads don't dust as stated, but they also don't fade. In fact, they bite HARDER as they get hotter.

Will, your remarks are unclear. Do you mean they're not to be used with stock rotors?

Thanks!

I run ceramics with stock rotors, and love the low dust. With 130,000 miles, what do i have to lose. I try hard not to stop aggressively since cermaics don't conduct heat away from the rotors as well as regular pads.

You will warp stock rotors with ceramics (92-99). You may delay this by being anal about your wheel lug torque.

My 00 pickup came stock with ceramic pads. I'd follow Bill (willwren) on the suggestion of aftermarket rotors.

The advantages I've seen are 100K miles and have not changed the front pads yet! This is on an extremely heavy 2000 Chevy Silverado, full sized, extended cab, 8 foot bed, 4wd truck. I've never ever in my life heard of such performance and the lack of dust is awesome if you like clean wheels. I'm hard on brakes and these are well worth it.

The one down side is you need to replace the rotors usually when you replace the pads because the harder material wears the rotors as well as the pads. Where conventional pads do not wear the rotors as much. But 100K on a set of pads and rotors???? I would have changed all of them at least once or twice by now. So where'* the true disadvantage?