I noticed some people still complain about their 360 d-pads (for good reason) which means there are plenty of people who haven't found an alternative controller, or just haven't done "the fix" yet.

I didn't want to sand the plastic on my controllers, so for a long while I just put up with it.
Then I found something that doesn't require any slaughter of the original controller; you just add a little homemade disk between the d-pad components and everything is hunky-dorry.
You still need to take the controller apart to get inside, but overall it's an incredibly easy fix.

Here's the link:
http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Fix-the-d-pad-...

Just skip past all the sanding parts and go straight for the coffee/nut can lid trick.
Trust me; no sanding is needed if you just do that.

Your d-pad will feel as good as, if not better than, the old Xbox d-pads.
You will be happy :) (just make sure you use the right lid material and your cuts are correct)
What you will notice is the d-pad will be stabilized (no more sliding around) and centered perfectly. There will be a nice "click" feeling when you press your directions and the whole thing will be much more responsive and accurate.

No amount of sanding can do that.

edit

I don't know if it's because I use wired controllers, but I didn't need any of those Torx screwdrivers like he uses to disassemble the case... just a regular phillips with a small head.

Think im guna try this right now, thanks for the heads up.

Nice; let us know how your pad feels afterward.

Microsoft are pretty ignorant not to make this simple space fix.
I'm not saying they should put a nut can lid in there (although obviously that fixes the problem), they just need to adjust that tiny fraction of an inch of space to make it work properly again... nothing even approaching the redesign they did last generation.

I'll try it too. Sounds promising...

Time to go buy some peanuts.

Someone in another thread said that diagonals are still not very good, true Plumb?

lol I ate the peanuts and completely forgot what I did with the top.

I bought some Pringles and forgot about the top as well... propably threw it away. ^^

I said the diags are a little hit or miss, but after playing with it a little more I think the problem was the sloppy way I was tapping the diag direction. After cleaning up my presses I haven't really had any problems with the diags anymore. Fighting games are now back on my radar. I've been amazed what a tiny circle of coffee can lid can do for the controller. It took a joke of a dpad and made it pretty decent. Why hasn't MS fixed this yet? Must not be coffee drinkers...

Cool then, that's my project for this coming weekend :)

And yes, MS is dumb about this. Too few games depend on the d-pad, that's why I guess.

It's still a little sensitive about going from a diagonal to a vertical/horizontal direction, and vice versa, but it's better.