Disc Brake Dust Shields

[JGC403]

Whats the consensus on disc brake dust shields, keep 'em or ditch 'em?

 

[68383GTS]

Keep them..They are there for a reason!

 

[JGC403]

I thought a lot of guys were takin them off.

 

[Johnny Dart]

I use them.
One trick is to bend them out a bit to grab cool air for the rotors.

 

[72bluNblu]

Ditch them.

No modern cars use dust shields. They hinder airflow to the rotors, which keeps them from cooling as well. They DON'T prevent water or contaminants from getting on the rotors, and can even trap gravel/rocks between the shield and the rotor.

The only thing they're partially successful at is keeping a little brake dust off the rest of the suspension. But even that's pretty marginal. And it keeps that extra dust trapped near the rotors, which can lead to squeaky brakes and premature wear.

I haven't run dust shields on my Challenger in over 40k miles. I ditched them because I went to 11.75" rotors and the stock ones no longer fit, but there's no reason to keep them regardless.

 

[mvh]

One slick mod I have seen (to the dust shields) was to cut a 3" hole with a raised flange and attach a flex duct from holes cut in an air dam -- Trans-Am brake cooling setup. I was thinking of a little scoop, or louvers; but really, on the street it's hardly worth bothering.

 

[Revhendo]

One slick mod I have seen (to the dust shields) was to cut a 3" hole with a raised flange and attach a flex duct from holes cut in an air dam -- Trans-Am brake cooling setup. I was thinking of a little scoop, or louvers; but really, on the street it's hardly worth bothering.

That is a trick mod that I have done in the past on other cars. For the track, it's great. On the street, well, let's just say that all the garbage your fellow motorist leave on the road has a direct path to your brakes.

 

[Jimacuda]

Keep them, they serve a purpose. Modern cars do still use them.

2 easy web grabs:

2nd one is a 2010 subaru.

 

[69DARTS]

keep them