Hi all, is there any REAL purpose for the brake dust shield that i'm overlooking? other than the obvious (or is it really that obvious)?

1- does it shield dust/debris from the rotor?? (protecting the rotor from rocks and such). if that is the case, why not cover the other side as well?? I assume the wheel does a good job, and you need to keep it cool...
2- or does it shield brake dust/rotor debris from the knuckle/hub/etc.?? (protecting the stuff behind the rotor from brake associated debris)?
3- it is necessary on a normal daily driver with occasional auto-x? can anybody forsee any negative effects from removing them? potential gains (will it help cooling THAT much?)? and if they are not necessary, why did Honda them there in the first place?

tia

 

They are useless. Cut them off.

D

 

There's another use for them. If you ever want to install ducts from the front air dam to cool the brakes, you can cut a hole in the dust shield, weld a flange to it, and use it as a mounting surface for the end of the ducting.

 

i think it also acts as a heat shield..because it had to be cut off to clearence the active gate brakes...but the kit came with heat shielding for your ball joints..

 

in theory this is a good idea, but if you actually think it's going to work well, i think you're delusional. I'm still in the process of finishing my backing plates for my brake ducting. Will try to post results hopefully next week.

D

 

Then I've been deluding myself for the past five or six years on my NSX. In fact, my delusions about all those track events have been rather fun.

 

yes you do not wanna radiate too much heat to your balljoint. the heat will melt the boot and your balljoint will leak and eventually dry out and wear excessively

 

my only point i was trying to make is that the best way to duct air to the rotors is to blank off the annular region between the knuckle and ID of the hat of the rotor, and have positive air pressure on the inside of the hat, providing airflow through the vanes of the rotor. a inlet welded onto a dust shield, in proximity of the rotor (say 1/2" away) is in my opinion, useless.

opinions to the contrary are welcome for discussion.

D



[Modified by D, 4:42 PM 7/23/2001]

 

Lookit D, breaking out the word "annular region". Dork!

His plates look a great deal more serious than the flimsy dust shields, and should be close enough to actually force air where it's needed.

 

I really don't understand why an off-the-shelf brake cooling system is not available for the Type-R from one of the JDM-land companies. $1600 calipers may look pretty, but all the Type-R really needs IMHO is better front cooling.

 

here's a quick pic of my yet to be completed blank off plates. I've made the inlet for the blank off plates, still need to weld it on. It's pretty tight in there, but i'm also amazed that there isn't an off the shelf solution like this.




inlet dashed lines have been changed since these pics, it's prettty tight in there...

D