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      06-21-2019, 08:18 AM   #1
M2joey
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Remove front dust brake shields?

Was suggested by someone that removing the "dust brake shields" would be better for brake cooling. After a bit more investigation it seems the shield might also protect components from heat. I am only concerned about getting additional cooling if removing the shield achieves this. Cannot imagine the wheels being any less dusty and dirty with the shield on or off after an HPDE weekend. I can certainly understand how the shield could be beneficial at deflecting some heat away from suspension components, etc.
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      06-23-2019, 03:33 PM   #2
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Not all advice is good advice. I wonder if this may be the case. Cooling: the dust shields actually direct air flow to better cool the brake components. That's beside protecting stuff.
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      06-23-2019, 03:38 PM   #3
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Noting that the racing variants appear to use a shield - albeit with mouldings to attach cooling ducts - it appears that the thermal shielding idea may have some merit.
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      06-23-2019, 05:18 PM   #4
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The largest appeal of the shield is to deflect heat from the ball joints at the bottom of the rotors. Outside of that it just prevents dirt from getting between the caliper and the rotor. On my Mustang I had a Ford Racing cooling shield which basically just covered the ball joint and the small area in front of the caliper. The rest of the rotor was exposed for extra air.
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      06-24-2019, 04:46 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by isjoey View Post
Was suggested by someone that removing the "dust brake shields" would be better for brake cooling. After a bit more investigation it seems the shield might also protect components from heat. I am only concerned about getting additional cooling if removing the shield achieves this. Cannot imagine the wheels being any less dusty and dirty with the shield on or off after an HPDE weekend. I can certainly understand how the shield could be beneficial at deflecting some heat away from suspension components, etc.
Luckily some Swiss guys have done documented research https://trackparts.ch/Bremsen-optimieren-BMW-M2-M3-M4

Yes it helps with brake cooling! as others have said ball joints may get hotter and require service. I would shield them with at least some of that gold heat reflective tape.

Also the shields help keep the discs dry. Keep this in mind if you drive in the rain (longer braking distances).

BP engineering makes cool under body panel with brake cooling ducts

http://www.bp-motorsport.com/?page_id=9952
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      06-24-2019, 05:33 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Megator View Post
Luckily some Swiss guys have done documented research https://trackparts.ch/Bremsen-optimieren-BMW-M2-M3-M4

BP engineering makes cool under body panel with brake cooling ducts

http://www.bp-motorsport.com/?page_id=9952
+ 1 - Shame the BP-E underbelly panel costs so much in EU due to hefty shipping cost more or less doubling the price of the ABS version !
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      06-24-2019, 09:21 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Megator View Post
Luckily some Swiss guys have done documented research https://trackparts.ch/Bremsen-optimieren-BMW-M2-M3-M4

Yes it helps with brake cooling! as others have said ball joints may get hotter and require service. I would shield them with at least some of that gold heat reflective tape.

Also the shields help keep the discs dry. Keep this in mind if you drive in the rain (longer braking distances).

BP engineering makes cool under body panel with brake cooling ducts

http://www.bp-motorsport.com/?page_id=9952
Great info!

In short, -44C in the front and -33C in the rear with the shields removed.
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      06-26-2019, 07:48 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Megator View Post
Luckily some Swiss guys have done documented research https://trackparts.ch/Bremsen-optimieren-BMW-M2-M3-M4

Yes it helps with brake cooling! as others have said ball joints may get hotter and require service. I would shield them with at least some of that gold heat reflective tape.

Also the shields help keep the discs dry. Keep this in mind if you drive in the rain (longer braking distances).

BP engineering makes cool under body panel with brake cooling ducts

http://www.bp-motorsport.com/?page_id=9952
That's pretty sick! Although I'm cringing at bottoming out those expensive parts... I'd figure some sort of flexible plastics would have been better so it doesn't shatter if you hit a big rock (or curb on track).
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      06-27-2019, 05:34 AM   #9
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Here is an English translation.

https://translate.googleusercontent....I1HFzrE5NZ3D6A

It also appears removing the front lip has a positive effect as well, though it is hard to tell to what degree.

I would also note that the shield doesn't appear to provide that much of a heat protection to the ball joint, judging from the distance of the shield to the ball joint itself. Are there discussion threads that would indicate otherwise?
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      01-31-2020, 07:33 PM   #10
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Bumping an older thread

Anyone tried and/or have additional thoughts on this?

Instead of removing the shields completely, I'm also considering cutting away the upper portion of the stock shields to potentially aid in brake cooling while retaining the lower portion to protect the ball joints from heat
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      02-01-2020, 08:43 AM   #11
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For a street driven car, I'd keep them. It may prevent rocks getting in where you don't want them.
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      02-10-2020, 10:00 AM   #12
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Yes, a lot of people have done this. In addition to cutting a section away they have also added a modified 911 "brake air deflector" to the lower arm to direct air into the cut out area. There are a couple posts around about how to do so.
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      02-12-2020, 03:31 PM   #13
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For a track-driven car, our advice is to always remove the splash shields. They trap far more heat than they do protecting anything from heat.

A much better solution for ball joints would be to install a thermal barrier over them. We offer a product called Teknofibra that is an incredible thermal barrier. You can hold it in your hand and put a blow torch to the front side without feeling the heat. This is not your grandmother's gold foil heat shield!

We provide a lot of this material to professional racing teams for various areas of the chassis. They stick it everywhere. It comes in a couple different thicknesses of 'felt' backing. It It's not cheap, but there's nothing else out there quite like it. You can see Teknofibra on our website here.
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      02-20-2020, 12:40 AM   #14
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Removing the front shields appears to be very simple

Remove wheel

Remove caliper

Remove front rotor

Remove dust shield

Removing the rear shields appears to require a lot more work

Remove wheel

Remove caliper

Remove rotor

Remove parking brake shoes and expander

Remove wheel hub

Remove retaining ring

Remove dust shield
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      03-03-2020, 12:01 AM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by eeyang92 View Post
That's pretty sick! Although I'm cringing at bottoming out those expensive parts... I'd figure some sort of flexible plastics would have been better so it doesn't shatter if you hit a big rock (or curb on track).
I came across a similar, yet less expensive solution:
https://www.revozport.com/product/m2...-cooling-duct/

Has anyone heard of them or tried it? They seem to have both M2 and M2C options.
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      03-04-2020, 12:54 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bill in Marin View Post
I came across a similar, yet less expensive solution:
https://www.revozport.com/product/m2...-cooling-duct/

Has anyone heard of them or tried it? They seem to have both M2 and M2C options.
Looks amazing! Although $3k seems a bit steep as well, especially one mistake on street could wreck it
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      03-14-2020, 01:48 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bill in Marin View Post
I came across a similar, yet less expensive solution:
https://www.revozport.com/product/m2...-cooling-duct/

Has anyone heard of them or tried it? They seem to have both M2 and M2C options.
I have ordered brake cooling stuff from Revozport twice. On the first order they forgot the flexible hoses and it took about a week for a second shipment to arrive. On the second order, my stuff accidentally got shipped to another customer in Kuwait, and because of holidays in China I didn't get everything until 5 weeks after promised. The quality is good, but their production management and logistics are not. Their customer service team makes promises they can't fulfill.
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