Behind the brake rotors is a dust shield.
I'm interested in removing the dust shields on my car because I'm looking to install larger calipers than what my car originally came with. What is the purpose of this dust shield and what would be some consequences in cutting or removing it?
This shield has several purposes:
This means that rotor cooling could be significantly affected due to changes in cooling air routing. Increased water splash could increase the possibility of shock cooling of the rotors. Large particles such as small stones could more easily reach the caliper to rotor interface with resulting in noise and maybe binding. Increased rotor scoring as more larger dirt particles reach the rotor pad interface.
It protects brake disks from dust and mud. Brake pads will wear out much faster without it.
IMHO, cutting will not harm anything.
They protect steering joints from rotor heat. It’s your ball joint boots, tie rod ends, etc you need to be concerned about. It’s not about the rotor.
