A '54 named Busty

[Wide Open]

I’m glad you found a place to hide from the heat in your wiring room.

Those are just dust shields correct? Is there any “real” reason to run them? I’ve removed several damaged (bent, rusted, etc) ones in the past and never noticed any difference in braking performance or longevity. Of course the vehicles were considerably faster after shedding the extra weight.

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by Wide Open

Those are just dust shields correct? Is there any “real” reason to run them?

I would say it depends, and not all dust shields are created equal, I have seen ones that are entirely made of metal ie no rubber at all, these I can see myself ditching if they were damaged for example, these usually go on cars where the rotor does not have bearings in it

the ones on the second gen Camaros have rubber pressed into them so the rubber prevents dust, dirt, and debris from entering the back bearing on the spindle, and again I have seen rotors with the rubber covers on them that do the same, but some of the newer replacement ones do not come with the rubber on the rotors leaving the bearings exposed

dirt + water = bad for the bearings