Banned
What are they for? Will removal of them hurt anything?
Member
My guess is to keep rocks and stuff out of there. Might also aid in cooling, although, I think that's a stretch. Jay
Banned
Other performance cars don't have them, do they? Big brake kits don't have them, do they? I was looking at them on my car the other day and decided that they look stupid, are stupid and probably hurt brake performance/cooling. I was very close to yanking them off the car when I figured I'd better ask you guys first . . .
Survivor
They are called splash shields. By that name I would guess that their purpose is to reduce the amount of water that splashes them when driving in rain.
It is possible to bend them alittle so that they catch more air to cool the rotors better. I did that on my M and my 318. Just bend the front edge outward a little. It will catch more air and funnel it to the center of the disk for more effiicient cooling. Not to mention it will help keep the wheel bearings cooler too.
You could probably remove them but you have to remove the wheel bearing to do so. Generally if you do that you will need new wheel bearings since damage to the races can result from removal. If you do remove them, replace them with hoses that draw air in to the center of the rotor to make sure you get good air flow.
== Stable mates ==
-1996 M3 Lux, bright red (hellrot), Modena interior. Aus Freude Am Fahren!
-1988 325, Alpenweiss. The commuter.
BMW HOWTOs
License Revoked
You do not have to remove the wheel bearings. The fronts should come off no problem atleast on my car 97'. The rears are a different story , but still use a cutting tool and your in the like swim wear.
Needs a weekend in Vegas
Dust shields, or splash shields, are what they are.
Generally, if you track your car a lot, then you're fine to take them off. In fact, if you live in a decent enough climate, I'd suggest taking them off anyway.
The only thing they're designed to do is prevent snow / slush / rain from getting on the rotor / spindle / wheel bearing.
They do help to hold a lot of heat in the rotors (which, in case you can't see my tongue firmly planted in my cheek, that's a bad thing).
If you're leery about taking them completely off, then try drilling some 1 inch holes in them. Any high speed drill, with a 1 inch hole saw, and you're laughing. I've done that with my rear shields, and my fronts are completely off.
Pat
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