froggy47

I recently flipped mine (another thread) and they feel good now that the taper has worn away, but I think I need to start shimming them when I flip them.

To get the pistons back in the bore(s) a little & get some thermal insulation back as the pad material is worn down.

Not having issues with the flipped pads but thinking a little shim would not hurt.

I don't think I need the $$$ titanium ones & maybe will just go with some backing plates from a worn out set of pads (inside only).

I am thinking about 2.5 - 3.0 mm as I won't shim them until they are at least 1/2 gone.

What do you guys use & where do you source the shims?

naschmitz

I have a set of cleaned off backing plates that I use in my AP T1 calipers. Results are about the same either way as these brakes perform exceptionally well for taper and fade, except less piston is exposed and dirty. There is a lot of piston showing when the 20mm thick pad is near end of life without the extra backing plate.

CHJ In Virginia

I shim with cleaned off backing plates from old pads. Have worked fine, cheap and easy way to go.

waddisme

I have 4 1 mm ti that I picked up here used. Once pads get past 1/2, I install them both on the piston side. Not sure how much they help with piston extension, but probably help with heat. Seems like XP12s are 10mm new, so 1/2 worn on each side would be 10 mm of piston extension, so not sure 2mm really makes that much difference there. The backing plate seems like a better idea. Do you just grind the rivets off?

travisnd

I have both Titanium shims and a spare set of backing plates. The Ti shims work wonders for keeping brake fluid temps down. They're not a gimmick of any kind. I use the spare backing plates when the pads get low to push the pistons back in the bore as it improves brake feel.

PushinTheLimit

Where did you get your TI shims or did they come with the calipers when you bought them? I need to shim my pads too when they are getting low.

waddisme

KNS has them but they are not cheap ~$150 for 4 1mm IIRC.

froggy47

Thanks all, good stuff.

travisnd

I got them from Hardbrakes.com. Here's the direct link for the 7420 pad shape - http://hardbrakes.com/index.php?main...roducts_id=122

I think Sperkins found that these ones from Speedway Motors work as well - http://www.speedwaymotors.com/Ultra-...eld,29188.html

The guy from hardbrakes.com gave me a discount when I asked him to price-match. Also said that their shims are a higher grade titanium which makes a difference. Said with the cost of his materials there's no way the ones from Speedway could be the same grade at that price.

geerookie

WOW I got mine for $11.99 per set for 1 mm at Speedway.

argonaut

Naschmitz and CHJ - How did you guys go about cleaning off a set of old backing plates so you could use them as shims? I want to do that.

travisnd

The ones I got from Hardbrakes are 0.5mm. There's no way I could fit 1mm shims in there with brand new Carbotechs. As is I have to go bed them in to get the 2nd shim in on one of my calipers.

I put them in a vice then used a hammer and chisel to get the majority off. Then I put on a face mast and went to my bench grinder to do the rest.

CHJ In Virginia

I put them in a vice then used a hammer and chisel to get the majority off. Then I put on a face mast and went to my bench grinder to do the rest.[/QUOTE]

I use the same BFH and chisel method to get the bulk of the pad off. Depending on pad type it can be a challenge. Then use a belt sander to get the last bits of friction material off and give a more or less smooth finish.

naschmitz

Clamped them in a vice, tapped most of the remaining pad material off with a chisel. Then with mask and belt sander cleaned off the rest. There aren't any rivets in the 7420 pads I use, so I didn't have to deal with that issue.

travisnd

Yeah it was a PITA. The pads I used to make the spare backing plates out of were Hawks and they have all these teeth on them to grab the pad compound. They work well as it was lots of work to get the bulk of the material off. A belt sander is probably the better tool for the job, but I don't have one of those. Only issue I could see is with pads like the one I have once you sanded to the teeth they'd tear up the sanding belt. This is where the grinder came in handy.

geerookie

I have 2 complete sets (8 shims each)from Speedway and one set of .5mm from Hardbrakes and I also have two sets of 5mm backing plates, mind you now that I'm running the 3116 Ferodo pads I don't need all the spacers as much.

dbratten

I let my rotors wear off the pad material on my XP10s. When the pad is down to less than the thickness of the backing plate I use them as shims. I don't see a problem with leaving pad material on them as it might be extra heat protection. I do check to see that they're not tapered.

John Shiels

use mica, stainless, aluminum!

spdislife

Got the stainless ones from Hardbrakes .125 inch thick think I paid under 100.00 for them about a year and a half ago.

0Anthony @ LGMotorsports

We will use a Ti insert on really hard braking tracks like Long Beach, however it can, and most of the time will, give you a slightly longer pedal, so do be aware of that.