[ggggbmw]

Is anyone using titanium brake pad heat shields, like the ones sold by Hard Brakes?

Like these: https://hardbrakes.com/

I like the idea of a heat-resistant shim between the pads and the cylinders. Especially since most performance pads don't even come with a steel shim, and our brakes are cooling limited. But I'm also thinking this might be an area that is more pseudo-science than actual objective improvement.

The other issue is that I'm not seeing titanium shims anywhere that will fit our calipers/pads.

So, any thoughts on if titanium shims are worth it, and where to find them?

[aerobod]

A thin shim of any metal is not going to provide much of a thermal barrier. The thermal conductivity of titanium is about the same as carbon steel. Something that would present a thermal barrier and not compress is a material like this: https://www.armatherm.com/products/f...reak-material/

[dradernh]

Originally Posted by ggggbmw

So, any thoughts on if titanium shims are worth it, and where to find them?

Although they don't cost much, I doubt they're worth the money.

You might try using brake temp paint and/or caliper temp strips first to see just how hot you're getting your equipment. These are products I've found useful:

Brake Temp Paint: https://www.amazon.com/Genesis-Brake.../dp/B000UZEI6C

Caliper Temp Strips: https://www.essexparts.com/caliper-t...trips-300-500f

[Nugget]

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Titanium...frcectupt=true

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Titanium...frcectupt=true

I bought these ones, just the fronts though.

Not sure they did much.
Installed them with a set of PFC08s and still managed to turn my front calipers brown/green in one 10 minute track session.

[ggggbmw]

Nugget Thanks for the links. Exactly what I was looking for part wise. But it doesn't sound like they did much for you. I haven't come close to cooking my calipers that badly. (Yet. Thinking real race pads this summer will kick it up a notch.)

aerobod Yes, you are probably right. Being metal, even being "4x less conductive than steel", it's still going to conduct heat. The effect would likely be transitory at best. A resin or ceramic materiel would probably be better, but would likely need to be so thick to be effective it would never fit. The Armatherm stuff you linked to is only 0.9R per inch. (My daughter is an engineering student. I should get her to do a real heat transfer analysis on it. If she didn't hate heat transfer so much. )

dradernh I've looked at the heat paint before. Dang, that seems pricey. But, good data is expensive, and it would be interesting and fun to know just how bad it really is. How long does a jar of the paint last you?

Since no one has rave reviews, and I could probably better spend money elsewhere, I'll shelve this idea for now. Thinking it might make a bit of sense in something like Spec Miata, where you are hunting for that 0.05% improvement. For the HPDE stuff I'm doing, at my level, it's more snake oil than useful.

Thanks for the feedback guys.

[dradernh]

Originally Posted by ggggbmw

I've looked at the heat paint before. Dang, that seems pricey. But, good data is expensive, and it would be interesting and fun to know just how bad it really is. How long does a jar of the paint last you?

There's enough in a bottle to last you until you don't need it anymore - certainly until you get another car. I've never used the full ounce that's in a bottle - I've given each one away after I get the brakes sorted out a car. In terms of the data it provides, I think it's good value.