Help with brake backing plate/dust shield

[driveslikejehu]

Finally getting enough speed at the track to really use the brakes. After last track-day I noticed the disks were decidedly darker in color. I haven't seen this before in many years of tracking cars. Don't know if it's the quality of the discs or what.
Anyway, got me thinking of cooling. I looked at the backing plate/ dust shield for holes and thought, "Dust shield? Am I supposed to have the dust shields?" Realized the manual shows no front dust shields. I'm sure we reflexedly installed them cuz that's what you do. Don't want rocks, marbles, small animals between wheel and disc, or caught in the caliper.
Wouldn't be hard to modify the plates with holes and some brake ducting. Or just leave them off and send it...

What are you folks running? Plate/no plates? Front and/or rear? Some of you have a lot of track time, so please weigh in.

And here's a picture of a clock I made just for attention
clutch clock.jpg
Thanks for any help.

[idf]

Finally getting enough speed at the track to really use the brakes. After last track-day I noticed the disks were decidedly darker in color. I haven't seen this before in many years of tracking cars. Don't know if it's the quality of the discs or what.
Anyway, got me thinking of cooling. I looked at the backing plate/ dust shield for holes and thought, "Dust shield? Am I supposed to have the dust shields?" Realized the manual shows no front dust shields. I'm sure we reflexedly installed them cuz that's what you do. Don't want rocks, marbles, small animals between wheel and disc, or caught in the caliper.
Wouldn't be hard to modify the plates with holes and some brake ducting. Or just leave them off and send it...

What are you folks running? Plate/no plates? Front and/or rear? Some of you have a lot of track time, so please weigh in.

And here's a picture of a clock I made just for attention
clutch clock.jpg
Thanks for any help.

Love the clock. Boomba Racing makes some brake cooling deflectors for WRX. I have no idea how effective they are.

[Hobby Racer]

No plates front or rear but I'm also running 4 piston Cadillac (Brembo) calipers all the way around clamping on floating STi rotors.

[driveslikejehu]

No plates front or rear...

Thanks for the input. I have the STI Brembos; its easy enough to remove the plates. And with your track time, I assume nothing ingested in hub/disc/caliper area...

[Hobby Racer]

Never had anything ingested.