Thanks! I've literally been asking for someone to figure out this mod. Especially if we get less seizing issues...!

@Glock_19 your right front caliper was actually starting to seize. Nothing major, but you caught it just in time.
The piston in that caliper was a little difficult to press in.

This is awesome. I had been looking at upgrading my rotors so doing this mod might be in my future. Thanks for the write up. I wish I lived closer, I would just have you guys doing

If you changed to the sport backing plate, would that remove the need to trim?

Great question!

You could install the backing plate from a sport brake system. However, it would require the removal of the front wheel bearing from the spindle. That is a lot to take on just for the backing plate.

Are there any potential problems that could be caused by trimming the backing plate like that? What does the backing plate do? Improve airflow to the rotor? Keep water and debris off the rotor?

As far as I know it's just a dust shield. You should actually get improved air flow to your brakes if you completely removed them. My buddy has a CTS-V with no dust shields (it's mostly a track car).

Okay, quick question... I am looking on a few online parts stores that sell ebc rotors, a lot of them say that under fitment that they fit the sport, sr5, and limited, so that means that they are the same size.. how do I find the bigger rotors?
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/attach...1&d=1363397467

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Another interesting tid-bit:

My 2008 V8 SR5 has the 13WL calipers. So I have the larger size calipers with the slightly smaller diameter rotors.

But.... I can (and do) use 16" wheels; and that, to me, would seem to be the most versatile combination.

I actually finished this same mod this morning. I did the left side a few days ago and simply bent the dust shield back out of the way of the larger rotor. I wait until this morning to do the right side because I had the early signs of a problem with the wheel bearing. I used an electric trimmer to cut the edges back similarly to how it is shown on this thread, and then rounded the edges with a grinder.

I had planned on leaving the dust shield off, but my friend (30+ year mechanic) said to keep it. He said the main thing he was concerned about was keeping the brake dust off the CV boot. One day I may replace the one I bent back on the left, but it hasn't given me any problems in the short term.

The wheel bearing was quite easy to pull from the spindle. An air impact driver with a 35mm socket to remove the axle nut, and then 4 17mm bolts holding the wheel bearing to the back plate. Once the bolts were loosed all the way out, a three jaw pulley puller was used to slide the wheel bearing off the spindle while keeping it straight. The whole job on the right side took about 2.5 hours. That includes pulling and replacing the wheel bearing a second time because we put it on the first time without the dust shield. One of the hardest parts was getting the dust cap off without damaging it. I recommend using a painters tool and a small hammer to slowly back the dust cap out of it's mount.

any real noticeable increasein braking power?...am still on the fence about doing this mod

I am curious about doing this as well. I have been very disappointed with the braking performance that I had so far, esp compared to the FJ and gx470. Has this actually improved the responsiveness and have you seen a noticeable difference in braking power?

The brake backing plate does a couple things, first it helps prevent debris and such from getting between the back of the rotor and the hub, ect ect. Second, it funnels air through the rotor to cool it much like the ducting on high end sports cars and race cars. The air flow is supposed to go through the back of the rotor and out through the edge if I remember right.

@BlackWorksInc ..............u suggesting trimming the plate is a bad idea?.......but thats about the only option for the brake upgrade.............unless of course going the other tedious route of pressing out the spindle and installing the correct backing plate size

just buy the sport backing plates ahead of time. and swap them over whenever you do the bearings.

but, just pulling the bearing off shouldn't be too bad. just 4 bolts, and the axle nut.