stock backing plates don't fit cobalt friction
 

Hey guys, I'm swapping pads for XR3's and the stock backing plate shims don't fit on the cobalt friction pads. What did you guys do? Did you order cobalt friction's own backing plates?

After googling, are these shims even necessary? All they do is reduce noise?

I never ran them ,but on the car i track prepped for a friend. I just didn't install them. I also had to take a file to the pads slightly to get them to fit the caliper.