Has anyone removed their front dust shields? If so, any problems as a result of doing this, and any decreases in warpage in the front rotors as a result of increased air flow?

haven't seen much front warpage in 850s..usually it's the back... but the bias was changed to favor the fronts more on the s/v/c70 i believe...

anyway... i had big brake kit so the dust shields were removed... don't c any problems except more dust on the inner wheel well...

if u are worried about the rotors warping...i suggest getting not cross-drilled rotors..but slotted rotors...

I'm actually looking at getting a big brake kit. What did you end up with? Brembo, AP Racing or something else?

there are a number of them out there now...

stillen carries brembo 13" lotus kits

eurosporttuning carries both a porsche 13" kit (96/97 993 twin turbo) and ap 13" kit

some others u may want to look at are wilwood, tar-ox ...

Do you mean those aftermarket dust shields that fit over the hubs, inside the wheels to keep brake dust off the wheels? Most people don't try those but I have. Better dust-free brake pads like Raybestos works better and keeps the airflow unrestricted around the rotors.
I'm not sure if those aftermarket shields restrict airflow anymore than if you had steel wheels and I never had problems with them BUT they don't look good IMO.

I'm referring to the c70 front OEM internal dust shields that are on the inside of the caliper attached to the hub assembly near the transmission halfshafts, not behind the wheel. (in front of the rotor.)

Frank :What type of raybestos pad are you running?

Oh, those are called "backing plates" and I've NEVER seen one car ever w/o them. Every car with disc brakes has those.
Part of what those do is help keep debris like small stones, sand and other nasties away from the brake surfaces so I'd keep them on. Rotor warping isn't a major issue with C70s (or any X70s for that matter) unlike years ago with 700s, especially.

My daily driver Volvo is an old 745T and Raybestos doesn't make Quiet Stops for my type Girling calipers SO I'm using the less expensive NS 'Noise Solution' pads for imports and they're very good pads, NO dust, no problems and the car stops as good as it did with OEM pads.

Warpage maybe not be an issue on your 745, but on my C70 it is. This car is 4 years old, with 112,000 miles on it. I've gone through at least 6 pairs of front rotors and pads, and 4 pairs of rear rotors and pads. I can't get through a set of factory or any other type of pad without warping the rotor first. That why I'm looking for alternatives without changing my driving style, where I live, or selling the car.

who puts your wheels on and do they use a torque wrench?..if not thats your likly cause of that much warpage....that 17k per set WAY WAY to much (unless you have a VERY VERY VERY heavy right foot - in which case you would go thru pads too...or if you drive with one foot resting on the brakes...

If I were you I would (a) change my tyre shop (b) change my garage...sounds to me like someone is slapping them boys up hard with a air rachet rather than taking the 30 seconds it takes to do it properly...