Yes I used the shims. I also shim to make sure there is clearance at the end of the bell. So when the shoes start to mushroom a bit they don't drag or get stuck on the flywheel either.

It was a used bell but I use a wire wheel on my dremel to clean it out. And I ran a set of used mugens in between on the same bell with no probs. The only thing I changed was the bearings. Which I usually do whenever I do clutch maintenence. I know mugen shoes are like 3 bucks more but I have NEVER had a problem. So I'll prolly just stick with them. I was wondering if it could be the clutch nut maybe not letting the springs seat right. That could maybe tweak the shoes in a weird way? Dunno but I'm out of ideas.