Well, I have idea what condition your hubs are in. But the shaved brace with 2 washers is pretty much the same as the normal brace. It might be a hair lower. I run the A-hubs with no shaved brace and no washers. Like you I was planning on getting the B44 hubs because of the slow. I think the carbon hub tower gives a little more clearance for the BB springs than the plastic A-Hub. That is probably why AE released the Carbon A tower upper with the 4.2. Although that is just my guess.