Abstract: The sensitivity of the ABS shape of a suspension mounted slider to temperature variations can be greatly reduced if the backside of the slider is lapped to a smooth convex contour that is similar to the ABS shape, rather than to a planar shape, prior to mounting the slider on the suspension. When the backside surfaces of sliders are shaped in this manner, the size of changes in the crown height of the ABS shape due to temperature variations are greatly reduced and the ABS shapes are distributed more tightly, thereby increasing disk drive reliability.