Ok, maybe this is a silly question, but I have searched and searched and can't find a good answer. I know that I need to be getting 4" tiers, however, I'm using the wilton pans and I never get 4" tiers with two cake layers and one layer of filling. Do I need to be torting each of my two layers? So then it would be cake, filling, cake, filling, cake, filling, cake??? That seems like a lot of filling, but if it's what I need to do then I will do it! I just need some help from my CC friends!!! HELP please!! Thanks!
A 4" tier isn't as much a requirement as it is the 'norm'.
If your pans are true 2", baking strips help in getting the level of your baked cakes up to(and sometimes above...Indydebi had a great shot of her results). There's other ways of getting it to the top without that hump thing that happens. That would make your tiers actually taller than 4" after filling just the once then icing.
If your pans are 1 7/8" (a lot of so called 2" pans are in fact 1 7/
. again, the baking strips will help give you nice, level, to-the-rim results...something as simple as filling your pans a bit more(or, if your cakes are falling in the centers...a bit less)....two of those layers along with minimal filling and then the icing should give you, still 4" or better.
What do your tiers normally measure?
To be sure your cakes rise to the top (or just slightly over the top edge) be sure you put enough batter in the pan.
Each pan, no matter the size/shape should be filled 2/3rds full of batter.
That means for 2" pans, the depth of the batter should be 1 1/4".
This will ensure your cake rises to a full 2" tall.
If it is over the top edge just use your cake saw to take off the extra OR
once it is out of the oven lay something flat on top and lightly but firmly press it down.
Bake at 325 degrees w/bake even strips helps too.
Can't afford bake even strips? Make your own by cutting an old towel into strips. Fold 2 or 3 times so they are 2" wide and long enough to go around the outside of the pan. Wet well but not dripping. Pin together so it is tight.
When I first started making cakes I thought it would be too much to torte each layer and fill. But the more I did it, the more I liked it. It really isn't that much more filling, especially if you just do like a thin layer in each layer. It doesn't have to be 1" of filling in every single layer.
all4cake...do you know where the shot is of indydebi's cake?
I was also wondering about getting 4" teirs. Don't you have to have 4" teirs in order to use the SPS system to avoid all that sawing? How do you get it exact after accounting for the space the filling adds? Also, a lot of the cakes I see look like they have taller teirs?? 
This is all so scientific!
http://cakedeco.com/cgi-bin/webc.cgi/st_main.html?p_catid=266&page=4
for use with the Coast plates only, I do believe. They are straight and rigid and evenly cut too...hth
Guys, measure out 1" .... that's a LOT of filling! As the song says, "slip slidin' awa-a-a-a-a-ay". 
So that's a 2" pan? How high did you fill it with batter?
WHOA! I don't use an 1" of filling. Holy cow that's a lot! I use the wilton pans, and I'm really thinking they aren't a true 2". I use the bake even strips, but maybe I'm not filling my pans full enough?? They do still dome though, they don't rise like Indydebi's picture above the sides. Hmmm.... I bake at 325 too.
It's a 2" pan. I grease NO FLOUR. cakes rise higher with no flour. I fill it at least 1/2 full or more. With the grease-no-flour, the batter is able to glide right up the sides of the pan. Flour, I have found in my 30 years of doing it this way, grabs onto the batter and holds it in place, preventing it from gliding up the side of the pan to a beautiful height. Baking strips and bake at 325, no matter what the size of hte cake pan.
1" of filling? I may do more than one inch of filling...not icing...and it's divvied out between 4 layers...if it's icing only between the layers, I use, maybe, 1/8 inch and try to keep the external icing around 1/4 inch thick(less if covering with fondant).
I'll say it again indydebi, I love the look of your baked layers! (thanks for sharing another shot of one! The other thread is toast!)
........How do you get it exact .........
You don't worry about being *exact* 
two layers 2" exactly and add a normal amount of filling, will it be too tall???.........
No because most cakes settle some. As for 'normal' amount of filling - that is a different amount for each person.
If you torte each layer and put just a smear of filling on each it will probably be equal to 1" total used but won't make the cake over tall.
If using flavored buttercream as filling, yes one could put 1" of cake and 1" of icing/filling; repeat; repeat. You see this often on food challenges.
Rulers are pretty handy when it comes to getting exact with SPS. And remember, your board/foamcore can be 8 inches tall for all it matters, it's the space between that and the bottom of the SPS plate that counts. God I love SPS. After the six tier behemoth I did last weekend, SPS reaffirms just how fun it is to make monster huge cakes. 
Indydebi, do you just use shortening to grease? Do you use parchment on the bottom of the pans or just grease (only) the entire pan?
Oh the things I learn on here! THANKS!! Ok-just to get this straight- Indydebi- no flour?? Hmm, maybe that's my problem, because I grease with Crisco then flour. I'm baking tonight, so you are telling me I don't need the flour??? Just crisco, even on the bottom?? I'm excited to try it!
Leah- You are the reason I'm asking this question...becuase I ordered the SPS last week to have on hand. I'm dying to do another tiered cake and I just want to have all this down beforehand. I know you always say bake to 4" and I wasn't quite getting 4" EVER.
I'm scared to just grease my pan....but 30 years is a lot of experience Indydebi! I trust ya!
just grease ... no parchment. But a number of CC'ers say they grease the pans and use parchment with great results, so if you want to add the parchment, I say go for it!
I've given cake decorating demos at high schools and I've taken in cakes that were baked with and without flour to show them the height difference it makes. They particularly "ewwwwww!" 'd it when I peeled the flour film off of the cake.
I just did it your way and wow!!!! I did use parchmant only because it was before I saw your post. It's a little more crumbly than I'm used to but maybe I need to let it cool more before taking it out? Thank you so much!!
I use a 325 degree oven, pans are 2/3 full and I put in strips of parchment paper higher than the cake pan. Also, I don't have 3 inch pans and have found that if I need to bake a cake that requires that pan height I can cut the parchment higher, fill the pan with more batter and the end result is a cake that looks like it came from a 3 inch pan.
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