Increasing pressure escalates wear, but doesn't necessarily create significantly more sparks. The roughness of the road often plays a part. Some roads wear down the cores like butter, try pressing even less on those.

Grinding continuously for too long can heat the material, causing the Thrills to wear faster or even melt the metal. It's better to left them cool down for a few seconds.

The adhesive pad is there to allow you to cut off the Thrill at the end without  damaging the shoe. It is not mean to secure the Thrill by itself.