Air Dam poll. Who's got it still?

How difficult are they to remove and add and would one fit on an OR? I take mine between DFW and OKC alot and if the fuel savings were worth the trouble to take it off and on I may look into it for highway trips.

 

did you see how the Colorado z71, the off road model, can't even make it up their flex ramp? That is a picture of the Colorado, not the Tacoma

 

my mistake, lol.

 

Just talked to my mechanic who drives a 2nd gen and he thought it was the dumbest thing ever. He cant see how it would serve any purpose at all and the intake isnt even in the front so the claim that its bad for the engine in the long term is nuts. When you take it off you will notice the front of the frame is exposed - it looks exactly like a 2nd gen. He said leave it off and try to sell it to someone who will believe this MPG crap. Makes zero sense to him

 

the front of the truck is too tall for an air dam that short to help anything. That's why the colorado's nose and air dam are so low.

 

No offense to your mechanic... But he isn't an aeronautical/aerospace engineer (the types of people that design these lower valances/air deflectors - it isn't a dam).

As for the long term engine damage thing... Probably Bullshit. But it does increase the amount of bugs and rocks that can get to the radiator, which could potentially damage the engine if it failed.

For the MPGs... It's taking high pressure air and smoothly moving it to the sides of the truck instead of letting it hit all the jagged edges of the frame/underbody. This reduces drag. A little. The vortex generators also help with this intent by using very sciencey terms that probably wouldn't mean anything to you.

 

not exactly flux capacitor, but I like it

if you did have some engine issue, wonder if they'd claim the alteration is to blame and voids warranty? The manual specifically says it could, right?

 

Vortex generators are real things. Perform the same task as the dimples on a golf ball (Energize the boundary layer so that the flow stays attached).

And... As far as that one goes... I think they'd have problems PROVING that the engine damage was caused by removing a valance, but they'd probably try.

 

I was told that because my truck has scratch's down the side, there is nothing that can be done (under warranty on a truck with 24XX miles) for the road noise coming from my driver side door. When at highway speeds it sounds like the door or window is cracked.

 

Open a case with Toyota corporate.

And/Or pick a different dealer.

Or call a lawyer (probably not worth your time).

 

That's exactly what I plan to do. It sucks as the current dealer is not even 2 minutes from my house.

 

dude, did you see that the long term engine damage without the air dam is for the COLORADO?

 

that's the way it goes, I guess

 

*raising hand* guilty.

 

Nope. Didn't read some random post that wasn't quoted.

 

So understandably, there are many opinions on the air dam. I think it looks better with it removed, but would not sacrifice more than 1 mpg. How much of a mpg difference does it really make? Only one person has said that they kept track of the actual difference. Has anyone else kept track?

 

Do your own experiment.

What someone else's experience is will NOT mirror your own.

 

it's far too short to make a difference at the height of this truck. The biggest benefit will be blocking the air from hitting the midline of the tire and going up into the front wheel well. It will, however, create a negative pressure zone under the engine compartment and allow more air to be forced into the grill and into the engine compartment, which will create more drag.

 

It won't create a low pressure region (there is no such phenomenon as a negative pressure... So I'll assume you meant low). The other openings towards oncoming airflow are just too large for it to possibly do that.

The large openings in the grill may create a stagnant high pressure region in the engine bay, actually. The air that won't fit spills over, not flows through. This, along with reducing the pressure on the front of the lower valance (by accelerating it to the sides of the truck), should provide a net reduction in drag.

Plus, it prevents some direct airflow over the bottom of the chassis, preventing a large amount of high speed turbulent air from being generated. Another reduction in drag.

This is all just unfounded theory though.

 

mine, too