Do I need this on my offroad taco?

I did the math but I knew another TW realist would interject before I could...and I am glad they did...sometimes its just gotta be spelled out to for those who need to read the writing on the wall....I would rather have the recovery hook, especially on a long trip....

 

There's the guy I was looking for. Beat me to the math, good job my friend!

 

I put one on and I just notched it out and can still get to the hook, problem solved. and Im just going to the mall with mine too.. 40 miles a week is all it gets

 

In California, yeah.

 

Damn! That stinks

 

pffft, here in Los Angeles I'm paying $3.25 on a good day. I have to run premium though which doesn't help (well, technically it does help me but that's another topic)...it's about $3 on average for 87 here.

 

Im gonna see if i can cut the air dam slightly to allow it to fit.....its just like 3 inches of air dam. Doubt it will effect that much

 

Tell me about it. Like @eon_blue I run premo and it's regularly 3.19 in my area.

I dunno man, what's a 5% decrease in that 1mpg over 8000mi gonna cost you?

 

Thats a tie down point, not for hardcore recovery

 

$25 for the hook!!

I would've traded you my air dam for it!

 

OP, I have the SR5 also with the dam & hook and have no issues off-road and up steep grades.
I don’t rock crawl and try avoid the large stones though. It works for me, but I don’t do the extreme off-roading that the OR is made for.
The TRDOR is meant for serious OR so its equipped to the max for it, not the highway.

But the dam does more than just save gas. It makes you truck more stable at higher speeds starting at 45mph and as you go higher, lowering your center of gravity. Trivial on a truck to be sure, but every little bit helps. It’s why NASCAR uses them. Put it on and enjoy your truck.

Hope that helps
Cheers!

 

I guess it lowers your cg... But not by more than a very small fraction of an inch. Like, probably less than a thousandth.

As far as why NASCAR uses them... It's to keep their cars from acting like wings. You need to keep the slower moving, high pressure air out from under the vehicle since you'll have very fast moving, low pressure air on top (creates lift). Theirs are also not air dams, but are chin spoilers and air deflectors. IF the truck was creating lift (probably does), and IF the "dam" prevented it, it would reduce the parasitic drag of creating that lift, thereby increasing efficiency. YAY!

Dams create high pressure air by stagnating a high speed flow, usually then directed to an intake, brake duct, radiator, etc.

That being said, there's probably a benefit to stability by using it, but I haven't noticed any stability issues with my offroad up to a little over 100mph, so I don't know how much it would help on that front.

 

Most all makers I know are using the dam, including trucks. I would think they must know more than you and me to make that expense.
I mean it’s not just the price of the part we’re talking about here, there’s the installation time at the assembly line. Each screw takes precious time there, adds to the cost and time to make the vehicles. And profits are made by volume.
It’s why Ford chose to use spring lock A/C lines that just snap on instead of screwing that takes time.
They later paid a rep price in notorious line leaks and had to modify by using double o’ rings but that’s another story. It’s the principle I’m bring out here.
In other words, if they’re willing to make the investment in time and money while trying to keep the cost down as much as possible in a very competitive market, they must see more value than just a thousandth of an inch??
Plus it makes it look better, bad A$$ eh?
Hope that helps
Cheers!

 

You're forgetting what is probably the most important part of the vehicle design decision making process: marketing and perception. The fact that Toyota decided that an air dam is worth installing on certain vehicles in no way an indicator of its effectiveness from an engineering standpoint. It is an indicator that Toyota's market research showed that having that piece of plastic would make the vehicle more appealing to the target market. It doesn't have to actually do a damn thing - in fact it could actually make performance worse. That doesn't matter. If the customer thinks it helps or thinks it looks cool, that trumps everything.

 

Message me if you are serious. I have the hook and bolts for it off of my truck

 

Yeah, I can agree with you that it can make performance worst, OR performance that is which is what the TRDOR is being marketed for and why is not included on the TRDOR.
And I can definitely agree with your observation that it makes it more appealing to some, me included.
There’s nothing wrong with taking a vehicle and modding it to your appeal and purpose. We all do it to some extent that we can.
Hope we can agree on that, and if I was the OP, I’d have it and enjoy it.
Cheers!

 

Those makers are full of engineers just like me. You know, the people that actually understand aerodynamics, drag, efficiency, etc.

Like I said, if it does those things, which it probably does, it likely has some positive effect on efficiency. Whether or not that's a significant effect I couldn't tell you without their proprietary testing data.

Another poster mentioned that it's about market appeal. This is true. ~95% of engineering a product that has competitors which are people spending their own money is about "People and Perception", not performance specs, raw numbers, etc. The last 5% is hitting at least the bare minimum in specs/numbers, and only going above those if it is cheaper or expected to make more money. Speaking of money, you mentioned cost. This is absolutely super duper important, too, but an extra $10 in materials and an extra $5 in labor would absolutely be worth it if it makes your truck $20 more appealing... And ESPECIALLY if you can sell the LACK of said item as an upgrade for the TRD OR models.

 

True that! They all do that too, I've spent a lot of $$ on mine already too lmaoo!

Cheers!

 

- The loop on the other side is a tie-down, not a tow point. I'd use it for a light pull if there were no better options, but if you are down to the frame in mud and are being yanked by the tie-down, something is going to break.

- The actual tow hook (the part you took off) is clearly meant for real loads. Best if you keep it. Most folks who add the air dam to an OR just cut an opening for the tow hook, so you are on the right path.

- My rough guess based on reading various results on TW is that the air dam will give you about 0.5 mpg. If you drive the truck for 100k miles, that will add up.

- Based on Toyota's marketing angle with the Tacoma and what other car makers are doing with air dams, I believe they are there because they help your mileage. The idea that Toyota added them because the look cool doesn't make sense. When you are putting little vortex generators on your side mirrors, you are trying to clean up the aero as much as you can. You wouldn't crap all over that with giant road squeegee just for looks. One of the other makers claimed their giant air dam gave them 1 mpg, the smaller one on the Tacoma could reasonably give about 0.5 mpg in highway driving.

For the record, I'm not an air dam convert. I hate the look and I don't want to give up approach angle, so I haven't tried to add one to my OR. Of course, I'm not going to judge someone that wants to put one on. The look is subjective and a little better MPG's would be nice. I don't think 96.3%* of Tacoma drivers would ever damage the air dam with their limited off-road excursions.

* I totally made that number up

 

I took mine off the other day and am getting pretty close to the same gas mileage.... THAT BEING SAID, I don't drive over 70 very much on my commute and in an effort to get better mileage, I've been driving the speed limit (60mph at most on my commute). I think where you will see a difference is when you are driving 70mph and above. It'll probably make a difference when doing 80mph. I'll try to check it out when I can.