Any other OR owners elect to ADD the air dam?

Oh no you didnt...

 

I'm still just trying to find out why he quoted me

 

You got a build thread??

 

Drive an SR5 or Sport for a bit and then drive an OR. It's like driving a Camry versus Lincoln TownCar. The ride is stiff versus soft and spongy. without the spoiler (the swaybar and coilover play their parts as well) the nose gets pushed around a bit. This is because the air is travelling under the vehicle and creating lift. once you have that, the load on the front tires is decreased and it is easier to create pressure/disturbances that would push the nose offcenter (left/right). This means more work for you to keep a centerline against crosswinds/breezes, air wakes from other vehicles, etc. Having had an SR5 for nearly a year before trading for my OR, I knew what I liked about it. One of the first things I did was swap the coilovers and shocks to Sport. I also added the chin, which is notched to account for my front tow hitch. Not related, but there are a host of reasons I moved SR5 to OR... but also moved to longbed.

 

So are you claiming the ride of an OR is stiff or spongy compared to the sr5?

 

OR is the spongy - which is great for the direct intended purpose. Mine is more road/highway queen for now, thus the changes.

 

Gotcha. Not sure how new the truck is to you but congrats and hope you're liking it

 

I think the experiment in this thread about air dam or not is interesting because the suspension is going to make a big difference comparing SR5 to OR to Sport. I'm just skeptical that the handling of a truck used on real highways at realistic speeds is changed that dramatically with a chin spoiler alone, so keeping all other things the same is informative.

The problem is the whole question is subjective at this point. Going from stock TRD suspension to aftermarket on my truck made it noticeably different riding but I think more controllable. My wife OTOH thinks the truck went from manageable to impossible to drive. She's more typical of the average driver I suspect, she loves her Forester and I think the thing rides like a buckboard wagon. TRD OR has a progressive rate spring that I think make suspension tuning, and ultimately the ride, all over the map.

As I mentioned in the earlier post, it would really take slalom times to see any of this empirically.

 

And then there's also that I don't think I've ever had Mother Nature fart wind at me and had the handling be so bad my first thought was to eliminate ground effect. Haha.

 

Yeah, I know I jacked something in my steering or suspension on the trail but those unintended lane changes must be the cross wind that no one else can feel. Hope that it's not something expensive I have to fix is an excellent motivator for alternative theories.

 

Probably global warming rapidly changing the psi in your tires. That must be it. Some co2 in there and you'll never have issues again... As long as your tires aren't made of rubber...


*global climate change.
That was close...

 

I could be wrong, so I'd limit my bet to a few hundred bucks.. but staying within the confines of the law on five consecutive five minute drives, on a road of their choice, there's not one person that could state definitively, five times in a row whether or not the mustache was, or was not, on the truck.

Strictly from a handling standpoint, of course. There might be a guy with a good ear that could get it every time.

 

but...you ate well that night...

 

In my case... the spoiler preceded the suspension changes, since I had to find them and actually have time to replace. I was also hopeful that it would help remove some of the highway performance issues. Somewhere in my past posts (probably in the suspension forum) I had discussed this previously. I'm familiar with the spoiler function from dealing with 60s cars and their actual need.

If you or anyone else feels like doing the work to provide empirical evidence contrary, I'd look forward to seeing your data.

 

Just don't use the same brand tire gauge as the Patriots and you'll be fine. Run Nitrogen, it makes the truck lighter.

EDIT: Oh yea....

 

I’ve got one in Birmingham if anyone wants it. Free to a good home.

 

One like new Taco mustache just North of Chattanooga, also free to a good home.

Hopefully I'll be able to keep the truck between the lines without it.

 

Somehow I think you’ll manage lol

 

I left the deflector on my SR5, off road all the time. No problems. If you take a stick, it's easy to see that it subtracts maybe 2 degrees of approach angle in the front. If at some point I wheel hard enough to rip it off, I'll probably have other issues....