Keep the Air Dam or pull it off?

Do it!!!

 

got me thinking now?...mmmm, take it off, put tape on after accurate dimensions, then angle grinder or dremel tool with fine blade.

 

There's a member here (wish I saved the link to the thread) that removed the dam, installed a TRD Skid Plate, then split the dam and removed the center part that butts against the dam, trimmed it down and now has an abbreviated dam on each side of the skid plate. It looks very clean and I'm still thinking about doing something similar when I've got a 1/2 day to spend.

 

And that means what?

 

It means don't do it, man.

 

I am thinking of doing this to mine. I actually like the look of it because it hides all of the metal crap hanging down in the front. Now, that said what drives me crazy is how the dam hooks back towards the tire vs. following the same line as the wheel well. So it looks like you mainly just matched this contour? Does it look finished or rough cut? I wondered if there is a way to sand or file after cutting to make it look somewhat factory.

 

The purpose of the air dam is to improve mpg but the trd is different how? Negative effects means what exactly? I have a lifted tacoma amd am debating putting the air dam back on to see if i get better mpg. Anyone have a lifted taco or levelled taco and seen any help with this dam thing?!

 

I didn't vote because I have the same question. Looks better without but marginal increase in efficiency with it on. Maybe the middle ground of trimming is a first step towards getting clean.

 

I put it back on. I drive highway alot and most im getting with 33” tires and a 3 inch lift is 18.1 mpg - im gonna see what i get with it on. I did have to trim for tire clearance

 

Will be interesting to see your outcome stats. My engineering mind tells me lifting and adding bigger tires you've already screwed up the highly engineered wind tunnel tuning Toyota's done. Those tiny fins by the mirror and the rear lower bed side are there due to such tunnel testing and are said to contribute quite a bit to reduce drag.

Now consider the OR w/o a damn is rated as the same MPG (By Toyota) as the Sport 4x4 with the damn. I'm sure Toyota wouldn't miss an opportunity to claim better MPGs if it were possible. When I took my air damn off of my older Sport, I saw no drop, but admittedly I don't do a lot of highway driving.

 

pro dont have it so yes take it off

 

Yes valid points. I will post the outcome. Before the lift with the dam i was hitting upwards of 24-25mpg. And mines a 4x4. So ya the lift and tires took away alot.

 

I'm really not sure how putting a vertical thing at the front of your vehicle will do anything but hurt MPGs???

 

My OffRoad never had an air dam but I had both metal skidplates off the truck for a few weeks after installing Bilstein 5100s and noticed a drop in mpg. Then later I installed a Trd Pro skidplate and experienced an increase in mpgs. I have to assume its due to air better air flow under the truck.

 

Virtually every truck you see on the road today has one. Ford, Chevy, Dodge etc. so there's that.

 

The air dam helps MPG by more efficiently directing airflow under the truck and around the front tires. This is especially true on the highway where airflow is more impactful on the truck due to higher sustained speeds.

I've removed the air dam from my 2020 Sport but I never took it off the 2016 Sport I owned before that. Honestly, I only removed it on the 2020 because I decided to install the TRD Skid Plate. I prefer the look with the skid plate and no air dam, but the truck certainly does get slightly lower MPG now. It's not a dramatic difference, but it's there if you track it closely. I don't drive highway all that often so it's not a huge issue for me. Even if it was, I'd still make the change and just eat the 1~ drop in MPG. But to each their own.

There isn't a wrong answer. It comes down to whatever one thinks looks best or how much someone prioritizes maximum MPG, etc. Of course, any lift kits or dramatic tire size changes and you can throw all of this out the window. lol The truck's front end design and air dam are very specifically engineered to direct air flow within the OEM geometry. Once someone changes one aspect of that, there is going to be a potential impact to MPG. Suspension parts create a LOT of drag underneath a truck, thus the air dam being there to begin with. That said, I think most people that do lifts (I've done a few too) go into it knowing the tradeoff and are fine with having a bit of MPG shaved off.

 

I removed mine, looks SO much better IMO.

 

I think that was the first modification I made to this truck, it gets a little fuzzy after that.

 

Some people are decisionally challenged. Sad.