17’ Limited Front Bumper “curtain”

So I have a 2017 Limited Tacoma. I was sitting on the porch and I got to noticing something. Under the front bumper there is a black piece of plastic. Kinda like a black curtain under the bumper that runs straight down. Doesn’t block anything, it’s just there. It is attached by about 10 10mm bolts to the actual bumper.

Without this, my truck looks much higher. Would there be any concerns on removing this? It is solid all the way across and the only hole is for a tow hook that’s mounted on my frame.

Any thing I need to be worried about if I remove this piece for good?

 

A slight reduction in fuel mileage

 

It's a wind damn. Absolutely not needed. But you will notice a slight reduction in gas mileage. Most people take it off because they dont like the look of it.

 

Do I need to add anything as far as my skid plate or anything goes?

It looks much better without it...

 

2026 sport. The truck can wander a little more at expressway speeds and a little lower mpg IF you drive mostly on the expressway “1/2 mpg” from what I have read in the last 4 years.
I put mine back on after 5000 miles. Just liked the way it drove with it on.
I also can’t go off-roading But one a year so it only takes 5 min to remove.
I like the look for me. :toyota:

 

What cool things are on the 2026 Tacoma? Is it hybrid? Turbo? I assume the 4th gen Taco is quite different from the 3rd gen lol.

 

In addition to what people mentioned above, there are reports of minor increases in wind noise at highways speeds when you remove it.

It’s often fine to leave it on for “off-roading” too. I’ve been trying to knock mine off for years. My OEM skid plates are trashed, and the air dam looks fine except for some claw marks.[/QUOTE]

 

I took mine off of my 2020. Liked the look, just was concerned about the arms for steering, so I put it back on. They look very exposed to me.
Anyone have any problems? Would a skid plate cover them up some?

 

The off road and pro don’t come with it. And that thin piece of plastic isn’t stopping anything that can damage something under your truck

 

Here are some photos showing the before with the air dam, the during without it, and the final with a OEM TRD skid plate in place. I also got rid of the black plastic box that held the license plate. Having owned a Honda Element with black plastic covering damn near every panel on the entire car, I'm doing everything I can to get rid of anything like it on my truck!

The truck didn't look bad with just the air dam off, so don't think you have to get a skid plate to clean it up. I really liked the look of the OEM TRD skid plate and found a pretty good deal on one with the free shipping offer from Toyota parts. Since the Sport only has the front, very thin "skid plate" (the OR has 2), I figured it was a good upgrade for both looks and function.

 

I believe it's an air dam intended to increase fuel economy. I have not tested the same truck with and without the air dam, but I owned a 2016 SR5 (air dam) before my current 2020 OR (NO air dam) and the 2016 SR5 got about 24 mpg on the hiway and the 2020 OR gets about 20 mpg on the hiway. That's a significant difference (~16%). The OR also has different tires (wider A/Ts), so that could be part of the mpg difference.

As an aside, I recently installed E-rated M/T tires on the OR and now I get 14 mpg on the hiway. I will be swapping the M/Ts out or the stock A/T's for daily driving (2 sets of wheels). I probably won't bother swapping in an air dam.

 

I was more concerned with the boots on the steering, not the rods themselves. I guess they may be up higher than I think....