Took my air dam/chin strap off today.

I first saw these vortex generators on the roof of Mitsubishi EVOs and from what I recall they generate turbulent air so that you don't get that void or low pressure pocket of air behind the car. In the EVO case they helped reduce the drag and mainly increased the downforce on the giant rear wing as there was more air to run over it.

The whole time I never knew we had them on our trucks but I'm guessing it reduces air drag. Now I wonder what happens if I mount a bunch of them on my roof and tailgate...

 

Chin strap was very easy to remove, as were the stock skid plate and mounting brackets. Installed the GreenLane Offroad skid plate in about 15 minutes.

 

Anyone want to send me their takeoff? I am in Washington state just north of Seattle. Want to do some mpg testing with it.

 

You are correct about the Evo. They can be used for a number of things, but on a road car they are mostly used to reduce drag. Vortices running along the body remain more attached and help fill low pressure air pockets that act as vacuums, essentially pulling your car backwards and effectively reducing drag. I wouldn't put any on your roof though as that might make things weird in the bed of your truck and actually increase drag. You could try it though and check out the results. The bedsides would be more effective in my opinion. Watch the Mythbusters episode of the tailgate down to get better gas mileage. You'll see that the pocket of air formed in the bed while the tailgate is up actually helps reduce drag.

The worst part of any road vehicle is the underside. There is a bunch of swirling turbulent air that slows you way down. That chin strap is there probably to mostly direct the air away from the low hanging components, so you'll see a hit on your mpgs after removal, especially if you travel at higher speeds.

Im not sure on the overall impact on wind noise. I'm not an expert just a race car nerd.

 

Tacoma's with and without it are rated the same MPG numbers, if there is a difference it's probably at extended higher speed runs.

 

Looks much better. I don’t see the point. The TRD off-road and pro don’t even come with that part

 

Some models have black skid plate, Pro models has silver skid plate with red TRD on it. If you like TRD skid plate, you can order one and put on your truck if you want to.

 

I pulled my air dam off and put on a TRD skid plate today. I think it looks a lot better.

 

No. Not crazy. Just a smart ass.

 

I gotta find a good set of those lift ramps in the pic above. Curious to their height.

 

Rhino Ramps. 16,000 lb capacity. They raise the truck 8”. On sale in Canada at Canadian Tire right now for $99.

 

Take your pick.


https://www.amazon.com/s?k=rhino+ca...efix=rhino+car+ramps,aps,187&ref=nb_sb_noss_1

 

I had a dude on Reddit arguing with me that removing the chin would dangerously destabilize the truck at highway speeds because engineers wouldn't have added it if it wasn't necessary. This dude was COMMITTED to the spoiler.

 

Add $56 to ship to Canada, even with my Amazon Prime membership, then convert to Canadian dollars and that $53.43 becomes $137. We pay more for stuff here than you do.

 

That is the price you pay to live in paradise.

 

No argument there my friend! Although it's pretty nice to visit Southern California this time of year.

 

What was his rational for the TRD Off Road and TRD Pro that don't come with the spoiler on the front?

sometimes you have to remember you can't fix stuck on stupid...

 

I fkn love the Bososoku style cars lol.

But the chin strap on the non OR and Pro models looks awful.

 

This is the internet and “Opinions are like noses–everybody’s got one and they’re all different!” I'm old enough to realize that if it is your truck and YOU like the way something looks then go for it. I quit shaking my head at "Bro' Trucks" long ago the ones who lift the truck to ridiculous heights only to put low profile tires and crazy negative offsets on them so they look like a roller skate going down the road.

If folks like the front air dam / spoiler that is their business live and let live.

 

I just ordered a set to replace these skinny steel ramps i bought back in the 70's. Frigging tires on my truck are way to wide for these old ramps.