Removed my Air Dam today, after much deliberation!

I want to remove mine, but I'm scared of the MPG drop. Some folks say there is none, other report up to 2mpg.

 

I would say maybe 1 MPG if that. I think tires would impact your MPG more than removing the air dam IMO.

 

It’s probably not 2mpg unless you spend nearly all your time on the highway. Pull it off, try to drive the same way, and see what happens for a few months. Track your tanks with Fuelly.com or hand calculations. You can always bolt it back on.

 

I removed mine when I got the skid. No-one can see the fancy ass TRD logo with the damn dam in place!

 

Took mine off as well, what does anyone think about painting the skid plate? And brake calipers

 

I believe it would be difficult keeping paint from chipping/peeling on the skid plate with debris constantly hitting it. There's a company that's makes an epoxy brake caliper paint kit for Corvettes.
I understand the epoxy paint stays on the calipers pretty well.

 

Remove chin strap

 

I got someone who will powdercoat mine for $80. Might do it.

 

Now you got clearance for the curbs at the mall (;

 

I'll be polite and just say that anyone that thinks the air dam, in and of itself, is improving MPGs by 10%, are quite frankly mistaken.

 

On many vehicles the "air damn" helps cooling by creating a larger low pressure zone behind and below the radiator. Not saying that's the primary or even a purpose for this air damn in particular but I wouldn't be surprised if it reduced the cooling efficientcy to some degree. That being said, it may never be a concern except at the extremes of conditions like hot day towing up a grade, etc.

 

TRD Pro Skid plates I've seen are kind of an off-white or cream color, not silver.

 

I have one on my truck, looks silver to me.

 

I agree, on my pro it is silver

 

thanks, I must be slightly color-blind.

 

Everyone over 60 years old is groaning....
You "youngified" your truck, looks much better.

 

Agreed. I made other changes that might help account for my increased mpg, like setting my tires at 34psi with a known-accurate gauge (after the TPMS was reset, TPMS showed 36-35-33-35 which is par for cheap pressure sensors). I also dropped in a KN filter, even though the OEM was OK. This was all done at 27k, so I had a good baseline to compare against.

Old averaged average: 19.81 mpg
New averaged average: 21.03 mpg

I only added the TRD skid to protect Taco's dainty bits from the rocks and logs in my yard (big yard). The dam can't coexist with the TRD skid w/o hot glue. The KN filter is just something I do when I replace an air filter for the last time.

I think the skid made the difference, but that's just gut science.

 

I changed my tires (Wildpeaks, upped the size to 265/70/17), and took the dam off. Noticed about a 1.5 mpg drop. Gas isn't that expensive for me, so I'm good with the look over the nominal drop in my case.

 

I removed the chin strap within the first week and installed the pro skid.

 

Skid plate doesn’t appear to fit well from this photos. Nice looking truck though.