RJMan

I was walking to my car at lunch time today, heard a loud scrapping noise, turned and saw a beautiful black C6 coupe that had just scrapped it's way over the speed bump in the parking lot.

Does this happen a lot on speed bumps? I know I've read some threads about scrapes going into driveways, etc., but this speed bump wasn't that high.

Question is: Do you really need that front air dam installed for daily driving and normal highway speeds?

redvetteC6

Yes and yes.

RJMan

OK - I'll bite! Why do you need the front air dam installed for normal highway speeds?

I can see it for high speeds and track use, especially for brake cooling.

tmjvett2009

The cars have a scrap guard on them to keep them from damage and the aor dam also cool the moter very important to keep on

redvetteC6

The Vette is a bottom and front breather. The "Air Dam" is utilized to for air up and into the radiator. At normal highway speeds there is minimal ram air flowing through the front opening relative to the engine size and cooling requirements. Thus, the dam redirects additional ram air up and into the radiator.

RJMan

Thanks for the explanation - that makes sense now.

GGWOODY

he scraped going over the speed bump b/c it was probably lowered....mine has never scraped a speed bump.

JSTMYSPD

It's designed to scrape,no sweat..

Braced

Mine scrapes every time I back out of my driveway. It bugs the heck out of me because it sounds so awful. Yet when I look at the spoiler it still looks new. Go figure.

Doesn't scrape on speed bumps.

lehew

Mine scrapes sometime, but certainly not on an average speed bump. Of course, when I see something like that I take it slow. The way it is positioned, it can get mighty scraped up on the bottom and still be unnoticable. I figure if it gets too scraped up it can be easily replaced.

JyymBo

I think I remember reading here that the part is easily replaceable if damaged. Anyone know the cost of replacing???


JimO
Erie, PA
11 more student loan payments 'til I get my Vette!!!

BlkVertNH

It's designed to scrape,no sweat..



I remember reading that the C5 airdam was designed to scrape and was hinged for that purpose. I assume that the dam on the C6 is the same. Although I haven't scraped it on speed bumps, I have entering or exiting other parking lots and it hasn't been a problem. Just be careful about pulling in too close to a parking curb, I have a feeling that a high one could present some problems..

zaccotner

Has anyone seen performance loss or over heating from removing it?? i too was wandering if I could take it off

bugman

don't worry about it . It's just a flexible piece of rubber -- it's made to bend. You can easily bend it with just your hand, and it goes right back to normal shape afterwards. Not an issue.

even though the noise is a bit frightening, it's not doing any damage at all. This is not a solid plastic or metal part.

Bob Dyble

The owners manual even talks about the scrape sounds and not to worry as that is what the engineers expect. But it is interesting that it doesn't show much wear...

ufso

$35-$45 total to replace all three pieces.

PJinNJ

Yes, you can take it off with no adverse effects. I got tired of mine scraping my driveway everyday and removed it and nothing changed, no a rise in temp or anything else. I personally think it's meaning less for everyday driving, even at 80 mph.

RJMan

PJinNJ,

This makes a lot more sense to me than some of the previous posts (no offence to anyone).

I haven’t seen any wind tunnel test reports on the C6, but I’ve been a professional pilot for 35 years and know a little bit about aerodynamics. It would appear that the front air dam is just that – a dam that prevents ram air flow (relative wind) from building pressure under the car and creating a little up-lift and drag. The cut-away pictures I’ve seen indicate two ram air ducts in front of the air dam to feed air to the front brakes and I can see where the front air dam would aid in feeding cooling air to those ducts. I can fully understand the importance of the front air dam at high speeds and its secondary purpose in directing intake air to the brake cooling ducts.

I don’t mean to be a pest on this forum, especially since I don’t own a C6, but I will buy a 2006 C6 and I’m trying to learn as much as I can about the car.

Good to hear there isn’t any perceptible changes in operating temps or handling during normal everyday highway driving.

When I get my car, I’ll leave the FAD on until the first time it scrapes my driveway or the speed bumps at work.

Thanks to everyone for all of the good feedback. Hope to officially join the C6 owners club in early 2006.

redvetteC6

OK RJ, I'm no pilot and don't know of any wind tunnel tests on the C6 in print. But, I do know that someone at GM engineered this thing for a reason. And, I'm going to assume it's not a cosmetic feature. That being said, I wouldn't even think of removing a functional piece of the vehicle.

If you do a search on "front air dam", you'll find heaps of threads like this: http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...am&forum_id=74
which basically re-hash this issue several times over. Hope this helps.

fts