AzDave47

I tried to remove the air dam and had no problem with the two outside pieces, but the center section seems to be tightly fixed above the front cross-member. Does someone have experience removing this and how it's done?

My brake ducting (4") now comes in on either side of the grill and the factory horizontal inlets are blocked off. I understand I will have reduced frontal lift if I remove the air dam entirely.

RicK T

Here are some prior discussions, should help:

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c6-c...p-base-c6.html

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c6-c...post1574264376

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c6-c...r-dam-off.html

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/1578783654-post3.html

AzDave47

One of the links above links to:

Well, finally figured it out and installed my new center air dam this afternoon. Seems that you need to remove the five 7mm screws holding the bottom of the front fascia to the car. That allows you to pull the fascia down at the corners and reach in to get at the plastic push pins that are installed through the tabs at each end of the air dam that are hidden by the fascia. Once you pull those out, you can remove the three 10mm screws along the top of the dam and then just pull it off the support bar below the radiator and out toward the front of the car (remembeing first to pull the push pins on each side of the center piece that fasten the outer samller sections of the dam to the larger center one). I wouldn't say that it was exactly real easy because it requires some wrestling, and holding your mouth just right, to get the new one in position. But its definately doable. Took me about an hour to get the old one off and the new one installed.

This looks like it gives me the info I need. I'll try getting the center section off tomorrow.

Thanks.

Dirty Howie

Pictures !!!


DH

AzDave47

of the air dam coming off documented? or the 4" brake ducts or the car with the air dam off after?

Will you post the pics for me?

How is your car doing re the alb module leak? Driving it with the WCCH heads?

Dirty Howie

Email me the pics.

Car seems fine with WCCH. Will see how she works at ACS on the 24th.

Bought a used ABS unit today. Got to get it installed


DH

JDIllon

Just cut the part that hangs down off and leave the rest to seal up the bottom from the radiator. JD

AzDave47

Thanks, Jim.

DH, I will probably do this as the brake duct mod I did is what Jim had posted, so I will probably not get pics of the "inner workings" of the normal removal/replacement of the center section. I'll make a final determination when I get inside there, probably this afternoon

Dave

AzDave47

Quote:
Originally Posted by JDIllon
Just cut the part that hangs down off and leave the rest to seal up the bottom from the radiator. JD

DH, I did get into that area today. Once the rubber seal between the fascia and front cross-member is removed, you can pull the fascia down and remove the two push pins that are at each end in the center air dam, if you are going to remove and replace that section. It is quite obvious if you know to look. The procedure in Post #3 works fine for R&R.

I did as Jim D suggested and just cut off the center part of the air dam rather than remove it, because I discovered that removing the center section also seals about a 1" slot between the front cross-member and the oil cooler and radiator. If the center section was just removed (and not replaced) that would allow air to escape in front of the coolers. For my application, just cutting off the center air dam portion that hangs down works better for me and those corner push pins stay in place.

NachosZO6

This is awesome info as I will be removing mine. Car's too low now and it hits everywhere.

AzDave47

Unless you don't use your brakes hard or have redone the brake cooling system like I have, you may just want to trim the air dam. I removed the two side pieces and cut to center flush with the cross-member as I have 4" ducting from the grill opening into the factory ducts and closed off the horizontal inlets.

If you still have the factory ducts, you may just want to trim 1/2", 1" or so from the center section and the two sides. This can be done with a normal razor knife, but it would be done most cleanly if you took the air dam off and trimmed it on a work bench. The two side parts will probably lose some structural integrity, but that won't be a big deal.

NachosZO6

Ok thanks. I heard the dam wasn't necessary at all. If it's needed, I guess I can leave it on.

AzDave47

The air dam creates a high-pressure area under the front of the car that helps move cooling air into the brake ducts. As I also found out, a hidden part of the top of the center section of the air dam seals off a 1" deep by ~ 30" wide space between the front cross-member and the oil cooler & radiator. If it is completely removed some of the air going back toward the radiator will be able to escape out the bottom rather than being forced thru the radiator.

Better to leave it or modify it rather than completely remove it (thanks to Jim Dillon for that tip).

mad-axeman

all i can say is that replacing the middle section was a pain in the *** to do on the driveway with no lifting of any kind. I will NEVER do that again. I got so frustrated that I just lay on the floor and screamed at times! But I did get it done, in much more than an hour

with a lift, and it wouldn't have been bad at all.

Stu

CGZO6

Would be curious if it affects your coolant temps on track. Seems that the center air dam also creates a low pressure area behind the radiator that would assist with air flow throgh the radiator at speed. Let us know if you notice higher temps. If your hood is vented, probably a moot point.

AzDave47

Stock hood. Temps are only expected to get up to 60* in the Valley on Saturday. Water temp normally runs 200-208* at HPDE's.

AzDave47

Here are some pics of the air dam removed. center cut off and my 4" brake duct cooling install. JDillon helped me a lot on the brake duct install.

Right side brake duct with the horns relocated to outside the support frame


Right inlet. the duct moulding is a subwoofer vent in 4" size


Below is the left side install with the Lambert ducting out to the rotor. On the left side I needed to work the 4" hose around the oil cooler metal fittings.


This image shows the plastic plate I made to block off the factory brake cooling inlet and the air dam removed/cut.


I did the 4" duct install without taking off the front fascia, but I have slim arms and was able to get the grill back in, but I wasted 2+ hours trying to reuse the original push pins to hold the bottom of the grill back in place. Using new push pins, it went back in in about 20 minutes. Cost to do the 4" duct install was less than $100 for the vent tubes, 4" hose and 4 hose clamps. It is a very neat install and I still have my fog lights operational (some have picked up more brake air than the factory setup by going through the fog light area).

With the factory brake cooling closed off, I had no need for the air dam. Katech tests show a small reduction in front end lift with the air dam "removed". Because the part of the air dam that goes above the frame also closes off a 1" x 30" slot in front of the oil cooler and radiator, I did not remove the center section, but cut it off flush with the undrerside of the car with a razor knife, per JDillon's suggestion.

When I did the HPDE at Firebird this last weekend, my water temp ran about 215*, even when the oil temp (M1 0W-40) got up to nearly 260*. We were running the East track, which is a slow track with my max speed about 120 MPH, running some 2nd gear corners and mostly 3rd gear with a short shift to 4th for ~ 200 yards on the main straight just to keep RPM down. I did not notice any improvement from the reduced front end lift with the air dam removed.

I've run this brake cooling system before and had been having some problems with pad buildup on the Coleman/AFZ two piece rotors. For this event I ran Cobalt XR2 front pads and once the rotors were cleaned up, it got rid of the vibration. My stock factory calipers still seem to get quite hot, the rotors much less than before the 4" duct install. I do not get brake fade or fluid boiling using Motul 600 brake fluid.

Here is the link to JDillon's install. He was a great help http://forums.corvetteforum.com/auto...-new-look.html

erichg1000

how do you secure the subwoofer ports?

i think I'm going with this same setup. Did you install spindle ducts as well or just get the hose near the sensor as close to the center of rotor as possible?

AzDave47

I used some black silicone, plus the hose is fixed tight against the front plastic with a hose clamp. The sub-woofer port has a nice molding which can be seen in the picture through the grill. That is one of the things I like about this install, it is aesthetically pleasing. The fog light ducts I saw did not look particularly nice.

I did install the spindle ducts and they also have the shield to keep heat away from the ball joints.

If you decide to go this way, PM me with contact info and we can discuss the whole process.

phxcobra

What Dave didn't tell you is that he inserts 4" subwoofers into his brake ducts when cruising around weekend nights :-)