I have had my C5 for 6 years and the ONLY design complaint I have is the front spoiler. Nothing kills an entrance like draging that spoiler on the pavement. I used to turn heads when someone would SEE my car, but now they just turn and wince when they HEAR my car scraping ground everytime in pull up. The whole spoiler design just looks like an afterthought. I could not believe that the video that came with the car actually said this was designed to drag the pavement and even had instructions on how to break to minimize the effect. Not only that, years went by and they never came up with anything better.

The question is, can this be trimmed down without causing any airflow problems? Is it really that bebeficial around town or just at highway speeds?

It just seems like they (or someone) would have maybe designed this to where mayby it would automatically retract at low speeds like in parking lots or pulling into the garage and the extend as the speed increases. Even a switch I could hit to retract it for 10 seconds at a time would be something. Where I live I must drag this thing 15 times a day - feel like I am driving a street sweeper. The only thing I can say positive is that these things are built from some durable material - I did not now that anything could stand up to that much dragging on bare pavement, but then again who would ever "design" anything to "drag" on the ground. I know they could do better than this and if an aftermarket soultion was out there I would jump on it.

 

Put a small set of wheels on front, then the front end will lift instead of scraping. I had the same problem in my driveway when I lived in Las Vegas. No problem after installation.

 

Where did you mount the wheels? I've seen after market rollers for this purpose. Did you buy these or create something yourself? Brian

 

I had the dealer tell me that without it the car engine would be open for trash/rocks and other BS like that....

he also told me my engine would blow bc it would get too much air

I like the way it look though, just go into places at a angle and wont scrub. (if it does then you should get stuck... not like thats ever happend to me before.... the first time I met my girlfriends grandparents...)

 

I have a set I never mounted, maybe got them from Ecklers?
I'll give you a good deal on them if you really are interested. I used to
enter driveways at an angle, and usually (but not always) worked, depending on the angle of steepness of the angle. I nailed a sheet of 3/4 plywood to the street overlapping the edge of my driveway.

Joel

 

Actually, I think it's the other way around....without it, the engine won't get enough air....that's what it's there for...to direct air up into the radiator cavity.

 

I have the wheels mouted and they only help with a straight on approach. When tuning in to my driveway the wheels do nothing to stop the dragging.

 

Same results here. I already have the wheels installed (from Elite Engineering), but still scrapes at many angles on many unavoidable entrances (my alley, my driveway, my drive-in bank, etc.) The wheels help with straight-on elevation changes.

And "Yes" the whole purpose of this center spoiler is to scoop more air into the air chamber when the car is in forward motion increasing air pressure and if anything it would cause MORE debris to be picked up into the radiator chamber (unless you have an aftermarket grille installed). The question is, does it really contribute that much at in-town speeds and how much does it contribute at highway speeds. Obviously GM put it there for a good reason, but is it because the engine will starve for air at higher speeds? Does it affect engine temperature if removed? How much decrease in efficiency if trimmed down say one-inch? Would it void engine warranty if trimmed down? One thing is for sure, it serves no purpose at slow speeds except to keep the streets clean.

 

I had no issue without it until it was on a roadcouse.

 

i figure they are 60.00, so drag away.

 

Look up FattDaddy or FattMamma - wheels go on the two (what ends up being) the two front skid braces in front of the air dam/spoiler.