Back from a road trip and found left front air dam torn, don't know how/when it happened. Where would you buy a replacement?

 

Just googled “front and side air dam C7 Corvette.” Many places to buy a center air dam, one $48 from a Corvette aftermarket supplier. See pair of side air dams on eBay for $58.

TECH INFO:
There will be posters saying air dams are not needed if you don’t go over 100 mph or who don’t like the look and justify removing it by saying it’s only useful for high speeds!

The Chevy Volt has one that is as low as the Vette and Chevy says to “increase gas mileage.” Many cars do for that reason; at highway speeds it reduces drag by cutting the amount of air going under the car. That air becomes turbulent as it hits suspension, engine and other “stuff” hanging down.

At high speeds, >~100 mph it does produce downforce or reduce lift. However the main reason I keep my side air dams on (Grand Sport does not have a center air dam) is they provide an early warning that the next thing to scrape is the aluminum “radiator support” or skid pad (look under the front, they stick down below the plastic cover.) That aluminum skid pad on pavement noise makes the air dam scraping sound like music! It is also expensive to replace if broken.

The side air dams also reduce drag by helping to create less turbulence at the front wheels - a significant contributor to drag.

 

Thanks Jerry, I will replace it for sure, 100 MPH almost every week. Anyone know if Gene Culley, spelling?, is still around, bought parts from him for my C5 & C6.

 

Keep in mind that the air dam for the base Stingray is different from the air dam used on the Z51/GS/Z06.

 

Mine tore at both sides in the center, and the outside on the passenger side. I used wire tires to attach them--center to each side; pass side to a screw above. Happened with just a few hundred miles on the car, undoubtedly due to my driveway. Never tore any on the '13, but did the pass side on the '06. More careful now on the '18, and no further problems. I did put Fangs on the radiator supports, although the chance of hitting them is small, but had them on the other 2 Vettes. Cheap money for peace of mind, as speed bumps can be surprises--or curbs that you make a mistake on.

 

I have a 2016 1LT auto coupe Stingray. I tore the right front rubber piece. Ordered a new set to find there are two different sizes. My base Stingray has the front air dam so the left and right side pieces are longer than the no air dam cars. I unknowingly ordered a new pair the were much shorter, so I just super glued the original piece.

 

I believe Gene is at http://www.gmpartshouse.com

 

My GS has a center air dam. I replaced it once from cultrag. It was like fifty bucks.

 

My driver's side air dam is only being held in by one screw after running over a retread from a truck. The problem is it pulled the screws straight out of the plastic so I have nothing to screw it back in to. They just spin. Can I superglue the piece back on? I imagine this will get expensive if I have to replace the plastic piece that the air dams screw in to.

Thanks

 

Gene is at: www.cultragfactoryparts.com

contact either Gene or Patrick there..............

 

Hmm, strange! The Grand Sport, like the Z51 and Z06 should not have one!

 

Have you tried reaching inside the bumper cover and just use a new threaded clip?
That is what I did for the extra holes I had to drill to install my splitter.

 

My GS has a center dam as well.

 

What year do you have? 17 GS does not have a center.

 

Wonder if there is confusion between a center air dam and a “poverty” splitter that comes standard with the Grand Sport? They serve different functions when it comes to drag reduction. Been under my Grand Sport many times and there is no center air dam as there wasn’t on my 2014 Z51!

Out of town so can’t take a pic but had this one in my forum pics library related to a splitter Protector. I have a carbon fiber splitter that comes with the Stage 2 Aero package but should be the same with the supplied flexible plastic splitter.

However $50 would be too little for it! Curious!




No center air dam on my 2017 Grand Sport as it should be. It does have a splitter. A flexible plastic “poverty” splitter is standard.

 

On FANGs! Cheap insurance to not hear that horrible aluminum on pavement or concrete tire stop sound! Was lucky only dented my C6 several times. Hit them on my 2014 once but after I installed FANGs! No damage!

I tried to be very careful but when going into a mall in a back entrance there is a steep entrance so I go very slow. Some AH was speeding around a corner so no choice, go in faster than desired and scrape! Added them to my Grand Sport, hope, like all insurance, I never have to use them!




C6 Scrapped Skid Pad, Skid Pad Part, C7 Protector FANG Installed. Also installed on new Grand Sport. They are a forum vendor, http://www.saccitycorvette.com/C7Fangs.html

 

I'm one who removed all air dams from under my 15 base coupe. They've been off for about 24k miles. I prefer the cleaner lines as well as not having to clean the dams. And after they've scraped a few times they look scuffed and are harder to clean. I get on my knees for this car enough already. And not cleaning them isn't an option. I've added a poverty splitter that gives me an early warning of potential scrapes and so far its been good. The splitter also completes the front look, especially after removing the dams.

There's been many threads and posts about the safety of the air dams at high speed. I'm not a trained engineer so I can't quote facts and such but consider this, the fastest Corvettes don't get a center dam so it must be safe at any speed without one, within certain constraints of course. Sounds simple to me. The side air dams are on all models and do provide smoother air flow around the tires. But overall, how much do you gain with them there? Now, for racing, everything counts. Every tenth of a second saved is a tenth earned. But for most of us street drivers there's little to gain, in my most humbled opinion. Your mileage may vary, as they say. You may also wish to keep your baby as showroom stock as possible. We each get to decide.

 

^^^

I outlined the tech info about air dams in post #2. If you don’t like them then of coarse you can do as you wish, but suggest not justifying it by saying you don’t travel fast or race your car!

As mentioned In post #2, the Chevy Volt has an air dam (as do many cars) that is about as low as the Vette! Some Volt owners also complain about it scraping! As GM states, it’s there to improve gas mileage, by reducing air drag. Drag is a major user of gas at highway speeds. The splitter does not reduce drag significantly, it increases downforceat high speeds! It is not as low as the air dam, in fact several inches higher, FWIW. Under certain conditions it can scrap but the air dams scrape first!

TECH INFO WHY Z51, Grand Sport & Z06 Don’t Have A Center Air Dam
Perhaps not of interest to you but may be to others. I bought an early C7, Z51 (September 2013 build) and it did not come with a center air dam. It was supposed to have one, like my C6, Z51, but was removed at the last minute, we were told, after road testing. Lots, of speculation and what now appears to be “marketing speak” as to why for several years. The truth came out, IMO, from several ststemements by Tadge, the Corvette chief engineer!

The GM chief aerodynamicist had said in an article published in 2014 that the center air dam was removed for performance reasons at high speed but did not elaborate. He also stated in that article that air dams are effective at highway speeds to reduce drag and provide downforce at high speeds. Tadge, in a video re the Z06, when it was introduced, said the center air dam was causing too much downforce at high speeds creating slight oversteer where they prefer understeer at high speeds.

In a more recent post to an answer on aero with all model C7s he elaborated and said GM desires a modest understeer at high speeds and carefully controls that balance.

As an owner of a modified Corvair years ago we knew full well what oversteer was all about. We and Porsche owners in the day had a saying, “if going into a turn too fast you’ll go off the road and hit a tree; best hit it with the rear and not plow head on with the front!”

Actually oversteer was fun but when exceeding the limit you must steer into the skid as when on ice! A normal reaction is to steer the car to the center of the road as with an understeer car. You have to be prepared to react as you only have a split second to do it right or the rear end slides off the road!

I’m sure GM did want to give Ralph Nader material to wright another book!

PS: Some "marketing speak" said it was to get better rear brake cooling etc (but not from Tadge.) Could be a small factor but not the reason, IMO!

 

Well, I wasn't trying to be contrary, just wanted to talk it out. I basically just asked readers to consider why the base Stingray needs the center air dam to be safe at high speed and the Z51 doesn't. Not even considering the Z06 or GS at this point. Safety is the key word.

I've read a lot of posts, Tadge's remarks, people's posts about downforce, balance, understeer vs oversteer, turbulence under the car, fuel efficiency, CAFE requirements and more. But I don't remember reading of any line of logic saying the base Stingray is unsafe at high speed without a center air dam while the Z51 optioned Stingray isn't, and why. Same with the Z06 and GS, I'm thinking. Maybe I'm missing something. I'm just saying.

 

^^^
Did not mean to sound like I was condemning what you did!

Appreciate you have been following the issue and you have obviously thought them through. As noted, these are my opinions but I believe documented with comments by Tadge.

I have been following this issue since it started when I got my September 2013 built Z51. Never bought in on the “rear brake cooling” that was quoted by a Vette engineer! As mentioned may have been a minor factor but Isee why, “they did not want to be talking about high speed stability!”

I do not mean to imply the Z51, Grand Sport or Z06 are going to oversteer like my rear engine Corvair if an air dam was added! I also have direct experiance with adding a very large fiberglass air dam and rear spoiler to my 260Z. All cars react differently to aero and the Z was known to produce a lot of lift at high speeds. When I cracked the front air dam and removed it, while I waited for a new one, had it painted and I had time to install, the light front end was very obvious at even 80 mph. I know doubt made it worse with the large rear spoiler adding only rear downforce. When the air dam was back on, the combo provided the front/rear downforce needed, especially at 100 mph and up to its max 120 mph!

I don’t know how much highway gas mileage suffers in a C7 with the air dam removed. And I believe it’s more for GM corporate fleet mpg goal. Tadge never said the word safety, believe me, he would not, corporate lawyers etc! When I worked for a large multinational I had 5 attorneys that had to review my monthly technical newsletter to distributors!

Been a gear head since I was ~12! Spent half my career in R&D and half in marketing. In fact, in my current part time business do both! Understand the issues!