Air dam removed
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 798
Likes: 116
From: OAKLEY CA
Air dam removed
Couldn’t stand the scrapping so I removed the air dam. I did the same to my C6 with no ill effects. It can be reattached if I change my mind, but I don’t think so.
Popular Reply
Nov 16, 2019, 05:39 PM
Team Owner
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 45,277
Likes: 8,553
From: Rochester, NY
The scrapping is a good warning to slow down, change driving angle, etc, before you do any real damage. So mine stays on.
Race Director
Joined: Aug 2015
Posts: 12,261
Likes: 4,750
From: SE WI
There's an older thread on this. Basically it's supposed to help the car at high speed with keeping air from getting under the front of the car and making the front end feel floaty. If you never hit those speeds, it's of no benefit other than maybe looks if you like the looks of it. I agree with the early warning before scraping something more important under the nose. Had that on my C5 Z and liked it. It never broke but would scrape the pavement if you got too close. Then I could adjust my approach at that particular gas station or whatever.
Last edited by Zjoe6; Nov 16, 2019 at 06:19 PM.
Race Director
Joined: Apr 2017
Posts: 13,602
Likes: 12,865
From: Virginia
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 798
Likes: 116
From: OAKLEY CA
air dam
I read the earlier thread and understand the good and bad of this mod. My driveway slope to the street is such that it scrapes on all angles if not removed, but nothing else makes contact with it off. I drove my C6 this way for 12 years or so and never damaged anything, I'm pretty careful of dips and parking blocks.
My SL55 Mercedes has adjustable suspension and can raise the whole car over an inch with the push of a button, and it's a 2003. My Dads old Citroen had it too come to think of it!
My SL55 Mercedes has adjustable suspension and can raise the whole car over an inch with the push of a button, and it's a 2003. My Dads old Citroen had it too come to think of it!
Administrator
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 368,522
Likes: 24,821
From: In a parallel universe. Currently own 2014 Stingray Coupe.
C7 of the Year - Modified Finalist 2021
MO Events Coordinator
St. Jude Co-Organizer
St. Jude Donor '03 thru '26
NCM Sinkhole Donor
CI 5, 8 & 11 Veteran
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
Every 2027 Corvette Engine Explained
Joe Kucinski
Designer Imagines A Corvette That Looks More Like a Corvette Than the Corvette
Verdad Gallardo
10 Ugly Corvettes That We Still Kinda Love
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 Most Expensive Corvettes Ever Sold on Bring A Trailer
Brett Foote
10 Things Every Corvette Owner Needs (2026 Edition)
Michael S. Palmer
8 Most "Only Corvette Owners Understand" Quirks and Problems
Pouria Savadkouei
10 Reasons the C6 Z06 is Still A Performance Benchmark After 20 Years
Joe Kucinski
How Much Horsepower Every Corvette Engine "LOST" in 1972
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 DOs and DON'Ts for Protecting Your Convertible Top!
Michael S. Palmer
Moderator emeritus
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 18,599
Likes: 3,955
From: Jacksonville Florida BWO Dayton, Cincinnati, Bloomsbury NJ, Cincinnati
2015 C7 of the Year Finalist
I pulled into my garage and broke out the wrenches and removed both of them as soon as I got it home.
Elmer
Elmer
Safety Car
Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 4,496
Likes: 856
From: Walhalla South Carolina
There's an older thread on this. Basically it's supposed to help the car at high speed with keeping air from getting under the front of the car and making the front end feel floaty. If you never hit those speeds, it's of no benefit other than maybe looks if you like the looks of it. I agree with the early warning before scraping something more important under the nose. Had that on my C5 Z and liked it. It never broke but would scrape the pavement if you got too close. Then I could adjust my approach at that particular gas station or whatever.
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 798
Likes: 116
From: OAKLEY CA
reason
Oh I like the looks, from about 10 feet. Up close they look like the cheap plastic they are. Then the bottom edges get frayed, ugh. The C7 base 3 piece center is not as deep nor attached to the side pieces, nor does it line up. The C6 had a plastic rivet to make them look more like one piece, but it soon ripped through. It also can be just ripped off by hand at the cut about 1/2 inch from the top which happened while I was getting the bolts out. Also the bolts just attach to another plastic piece with speed nuts (those folded over metal tabs with a hole and threaded back. This provides no real protection to running over anything.
So other than being useless for my use, noisy and ugly, they're great.
So other than being useless for my use, noisy and ugly, they're great.
Race Director
Joined: Aug 2015
Posts: 12,261
Likes: 4,750
From: SE WI
That's right! I forgot about the spring loading of the middle dam. Very cool feature. They never cracked, just wore on the bottom a little.
Moderator emeritus
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 18,599
Likes: 3,955
From: Jacksonville Florida BWO Dayton, Cincinnati, Bloomsbury NJ, Cincinnati
2015 C7 of the Year Finalist
Instructor
Joined: Sep 2019
Posts: 110
Likes: 45
From: Cartersville, GA
Can't remember the source on this, but I read that when a car is traveling down the road, noise is generated by the tires pushing air out of the way. Some tires make more noise than others while pushing air out of the way. The left and right air dams may help push air out of the way of the tires thus reducing that noise effect. The air dams supposedly increase fuel efficiency and reduce interior noise.