Is this part needed?
Pro
Joined: May 2022
Posts: 572
Likes: 243
From: Peoria, Arizona
Team Owner
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 25,019
Likes: 2,714
From: Far NW 'burbs of Chicago
St. Jude Donor '13
GM does a lot of aerodynamic testing on Corvettes to be sure the handling stays the same over different models, at high speed.
On the C7 Z51 they deleted the center section of that air dam because it produces a bit "too much" front downforce at high speed, which can cause oversteer.
Other C7 models have it or not, depending on how it effects the high speed handling when combined with the other aero features on the car.
If you never go over 100 mph, you'll probably never notice the difference.
If you sometimes go for the big numbers, 150 mph is a bad time to discover unusual handling characteristics.
On the C7 Z51 they deleted the center section of that air dam because it produces a bit "too much" front downforce at high speed, which can cause oversteer.
Other C7 models have it or not, depending on how it effects the high speed handling when combined with the other aero features on the car.
If you never go over 100 mph, you'll probably never notice the difference.
If you sometimes go for the big numbers, 150 mph is a bad time to discover unusual handling characteristics.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 1,207
Likes: 147
From: St. Louis MO
Those plastic air dams are designed to help with the aerodynamics of the car, but your choice whether you feel they are needed at all. Apparently some just take them off and I do not believe the Z51 model does has the center one from the factory. They really are an expendable item as they tend to scrape when encountering a clearance obstacle and gives you some warning that your front end may be about to touch pavement/obstacle.
Since I DO high speed runs, I did not try to re-engineer with the wrong parts for the purpose. I maintain the originally designed air dams as installed on my Stingray.
OP should consider the purpose to which he runs his car before accepting bad advice, like installing the "z06 lip" which was designed for the track car Z06. Yes, that's why the track Corvettes have different air dams than the street Corvettes!
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Drifting
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 1,490
Likes: 257
From: Lake Tapps WA.