J. Dub

My car has this under the front bumper (all our cars do) I'm pretty sure it's for fuel economy / air flow

I'm tired of dragging it when I turn in a parking lot though.

kerflumper

I'm going to be replacing mine because it's worn and some of the fasteners are loose. I think if you take it off, you'll run into cooling problems. From what I understand it forces air up to the radiator.

GTRLOLZ06

I wouldn't... I was goings to take mine off but you'll be scraping the rad support brackets of you do better to replace $100 price of plastic if it breaks than a rad support

J. Dub

I'd rather remove it and run a bigger rad fan and better T-stat then this eye sore and anchor.
I find it difficult to believe that the only rad support protection is a thin piece of plastic.

VET4LES

Mine has been scrapping or dragging for nine years. If it ever wears out it's designed to be easily replaced in three parts and cheap. Under $100.

jbomx363

Ditto.

Replacing mine and I found a deal for $65 in the for sale section a month or so ago.

It's there for a reason!

EVRose

You'll bang up your radiator supports with or without the air dam if your not careful. The air dam doesn't protect it from hitting something.
I've been scraping my air dam over the driveway for years and have just learned to live with it. The only part that bothers me is when neighbors are around and they all turn to look when they hear it.

Steve_R

Why do some many Vette owners spend so much time and money worrying about the air dam scraping and try to "fix" it? It's a wear item. The Owner's Manual (that most owners don't read) says it's a wear item and it doesn't hurt to scrape it. It hurts nothing when it rubs. It is also part of the cooling system design.

jbomx363

But.. "it's ugly" Steve.

AORoads

And with the above said, in some respects, the air dam is an "early-warning-system" to tell you that go deeper, or bounce more and something more important than the dam will be damaged. You can take it off, but there are at least two concerns to be mindful and both have been identiifed here.

Bronsonf

I tore the two side dams off and kept the middle one on. I haven't seen a difference in my engine temperatures.

Steve_R

Yeah, but if you don't lay on the pavement you can't see it.

I understand it sounds bad and makes people look. I don't understand trying to "fix" it.

EVRose

I'll put this here so nobody has to lay on the pavement.

Rky Mtn C6

This very question appeared in the Tech Nerd section of the April 2014 issue of Corvette magazine. This was the response:

"The air dams that you refer to are aerodynamic components that help manage airflow under, around, and through the Corvette. Will you notice any difference in the car's performance if you trim them along the bottom? Probably not, especially if you drive your car in a very sedate manner. But on the other hand, Chevrolet expects these pieces to be scraped over time and they are easily and inexpensively replaced; if you want to retain 100 percent of their performance without suffering the indignities of seeing their scrapes and scratches, then replace them."

Mr.Nubain

I get on my creeper and put the vinyl dressing on it to make it look pretty

Whenever I scrape mine and people are around you can hear them yell and say stuff too making it seem more dramatic than it really is.

Leave it alone and get used to it. It's no big deal.

LMB-Z

try going into driveways and such at a good angle. Maybe you wont scrape it as much. But on the other hand, its your car. Take it off if you want to. It doesn't hurt anything to scrape it and as was said earlier, its an early warning sign that you are getting real close to scraping more than a piece of plastic.

MikeERWNC

It is the loudest 100.00 you will ever drag on the roadway.

Be careful hitting stuff with it.
That spoiler can bust up the brake cowling/inner fender plastic.
The PO of my car tried to hit anything they could.
I had a lot of plastic pieces which needed to be replaced when I bought my car.

Fte390

Wish I bought stock in air dams. Steep drive entrance eats them up. I think the c7 is a bit better in this regard

pickleseimer

Some C5 owners take them off without consequence. I seem to remember the outer dams are not there for cooling air to the radiator, rather they direct air around the outside of the front tires at high speeds.

I back both the C5 and C6 into the driveway, at a slight to moderate angle and that eliminated all scraping I had if I otherwise drove the car in forward. My driveway was just enough of an issue that even at a very shallow angle I would scrape the air dams going in forward.

elizavette

yup if your vette is a DD then be expecting these to drag and tear up more often. I need some replacements matter of fact