2002 Z06 - Undercar Air Dam

[Liquid]

Hi:

First time Corvette owner. The one thing that I hate about driving the car is that I live on country roads that are not as flat as they could be. EVERY indentation in the road is an invitation to scrape the air dam under and behind the front bumper.

Is there any after market or owner trick to modify that piece so that it doesn't hit. I see that GM make it spring loaded so that it gives (thank god), but are there any better fixes?

 

[1stiff84]

Hi Liquid

Welcome to CAC.

Congrats on your first 'vette.

Personally, I would not modify the front air dam, as it's purpose is to guide air to pass through your radiator.

I don't worry about mine rubbing. Sounds painful, but it was built to handle that.

Enjoy your ride.

 

[Patrick]

Hello, Liquid,
Welcome to !

Yes, we have all winced in sympathetic pain when we've heard our air dam scraping over the pavement on a road dip or bump. The good news is that the air dam was designed so that some of that impact was to be expected, and won't hurt the air dam. Nevertheless, there really isn't a whole lot that can be done to completely do away with those road scrapes: as 1Stiff84 pointed out, the air dam is very important component, scooping air into the engine.

Although I have seen threads here were folks have shaved a little bit off the air dam to reduce the frequency of those road scraps, no one I'm aware of has completely removed it. And I highly recommend that you don't remove your air dam, either.

But feel free to post away about your driving experiences with your Z06!


-Patrick

 

[DRTH VTR]

If the previous owner lowered the car, consider making sure that it is at stock height. There are some bolts that raise and lower each corner.

 

[Liquid]

Thanks guys, as usual the best answer is to leave it as GM engineered it! I will check into the original specs for ride height to make sure its on vs. being lowered, thanks again.

I dont plan to use them but I did see something on one of the Vette parts sites about some after market wheels that can be attached to the dam to force it to roll under when the front end dips. I guess it minimizes the scrape along the entire length and focuses it on the small wheels which spin. Looked a bit cheesy so I passed.

Thanks.

 

[DRTH VTR]

There are two steel bumpers that go under the nose of the car in front of the air dam. My sense of the purpose of those bumpers is to protect the painted surface on the bottom of the nose of the car from curbs etc. They really don't do much to protect the air dam. There are a number of skid plates, wheels, etc that can be attached to those steel bumpers. I have not used any, either.

 

[1stiff84]

Thanks guys, as usual the best answer is to leave it as GM engineered it! I will check into the original specs for ride height to make sure its on vs. being lowered, thanks again.

I dont plan to use them but I did see something on one of the Vette parts sites about some after market wheels that can be attached to the dam to force it to roll under when the front end dips. I guess it minimizes the scrape along the entire length and focuses it on the small wheels which spin. Looked a bit cheesy so I passed.

Thanks.

Hi Liquid,

Those wheels actually attach to the front frame rails, and theoretically prevent the rails of a lowered car from scraping the ground and getting chewed up.

The noises from the front air dam vs. the frame rails scraping are totally different. If you are scraping the front frame rails, try approaching different pavement heights at an angle.

Enjoy your ride.