front fascia lower air dam.

[nyplumber]

Took off my front fascia lower air dam today. I think it looks better with it off,( and also dreaming of off roading which I will propably will never get to do any serious off roading, but I like to think that I could if opportunity presented itself). In the manual it says to put the air dam back on after offroading because it is needed for proper airflow. I would like to leave it off permanatly, has anyone done this, isit really a big deal or should i put it back on? I like the few more inches of ground clerance plus I think it looks better. Please give feedback.

Also always wondered what is the Vmax that I see taged on the side of some silverados?

Thanks.

[Mikeb52r]

You can leave the lower air dam off without any problems. A lot of people have taken them off to make the truck look better. I had mine off for a while but put it back on when I moved back in the summer. Just have never taken it back off yet.

 

As for the VMAX badge, those trucks had the 6.0 engine. Think it was just the 07 & 08 models. 09 and above have the 6.2 engines.

[kstruckcountry]

It isn't needed for proper airflow. It may make a difference in a wind tunnel but in the real world you're fine without it. And yes, the trucks look a lot better without it!! Most people take it off and leave it off for that reason.

[RyanbabZ71]

It's is needed. Your truck will overheat and spontaneously combust

 

 

Ryan

[MS3DALE]

On the air dam,plenty of guys have left it off with no ill-effects,personally I don't like the look without it on,but you do get a few more inches of approach angle without it (you don't actually gain any ground clearance without it on)

 

On the VortecMAX badging,depends on what year and model truck...

On the '06/'07 GMT800 trucks it was the "NHT" max-trailering pkg. package that included the LQ4 6-Liter,the 4L70-E 4-speed auto.trans,adjustable ride-control suspension,and the 9.5" rear axle with either 3.73 or 4.10 gears depending on if it was 2 or 4wd.

On the '07/'08 GMT900 trucks it gets a little more confusing....because the truck could have been equipped with the NHT package or not,but either way the trucks have the L76 6-Liter,4L70-E 4-speed auto.trans.,and the 9.5" rear axle....if you opted for the actual NHT package you got 3.73 gears in a 2wd,or 4.10 gears in a 4wd,the Z85 suspension pkg.w/17" wheels/tires,specific cooling fan motors and specific rear springs that raised the towing capacity up to 10,500 lbs.

When I special ordered mine I opted not to get the NHT package,as I wanted the 3.73 gears and Z71 package w/18" wheels/tires.

[06pirate]

The front air dam belongs in the basement along with the other crap you may want to reinstall the week before you sell the truck.

[rotti]

I took my cow catcher off immediately after my first off road trip. After scraping a few rock with it, my fear was that if it did take a solid hit it would damage the next piece of plastic above it which contains the fog lights. That would be expensive.

 

 

It's funny that the manual says to remove and replace that thing if going off road. I spent a 1/2 hour under there with an air wrench getting off the 16 or 30 or so nuts and bolts. Mine is also in the basement along with my Tahoe's running boards.

[maxco]

I've had mine off for over a year with no problems..

[00Silverado4x4]

Mine is the old style but I took mine off a couple years ago, mostly since it was cracked anyway. It looks better and no negatives on my truck either.

[nyplumber]

thanks for all the input, I will leave it off. My only concern was that truck could possibly overheat when pulling popup camper. I may just pop it back on for long highway trip with camper in summer but rest of year it will stay off. I think that picture posted by Rotti is great, that is the kind of stuff that I would love to do camp in the mountains and the only way to get there is with a 4x4. Luckily the 1/2 air dam is no where near as hard to get on and off as 3/4 ton.

[MikeNH]

Took mine off within a few days of owning the truck. 41,000 miles later and no issues. It would've been ruined in the dunes this past June anyhow if left on.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[manley]

When I bought by '10, it didn't have it. I bought one and put it on.

To each his own, right?

[rotti]

My only concern was that truck could possibly overheat when pulling popup camper.

 

 

The only reason that dam is on there is for aerodynamics/better gas mileage. Less wind resistance on the underside of the truck. Check out the lack of a chin spoiler on my old 83 K20. Never once got hot.

 

 

Most say they don't notice any difference in MPG. Myself, I have a cab over camper so my aero is shot any way.

[wurgs]

I took mine off right away when I got home after buying it about 3 1/2 years ago with no issues. I towed a 7000 lb camper up to 250 miles one way with no overheating issues either. Overall from what I've read its more to get a tenth or 2 extra MPGs to help with overall fleet mileage, I haven't heard of many that can even notice the difference.

 

Some 09s like mine came with the 6.0l with the 6spd tranny.

[99silveradoz71]

 

 

I'm having visions of Colt Seavers tearing around in that thing