Air Dam.

[JNG3]

Has anyone conclusively figured out what the front air dam is for on the '07/'08 GM trucks? Is it for cooling as the manual states or is it really for fuel economy? I took mine off yesterday. Don't know if I like the look or not but I'm tired of rubbing it on things my '99 Silverado never touched. Better to take it off now then to have it ripped off. I towed my 16' Alumacraft (2000lbs with trailer) yesterday in a mix of highway and in town driving and the trans temp never got above 169 and the engine temp stayed right at 210 like it always is, loaded or unloaded. If it's for cooling then I'm mixed on it's removal but if it's going to cost me 1/2 mpg I can live with that.

[slomo007]

I took mine off after a couple weeks of owning it because I liked the look without. I do think it slightly hurt my MPG but not by much and I was willing to live with it.

 

I have since leveled my truck and decided that now I like the look better with it on, and it still has plenty of clearance. I do not notice a change in tranny/engine temps but keep in mind your engine has coolant for a reason and that's why it's keeping your engine temps at 210 consistently. The thermostat is probably just open more often at highway speeds when the air dam is off compared to when it is on. I wouldn't worry about that though, I would judge it more by how much you like the looks and if you are willing to lose the slightly better MPG.

[slimjim2525]

I's a truck, leave it off. It's embarassing scraping your full size truck on a curb.

[JNG3]

The final straw was yesterday- I'm lucky enough (for once ) to have a 3' high by 25' long elevated vehicle stand so I can perform basic vehicle maintenance. You drive up on to it via some plate steel ramps. The approach angle is very reasonable but yet I'm scraping the air dam on the ramps. So off it came. Like I said I'm torn on the looks but WTF, I can see ripping this thing off in the winter here. I don't go 4 wheeling in the normal sense of the word but do use the 4 wheel drive for work and hunting/fishing and I can see where this air dam will not last. I had these concerns when I bought the truck BUT I did not want the horrible fuel economy of the 2500's and I could not bring myself to buy an import (I did look) and a Ford was not an option. Had an '04 and will not go that route again anytime soon.

[StoneCutter]

I've been trying to imagine what it looks like without it - do you have any pictures you can post?

[18702GMT900]

The air dam is save you around 1MPG on the highway, the ways these turcks are design when you are running at high speed air become trapped underneath the front of the vehicle creating more drag so the air dam is suppose to channel that air down further and away from the empty cavity right behind the bumper. I took mine off due to it scrapping.

[VMax2007]

The air dam is save you around 0.01MPG on the highway, the ways these turcks are design when you are running at high speed air become trapped underneath the front of the vehicle creating more drag so the air dam is suppose to channel that air down further and away from the empty cavity right behind the bumper. I took mine off due to it scrapping.

 

Fixed it for ya.

[Lincoln30]

I don't have mine on the truck and it's been near or over 100 most days lately and it's not running any hotter then normal. My gas mileage didn't change noticably when I took it off.

[03blackz71]

I've been trying to imagine what it looks like without it - do you have any pictures you can post?

 

 

[Guest Riggs]

wouldnt taking the air dam off actually save you MPG since it isnt hitting a almost flat piece of plastic and going under the truck instead?

[huero626]

This is how my V-Max looks like without the air dam, I took it off the week after I bought it.