Hello,
I have a Dodge Ram 1500 long bed WT. Look in the picture in my signature. There is an air dam under the front bumper. I want to permanently remove it, for among other reasons, to make it easier to work under the front end. I also think the truck looks better to me without it.
If I leave it off, what are your opinions as to how it will affect the operation of the vehicle? Will it cost me gas mileage, will it lift the front end a little at highway speeds?
What do you guys think?
Thanks

 

Ain't gonna so squat. It is there for asthetics.

 

Air dams help alot with aerodynamics. I'm in a program sponsored by GM and the Dept. of Energy (www.challengex.org) to make a hybrid vehicle with 17 other schools. after exrtensive reasearch and calculations were adding a custom fuber glass air dam to the front of our car. We calculate a 4% MPG increase, and even though it doesn't seem like it, 4% is alot.

 

3inch peice of flat plasitc that flaps in the wind is not a custom fiber glass air dam...toss that thing it does is fade with the rest of the plastic on these trucks...mine was ripped off going up a nice little hill...hasnt been on my truck for almost a year now

 

It's there to reduce the drag of the air passing under your truck. Reduced drag = better fuel economy. Dodge wouldn't have spent the money researching what they would do and then actually designed them in if they were a complete waste.

 

True...the dam is there to reduce frontal drag going under the truck. In your application, I'd leave it. Mine got ripped off years ago, and on a lifted truck it doesn't do very much.

 

theres alot of holes in the bumper where it goes if you remove it...look at the pic in my profile

 

Mine got ripped off in an acccident first day i owned my truck, maybe that's why i've never gotten over 11.5mpg! lol

 

Its there for a reason.

 

these trucks are rolling bricks to begin with.. taking it off wont ruin any gas mileage to the truck.. i think they'll only work if they happen to be an inch off the ground like in nascar to keep any air from going under the car