yes i said LOWERING

anyone ever put a spacer between the frame and the lower air dam under the nose of an Fbody?

i would think doing so could increase the air directed up into the radiator significantly.

even only 1/2" would increase the surface area by at least 2sq ft.

if you're in an area that you rarely scrape it any way...it could be handy.



discusss

 

You aren't increasing the volume of air that can pass through the opening above the air damn, therefore you are not increasing the volume of air passing through the radiator.

In order to see if there is any improvement possible, you would have to test the air passing through the radiator in the stock configuration and then test it in a lab under ideal conditions. When you see the differences, you will know if there is room for improvement.

From stock, I think you'd be better off sealing the flow so that more is directed through the radiator. Whether there is any actual gain from this, who knows? I can't see how increasing the surface area of the air dam will help anything at all. I think it would hurt you by increasing the drag.

 

I considered it when I was in Florida. I suspect that it would increase airflow to the radiator especially at moderate speeds. I never got around to it and now live where I have a steep driveway.

I never considered the the size of the air passage leading up to the radiator. That could be a restriction, but I doubt it. I would think that the biggest restriction would be the fan shroud on the back of the radiator. Still, directing more air and or increasing the pressure of that air would increase the cooling effectiveness.

I also doubt it would create more drag. Air traveling under the car would certainly create more drag...

 

I may be missing something, but I can't see any way in which adding more front cross-sectional area would create less drag than simply letting the air pass beneath the car.

 

first off that small of an increase in cross sectional area would have nearly ZERO affects on drag.

and air under the car is turbulant. ever noice that race cars have front dams to keep air from going under the car?

and if i'm not mistaken, less air under the car actually decreases the lift due to air flow over the top of the car...which should be a good thing.



while i see what you mean about the added air flow not amounting to much if the inlet, radiator and fan shroud are the limiting factors. but as was stated, at moderate speeds, it would be beneficial to have a little more flow. where i live, i have to drive 85miles before can get on a road with a speed limit of < 55mph (legally ). therefore increased cooling from 35-55mph would benefit ME.

and something to ponder. alot of guys complain of overheating when they install a lower chin spoiler from a GFX kit. and the solution is a larger air dam to get lower to the ground, and catch more air....the air NOT blocked by the GFX.

so i would think maybe a small increase in the size of the air dam with a normal front end...could benefit.

i'd have to think of a way to test it.....

 

I'd like to see your results.

Our cars are not race cars, so you really can't compare the two.

The chin spoiler gets in the way of the air dam and simply impedes flow to the radiator.

I can't see how you think that adding 2 sq. ft of area is such a small area where drag is concerned, but such a large enough area to increase air flow to the cooling system.

Something you might want to consider a little more is the angle of the air damn. I think if you angle it forward and drop it down that 1/2", you could get the result you're looking for without increasing the front cross-section that much.

 

1. Why?
2. RK Sport sells a taller air dam. Much tidier approach than modifying the stock setup.
3. If you insist on modifying the stocker, instead of changing the mounts, why not get a piece of stiff plastic and attach it to the face of the air dam. That way it can be whatever dimension you want, and if it doesn't work, take it off and you'll just have a few small screw holes in the air dam that won't hurt anything.

 

I think that if you increase the surface area you should brace the back to prevent it from folding towards the back. I've wondered just what angle the air dam assumes when the car is at speed. It's not extremely stiff and it doesn't take much of a push with your hand for it to be straight up and down. For an experiment I made 5 sheet metal (from the ~ 1/16" galvanized strapping builders use) braces for mine. I angled them forward slightly more than the static angle of the air dam. After about 1 month of normal driving (no triple digits) I checked and the all braces had been bent back to nearly straight up & down. I'm going to try some heavier metal or double-up on the type I made.

 

"3. If you insist on modifying the stocker, instead of changing the mounts, why not get a piece of stiff plastic and attach it to the face of the air dam. That way it can be whatever dimension you want, and if it doesn't work, take it off and you'll just have a few small screw holes in the air dam that won't hurt anything."


but putting a 1/2" spacer....i was thinking hard plastic (do a search for Starboard), and some longer mounting bolts.

absolutely no damage to the airdam and you'd never see it unless you crawled way under the car. and extension would be visible from a low point of view in front of the car...and be pretty ****ty looking to me.

and angle could easily be changed by planing the desired angle into the plastic material befor mounting.

hey...all this is just random BS brainstorming. nothing else to do while sitting here bored.
and its something i've thought about.

 

I'm not trying to discourage a little tinkering but let me play devil's advicate.

If I remember right, the mounting point is not parallel to the ground and a spacer would move it more forward than down.

I don't know how much that starboard stuff costs, but I'm sure a 1x2 and a can of black spray paint costs less. And if you find out it makes no difference, you've spent less beer money on non beer items.

I'm not sure what would be the purpose of an angle change. I'm guessing GM engineers already figured out the optimum angle for something as simple as an air dam. There has to be a reason it costs so many millions of dollars to design a new car.

Are you actually having overheating issues? And if you are, have you addressed the actual causes before looking at band aid solutions?

 

no idea exactly what the mounting surface looks like. but you make a valid point.

as for cost. you can get the materials for about $5-10.

no i'm not overheating, but i WAS bored and figured i'd throw it out there.

thanks for the input.

i think i have some leftover starboard...so maybe i'll try it and see what happens. maybe next time i change the oil...since its jacked up anyway.

 

I picked up the RKSport air dam since I have their front lip. On a lowered vehicle you are going to run into a lot of problems. It's too stiff.

I ended up cracking it and went back to the stocker. I added some black cove base to the bottom and secured it with large stainless washers and stainless bolts/nuts. It helped quite a bit around town, but at consistent high speeds it starts to peel back and you lose a lot of the effect. I'm going to reinforce the angle with some small strips of metal in strategic areas.

 

You might consider installing some air extractor vents on the hood. My '85 Trans Am had them, and the vents seemed to work. In other words, rather than trying to get more cold air in, why not try to let more hot air out?