Front air dam

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Introduction
Extending a dam to the level of the lowest underbody component (possibly lower depending on the vehicle) diverts air away from (around) the most aerodynamically "dirty" area of most vehicles.

Adding air dams (particularly on trucks & SUV's) is a common tactic used by auto makers looking for quick aero-fixes to improve efficiency.

For cars that have a belly pan this mod is likely to cause no gain and may result in worse efficiency.

Instructions for mod

Screw a large piece of material to the front of the car. Ensure the bottom of the material is lower than the lowest object underneath the car this will cause most of the airflow to not be disturbed by the unaerodynamic underside of the car

User experiences

Please enter your user name and any relevant data in the table

User data
User Name Car Make, Model, Year Cost of Mod Time to Perform Mod MPG Before Mod MPG After Mod MPG improvement guess Instruction Link
Big Dave Ford F350 pickup 26.34
Tank fill measured
27.00
Tank fill measured
2.5%
Tank fill measured
Effects of air dam (Ford F350)
kir_kenix 1997 Chevy S10 $5 15 Min 31ish
31.7
1%
Tank fill measured
[]
moorecomp 99 Escort ZX2 $7 30 min 4.6% or 2MPG (tank to tank data) Home Depot Air Dam
wagonman76 89 6000 LE Wagon $0 <1 Hour 7% or 2MPG (several months of tank to tank data) Lawn edging airdam still holding up well

Problems / Consequences of mod

- A very low air dam may result in scraping the ground during turns or going over bumps

References

Forum thread links

Effects of air dam (Ford F350)

5th generation civic hatchback - improving aerodynamics

First Draft Eco Focus Mods

Lawn edging airdam still holding up well

1989 Pontiac 6000 Wagon - my build thread

External links

Hotrod.com wind tunnel testing

Flow field features and aerodynamic drag of passanger cars <<< Pages 18 and 19 apply to air dams