Air dam, that is...








In a bid to follow the recent trends of the OEMs who have increased the depth of front air dams to improve aerodynamics for fuel economy, I double dammed the front end of my truck... with the added intent to redirect more air into my transmission cooling scoops.

 

Cool. (See what I did there?)

So where did you pick that little gem up?

 

Nice pics, but for all we know it could be a Fiat 500 air dam screwed on to the existing air dam.

 

I would Tear that thing out from under my truck the first time off pavement.
I need More ground clearance... not less.

Curious to see how much of a difference it will make on tranny temp.

 

FWIW, Dave Whitmer, PSN Mileage Moderator, is a big fan of airdams in lieu of belly panning the undercarriage to reduce air drag. This is his description:

"Short answer: 10 inches above grade in center of truck. 7 inches above grade in front of tires.

This is OK for indestructible conveyor belt. Use something rigid at that height and it will get broken."

Avatar picture in post #8 here:

Maybe A New Test - PowerStrokeNation : Ford Powerstroke Diesel Forum

 

Ok, so where did you find that, or how did you rig it up? Mine is a 99, and doesn't even have the first one below the bumper. I would be very interested in that for mine.

 

Ford.



No way. Fiat parts are the purview of Dodge trucks, not Ford.

Sorry for not posting more details, but I thought by the pictures it would be obvious that it was a Ford part, due to the matching of lines, sculpting, textures, and contours. Here the one time I don't drown a post with a deluge of loquacious prattle, I get called out on it. Twice. Oh well... for the interested, below is more background and detail:

The intent was to maintain a very stock looking appearance... striking a balance between Dave Whitmier's brute force functional approach using a conveyor belt bolted to the bumper, while maintaining a happy medium with modicum of style. The triple tier, symmetrically cascading diminution of the lower bumper valance cover, then air dam #1, then finally air dam #2, could only be accomplished using original Ford parts so as to "disappear' within matching angles, spacing, and original style lines.



I didn't need as much ground clearance as I had. The Early 99, 99, 99.5 and many 2000 model year Super Duty commercial trucks didn't originally come with ANY air dam at all. The 2000 Excursion was where I recall the first lower air dam appeared, and soon afterward it appeared on all the Super Duties, and was revised by Ford several times between 2000 and 2004.

The original approach angle specification for my 2000 550 4x4 was a rock crawler capable 33 degrees. By comparison, the 2014 550 4x4 approach angle is only 18 degrees. Even with double air dams, bone stock tires, and zero lift, my approach angle is still 24 degrees, which is not only more generous than the current standard of 18, but also allows for additional compression of the front springs, that deflect one inch for every 470 lbs weight added. With a current "empty" weight of 5,000 lbs on the front axle, loading to the maximum capacity of 6,000 lbs would deflect the springs approximately 2 inches, which still nets a higher approach angle than the current crop of Super Duties. In reality, however, additional payloads, especially pin weights and tongue weights in towing, generally increase the front ground clearance by deflecting the rear suspension, which relieves the front suspension and increases, not decreases, the approach angle.

Translated into vertical measurements from the ground, the lowest point of the lower air dam in this installation is 12" from ground. By comparison, my Prius lower air dam survives all roads it has traveled on for the last 140,000 miles with only 6" ground clearance. The lower air dam of my 3/4 ton 2500 Suburban 4x4 is 9.5" from the ground. The lower front receiver hitch of my friend's Excursion 4x4 with 33" tires and F-350 front springs with added leafs in the rear is 10.75" from the ground. So I think my 12" from the ground will survive all the driving circumstances, on and off road, that I'll travel on.

However, this is a hauling truck, not a crawling buggy, so your mileage may vary if you take your truck where most people barely make the trail with ATVs, ARCA rigs, and plenty of winch line. So as soon as the Excursion air dam became available in parts, I added it to my truck (air dam number 1).

Not long afterward, I cut that air dam open in the center, to let cooling air into the coolers. I remember when Gale Banks noticed this on my truck and liked it so much he took me up to the mezzanine attic in his race shop where we fished out some old dusty Super Scoop prototype moldings for me to experiment with, as I was explaining what I wanted to do with various scoops, while at the same time being concerned about water.

In the meantime, Ford came up with a better idea, similar to mine (but most certainly not from me), and started cutting holes into the center of both their air dam AND the lower bumper valance, beginning around 2002-3.

Note: Sorry, but I tried in vain for 30 minutes to find a photo of this revised factory ventilated air dam and lower valance design change. Incredibly, in all of google, no such image exists, which makes my description of the difference sound like the musings of a lunatic.

The irony is that there was a photo of one for sale on this very website about a month ago. I wish I had copied that photo, because it is important for 99-03 owners to understand that Ford's redesign offers the best evidence of the benefit of more direct ventilation to the lower fluid coolers. This design change is not easily noticed unless looking up from under the 2003 truck. However, the principle is very evident in all the Ford front ends designed since, with larger openings lower in the bumper, and more restricted openings higher in the grille.

But getting back to my double air dams... it was too late for me to convert to Ford's revised ventilated air dam and valance design, since I had already installed a hidden front winch and front receiver hitch. I had to come up with a different plan.

I watched with great interest the painstaking carvings in modeling clay that the young fellow who Banks hired fresh from Toyota's Calty Design Research Center made to the lower air dam of the then yet to be driven Dodge Dakota with a transplanted Cummins that drove to Bonneville, raced on the salt flats, broke a land speed record, and drove back home to Azusa. He went through at least two entire design changes during the brief amount of time I was able to see his progress. And the final design looked different yet again. There was no way I could match that in science, art, or practicality.

I finally arrived at the two tier air dam approach, where the lowest air dam would help concentrate and collect (like the cow catchers in old steam trains) air through my cooling scoops hidden behind the upper air dam, with a slit of opening in between air dams.

There is a lot more going on behind there also, but that is for another post at another time.

 

I have an '03 and have owned it since 2007. I don't believe I removed the air dam, and my truck does not have one. It would be in my way for the snow plow mount anyway, but I don't remember pitching it during the install...hmmm.

 

Yup, first mod done to my truck was removing the thing, to make room for plow mounts, lol

Of course, driving a 8,000lb 4x4 truck with 35's.....mileage isn't really the top of my priorities list.

That's what the car is for!

 

When a future relocation to colder country requires it, I intend to incorporate a pair of Fischer Minute Mount II brackets into this front end design, and plan to make cut outs through these air dams as required, similar to the way my upper air dam already has a cut out (center) for my hidden front receiver hitch opening.

I need more information about snowplow mouting, and am actively looking for a pair of used MM2 brackets to work with.

 

http://i752.photobucket.com/albums/x...stalled020.jpg
http://i752.photobucket.com/albums/x...s/Tires030.jpg

I can snap some better (and more specific) pics if you'd like, but these brackets are heavy.....and heavy duty.

 

Here's mine I made from landscape curbing. No vents but free haha. screws in the bottom of the old one and can be taken off easily.

 

Nice... strike that.... Dam! Double Dam, John! Looks good. How long has that been in service?

 

Subscribing hoping to hear real world feedback on any changes in mileage before and after. (hoping both of you so far have good a good before baseline and don't change your driving habits any)

 

About a year, I did put some l brackets on the blocker beam for support but they are not attached to the "dam" except for one push button thingy.