front bumper question

[Big Red]

I have noticed that on the front bumper of all 1st Generation explorers there is a 4-5" wide piece of plastic that is screwed onto the bottom of the bumper. It pretty much just looks like it extends the bumper, but instead of it being metal like the rest it is just plastic. Is there any specific purpose to this bumper extension? Is there any good reason why I should not just remove it? Just curious becuase it kind of gets in the way when your going down steep inclines.

Thanks for the help,
Big Red

 

[Jason94sport]

2 purposes....
1- hides the front suspension stuff
2-Supposed to filter air under the X for better fuel economy.
It's really useless I think. Take it off if you want. Mines been off of a long time.

 

[Big Red]

2-Supposed to filter air under the X for better fuel economy.

Two questions:

Did you notice any difference in your fuel economy or was it really subtle?
And secondly did you like the look without it more or why did you remove it?

Thanks,
Big Red

 

[Jason94sport]

Your asking the wrong person about fuel economy. I get 12mpg with my X cause of tires & gears. And I really don't care about it. I liked the look of the front end with it off, see pics in sig.

 

[Big Red]

If I can just ask you a few more questions I would really appreicate your help. I am looking to lift my truck pretty soon and make some other mods. Where did you get that front guard? Is it a bumper or body mounted one? Also how much of a lift and what size tires do you have? Your truck looks great and I really like it. Thanks for your help.

Big Red

 

[Jason94sport]

31" tires, skyjacker 2" lift, The guard is from JC whitney...
Part #ZX265131 for Black
Part #ZX265145 for chrome
Bolts to the bumper. You can't get a frame mount 1 anymore cause no one makes them for a 1st gen X anymore. You may be able to find 1 on Ebay or used from somewhere.
There's a wealth of info & specific details on lifts, tires sizes, DIY's & other info. Simply use the search function. May take a while to read through the many posts, but all the info you would need is posted.

 

[ExporeRanger]

lol..no no change in mpg...however if your components look good it shows em off a bit, and it does giv you a lil more clearnace liek y ou said..for me i think it made it look a lil bigger from the front, and it was jus removing an unsighlty piece of fading plastic more then anything..i took it off to paint it and make it look newer with black paint, but i ilked it off..left it off

 

[Big Red]

Hey ExporeRanger, thanks that helps a lot. I noticed you have coil spacers/AAL/warrior shackles. It's kind of funny but that it exactly what I plan on doing with my '94 XLT. It would be a great help to me if you have any pics you could post. I just want to see the difference after the lift and 31's. Also I would like to just get some info from you on how hard it was to install it all and the difference in ride quality, and was the amnt. of lift worthwhile? I appreciate your help.

Big Red