Removing or Trimming Front Air Deflector / Dam

[LakeTravisEx]

Never have scraped, it's got gobs of ground clearance!
Have a very low Bimmer...never scraped!
Have a slammed Z16 Vette...never scraped!

Geez... I would have never thought to compare ground clearance between a suv to a bimmer or vette... maybe we all should be calling the explorer a station wagon? Seems like most folks on here have never left pavement with theirs...
Any little ranch road or dirt lane causes clearance issues with my ex. It has to have the lowest clearance and approach angle of any suv out there.
Now that I have seen how it will look, I will be removing my valance the first chance I get.

 

[2013_Exploder]

maybe we all should be calling the explorer a station wagon? Seems like most folks on here have never left pavement with theirs...

More like a glorified mini-van IMHO. I never plan on taking mine off road. If I was going to something like that I would've bought a Jeep. I like the fact it can tow my trailer to the trail head, haul kids and it's very good in the snow.

 

[JETZ]

Point was noobie, some can drive, some, not so much!

Geez... I would have never thought to compare ground clearance between a suv to a bimmer or vette... maybe we all should be calling the explorer a station wagon? Seems like most folks on here have never left pavement with theirs...
Any little ranch road or dirt lane causes clearance issues with my ex. It has to have the lowest clearance and approach angle of any suv out there.
Now that I have seen how it will look, I will be removing my valance the first chance I get.

 

[pingbling23]

all explorers with the factory installed towing package should have the oil pan cooler scoop.

 

[bigmoose15]

I wonder why all the 2013 models have that lower right side air scoop? My 2011 Limited doesn't and I don't believe the 2012's have it either.

Peter

When i climbed under my '13 sport that intake appeared to go to the rear turbo for cooling. It would make sense why your's doesn't have it.

 

[ZFord]

I just trimmed my front fascia. I cut it straight across taking the two side pieces off that hang down. This way added a little clearance and still has finished look to it.

 

[awmenard]

Pics please .

 

[ZFord]

will put the pics up as soon as I can figure it out won't let me insert image.

 

[peterk9]

will put the pics up as soon as I can figure it out won't let me insert image.

If you are attempting to use the Forum's procedure to attach an image it won't work for you. You have to have an Elite membership to attach photos that way.
Many non Elite members use photobucket. Here is the Forum thread on that;

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=359901

Peter

 

[ZFord]

hope this works

 

[Halwg]

Trimmed the Air Dam

I know there have been discussions on trimming or removing the air dam and the reasons to do it or not. But after driving the Explorer for 4 1/2 months and repeatedly scraping the air dam, I decided to trim it. I have an access road I have to travel a couple times a week and it is a very sharp angle off of the main road. I scrape going in and then coming back out. I had basically scrapped the air dam to the point I thought I was going to tear the entire assembly loose.

The way I trimmed mine was without removing the entire fascia from the bumper. I pulled the vehicle up on some ramps where I could work on it. I then marked the straight line with blue painter's tape and cut it off with shears. Below are a few pics.

Interestingly, I have been looking at Police Interceptors and none of them have the air dam that hangs down like the standard Explorers. I now have roughly 10.5" of clearance and I took it to the road where I have been dragging and it went in and out without a problem. Plus I think it looks better.

 

[peterk9]

Looks very nice Halwg. Good job.

Peter

 

[Halwg]

Thanks Peter. It also makes the Ex look a lot less front end heavy removing all that material hanging down.

 

[Jim_e]

Air dam removal

I need to remove the front air dam to install a grille guard. Any suggestions as to how to remove the air dam?

 

[peterk9]

Welcome to the Forum Jim_e.:wavey:
It would be very helpful if you added the model of your Explorer to your profile so that it shows in the margin. Depending upon which model you have, there could be an air duct opening on the left side. Also if you have Active Cruisde Control, you have to ensure that the guard you are adding doesn't interfere with the radar unit on the right front side.

Peter

 

[Jim_e]

Thanks. Model is 2015 Explorer Sport EcoBoost

 

[peterk9]

See the following thread about the opening I was referring to.
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=367234&highlight=cut
On the Ecoboost I believe the duct is used for cooling the rear turbo. You would have to see if there is a physical connection or if it is just an opening to allow air into a duct behind it. In any case, I would think that airflow should not be obstructed in this area.

I have merged your thread with this existing one.

Peter

 

[Halwg]

Cutting the air dam and adding winter tires has cut my gas mileage by 2 mpg. Not sure which had the most affect, since they were done around the same time, and I have been monitoring my mileage since. On a trip I make about 2X a month I went from 24.5 mpg to 22.5 mpg.

I added the pretty aggressive Cooper Weather-Master WSC tires, so that may have had more of an effect than cutting the air dam. I won't really know until I put the summer Michelins back on next spring. But, so far with the removal of a few inches of the air dam, I have not scraped once. Mine was so scratched and dinged up from scraping it looked bad anyway, and needed to come off.

 

[peterk9]

I would think that putting on the Winter tires and the colder weather would probably be the cause. I think that the deflector really only comes into play when you are highway driving.

Peter

 

[willied]

Like Peter said, winter tires will definitely reduce your fuel economy (but obviously the safety is worth it). The higher friction has a pretty substantial effect on it. And the cold causes it to use more fuel as well.