Hey guys - I was cruising along at about 80 today and heard a disturbing whipping sound start up all of a sudden, like something on the side of the car was flapping.

Turns out it is the under-radiator plastic trim piece. Seems the back two latches broke off and it was just flapping away in the wind. Anyone know of any after market replacements, or even the cost of a new factory one? OR - do I really even need it?

If you look under your car, it attaches to the front fascia and is about 3' x 2' in size......black plastic.

Man that sound scared me ...... thank goodness its so simple.

 

Most cars don't have a lower shield like that, so I don't think it's 'necessary'. I don't think it'd be a very expensive part to replace though.
As far as aftermarket, I doubt Roush, Saleen, etc make one, but an aftermarket supplier such as Keystone might.

 

One side of mine popped out one time. I just popped it right back into place and it has never come out again. It was strange though, not sure why it happened.

 

Thanks, I'm taking it off altogether. Just wondering if it'll cause any underhood airflow issues.....? I'll just have to take it out for a healthy run to find out.

 

I'm not sure about the Mustang(although i'd imagine its about the same), but my 300M had the same thing. The "air dam" was pretty much just a piece of plastic which was meant to help airflow. I ripped mine off and it made no difference to me.

 

It is a snow shield. If you are not driving in snow, leave it off.

 

I noticed mine was loose when doing oil change. I thought about pulling it out, but was concerned it served some purpose I was not aware of. We definitely don't have snow down here.

 

No snow issues here in Tampa - in fact its too warm this winter.

I took it off, and have put about 100 miles on it since, including a brief trip to the 110mph range. No issues at all. I have hood pins so hood shake wouldn't be noticed anyway.

Gotta say, I've had the car over 3 years, and STILL love stomping on it. After driving an F150 for 13 years....I'll never go back. At 47K+ miles, this baby is constantly just dying to open up and own the road.

 

Snow shield, lol. I hope you were joking.

It does have an effect on airflow.
My buddies older Supra was overheating at higher speeds. Guess what the culpret was. You guessed it, that lower air dam

 

It was missing?

 

You mean the plastic shield that connects the bumper to the frame? It does serve some function, it makes the bumber cover more sturdy otherwise its kinda loose down there.

I had to replace mine shortly after getting the car because I ran it over a curb and ripped out all the screws that held it to the bottom of the bumber cover.

It was about $20

 

Thanks. I have the aftermarket Steeda front fascia and think its a little sturdier than factory - so far - no issues and I was on I-75 for about 150 miles today at 80-85 mph. In fact, car is running about 4-6 degrees cooler, but that could also be the cooler weather we are having this week.