We all know about that dumb plastic trim piece that hangs down under the car's engine compartment area, the one we scrape allll the time. Has anyone tried trimming theirs off? I'm kind of sick of the fact that I can't fit an oil pan or my floor jack under the front of my car, and I'm contemplating cutting it off, unless it serves some sort of divine purpose.

 

I think the main purpose is to keep water from splashing up on the engine when you're driving in the rain. Water and the electrical stuff under the bonnet is a bad mix.

 

I'm assuming you're talking about the small vertical lip that is under the front fascia.

Well, it's purpose is to deflect air from going under the car. Sure, air still gets under there, but the less, the better. It lowers the drag coefficient, giving you better highway mpg, not to mention better stability at higher speeds as well due to less lift caused by turbulent air tumbling around under the car. How much of this does that piece do - I don't know exactly. A better alternative to cutting it off would just be to have a couple of pieces of 2x4 handy to drive the front wheels onto - thereby giving you enough room for your jack. Or you can always jack from the sides.

 

Mine is mostly (involuntarily) removed, and flapping in the wind. I can't believe it actually accomplishes much, other than aesthetics. Possibly a little bit of splash protection, but all the components under the hood should be well able to handle splashing water. Certainly would be surprised if it has any effect on stability at the speeds these things are going.
I wouldn't have a problem removing it for functions sake, but I think it looks better with it, so I bought a replacement for about $35, I have yet to install it though.

 

I've taken all my little plastic anoyances that dangle under my car off, no problems in rain, snow, wind, or any other weather condition. Taking them actually made wind noise quieter on the highwayand it dosen't scrape into my driveway It was also verry easy to do a box-cutter does the trick.

 

I was about to trim mine prior to reinstalling it after it was mostly falling off and my mechanic eliminated it entirely when he installed a skid plate. It seemed to cause more problems than anything.. I don't miss it at all.

 

I'm not certain if we are talking about the plastic "skidplate" under the engine or the little rubber mud-flap devices under the middle of the car.

One morning during my drive to work, a truck dropped a pallet right in front of me. At about 75mph, I was boxed in on both sides and forced to run directly over the pallet. Soon after that, I lost the plastic shroud, and the short mud-flap like pieces were ripped up pretty bad. I have been concerned about it for quite some time. Should I replace the shroud with a skid plate, do they serve the same purpose?

 

The skid plate I added was an aftermarket metal thing that does offer a lot more protection than the plastic original parts. It does cost a bit though, ( $150? ) but can save a lot vs hitting a rock or curb...

 

I had to cut that crap off. It was literally touching the ground when I slammed my car.

 

I don't even have the plastic skid plate, let alone that stupid piece that hangs down. I have had zero issues in about 5 years without it. I do still scrape though.

 

Yeah I just want to cut the plastic thing that hangs down, not remove the entire plate. Not in Connecticut, with all the garbage and weather on the roads.

 

Mine had been coming loose for months... it finally bit the dust on a particularly tall speed bump, and I ended up having no choice but to remove the whole damn thing.

I'd like to point out that I haven't bottomed out a single time since it's been gone. The only difference I've found is that the front fogs spill more onto the ground behind the bumper, which doesn't bug me at all.

-'04 JCW MCS, if that makes a difference.

 

This winter was harsh on mine. Several ice and snow covered tarmac sections decided to take 2/3rds of this off for me! Since then, I decided to upgrade to the Cobalt aluminum skid plate and removed the remaining center section of the plastic lip. On my aero front bumper I left the four plastic attachments on each side.

[sorry a tad OT...] Cobalt skid plate is nice, just don't use the four button head allen bolts supplied as these will become one with your MINI for sure and you will never get them out. I replaced with four 10mm x 16mm x 1.50 pitch 6-point bolts and inside lock washers. I don't suggest using the supplied loctite either, instead using just the opposite, Wurth copper anti-seize.

After adding the skid plate, I have noticed a very small noise "refinement" of sorts. When driving, some engine bay sounds that were normally reflected down are now more suppressed and, well a tad more refined sounding. I'm not sure if it is because of the reflected sounds or just adding the aluminum plate bolted on helps absorb some vibrational sounds. Granted, it isn't much but I noticed something was a little quieter.

 

if its the plastic skid-plate-like thingy, mine came loose on the highway about a month ago. a friend who was tailing me let me use his tools to take it out

 

Its an air dam, meant to protect the motor, decrease wind resistance, and keep water our of engine compartment. Z Cars have them, high performance sports cars, and Nascar race cars use them..increases gas mileage too.