Under the front lip of my bumper and back about 5 inches is a band of plastic that folks refer to as the lower air deflector. On R53s this spans the entire length of the front of the mini cooper.

Just eyeballing this piece it definitely looks like an inefficient source of drag on the front of the car but likely stabilizes air under the car perhaps aiding downforce. From a track car perspective I am very tempted to remove this piece.

Also check out this mystery rubber piece as well. Watch video starting at 3:55 mark where he refers to it as a little rubber air dam.


I am wondering the pros and cons of simply removing these two pieces.

Thoughts ??

bump for insane curiosity

I noticed it is really good at collecting oil from my oil filter housing leak and road grime....

Lol Dude replacing that gasket is such a *****

I would leave it on, especially for track. Of course I have not performed any aerodynamic analysis but here is my thought.
For the 2006 GP, Mini spent a little time on the aero package which included adding belly trays the length of the car. The GP includes the lower lip so I suspect it helps a little.

I think ill leave the large one on and remove that stupid rubber mystery piece (car falls apart)

Pressure lip aerodynamics, also might helps with keeping water spray off the downside of the exhaust and cat.

Mine is still there after all this time since 05'

51711481428

https://www.ecstuning.com/Search/SiteSearch/51711481428/

yeaaaaaaa that parts gotta go

Its take off .0001 sec on the track time

Way back when, adding a front spook to a 240z was critical to keeping the front wheels on the ground over 70 mph.

Granted the R53 is less wing shaped, but I suspect someone did the testing and decided it was necessary...

Things I’ve learned on the Internet:

Everyone is driving 10/10 and is looking for an advantage.

Everyone has a super model girlfriend


Things I’ve learned in the real world:

A lot of people are not driving 10/10 even in the sportiest of machines.

There are a lot of guys dating “curvy” girls

What does all this mean? Simple leave this piece on. There’s noting to be gained by leaving it off.