Okay...so the ramp up to my garage is a little steep...no matter how slow I go...I scrape I guess when I lower my car, the dang thing will just rip off eventually.

Is it funcitonal??? Or maybe a rock debris shield for the undercarriage?

 

I believe you are talking about the air dam below the grille. I believe that it has an aerodynamic function. By reducing the amount of air flowing under the car it lowers the air pressure under the car at high speeds. This could have a couple benefits.

1. It would improve high speed stability by contributing to down force.

2. It would improve airflow through the radiator.

 

Actually I'm talking about the black plastic spoiler...It is setback from the front of the car a little bit.

 

I would suggest trimming it down by as much as you lower the car (maybe a little more if you are already scrapping it alot).

 

Razor blade?

 

Dremel tool with a cutting wheel works great.
http://www.amazon.com/Dremel-750-02-.../dp/B0000302Y1

 

Just purchase a set of LO-Profile Vinyl ramps at Walmart, you wont have that problem.

 

Yeah...but that is a PIB when it comes to coming in an out of my garage...and when I lower my car I'll be scraping in a lot of places other than my house.

 

If you do not have a dremel tool, it might be best to remove the spoiler for cutting. I believe there are something like 5 bolts holding it on. Once off the car you can cut with various tools such as Sabre Saw, Table Saw, Reciprocating Saw, or Bandsaw. Might even be able to do it with a hacksaw if that is all you have. I think it would be a pain with a razor blade because the spoiler is pretty thick.

 

Have you done it yet?

 

if you approach the driveway at the right angle you wont get any scraping, it has to be semi severe. If i go in and out parallel to the driveway every time i scrape.

 

I have not done it on my Mini. My lowered 2003 MCS just scrapped itself down far enough that it was not a big problem. I need to do my 2006 MCS GP when I lower it even more. I plan to remove the spoiler to cut.
I did my camaro with the same type of spoiler. I removed it from the car and cut it with a Sabre Saw. I then filed the edge straight and smooth.

 

yeah...I'm limited to my approach as I share the garage with a DURANGO...big hog takes up all the space.

 

Auto Pilot,
It's not so bad.

Someone else requested and received pricing for lower spoiler and many related parts:

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...=lower+spoiler

Someone bought a lower spoiler from Classic Mini for very little money:
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...=lower+spoiler

Someone made their own lower spoiler using rubber garage door seal from Home Depot:
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...hlight=air+dam

 

Thanks...

 

My vertical air dam behind and below the Aero bumper was taking so much abuse, I did the rubber garage door seal mod but attached it to the air dam instead of further forward as a spoiler.

It seems to work great. Makes the front look a bit lowered when viewed from a low perspective, and never looks pitted and chipped like the naked air dam did. Also, I can get away with the occasional inadvertent scrape without causing damage.

 

The material is soft and trims easily. I did mine in about 5 minutes with a razor blade and Rhino Ramps.

 

ToMita: I assume you used the boxcutter type razor blade?

 

I used an industrial type blade like you buy at Pep Boys. The spoiler is so easy to cut that you have to be careful not to shave it too fast and off of the line you want. I just evened it out as you can see and I have had no problems aerodynamically or with cooling.

 

If you're going to lower the car I say you just unscrew the thing and get rid of it. Why shave an inch off of a 2" plastic thing? How much difference can it make?

 

Well, on my Aero Kit the vertical air dam is a single, molded component with the whole bottom of the Aero bumper. No way to take it off separately.

And the issue for me was not clearance, but aesthetics. After time on the road with rock dings and a few scrapes, it becomes chipped and pitted with associated white marks all over the black surface. The edge was broken off completely in a couple of places. None of this is a problem now with my black rubber garage seal fix, analogous to ToMiTa's mod.

 

Which leads me back to one of my original questions...what function does it serve? It seems its more of a guard for the front under part of the car more than anything else.

 

I hit road debris the day I bought my 2002 MCS and didn't see the damage. Next day, a friend said, "hey, did you know you have something hanging down in front of your car...?"

It was the air dam and it had cracked away from the bumper. I'm told the whole bumper/air dam thing costs $500 and that's not even painted! My bumper was pretty chipped so I took it to a body shop and they said they couldn't fix the air dam but they'd be happy to paint the bumper. I'd bolted the air dam in place and they said that would probably hold as good as anything.

Well, I had the front bumper painted - looked great - and then it was time to do my first oil change and I noticed the air dam had cracked even more. My best friend and I did the "Home Depot Garage Door" seal air dam and let me tell you - I couldn't be happier. The seal flexes and bends rather than scrapes like the hard OEM dam did. We put the garage door molding over the existing air dam and reinforced it with a piece of aluminum. We used body bolts/washers to secure the broken dam to the car and put the molding on top of it, also secured with the bolts. At each end of the air dam, we used a rivet to secure it. We also used outdoor strength double-sided tape.

I think handling has improved (although you have to be moving at a good clip) and it's quiet. It was so cheap to do that if I scrape it off, it's an easy fix. It looks great, too. A super project for a cheap investment of time and materials!

 

Have you tried going at a slight angle?