fbov Posted November 2, 2015 Report Share Posted November 2, 2015 I just hit 40K miles, and thought it might be interesting for those of us who can't leave the car alone to share some of the "less-successful" modifications. I'm not talking about adding a doo-dad that promised better mileage, I'm taking about things like this. As installed (air dam in front of the engine cover, so no interference with oil changes): What's left: The story:I made the air dam so the ends matched the height of the front wheel spoilers. I thought ground clearance was good. It was. Ramps were a different story. The dealership put it on a drive-on rack to do the oil change, and the air dam caught the ramp in front of the tire, coming off the ramp, which bent the metal forward on both sides. That didn't destroy it. A pothole did. At work, the internal roads have speed bumps. One of them, at a parking lot entrance, has a pothole on the far side, that you only hit if you turn into the parking lot. Being winter, the pothole was filled with snow. I come down off the speed bump, braking for the parking lot, the right front wheel finds the pothole, squeezes all the snow out so it can bottom really deep with the suspension compressed by the bump and the braking. End of the air dam catches the pothole and gets bent inward, under the car (I was turning), and starts scraping. By the time the weather breaks and I can get under the car, there's the stub you see at the end toward the car. Other end is fine, save removal damage. No harm underneath, either! But also no benefit, so no replacement. Anyone else have mistakes we could learn from? Have fun,Frank hybridbear 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnowStorm Posted November 2, 2015 Report Share Posted November 2, 2015 Pot holes should be banned! That's a shame - looks like you did a nice job making it. I guess my only problem along these lines was not waxing before trying this suggestion from Paul. There's still some glue from the tape that hasn't been cleaned off yet (but its in good company with all the bugs!). My wife wondered about it one day and I had to "'fess up"! hybridbear 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ptjones Posted November 3, 2015 Report Share Posted November 3, 2015 My spoiler didn't fair any better, there are way to many hazards out there. I used Velcro to attach mine which was a good Idea, because of all the times it got ripped off from hitting parking lot stops and curbs. LOL I got pretty good of just reaching under the car and straightening it out again. I finally hit a big dip and trashed it. I gave up considering I don't think it was making a significant difference. ;) Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fbov Posted November 3, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 3, 2015 My spoiler didn't fair any better, ...I don't think it was making a significant difference.+1 Velcro... forgot to mention the snows' dome hubcaps. Pizza pans cut to the right diameter - almost - and held on by Velcro to the center ring. The "almost" only applied to the front; lost one of the front covers first time out. I saw it out of the corner of my eye, but didn't realize I wanted to track it in time. The front wheels flex when you turn, the back don't. The backs stayed on the whole season. Have fun,Frank, who needs to do another round this winter! hybridbear 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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