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Visier

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This is an interesting concept that I really wish they had spent more time on... both with testing/R&D and consumer awareness. I wasn't aware I was getting this on the new model, and I wouldn't have wanted it simply because I plan to remove the air dam most of the time anyway. Since this now complicates that process, I'm already annoyed, but I hadn't thought about how it will impact my decision making when choosing to swerve or straddle on the interstate.

I guess I'll grab a wrench and see what happens when I start unscrewing parts under there. I don't want to find out what additional damage this could cause to parts which would otherwise be spared if I nail this by parking against a high curb or bottoming out on a bump off road.
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Power Kid

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Need someone with this to drive into a real stiff head wind on SD interstate doing 85, then disable it so it retracts.... and compare mpg with and without.
 

Pedaldude

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They’re claiming 1mpg improvement. Same for the Ram truck that introduced them in 2019. No doubt, that is under ideal conditions.

Such a small difference will need some fairly thorough A/B testing to find any real world benefits.
 

Bryan Simon

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They’re claiming 1mpg improvement. Same for the Ram truck that introduced them in 2019. No doubt, that is under ideal conditions.

Such a small difference will need some fairly thorough A/B testing to find any real world benefits.
Years ago on my lowered 79 Chev with 454, adding an air dam was good for more than 1mpg. This was on a 454 powered pickup.
Went up from about 12.5 to 14, so they do help.

I had no idea my truck had this until you mentioned it.
Early on in the order guide, it said something to the effect only 3.5 PB were the only ones that got this, and I was a bit dismayed.
So I have a look under there today, and shore ‘nuff, there is a second dam behind the the fixed one. Most of my driving will be at or above 50 mph, so perhaps I will see some benefits.

About 1st tank fuel mileage. Mine has had quite a bit of idle time, before and after delivery. On my way home from picking it up the display showed 11.5
Over the course of 300 miles I have been able to actually watch it climb up.
In the last three days of just short little trips of under 20 miles it has jumped from 14.5 to 15.6.
I might make 18-19 before this tank is done—anything over 16 is an improvement over my 98 Chev, but I doubt I will see the 21 avg I got with the v6 Ranger ( that just rode too rough)
Been cleaning out my computer room today—found the Rangers window sticker, the dealer paper plate, the dealer advertising plates and the sales Brochure.
 

Pedaldude

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That’s good to hear, my ‘06 Silverado 2wd crew cab got 18mpg city and highway, even with other drivers that weren’t as mindful of driving for good mileage. It had the 4.8 V8 and was very reliable. The only reason why I chose a new truck was the poor crash test results of even slightly older trucks.

I would like to see better mpg, especially since the EPA numbers reflect that. It’s a lot easier to cheat the test numbers than physics though!

If the V8 gets better real world mpg than the V6 in the Tacoma, as well as being reliable, I will be very pleased.
 

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Elkhunter

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Same with MN roads, theres only 2 seasons in MN, construction and winter.
At least you get a break.....in Colorado its always Construction season. It's literally insane what they do. They can't even keep up with roads we already have but they keep building and adding.
 

truck trader

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So how much ground clearance is left once the air dam deploys?
 

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Mash150

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Sounds like I'm the only one whos happy about this. Better MPG on the highway while maintaining ground clearance at low speeds or in 4x4 is a win-win as far as I'm concerned.
You in addition to the highway workers who won’t have to remove road kill and truck tire debris, save maybe the odd bird or flattened squirrel. LOL
 

SuvE

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Someone asked before, but I did not see an answer. When the air dam is deployed, how much actual ground clearance is there? The straddle question is a good one, I really don't want a dead skunk or a piece of tire tread (common in Arizona summer) to rip it off if I straddle it.

It also begs another question... if you switch to a drive mode on the fly that supposedly keeps it from deploying, will it retract immediately if it is currently deployed? There needs to be a way to raise it quickly in that kind of situation.
 

NY Cowboy

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Someone asked before, but I did not see an answer. When the air dam is deployed, how much actual ground clearance is there? The straddle question is a good one, I really don't want a dead skunk or a piece of tire tread (common in Arizona summer) to rip it off if I straddle it.

It also begs another question... if you switch to a drive mode on the fly that supposedly keeps it from deploying, will it retract immediately if it is currently deployed? There needs to be a way to raise it quickly in that kind of situation.
Good questions, hope someone has some definitive info.
 

Bryan Simon

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If the OP with the Go Pro could do this again,
only tape a measuring device to the drop down piece with some 2 sided tape,
we could see how far it drops , then do a little math for the ground clearance.
 

RANGER_MARC

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I hung a GoPro on the tow hook and captured the front dam in action. Seems to deploy at about 45mph.

Thanks for posting this interesting video. My first thought is, why get a truck with all that clearance and then have a deployable air dam that can get caught on suddenly appearing obstacles, falling snow from the folks in front, etc.? Sounds dangerous to me....
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