[DeTomaso] GT5 Air Dam - scraping damage and rock ships

[Peter Havlik]

Mike:

I take your point, but I'm still wondering if there is not something 
I can do that will give me an audible warning just before I start to 
scrape. I'm not intending to make the air dam stronger, because I 
agree it should have as much flex as possible.

The rubber (or Teflon or aluminum or whatever other sacrificial 
material) strip will start to scrape first and, because I'm usually 
going slow when approaching gas station entrances or steep driveways, 
I should have more than enough time to stop before the fiberglass 
hits or starts to bend much. That's my theory, anyway.

Also, I have to wonder just how cheap a GT5 air dam is to replace. 
First of all, from the look of it, not all aftermarket air dams are 
the same as the factory ones (and the factory ones are prohibitively 
expensive - if you can find one). Second of all, one still has to pay 
for installing and painting the new air dam, which is not cheap 
either. And, at the rate I'm going, this will be an annual event!

I just can't believe that no one out there is having the same problem 
as I am, and that there isn't some kind of a solution. We have enough 
engineers, fabricators and general geniuses on this list that I'm 
convinced the answer is out there somewhere!

- Peter

At 10:06 15/05/2007, MikeLDrew at aol.com wrote:

>In a message dated 5/14/07 13:11:58, phavlik at pris.ca writes:
>
><< Second, I would like to modify the underside of the air dam so that
>some sacrificial material starts scraping first before the brittle
>fiberglass contacts the pavement. Has anyone done this, or know of
>some other solution to the problem? I just want to hear a warning
>scrape before I damage the fiberglass. >>
>
> >>>Well, keep this in mind--fiberglass is cheap, and by definition,
>sacrificial, whereas what it is attached to is expensive.  Mad Dog 
>made the mistake of
>reinforcing his air dam to make it very strong; when he subsequently whacked
>it, it transmitted the force to the car and bent his front fenders!!!!  So be
>careful of what you ask for....
>
>I suppose you could put some sort of rubber strip etc. at the bottom of the
>air dam, but it won't change anything.  You will just hit the rubber strip
>first, then still hit the fiberglass under the same circumstances.
>
>The real solution, of course, is to (DUH!) stop crashing into things!  Plan
>ahead, approach driveways with caution, and if the approach to a given gas
>station looks too steep, it probably is--just go around, or go to a different
>station.
>
>I am in the process of fitting a GTS mini air dam to the front of my car.  It
>will have substantially greater clearance than you GT5 air dam has, of
>course, but it will require circumspection nonetheless since my car 
>is fairly low.
>I have deliberately mounted it in a manner that will let it snap off, rather
>than warp the car, in the event of impact.  Fiberglass is cheap--metalwork
>isn't!
>
>Mike<BR><BR><BR>**************************************<BR> See what's free at
>http://www.aol.com.</HTML>