C5 air dam removal to reduce overheating

[1jester]

Many of us have had some overheating with C5's. Has anyone removed their airdam to improve air flow? would it have any other ill effects by removing the dam? what's your opinions?

[Guest azz061]

i had this issue before but it was becasue i was lowered. But when i installed c6 z06 shocks it raised it about 3/4 of an inch and my cooling changed by 20 degrees.

[Eddie44]

My recollection of the C5 airdam is that it shovels air into the engine, not obstructs it. I could be wrong.

[Big Poppa]

Eddie is right. The center section of the air dam directs air up to the radiator. The side skirts not so much.

[F22trainer]

My recollection of the C5 airdam is that it shovels air into the engine, not obstructs it. I could be wrong.

EDIT:

...that is unless an obstruction exists between the radiator and the A/C condensor.

[Ted Y]

I don't own a C5, but many have cleaned out the radiators from dust and dirt and improved cooling.

[Mr Croasdale]

The City of phoenix could get rid of the street sweepers if they had a C5 corvette rally around the city monthly.check the Show Me Your Tool - MacGyver Style clean the condenser & radiator. should be good to go

[Guest Sidewinder]

Its not the air deflector, do not remove it. You might need a good cleaning, definately after a road trip.

[TheCMSH]

The airdam is there to direct air up into the radiator, do not remove it!!! If you're running warm get a good cleaning done on the radiator and condensor. My temps started shooting up and I took it over to LPM, they power washed it really good and I went from running 235-245 to 198.

[Eddie44]

Corvettes are some of the world's best vacuum cleaners. After your recent 3k mi roadtrip I'll be surprised if you don't find a small child or two that got sucked up there. They gather all kinds of crap. My C6 sucked up what appeared to be the top of a shoebox and I didn't even realize it until I heard a strange flapping noise.

[1EVLC7]

Do not try to alter the vehicles airflow... The cooling system uses deflectors, air baffles and air seals to increase system cooling. Deflectors are installed under the vehicle to redirect airflow beneath the vehicle to flow through the radiator and increase cooling. Air baffles are also used to direct airflow into the radiator and increase cooling. Air seals prevent air from bypassing the radiator and A/C condenser. Air seals also prevent recirculation of the air for better hot weather cooling and A/C condenser performance.

[Desertdawg]

I didn't even realize it until I heard a strange flapping noise.

Did you hear the flapping noise when you were alone???

[Marco]

The airdam is there to direct air up into the radiator, do not remove it!!! If you're running warm get a good cleaning done on the radiator and condensor. My temps started shooting up and I took it over to LPM, they power washed it really good and I went from running 235-245 to 198.

Me Too

[1jester]

I'll double check after the road trip, but I cleaned it pretty good before and didn't see much difference. My Superchips will make it a tad warmer than stock, but stop and go driving brings it to 240-250 degrees, and twice to 260( whick I immediately shut it down and waited until it was cooler. Thanks for the info. My floor to bottom of the nose fiberglass in 6 1/2 inches, which could be part of it. really don' t want to change shocks as I'v got those expensive electromagnetic adjustables on it.

[Manthony]

I used to work in the aerodynamics group at GM. I never did the analysis of any of the corvettes, but I will say this much: be VERY careful adjusting anything related to airflow both into the engine compartment and/or around the vehicle if you ever plan on driving at speed. The design of all of the vents and shapes (including the ride height) is very carefully done to maintain downforce on the car at all speeds. Especially on high performance models like the corvette. Regarding increased airflow into the engine compartment, popular opinion is that getting more cool air into the engine compartment can be good for cooling and power. I've seen lots of C5 mods where the front license plate and/or the non-functional vents are opened to "allow more cool air in the engine compartment." This is all fine and good. However, mods like this risk losing steering control at high speeds. That air which is now going into the engine compartment used to be diverted over or under the bonnet. Messing with that at higher speeds can potentially cause a lack of downforce on the front wheels which will make your steering go light. Putting a stupid huge wing on the back of your car (without an appropriately paired front splitter) will do the same thing. Check out this Top Gear clip. Very educational about how sensitve modern cars are to aerodynamics (skip to about 5 min into the clip to get right to the point I'm talking about). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puHe1zuP-OU All that said, I've never done the analysis so I can't say anything for sure, but just thought I'd share my 2 cents. No way I'll ever mod the aero on my vette unless someone can show me they did the wind-tunnel or CFD analysis to back up the mod.

[TheCMSH]

I'll double check after the road trip, but I cleaned it pretty good before and didn't see much difference. My Superchips will make it a tad warmer than stock, but stop and go driving brings it to 240-250 degrees, and twice to 260( whick I immediately shut it down and waited until it was cooler. Thanks for the info. My floor to bottom of the nose fiberglass in 6 1/2 inches, which could be part of it. really don'

t want to change shocks as I'v got those expensive electromagnetic adjustables on it.

I had blown out my radiator a couple weeks before taking it to LPM, you should've seen the junk that ended up on the floor. I thought that was sufficient, there's just no substituting taking it all apart and getting aggresive with it.

As far as your shocks go, you'll need to have the F45 delete done in the computer via a Tech II, you can't do the shock sims on an '03 or '04 as far as I know. The Z06 shocks are the greatest thing you'll ever do for your car!

[1jester]

I'll double check after the road trip, but I cleaned it pretty good before and didn't see much difference. My Superchips will make it a tad warmer than stock, but stop and go driving brings it to 240-250 degrees, and twice to 260( whick I immediately shut it down and waited until it was cooler. Thanks for the info. My floor to bottom of the nose fiberglass in 6 1/2 inches, which could be part of it. really don'

t want to change shocks as I'v got those expensive electromagnetic adjustables on it.

I had blown out my radiator a couple weeks before taking it to LPM, you should've seen the junk that ended up on the floor. I thought that was sufficient, there's just no substituting taking it all apart and getting aggresive with it.

As far as your shocks go, you'll need to have the F45 delete done in the computer via a Tech II, you can't do the shock sims on an '03 or '04 as far as I know. The Z06 shocks are the greatest thing you'll ever do for your car!

I bought a "Water Jet" as seen on TV, from Walgreens. It's a three foot water wand with a point and fan detachable spray heads. I went to ACE hardware and put a right angle fitting on the end and it works good. It has a ball check valve on the handle to control the preesure and turn it on. 19.95 plus 5.00 for the adapter. didn't get a lot of dirt out of it but will drive it the next few days and watch the temps.