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Old 08-23-2013, 04:05 PM   #1
HAL1
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Default Driving without the skid plate?

Rather than replace and take off the skid plate while I adjust my new sway bar, I'd like to just drive around for a few days, adjust front sway if needed, drive some more, then replace the plate.

Without the risk of underside damage, should it be okay to drive around a while without the plate? - all paved roads. I'm thinking it's fine but I'm just kind of anal
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Old 08-23-2013, 04:10 PM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HAL1 View Post
Rather than replace and take off the skid plate while I adjust my new sway bar, I'd like to just drive around for a few days, adjust front sway if needed, drive some more, then replace the plate.

Without the risk of underside damage, should it be okay to drive around a while without the plate? - all paved roads. I'm thinking it's fine but I'm just kind of anal
On my RS, I've been driving it without belly-pan/skid-plate on all pave roads and it's been fine. From my understanding, it does something with the airflow and cooling the car makes it less efficient.
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Old 08-23-2013, 04:13 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HAL1 View Post
Rather than replace and take off the skid plate while I adjust my new sway bar, I'd like to just drive around for a few days, adjust front sway if needed, drive some more, then replace the plate.

Without the risk of underside damage, should it be okay to drive around a while without the plate? - all paved roads. I'm thinking it's fine but I'm just kind of anal
The plastic thing in the front? I haven't had mine on the car since 2011.
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Old 08-23-2013, 04:13 PM   #4
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I took mine off after it kept falling off. No issues.

My MPG seems to be a bit lower. It's odd.. I test my MPG every fillup and it just happened to start going down 1-2 MPG. Not sure if it's related yet.
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Old 08-23-2013, 04:14 PM   #5
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Old 08-23-2013, 04:15 PM   #6
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You'll be fine. I've been driving around for the last 2.5 years without one. (Long story) no issues
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Old 08-23-2013, 04:29 PM   #7
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As Unclescotty can tell you I'm a bit nutso on things. I just didn't know how much it was protecting stuff under there.
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Old 08-23-2013, 04:36 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HAL1 View Post
As Unclescotty can tell you I'm a bit nutso on things. I just didn't know how much it was protecting stuff under there.

hal....yer doin it again...hal

it isnt a skidplate hal...its just a plastic cover, hal

take yer pills hal
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Old 08-23-2013, 07:01 PM   #9
HAL1
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Uncle Scotty View Post
hal....yer doin it again...hal

it isnt a skidplate hal...its just a plastic cover, hal

take yer pills hal
You're not on your game. Shouldn't your post have begun with dOOOOOOOOOOOOd ? I expect better from you next time.
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Old 08-23-2013, 07:03 PM   #10
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Originally Posted by Uncle Scotty View Post
it isnt a skidplate hal...its just a plastic cover, hal
Yes, I know, I called it the wrong thing. Still the same point as to whether enough accumulated crap would putz things up if it was left off. Really not that unreasonable a question.
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Old 08-23-2013, 07:33 PM   #11
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Keeping it on will keep your engine bay much cleaner.
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Old 08-23-2013, 07:51 PM   #12
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Keeping it on will keep your engine bay much cleaner.
Really? I haven't noticed much difference
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Old 08-23-2013, 07:58 PM   #13
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i just ordered a new one, how messed up is that?
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Old 08-23-2013, 08:07 PM   #14
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i drive my car off road to work sites.....i have had to drive 20+ miles over bombed out goat paths and that is why i raised my car and need and have a real skid plate.

if ya need a real one...get one......and if ya got the plastic one off....it WILL keep the engine bay cleaner if you put it back on ESPCIALLY if you drive off road and it should give you a lil better mpg on the highway
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Old 08-23-2013, 08:14 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by eNx View Post
From my understanding, it does something with the airflow and cooling the car makes it less efficient.
I'm no engineer, but probably should have been. It seems to me that having the plastic shield on the bottom of the car below the radiator would have the effect of lowering the air flow behind the radiator relative to the air flow between the road and the plastic shield. Based on my physics lessons of many, many moons ago a ping pong ball suspended on fishing wire will move towards a faucet with running water. It's the same principle that causes an airplane wing to create lift. My intuition is that the plastic doo-hicky helps out the radiator fan in this regard, particularly at highway speed. Having said that, it probably doesn't make a hill of beans worth of differenc...

tl;dr: fluid dynamics, how does it work?
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Old 08-24-2013, 08:57 AM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by P-Train View Post
You'll be fine. I've been driving around for the last 2.5 years without one. (Long story) no issues
Same. You'll be fine OP.

-Jason
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Old 08-24-2013, 11:37 AM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Psychoreo View Post
Really? I haven't noticed much difference
It may depend on where you drive. I'm also not sure how different the newer cars are versus older in terms of what happens when you remove it. Basically I had an 02 Forester that I rally-xed for years. With the plastic cover on the bottom, the engine bay stayed quite clean despite playing in dirt fields. It was only after I removed it (sheared screws make it hard to put back on) that the engine bay started to really get dusty and covered in dirt.
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Old 08-24-2013, 03:48 PM   #18
HAL1
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I'm fine. I'll only have it off for a week two.

Thanks all.
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Old 08-24-2013, 07:18 PM   #19
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Driving around here? Yeah, you're fine. We have great roads here.
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Old 08-24-2013, 08:38 PM   #20
HAL1
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Originally Posted by FaastLegacy View Post
Driving around here? Yeah, you're fine. We have great roads here.
Yeah, I get more dust/dirt in top if my car in a day than I do under it all week.
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