Airdam -- is it necessary?

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MR - 13 Jun 2006 21:35 GMT

A stray traffic cone hit at high speed ripped the airdam off my 1990
740. Should I bother replacing it? It looks like the holes in the
driver's side of the bumper cover are ripped out, too, so those would
need to be repaired, if that's even possible.

Is it worth it? Can I just drive without it? Does it serve any purpose
beyond cosmetic?

MR

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Stephen Henning - 14 Jun 2006 04:18 GMT

> A stray traffic cone hit at high speed ripped the airdam off my 1990
> 740. Should I bother replacing it? It looks like the holes in the
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
> Is it worth it? Can I just drive without it? Does it serve any purpose
> beyond cosmetic?

Yes, for some reason it helps gas mileage considerably. The year they
adopted air dams, the gas mileage improved almost 2 mpg.

In the Edmunds article:
http://www.edmunds.com/advice/specialreports/articles/106954/article.html
it explains how the front fascia and air dam to reduce drag under the
vehicle and improve fuel economy.

Also, technically it helps down force at high speeds, but that is of
very little practical use.

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Cheers, Steve Henning in Reading, PA, USA
Owned '67,'68,'71,'74,'79,'81,'87,'93,'95 & '01 Volvos.
The '67,'74,'79,'87,'95 and '01 through European Delivery.
http://home.earthlink.net/~rotarians/volvo.html

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Bill Bradley - 14 Jun 2006 05:20 GMT

> Yes, for some reason it helps gas mileage considerably. The year they
> adopted air dams, the gas mileage improved almost 2 mpg.
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
> Also, technically it helps down force at high speeds, but that is of
> very little practical use.

The hell it isn't. Speaking as someone who's driven 240s with and
without air dams at highway speeds it helps a lot at keeping the front
end from being flighty. I would assume the same applies to the 7x0s.

Bill

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zencraps@comcast.net - 14 Jun 2006 09:03 GMT

Go to a U Pull It and snag another one.

Easy to replace, and should be readily available.

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MR - 14 Jun 2006 17:19 GMT

> Go to a U Pull It and snag another one.
>
> Easy to replace, and should be readily available.

That would be my plan, but the holes in the bumper cover are ripped out.
How can those be repaired (don't really feel like R&R'ing the bumper
cover)? Is it possible to just drill new holes in the airdam and the
bumper cover and move the fasteners there?

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Darby OGill - 14 Jun 2006 23:34 GMT

use large flat washers, sometimes called fender washers, or drill new
holes.....not much to lose by trying.

>> Go to a U Pull It and snag another one.
>>
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
> cover)? Is it possible to just drill new holes in the airdam and the
> bumper cover and move the fasteners there?

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Stephen Henning - 14 Jun 2006 13:06 GMT

> > Also, technically it helps down force at high speeds, but that is of
> > very little practical use.
>
> The hell it isn't. Speaking as someone who's driven 240s with and
> without air dams at highway speeds it helps a lot at keeping the front
> end from being flighty. I would assume the same applies to the 7x0s.

Most people had 240s with flighty front ends and never complained. In
fact I can't remember any problem with my 240's flighty front end. I
thought the car drove rather well. Other than being tall and leaning
over from cross winds and a lot of lean when turning, I never noticed
any problems. And that was driving on the Autobahn and Autostrada as
well as on the road to Hanna.

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Bill Bradley - 14 Jun 2006 22:19 GMT

>>>Also, technically it helps down force at high speeds, but that is of
>>>very little practical use.
[quoted text clipped - 9 lines]
> any problems. And that was driving on the Autobahn and Autostrada as
> well as on the road to Hanna.

I didn't say the 240s didn't drive well, but having owned 240s with and
without air dams, I'll take one with for highway driving, no contest.
The front end is just much better planted. I was expressing the
contrary opinion to "They don't do anything." Volvo didn't put them on
the GTs, Turbos, and later all of them just for kicks, and given that it
required the switch to front vented rotors to make up for lost airflow
it obviously wasn't a minor styling frivolity.

Bill

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