Does anyone know what the mystery piece of plastic does?

[bruno13]

Hello,
I recently had a piece of black shiny plastic fall off my SSR. It mounts right below the radiator area, can be seen from the front of the car. It's about 24" wide and has 4 or so mounting holes, one has a black plastic anchor left in it. Is this something important? Thanks in advance. bruno13

[Purple Penelope]

Originally Posted by bruno13

Hello,
I recently had a piece of black shiny plastic fall off my SSR. It mounts right below the radiator area, can be seen from the front of the car. It's about 24" wide and has 4 or so mounting holes, one has a black plastic anchor left in it. Is this something important? Thanks in advance. bruno13

Yep...it's the air dam which is suppose to direct air up to the radiator. Its held on to the radiator support bracket by 5 plastic push pins which lock when pressed into the mounting holes.

Did you loose yours, or just had it come off and haven't replaced it?? The pins can be bought any auto parts store.

Did that do it??

P/P

Peace

I have an extra one if yours is gone and you want one...Mike in AZ has replacements which are curved and do a betteer job of directing air up to the radiator.

[Focks]

Thats your air dam. its used to scoop air up into the engine. You can ge a replacement from the dealership, or get one from this little company called "Simple-Engineering" They have one called SSR Replacement Air Dam.

They have a few other items that are built and designed for the SSR, that may interest you.

[beer100]

The push pins that keep that part in place don't hold up to the abuse of parking nose in against curbs.

Go to the nearest hardware store and get some stainless screws and nuts. Suggest you get aircraft nuts. With them you don't need to tighten the nut beyond that needed to keep the air dam from wobbling loosely.

Screws can be overtightened to the point where damage to either the air dam or the mounting points happened.

Oh. and learn to park farther back.

[ruby2]

The airdam plastic screws are designed to break off when it hits something. I don't recommend putting hard fasteners like screws and nuts since it might damage the radiator support if you hit a high curb or tombstone incorrectly. The plastic parts hold well and do break off if you hit something. They are easy to replace. ... oh yeah and park further back like beer100 says.
Ruby 2

[abadssr]

ok someone had to say it along with the airdam from simple engineering you can get a new radiator support the one on our trucks is not metal and weak if your gonna get the air dam might as well get the support that way it wont break next time you park to far in and hit the curb in the front

[Purple Penelope]

Originally Posted by ruby2

The airdam plastic screws are designed to break off when it hits something. I don't recommend putting hard fasteners like screws and nuts since it might damage the radiator support if you hit a high curb or tombstone incorrectly. The plastic parts hold well and do break off if you hit something. They are easy to replace. ... oh yeah and park further back like beer100 says.
Ruby 2

So correct.....ask me about buying a radiator support bracket.....you can buy lots of pins for $240.

Don't forget about parking farther back when parking

P/P

Peace

[yellow bear]

Testimonial for lower radiator support from Simple Engineering.
This is the result of having been airborne and landing R/F wheel first. The support came to rest in the dirt right next to the concrete. It got bent in the accident.
Compare the plastic support in 2 & 3 and notice the "ears" at the end of the black plastic part and the bend in the metal part in 4 & 5. We also have the replacement air dam along with the lower support. Had it not been for the metal replacement, at substantial cost savings compared with the OEM plastic, we would have suffered radiator and air conditioning damage as well.
Small price to pay for the "confidence" that parts from Simple Engineering supplies for our trucks. The info from Mike alone, is worth the phone call. Check him out, by all means!
Yellow Bear (Fuji)

[Jgrden]

Originally Posted by yellow bear

Testimonial for lower radiator support from Simple Engineering.
This is the result of having been airborne and landing R/F wheel first. The support came to rest in the dirt right next to the concrete. It got bent in the accident.
Compare the plastic support in 2 & 3 and notice the "ears" at the end of the black plastic part and the bend in the metal part in 4 & 5. We also have the replacement air dam along with the lower support. Had it not been for the metal replacement, at substantial cost savings compared with the OEM plastic, we would have suffered radiator and air conditioning damage as well.
Small price to pay for the "confidence" that parts from Simple Engineering supplies for our trucks. The info from Mike alone, is worth the phone call. Check him out, by all means!
Yellow Bear (Fuji)

Nice shots. I am getting ready to put Mike's new air dam on my truck. Your pictures show me what the old dam looks like.

[yellow bear]

Yeah, I pretty much destroyed Mike's air dam, lower support, and aux fan, all in one shot. No wonder nobody wanted to go to Wecks for breakfast with US!!

[bruno13]

Thanks to all for the info regarding my air dam. I didn't lose the piece so will probably just tack it back in place (with plastic fasteners).
Appreciate all the help!
bruno13

[BlackSSR03]

We are a dam good group that really give a dam about our fellow fanatics. And that dam is the way it should dam be. Dam it.

Sandy, Dam proud
03

[JimBob]

Was there other damage? Is the frame now tweaked? Are those plastic pins designed to shear or are designed for ease of installation? It still comes down to "How the SSR is driven and how others drive" Nothing will save us completely from damage from crashes.

[JimGnitecki]

Just to reinforce: This air dam is VITAL for cooling on the thermally challenged SSR. Don't run without it (or Mike's better one) in place.

Jim G

[beer100]

All those parts are tougher and more flexible that you might think. I've had screws in there for over a year.

GM uses those push pins because they are inexpensive to buy and fast (read cheap) to install.

[xoxoxoBruce]

I knocked that damn dam off three times in the first six months, because I drive off road, uh, make that off pavement, almost daily. Been driving without it for two years with no problem.