Removing air dam affect gas mileage?

[GMSEVEN]

Hello, I've been reading around on different forums about removing the front bumper air dam and how fuel economy is affected.  I have a 2017 Silverado Z71 with 1500 miles, and am just wondering if there is a noticeable gas mileage difference?  I've read that pretty much everything GM does from the air dam to ecm tuning is to maximize fuel efficiency, but I am not sure how much effect they actually have?

 

I've also read that resetting the ECM by doing a reboot (unhook negative terminal from battery) will reset the adaptive learning feature and help with transmission shift points and improve fuel efficiency but is this actually true?  Will a reboot improve anything or will the adaptive learning eventually just take you back to the same shift points?  The nature of this question is that it seems that coming out of turns or starting an up hill ascent the transmission doesn't seem to find the correct gear quickly.  It also feels like I don't get the pep engine power I feel like I should be getting with 355hp and 383ftlb?  I don't want to buy a tune and risk voiding my factory warranty.  Any help or suggestions?

Thanks

[BigBadSierra]

The air dam only saves you .5 to 1 mpg.

 

I've done the disconnect from time to time to reset the transmission. It does little for the fuel millage however it helps when the truck in a mood for hard shifts.

 

The 355HP and 383ftlp are highly governed by the Traction and Stability control systems. The stability system turn back on even if you shut that off.

 

People will disagree as they always do but I put just a full AiRaid intake on my truck and it's night and day difference in acceleration and I didn't have to mess with a Tune.

 

It's good enough for me.

[aseibel]

40 minutes ago, BigBadSierra said:

The air dam only saves you .5 to 1 mpg.

Yes, but pretty much only on highway. Anything you do to alter the outside shape of the truck or airflow will only hurt mileage. The popular mods of leveling kit + taller, wider, more aggressive tires will sacrifice 1-2 mpg on the highway from stock.

 

I also have the Airaid MIT and have plenty of power when I push the pedal down. And I drive like an old man most of the time, so I'm sure my shift points are screwed up. But when I want to go fast, I have no complaints.

[MaverickZ71]

Motor Trend magazine just completed a long term test of a Chevy Colorado Z71 truck.  They took the front airdam 'valence' off halfway through the test, because they were tired of it hitting on rocks, etc., everytime they went off-road.  They said they only lost .2 (two-tenths) of a mpg after the airdam was gone.  So it really doesn't make any difference to speak of. 

[Sierra706]

I didn’t notice a difference at all. Most of my driving is country roads, not highway miles.


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[oldmann]

No choice to remove in my case.  Way to low for any light offroad work.

[GMSEVEN]

I guess I'll leave it on for now, even 0.5-1 mpg makes a difference and I live in the mountains so that makes fuel economy even worse even when driving like an old man which I do most of the time   ha.   I like the AiRaid intake suggestion though, that sounds like what I'm looking for to give it a bit more umpf.

If I ever remove the air dam it really improves the stance and tough appearance shown in this pic, I would also want to lift it and get some nice off road wheels/tires.

[Paintor]

This should be your first modification:

 

 

[GMSEVEN]

It’s worth a try,  I’ll have to inspect mine and see if there’s the same gap/bracket flexing issue.

[aseibel]

50 minutes ago, Paintor said:

This should be your first modification:

I thought about telling him that too, but have they really not fixed it yet for the 2017's?

[Sierra706]

I guess I'll leave it on for now, even 0.5-1 mpg makes a difference and I live in the mountains so that makes fuel economy even worse even when driving like an old man which I do most of the time   ha.   I like the AiRaid intake suggestion though, that sounds like what I'm looking for to give it a bit more umpf.
If I ever remove the air dam it really improves the stance and tough appearance shown in this pic, I would also want to lift it and get some nice off road wheels/tires.

The 0.5-1 is generous and assuming mostly highway miles at 70+mph. You won’t notice a thing in the mountains.


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[GMSEVEN]

Last night I inspected the gas pedal and sure enough, there was 1/4 inch flex in the plastic bracket which the pedal is mounted to.  I used the same fix as the guy who posted the thread, with a paint stir stick and it pretty much did the trick.  No pedal flex at all now, however not sure how long-term or durable this fix is so I'll have to work up something more permanent.

[Paintor]

You will be fine. the paint stick trick is permanent.

[Largely Unknown]

As for the valence, I may eventually remove it (I'm an on road/gravel road only driver).  It's def an eyesore.  However, I was looking underneath - and thinking it helps keep small rocks/road debris from hitting my components under the truck. That's the only reason I'm leaving it on.

 

Regarding the gas pedal, I have the adjustable type.  There is a ton of side to side flex of the whole box that contains the gas pedal assembly, but little flex if you're pushing straight down. I went ahead and added the paint stick but didn't notice any difference - I guess I must be pushing straight down.  For sure it doesn't hurt to add this in. I wrapped my paint stick piece in black electrical tape, both to conceal it and also to make it stay in place.

[Dennis Wholey]

Just took mine off but also have bilstein 5200 adjustable shock larger tire air intake k&n filter.... Left the stock, air box though

Just removed my air dam as it started having a gap and couldn't get it clean enough! Now to put pictures up?

Oh 15 screws 10mm to remove it and 4 plastic grommets no wires anywhere to Get damaged