[George Parrott]

After driving our Volt for over 5000 miles, we regularly find the original front air dam drags on pimples in the road and every speed bump and our driveway produce scraping noises from the front. About 3 weeks ago, when washing the car, I noticed that the segments of the air dam had separated (the air dam surface is composed of three segments), and the freeway "flapping noise" that we had been hearing was coming from this separation !

Consulting with my local dealer, I discovered that simply "upon request," GM was covering the installation of a smaller front air dam. It took about 10 days for the new replacement to arrive at my dealership and only 30 minutes for the installation.

Others might want to consider this if they too are having such regular scraping as we did.

 

[taminatorv]

The air dam on ours has already separated. I reinstalled the tab from one section back into the other and it seems to be holding. The scraping noise is a bit annoying, but I can live with it if it helps with range at freeway speeds. If it didn't make an obvious difference, I'd rather have the smaller air dam.

 

[George Parrott]

My own conclusion was:
1. I really did not like the constant scraping.
2. IF a smaller air dam was going to really reduce EV range (at freeway speeds) then GM probably would not have made that an option.
3. The actual reduction, of course there will be some, of range is probably less than 2% and that would not be noticed for most of us, and certainly not by me, since 95% of our Volt use is at and under 60 mph.

So, if you are not in pursuit of driving your Volt on the freeway and at speeds in excess pf 65 mph, then I would bet (and I am not a gambling person) that you will/would not notice the drop in actual EV range from this change.

 

[Chevrolet Customer Svc]

@ taminatorv

If the smaller air dam is the route you decide to take, we would be more than happy to assist you in getting set up with the dealer. Like George Parrott posted above, once the part comes in, the installation does not take that long and it will take care of the scaraping noise.

 

[mfennell]

I would counter with: GM would not have specified the air dam unless it was required to hit their targets in the controlled world of EPA testing (though it's not quite clear to me how EPA treats aerodynamics on the dyno tests).

HOWEVER, I would agree that driving style is sure to be far more relevant to your EV miles and fuel mileage than what air dam is on the car or if it even has one at all.

 

[fishhawk]

Makes we wonder which one will come with the 2012's.

 

[Frank F]

@ taminatorv

If the smaller air dam is the route you decide to take, we would be more than happy to assist you in getting set up with the dealer. Like George Parrott posted above, once the part comes in, the installation does not take that long and it will take care of the scaraping noise.

George / Trevor

Is the shorter air dam and installation free upon request? I have already ordered and paid for ($60) the new air dam, but haven't been to the dealer yet to have it installed. The service dept. wants another $60 to install it! Trevor?

Frank -Volt #3470 in So. Cal.

 

[Zod]

It would be great to see how much the lower air dam really helps. Any idea if that data is available anywhere (GM must have it).

If it really does help a lot, it would be great if you could install a mechanical one that lowers/raises based on speed!

 

[Chevrolet Customer Svc]

I will look into that for you Zod. That is a very good suggestion though, about the mechanical air dam.

 

[Steverino]

I rarely hit the air dam, but I am also careful entering or leaving driveways.

Fast enters or exits definitely increase the scraping potential in my experience. I also never push my luck with parking curbs. Reading the Volt hardcover book, I am sure the air dam height was not arrived at arbitrarily. They are really trying to squeeze every bit of aerodynamics out of this car. In this case the dam height may be pushing, or at the edge of the envelope so to speak. I do check the tabs when I wash, just in case.

 

[Zod]

Thanks Trevor, that would be awesome!

 

[George Parrott]

Part and installation should be "free" as a correction in the design

The headline here says it all. You should absolutely NOT have to pay for the part or the installation. Have your dealer call the Volt Advisors....

 

[RDO CA]

I had the new air dam installed and it's great as now it doesn't scrape all the time and it was free for both the part and installation.

Roy #272

 

[GSP]

I really like the low spoiler. You have to drive carefully, but this is a constant reminder that your car is special, like a corvette or a Ford GT. I like the idea of minimizing drag and maximizing EV range. I hope it continues to be available, and that other options or modifications to increase range become available.

GSP

 

[maestro77]

Makes we wonder which one will come with the 2012's.

Me too....can the Chevrolet Customer Svc please comment on this? I've got a 2012 on order, and if it's the original air dam I'd like to know so I can ask my dealer to change it even before the vehicle is delivered to me.

 

[voltage692]

I second the desire to have hard data on the efficiency difference between the 2 air dams. Something that compares aero efficiency over different speeds. Please.

 

[Steverino]

Well, it seems that someone in Japan is paying attention to the Volt's aerodynamic ground effects:

"Toyota Racing Development, the rogues responsible for the company's 680-horsepower V8 NASCAR engine, have built a performance package for the Prius. It doesn't add any power to the Prius, but includes a ground-effects kit, 17-inch forged alloy wheels, low-profile tires, faster steering and a lower ride height."

Perhaps they will market the kit to those who want their Prius to be more "like a Volt".

http://www.freep.com/article/20110703/COL14/107030455/Mark-Phelan-Hybrid-technology-enters-mainstream-auto-production?odyssey=nav|head

 

[twist]

It's a tough call. The Volt looks better with the low air dam. The new Cruze comes with the short air dam which makes it look more like an econo Japanese car. After 6000 miles of driving my front airdam is about 1/2 to be needing replacement.

http://ts3.mm.bing.net/images/thumbnail.aspx?q=996316358814&id=4946778aa81049a5a696007ae7eda2a8

 

[Ziv]

I am kind of wondering just how much AER you lose by going with the smaller air dam. Even anecdotal evidence would be interesting. I imagine that if you got 37 miles of AER before the CS mode kicked in at 65 mph, after you get the smaller dam you might get 35 or 36, but I doubt the AER loss would be more than 2 miles, but if you average 75 mph it could be 3 miles less AER. And when you are driving around town the difference would be so small that it would be hard to recognize.

 

[Slapshot28]

Having driven mostly sport sedans, I accustomed to low air dams (and the $$ to get them repainted every year or so). Driving s-l-o-w-l-y and at an angle across thresholds is second-nature to me. To my eyes a low air dam is very attractive.

Just now I had a close look at the air dam on my Volt. I can see few scrapes on each side--nothing to write home about. But I was shocked at how pliable the material is. It's rubber, not plastic!

I was impressed.