bobster99

Good Evening.

Tonight I got stuck running over a piece of shredded truck tire on the highway and it took out Under Body Cover 2. The one that runs from the crossover back towards the rear of the car.

Except for the fact that Lexus must have put it there for some reason... has anyone removed this under body cover and noticed any ill effects?

The front under body cover does add additional support to the front bumper but is there any reason that the second one has to be there?

If they designed this panel to clear up the under car airflow over 100 mph I can live without it but if there is a better reason I would replace it...

Any one have a spare ones out there?

Bob

texsexlex

iTrader: (3)

... I think the biggest purpose was to keep debris from possibly hitting the under carriage & possibly damaging something. It seems like it may have worked for you tonight.

bobster99

Yeah, maybe. Most of the stuff that appear to be above this plastic panel are pretty solid.

What happened is that the scrap tire caught an edge of it and broke it free. Once it was hanging down the highway nicely ground down down the front half of it in no time.
What sucks is that this is a $5 part at a salvage yard but finding one might not be so easy.

iolmaster

iTrader: (1)

aerodynamics The underside of a car without the cover is terrible for aerodynamics.

Bgw70

Both of mine were gone when I purchased the car. I replaced them with new and they did not cost that much.
I did not notice any difference in the drivability but they do help keep the components clean.

mandyfig

The underside cladding is for aerodynamics plus dirt control.

It is all about the COG Coefficient of Drag, which our SC's are well know for a 0.26.

I work in the automotive industry and it is all about the COD, wind tunnel testing and obviously EPA ratings. They would spend hundreds of thousand dollars adding a small component (or modify a part) to influence the COD.

Jimbad

In some cars the under-body piece does protect but it also helps with airflow for cooling purposes.

mrblister

The undercover also helps me retrieve all the dropped tools and clips my dealership drops. You just have to take it off to get all the goodies