Has anyone removed the plastic valence underneath the bumper? I hate how low it sits on my '11 2wd XLT. Just wondering how the truck would look without it.

-Thanks

 

I took it off the day I got it. Looks much better.

 

Is there a belly pan attached to it or is it just the 'valance'? I haven't even got under it to look. I thought it looked horrible as well.

 

I've heard several times on here where removing this can cause your A/C to not work near as well. The valance is used to push air up across the A/C condenser and radiator. It also creates a low pressure area under the truck to slightly improve fuel mileage.

It is a functional part, remove it if you want to but beware it was put there for a reason.

 

It's just the valance. I didn't notice a difference in the AC, it was probably 100 degrees outside when I first got it so it had plenty of use. As far as MPG I couldn't tell you.

 

I've read a lot of stuff on the internet, too.

Not sure if it's true. I wonder how much truth there really is to it. I'll admit it sounds great in theory. In practice? Really not sure. I took the belly pan off of my Mustang and never felt a difference up to close to 130 mph.

Don't take this as a strike against you, just spit balling this whole thing.

 

I look at it this way. Ford spends money to make and install the part. I would say a conservative guess would be $5-10 per part on each truck. Additionally they spend non-recurring costs to design the part. If they sell 750,000 F-150s a year they will have $3,750,000-$7,500,000 invested in this part. We know they have tried to cut costs every way possible without hurting the final product. I doubt they would have spent that much money if the part did nothing.

 

There are plenty of things FoMoCo does that does not make any sense though. So there is just no telling. I guess the only way to do it is to try it for yourself.

FoMoCo added axle weights to some 2005-2009 Mustangs. There was no rhyme or reason to which cars got them or not. Yet my 2011 got a different rear dome light that only has one bulb vs three bulbs like I was seeing every one with.

 

Fuel economy.

 

It's removable, in fact in my 2011 owners manual it recommends removing it if you're taking the truck off road.

Driving off-road with truck and utility vehicles
4WD vehicles are specially equipped for driving on sand, snow, mud and
rough terrain and have operating characteristics that are somewhat
different from conventional vehicles, both on and off the road.
Your vehicle may be equipped with a front air dam that can become
damaged (due to reduced ground clearance) when taking your vehicle
off-road. This air dam can be taken off by removing two bolts.
For vehicles equipped with a 3.5L Ecoboost™ engine:
Your vehicle is equipped with an underbody transmission shield and
brackets that may become damaged (due to reduced ground clearance)when taking your vehicle off-road. Remove the shield by disengaging the
fasteners at each corner of the shield. Then, remove the shield rear
brackets by removing the bracket to frame bolts, or have your authorized
dealer perform the work for you

 

My trucks lowered. in going to take it off and cut it down

 

I have thought about taking my off as well, however I really want to know if that part does anything before I do.

 

I really don't think the owners manual would recommend taking it off if there was an issue. Even if it was to prevent damage offroad. I'm going to take it off tomorrow and see what happens. I'll report back with my thoughts.

 

I took mine off because it made my 2wd xlt look really low in the front. It stayed off for many months and I didn't noticed any difference in the AC or anything. The truck looked wayyy better without it. I put it back on after I installed my leveling kit. It looks ok now because the leveling kit lifted the front of the truck. However, I still prefer the looks without it. May take it off again in the future.

 

I remember reading on here someone did it on a SD and it got worse mileage. You'd just have to try it for yourself