I was looking under my car and found that the black plastic piece in front of the passenger front wheel is all banged up, most likely from dips...

It looks bad when you look under the car and it seems I can take it off by taking out a few screws, but anyone care to explain what exactly do the pieces do (maybe I can order a replacement?)? It seems there are similar pieces on the back too.

 

i was curious about them as well. because of them, its do it yourself car washes only for me cuz i lowered it

 

I've always wondered what they were for as well..they look kind of odd there, but figured there was a purpose to them.

 

There is alot of diffrent reasons they are there. A few I can think of off the top of my head:

Keep water from splashing up into your engine bay, causing quicker wear and tear on your wires/electronics, drive belts, and worse of all, vapor lock.

In the summer, they keep the cool aiflow of your radiator, in the engine bay.(Assuming your radiator and fan functions properly)
In the winter, they help keep the warmth your engine creates, in the engine bay.

I suspect there is some purpose for aerodynamics too, but that's just me guessing, everything eles I said is things I have read/learned from my last car, that had overheating problems.
In that car, I did take them off because the car ran cooler with them off, specificlly in stop and go traffic. I was not about to drop $500 on a new radiator in a car I payed $1000 for, so I had to get creative to keep it running!

I am also sure there are more purposes to them than just this. I won't be taking mine off anytime soon.

 

They give +5 HP

 

imma add like 8 more then!!!

 

i think its called a skid plate. i had the same thing happen in my o7. when i damaged it on the beach i pretty much messed it up to were it wasnt functional anymore. so i took it off and drove around like that for a couple years. didnt have any problems.. if you feel like getting a new one they go for about $100. im not sure how bad it is.. maybe you can just quick fix it and add maybe the home depot front lip to try and hide it?

 

Will probably keep it on there for awhile then, seeing as they aren't just cosmetic.

 

Yeah,
I am sure that if they are there they serve some purpose.

Maybe its to say "Hey! You're getting a little lax with this beautiful car. We're getting effed up... it's only a matter of time before you start scraping her magnificent body. Take it easy bud."

;p