Yeah, mine was having problems with the front tabs, and at high speeds, the front would fall down and start scraping the pavement. I ended up just taking it off a couple of weekends ago, which was a pain in the ***, since my hydraulic jack sucks (I used jack stands once I was able to get the car up), and I didn't have the right tool to unscrew the screws holding it on (I ended up cutting through it with a pair of heavy duty pliers that had the cutting edge near the hinge). Took me half an hour of cutting with that damned set of pliers to finally pry it off.

In retrospect, it would have been easier to go to Kragen or AutoZone and just buy the damn screwdriver.

 

HIGH speeds.. not really highway speeds. You'll know it when your steering gets light at 100+. Thats when it comes into play. As for directing cooling air.... see my recent thread about under hood temps. That's without the belly pan.

 

Go to the place that changed your oil and complain.
Leave it off, but have them cover the cost of replacing it and pocket the $
It's probably their fault it came off.



Mine has been off for over 6 months now... I think it made my timing belt snap!

That was a joke by the way... No problems with it being off.


It is there to protect from minor road debris, and helps to smooth the airflow out, there is no reason why it can't provide protection, direct air, and improve aero at the same time.

It's not a choose 2 and leave the other one behind kind of situation. It was designed to do all three, and it does it. It's not like they just strapped a piece of plywood to the bottom of the car.

 

put you pan on again and test. Pretty sure the results will be basically the same w/ or w/o belly pan. having directional flow will also be better since it will also have more velocity. As for speeds, it will be more balanced at highway speeds mainly when there is heavy crosswinds, and yes, it will be higher when there is no other factor

 

Your steering gets light at 100+? Ive had my car up to almost 145 and I wouldnt say the steering was light. Not like I was turning corners but.. changing lanes and it didnt feel light. This was when I first noticed the lower engine cover wasnt attached properly.

 

I will admit I have run my car with and without belly pan on. Using the A/C Diagnostic Function monitor, I checked the coolant temperatures after high speeds runs (I'm talking 145-150mph runs) and the difference in coolant temps in negligible, the handling was much better with the undertray. The difference in airflow to the engine is offset by the difference in aero efficiency (such that the engine must work harder). The best answer is: leave it if you got it, don't worry if you don't.

~just my .02 on the matter though.