I had an unfortunate even while driving today. I was passing a truck and all of a sudden I hear a thump and then a scraping. Keep in mind now that I have a Roush front fascia. I notice my close-out panel (both factory and the Roush extension) detached from the fascia and were dragging under the car. Well, I threw it in the trunk and got on my way. The Roush piece is all chewed up and unusable while the factory piece is good for reuse. My question is, are the close-out panels really necessary. It seems like all they do is stop stuff from splashing up on the radiator. However, with the Roush fascia all sorts of stuff has entered through the hole in the front banging up the radiator fins pretty well. If I don't really need these panels I might as well keep them off. I always thought it was kind of ugly seeing the panels through the front of the bumper anyway. Here's a pic just to make it clear what I'm talking about.

 

I havent had any real problems with mine. I dont see it completely necessary to use the panel but if you can put it back on i would

 

I would put that squarish panel back on if I were you. It protects the radiator from stuff bouncing up off the road.

 

its up to you if you see problems after a while then you might have to get another one if you don't then your golden

 

Not sure if you NEED it on a mustang but I heard if you took it off on the old camaros/firebirds you would get over heating problems.

 

Well as I said the radiator already gets banged up form road debris due to the large opening in the Roush fascia. The only worse thing I could imagine is some mud slash if it rains but that can be cleaned off pretty easily... due to the hole, haha. Also, Roush refuses to sell me a new panel directly and my local, and only nearby, Ford dealership is giving me a hard time getting one as well. I'd still appreciate any input on this you all may have.

 

+1

I agree. What little protection it does offer you, it's still better than none!

 

I had to take mine off and I plan on leaving it off. I cant see how anything too big would be able to bounce up and hit the radiator without getting a shot at the bumper first. I don't know about you but on my bumper there is not much room between the bumper and the radiator.

 

I can imagine a lot worse. I drive on the 405 every day, and I've had tire treads, pieces of furniture, metal debris, etc.. all bounce up against my undercarriage. A lot of this stuff comes out of nowhere, being kicked into your path at 60 mph by cars in other lanes.

Yeah, most of that stuff is going to wreck your bumper first, but the other thing that shield does is put a little support behind the bumper so it doesn't just snap in half when something hits it. I'm speaking from experience here. Better to be safe than sorry.

 

See this never happens on the roads I drive, plus I'd be more worried about something that large ruining my whole bumper.