Ford front bumpers

[Speedwagon]

In the late 90s, Ford modified the E series bumper with a large hole in the middle of it. Presumably to allow additional cool air to flow into the radiator and such. I see a lot of aftermarket bumpers don't have this. Is it generally accepted this large opening is not really needed?

 

[turbodiesel]

It does decrease cooling slightly but overall hasn't been an issue for me. I have an aluminess front bumper.

 

[broncobowsher]

Considering how many trucks run around with billet grills that block huge amounts of airflow. And the prerunner style bumpers that delete the bottom half of the airflow opening and might put a couple of smallish sharp edged holes to give the illusion of cooling. And these run for years just fine.

But you don't see those trucks running around pulling mountain grades while fully loaded in the middle of the summer. That is where you need all that frontal area. When you are pushing the limits. How close will you be to pushing the limits? Full throttle (or nearly so) for minutes at a time in the summer? Towing a trailer? Or just massive frontal area and lots of drag?

You can usually get away without that much airflow most of the time. For a typical rig a little less airflow will do just fine.