For people who love working on performance cars, the lip splitter is one of the most common modifications.

A splitter is a type of extension added at the bottom of the vehicle’s front bumper that often resembles a sort of flat bar or scoop that juts out off the front of the car. The piece is designed to be durable, usually with support rods between the splitter and the bumper and featuring a carbon fiber construction.

Splitters help to improve vehicle performance by splitting the air as the vehicle travels, improving traction and reducing lift. When a car without a splitter reaches high speeds, the air pressure at the front of the car builds up, and gets forced underneath the car at a high pressure. The air that goes over the top of the car remains at a reasonably low pressure. This results in a slight lift at the front of the vehicle that can reduce traction.

When using a splitter, it creates a wedge at the front of the vehicle that sends the high-pressure air up and over the car rather than underneath, instead creating a downward force and improved traction.

The problems with splitters

While there are some clear performance advantages associated with using a splitter, there are some disadvantages. These include difficulty of installation, expense and the requirement for custom fits to your vehicle.

For our purposes, though, we are going to focus on the issues that the splitter can create with regard to a lower profile at the front of your vehicle.

Adding a splitter and lowering your car will result in some permanent changes to your vehicle structure. It also adds some potential for damage to the front of your vehicle—due to the lower profile, you may find it more difficult to drive up or down ramps and inclines. This is dangerous for the vehicle because splitters may or may not be capable of withstanding much impact, depending on the kind of material you’ve used.

If you’re going to be loading a performance vehicle with a splitter on to a trailer for transportation, this means you’ll need to take some extra precautions to make sure you don’t inadvertently damage the vehicle in transit.

The right ramps can help solve the problem

Using trailer ramps to extend your approach to the trailer and decrease the angle of approach is the best way to protect a low-profile car from potential contact and damage.

Race Ramps offers a wide selection of trailer ramps for vehicles of varying sizes, and for different approach lengths based on your needs.

These lightweight ramps are designed for low-clearance vehicles with extra-wide tires. They come in a variety of sizes and in both one- and two-piece designs. To determine which kind of trailer ramp will work best for you, you’ll need to take some measurements:

You’ll need to measure the length of the trailer door, the height from the door to the ground (measuring from the ground to the top of the trailer door or ramp at the hinge point) and the thickness of the door, all in inches.

Next, take some measurements with your vehicle to determine the proper angle of approach. Using a yardstick or tape measure at the base of your front wheel, raise that measuring implement until it hits the underside of the splitter. Then, measure vertically from the ground to the end of the yardstick or the 36” point on the tape measure. Using these measurements you’ll be able to calculate the necessary angle of approach.

All Race Ramps trailer ramps are designed with anti-skid construction and feature a capacity of up to 1500 lbs. per ramp. Their light weight makes them easy to transport to and from your desired destination, and their slight angles of approach makes it so you won’t have to worry about.

Don’t let the concerns of a low profile on your vehicle prevent you from adding a splitter. Using a low-angle ramp will allow you to safely load and unload whenever you will be transporting it on a trailer.