Front plate mount in grill solution
10-01-2006, 03:44 PM
#1
Registered User
Thread Starter
Front plate mount in grill solution
I'd been running plate-less for a few months, having badgered my dealer until he sent me a pair of the color-matched plugs for the plate mount holes on the nose. Alas I got a ticket for no front plate (I'm in Los Angeles area).
Yesterday I started to remount the plate with the original bracket, just to get the ticket signed off, but after a little inspection I realized I could easily mount the plate in the grill, where it looks good. I'd previously read notes in this forum about guys who have done this and not had overheating problems, so I felt I dared to proceed. Here's what I did:
Cut the 4 corners of the plate off with tinsnips, at a diagonal.
Folded the flanged edges of the plate back on all 4 sides & flattened them gently, but not enough to make a tight crease in the aluminum sheet. This reduced the total area of the plate while adding a little reinforcement for my bracketless install. It also gave me a fall-back - in case I need to re-install with stock bracket I could unfold them with a little prying and pliers.
Held plate in planned mount location and marked grill strips at corners for reference.
Drilled small holes in the plastic grill - two in the upper bar right under the lower edge of the body-color bumper cover, to mate with upper corners of plate, and two in the middle grill crossbar to mate with holes in the sides of the plate. Note that all these little holes are in horizontal surfaces of the plastic grill cross-bars. It required careful angling of the drill.
Drilled 4 holes in the plate - two at upper corners, and two at the sides where the plate crosses the middle grill bar. (All these holes are 3/16".)
Mounted the plate with white zip-ties, passing through the plate holes and corresponding grill holes. (I chose the zip-ties to match the size of the holes, and made each as small as I could to minimize intrusion on appearance.)
Snipped off ends of zip-ties. I had fastened them so the tie's lock flange was under the backside of the plate, again for appearance.
That's it - took about a half hour of leisurely work.
One nice benefit of the flange folding that reduced the plate area and the way I mounted it, is that it slopes backward at the top, and there is a gap between the plate's lower edge and the bottom of the grill opening, that allows some air-flow.
This week I'll take it in and get the ticket signed off, then pay my $10 fee and be done with it.
I took a couple of pictures showing this, but haven't figured out how to post them yet.
Yesterday I started to remount the plate with the original bracket, just to get the ticket signed off, but after a little inspection I realized I could easily mount the plate in the grill, where it looks good. I'd previously read notes in this forum about guys who have done this and not had overheating problems, so I felt I dared to proceed. Here's what I did:
Cut the 4 corners of the plate off with tinsnips, at a diagonal.
Folded the flanged edges of the plate back on all 4 sides & flattened them gently, but not enough to make a tight crease in the aluminum sheet. This reduced the total area of the plate while adding a little reinforcement for my bracketless install. It also gave me a fall-back - in case I need to re-install with stock bracket I could unfold them with a little prying and pliers.
Held plate in planned mount location and marked grill strips at corners for reference.
Drilled small holes in the plastic grill - two in the upper bar right under the lower edge of the body-color bumper cover, to mate with upper corners of plate, and two in the middle grill crossbar to mate with holes in the sides of the plate. Note that all these little holes are in horizontal surfaces of the plastic grill cross-bars. It required careful angling of the drill.
Drilled 4 holes in the plate - two at upper corners, and two at the sides where the plate crosses the middle grill bar. (All these holes are 3/16".)
Mounted the plate with white zip-ties, passing through the plate holes and corresponding grill holes. (I chose the zip-ties to match the size of the holes, and made each as small as I could to minimize intrusion on appearance.)
Snipped off ends of zip-ties. I had fastened them so the tie's lock flange was under the backside of the plate, again for appearance.
That's it - took about a half hour of leisurely work.
One nice benefit of the flange folding that reduced the plate area and the way I mounted it, is that it slopes backward at the top, and there is a gap between the plate's lower edge and the bottom of the grill opening, that allows some air-flow.
This week I'll take it in and get the ticket signed off, then pay my $10 fee and be done with it.
I took a couple of pictures showing this, but haven't figured out how to post them yet.
10-02-2006, 07:55 AM
#5
cdelena is right on overheating during summer time. it has been discussed for many years. having it on grille does block air flow. I did that to mine for awhile and did not have issue at all. but I also don't drive it much and I live much cooler climate - NYC area.
on warmer climate, we've seen people having 4 bars on temp gauge with it. just watch out for temperature if you do it.
on warmer climate, we've seen people having 4 bars on temp gauge with it. just watch out for temperature if you do it.
10-02-2006, 03:00 PM
#6
oldtrlrnr: We sure would like to see pictures of what you did. You can host them elsewhere and link to them as only members can host pictures here on the site. However, any member can host them for you. Shoot me a PM if you want and you can email me the pics if you like.
10-02-2006, 03:18 PM
#7
Originally Posted by cdelena,Oct 1 2006, 06:15 PM
Mounting the plate in the grill opening has been tried numerous times over the years. Bottom line is too much airflow is blocked resulting in overheating.
I drilled one hole in the front plate and mounted it via the lower mount point for the stock license plate frame/holder. I can provide the measurements I used if anyone is interested.
Trending Topics
10-02-2006, 07:31 PM
#9
Originally Posted by ese2mil,Oct 2 2006, 06:18 PM
That hasn't been my experience. I've run two SoCal summers with my front plate mounted in the grill area without it running any hotter, as observed by the temp gauge.
10-02-2006, 09:16 PM
#10
Registered User
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Northern VA
Posts: 767
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
take a dremel and cut some slits in the plate (up and down) in between the letters, that could help with airflow.
I honestly dont think the plate will cause the car to overheat.
I honestly dont think the plate will cause the car to overheat.