| 10-13-2017, 04:05 PM | #1 |
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The Perfect No-Hole Front License Plate Mount
The perfect no-hole front plate mount
Credit to GrussGott for this idea. For those who want a clean, removable, no hole, front plate mount solution, here is a DIY that in my opinion is the best solution. It utilizes the factory front plate mount, some magnets and something to hold the magnets to the mount and car (VHB tape, automotive Goop or similar). I also used a few vinyl bumpers to help protect the paint on the front bumper. When done, you will have what looks like a permanently mounted factory front plate that is removable. Here is a PDF of this DIY: F8X No Drill Removable Front Plate Install.pdf Approximate cost: Depending on what you have on hand - $8 to $30 Time to accomplish: About 1.5 hours disassembly and to mount magnets 24 hours cure time - recommended About 1.5 hour to assemble Tools Required: Torx 25 Torx 30 8mm 1/4” socket and wrench Short 1/4” extension Difficulty: Easy Materials: Factory Front Plate Mount – should have come with your car 6 Magnets Automotive Goop Optional - 3M VHB Tape Optional – Clear Vinyl Pads Isopropyl alcohol Prepping the front plate holder: I had the 3M VHB tape laying around from another project, so I chose to use it for mounting the magnets to the front plate mount. You could use just the automotive Goop, but will need to use something to back the magnets to bring them flush with the backside of the mount; like such: Regardless, you want to measure the depth behind the front plate holder to determine how thick your spacer needs to be to bring the magnet flush. For me, the measurement was about 17mm. The magnets I used were just over 3mm thick, so I needed about 14mm of spacer to bring the magnet flush with the outer perimeter of the plate holder. The magnets I used were 32mm wide, so I cut 13 - 10cm strips of the VHB tape and layered them on top of each other. I then cut the layered strip into 3 equal pieces. You should have something that looks like this at this point. Next clean the magnets and the plate holder with isopropyl alcohol to ensure good adhesion. Stick the magnet to the VHB stack and then to the back of the plate holder. I placed one in the middle and the other two off to the sides. Lastly, adhere a clear pad to each magnet to prevent the magnet from contacting the paint directly and to provide a little space. I chose clear vinyl pads over felt because I did not want anything getting caught in the felt over time. You now should have something that looks like this: Unfortunately, you will need something for the magnets to stick to on the car and you can’t gain access to the backside of the bumper cover without removing it. Bumper Cover Disassembly: I referenced the following posts to disassemble the front bumper: http://f80.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho....php?t=1003814 http://f80.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho....php?t=1054419 Thanks Ryan@IND and Igor_M5 for posting. These posts cover the process very well with good pictures, so I am reposting some pictures from the above posts; photo credits as appropriate. You won’t need to fully remove the bumper cover so I made some variations; below are the general steps I took in order: 1. Pop hood 2. Pull rubber strip located immediately behind the nose of the car 3. Remove the 6 - Torx 30 bolts and the 2 - Torx 25 bolts that are now expose at outer edges of the top of the bumper cover. 4. Remove driver’s side wheel well liner. There are 9 - 8mm screws holding this. I found I could reach all 9 with the wheel turned inwards. If your car is lowered, you will likely have to take the wheel off. There is no reason to remove the passenger side wheel well liner. Here is the wheel well liner out of the car for reference: 5. Now remove the 10 fasteners holding the bottom of the bumper cover. There are 3 fasteners attaching the deflector to the bumper on each side (6 in total for both sides) and 4 in the middle. The picture below lists a Philips screw, but mine were all 8mm hex. 6. Next remove the two 8mm screws attaching the bumper cover to the front fender; you will see these at the top of the wheel well. Once removed, gently pull down on the bumper cover to release the two alignment pins 7. Unplug the side view camera if your car is so equipped. There is a small tab (indicated by red arrow) that needs to be depressed to release the plug. NOTE: There is no reason to remove the headlight washer or parking sensors 8. You should now be able to loosen the bumper cover to gain access to the back of it. Start at the top and pull gently to gain access to the back of the grills. I found it useful to remove a grill to get better access to the back of the bumper. There are tabs on the backside of the grill that once depressed will allow the grill to slide out. 9. Now is a good time to tape the front plate holder in place. Make sure you have it right side up on the car, it should fit snug with the bumper cover. Taping the plate on will facilitate placing the magnets on the backside of the bumper cover. 10. Carefully pull the bumper cover loose until you get enough room to reach the backside. 11. Clean the magnets with isopropyl alcohol if you have not already and place a dab of the automotive Goop on it. If you are using the same magnets that I did, they will self center as you place them on the backside. Reach through the grill opening and feel for the pull of the magnet and release it when the pull feels strong; the magnet should self center in alignment with the magnet on the front of the bumper cover. Repeat with the remaining two magnets. I recommend letting the adhesive cure for at least 24 hours with the plate holder in place before putting the car back together. Do not pull the front plate holder off until the adhesive is cured otherwise the magnets will likely shift and the holder will not adhere properly with the magnets out of alignment. Once cured, you should be able to pull the plate holder off and have it self align to the magnets glued to the car for a perfect alignment every time. Bumper Cover assembly: Once the adhesive has cured and you have tested the application to ensure your magnets are secure, reassemble in reverse order. Some pointers for assembly:
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| 10-13-2017, 04:39 PM | #2 |
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IG@i.am.wah
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Or, just don't mount one.
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| 10-13-2017, 05:17 PM | #3 |
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Captain
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Holy balls that is a lot of work!
Just buy a sto n sho and call it a day. Sheesh.... 
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| 10-13-2017, 06:52 PM | #4 | ||
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Quote:
Quote:
This and this. While I appreciate the hard work above, I'm sure that time will tell that there will be subtle vibrations and movements that scratch the paint, so this is probably a good option for those with healing or clear bras. This is too much work for just not wearing one, or for $99 slapping on a sto and sho. It's really a high quality product that works better than the USMill Works tow hook holder. |
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| 10-13-2017, 09:07 PM | #5 | |
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Quote:
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