Front Plate Delete

[billschusteriv]

Okay... so maybe I'll get a little heat for starting this thread... but I've looked on other forums and have read on this topic a couple of times... and I don't know that these questions have been specifically addressed... but maybe they have.

Last week, the wife looks at the car and says that I should put the euro plate I have for the e30 on the e46. I thought this was the greatest idea... I get to start with an easy mod to the e46. So I remembering what I read about front plates, I pulled off the front plate trim and immediately noticed that when the PO put her airbrushed plate on the front of the car, it put a lovely series of holes in the bumper. Which will be visible when I take off the front plate trim.

Has anyone done the front plate delete and just dealt with the unsightly holes in the bumper? Are they not as unsightly as they are from 1-2 feet away?

I'm assuming I would need to take the car to a body shop to have this repaired. Anyone repaired these holes themselves?

I'm sure this would also be a good time to upgrade the front bumper, but I don't think that would go over real well. Having to tell the wife the $20 euro plate trim ended up turning into hundreds for bumper, paint, and gominigo "No Holes" license plate bracket.

[Tampa330i]

This was the first thing I did, but I'm not sure what you mean by extra holes in the bumper. There are 3 inserts used in the center of the bumper trim for various things; USA plate, Euro plate, or no plate. I pulled off the USA plate holder and replaced with no plate. Parts 7, 8 & 9 here: http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...19&hg=51&fg=15 . I replaced 8 with 7 and that was it. Other than the color being slightly off next to sunbeaten trim, it looks good. Can you get pictures of these holes? Are they actually on the bumper itself? If so sound like the PO didn't know what they were doing. I think the point of the insert is so you DON'T have to drill into the bumper. Here's my front:

[danewilson77]

You can buy replacement color matched inserts....

Just throwing that out there as an option....

http://www.modbargains.com/Painted_Bumper_Plugs_BMW.htm

[billschusteriv]

This was the first thing I did, but I'm not sure what you mean by extra holes in the bumper. There are 3 inserts used in the center of the bumper trim for various things; USA plate, Euro plate, or no plate. I pulled off the USA plate holder and replaced with no plate. Parts 7, 8 & 9 here: http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...19&hg=51&fg=15 . I replaced 8 with 7 and that was it. Other than the color being slightly off next to sunbeaten trim, it looks good.

Looking at realoem here: http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...19&hg=51&fg=15

On a standard US license plate, there are four holes - two in the top and two in the bottom. Pictured (on realoem) at the bottom of P/N 8, there are two holes that allow the fastners to affix the plate to the trim.

After looking more closely at realoem - I may have realized where the departure from norm exists. I believe the PO of my car used wood screws or something similar (with a pointed or self-tapping end) to affix the front plate to the trim - which inevitably pierced through and placed holes in my front bumper. Looking at realoem - it looks like the standard fasteners for the front plate are more like a machine screw - which may not necessarily damage the front bumper during use.

Can anyone confirm this?

I'm at work now - but I can post pictures of the damage later when I get the car into the garage and out of the snow.

You can buy replacement color matched inserts....

Just throwing that out there as an option....

http://www.modbargains.com/Painted_Bumper_Plugs_BMW.htm

Thanks Dane! That's the kind of option I wanted to hear!

[Tampa330i]

I don't know... it seems to me like you'd have to be intentionally drilling into the bumper. The top holes on the plate holder insert are too high to hit the bumper and the bottom ones are too low - they'd go into the grid. Shouldn't the plate be screwed into the plate holder, not the bumper itself?

[billschusteriv]

I don't know... it seems to me like you'd have to be intentionally drilling into the bumper. The top holes on the plate holder insert are too high to hit the bumper and the bottom ones are too low - they'd go into the grid. Shouldn't the plate be screwed into the plate holder, not the bumper itself?

Tampa - I agree with you, I would think the plate would be fastened to the plate holder and not the bumper.

About the holes in the bumper - I've got the ugly factory bumper - non-m3, non-CSL, non-mtech. There is a larger expanse of bumper behind my front plate holder.

Here's a picture of my front end that I brightened up a bit from a night shoot:

[Tampa330i]

Ahh man not being a zhp threw me off. I forget not everyone on here has one... yet. Replace that whole bumper with mtech2, imo ZHP lookin' wagon would be interesting.

[danewilson77]

Google it. Many wagons out there with M Tech II. I think it looks great.

Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk

[billschusteriv]

NP. Thanks for chiming in. Brought about some good discussion.

Looking at mtech2 and other wagons right now and it would be shmexy.

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum...d.php?t=523352

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...=248281&page=2

[danewilson77]

My fav.......