License plate relocations options that dont comprimise integrity
 

http://www.subispeed.com/grimmspeed-plate-relocation

I was looking at this one. Then I realized that if someone bumps me during parking, that would severely screw up the device, push metal against the car, and destroy the screw hole that the tow bar goes into, aka: destroying much.

So that option is just out. I only would use the bracket when I have to park in New York City on the street. That is the only time it would surely be crushed and do massive damage for a slight tap.

Any other suggestions for license plate holders that would not scratch, crush, or etc the car? I saw the magnetic option. I dont think that would work in NY City. People really live in the middle of nowhere and have a lot of unique options that only work in the middle of nowhere. I cannot find one that would work other than drilling through the bumper and making it look like crap. Suggestions? comments and experience on any of them is also good.

I use a mount from Skene Designs that I had from my Camry. It says its a drill less mount but it actually designed to drill in a place where you dont see the holes if it removed. It is also adustable up, down, and tilt.

I made a couple holes into the grille area and you cant see the holes unless you get really close to it.

You could do something like that and drill under the mustache of the BRZ. This way when you take it off you cant see the holes.

Something like this. They have one for the 2017 BRZ too.

http://www.skenedesign.com/FPBracket...i-CooperSM.jpg

Perrin makes one that's a little more beefy

http://perrinperformance.com/i-17371...N6saAlq78P8HAQ

Honestly if some one has enough force to "crush" it there doing a hell of a lot more damage to your car then destroying the tow screw hole.

If someone backs into your license plate/mount and deforms it, nothing is going to prevent scrapes to the bumper cover. I actually think that the tow hook one is your best option as it stands out further, and should stand up to a bumper tap. I bought the skene before i came up with the magnetic design, and the skene will mark the bumper if the license plate is pushed back so it contacts. my magnetic one will mark it, but it's plastic-plastic contact. I've covered the contact point with vinyl so the bumper is protected somewhat.

by the way, los angeles isn't really 'in the middle of nowhere'. that being said, i do NOT parallel park my car if i can help it.

I bought the Skene, although I won't mount it until I get a ticket. The tow-hole mounts look weird to me. The magnetic mount, though ingenious, is just too involved for my taste. The Skene appears to be a simple, solid compromise that keeps the plate in the center while minimizing unsightly holes in the bumper. I'll probably add a lightweight backer frame, too, to keep the plate from bending under wind pressure, should I ever have to mount it.

This is a genius proposal, funny as hell too. Yes, being that the fix-it tickets are $0 dollar fines if fixed, one can ride around without the thing until one gets a ticket.

However: Parking. I believe I can get a fine and not a fix-it ticket for parking with only one plate on. Anyone know if this is the case?

there is not parking in New York City for under $36 for a little while unless you parallel park a car.

Yeah, drilled holes are looking better. That or the magnetic solution. Parking now is the issue. Driving violation is an easy fix. the one you have with magnets using OEM seems the best, so long as you can isolate the back plate from rubbing a lot. Wouldnt just putting a wide piece of black form on the back of the bracket work? or that still grinds probably. I would have to figure out how to get behind the bumper like you did.

In California its not a fix-it parked without front licence plate. Fine.

$25 first violation

I have the Perrin kit and it's actually super sturdy. I had a guy rip my bumper off and the only thing that kept one side on was the license plate mount. I've also bounced a few cones off it autocrossing with no problems.

Picture of the car after it was hit. It didn't even bend the bracket.

http://i.imgur.com/vfT1BQU.jpg

I played my luck and eventually they got me. I got an orange parking ticket for the no front plate and yes, it's not a fix-it ticket. Ended up getting the grimmspeed tow-hook mount.

Foam on the back of the bracket might still mar, I think. Over time, dust/dirt would be between the foam and the bumper and rub some marks into the soft plastic of the bumper cover. The best solution is just to protect the bumper cover with some replaceable vinyl wrap. i haven't run my magnetic mount daily in a few months - the vinyl wrap is almost unnoticeable. i only put my front license plate back on when i'm parking in a city where they ticket for no front license plates.

if you read the magnetic mount thread, one guy was able to slide the magnets behind the bumper without removing the bumper. but then, they weren't secured in place.

oh jeez. Yeah. Thanks for the information. Fix-it is the one I can deal with and avoid, but the parking, that's ny shity for you.

if you don't parallel park, the tow hook mount is cool. I think I will have to. I go to a lot of clubs in Manhattan. I do not park close but I do park in parallel. Tow hook would cause massive chain reaction for what would otherwise be a small mark if at all.

It does seem to be a good solution. I think it is either: OEM mount as usual, or your magnet thing. I see how the skene is kind of cool, but would cut in on one light push. Those magnets hold it straight, no tilt at higher speeds? If i was planning on going super speeds, I would simply take it off I guess.

I literally zip tied my license on the black plastic grill part. It's not a fancy set up but it's clean and i've kept on eye on the temp gauge since it's in front of the radiator. Everything has been good for the 6+ months that it's been on. I got tired of paying no tag fees so decided to do that.

Like I said I have the Skene and it is off to the side, adjusted down, and tilted in a way that it will never come in contact with the paint. For the only corner that may, its a long shot that it will, I put 1/4 inch weather stripping.

That picture I posted of it, just slide the plate down and tilt the bottom back a little and there is no chance of it touching the paint.

I have the grimmspeed relocater and it saved my front bumper from bad drivers. The u-shape metal piece is mashed half to hell but it still works!

the OEM bracket is self-leveling - it can't really tilt. if anything, driving faster might just make it more secure as the wind is pushing it against the bumper. i don't know - haven't had it fall off yet under 'normal speeds'. i'm not sure whether our cars go 'super speed'. :)

Just to add to the mix.
Not exactly 100% legal, but I did have a state trooper look and laugh and said OK.


On an other note I was at a track airing up my tires when a guy came up behind me and ran into the back of my car. He got out and said he was sorry because he had not pumped up the brakes after changing pads then looked at the damage to his car and told me that his would not have been hurt so bad if I did not have those D** recovery things in the back. Damage to mine was $400. his was a lot worse. I leave mine on even on the road now.

That is like straight up hood. You would be hood glory if you used torn bodega black plastic baggies as ties for it though.

That was my original plan but then changed my mind to zip ties...

because...Aerodynamics..duh.

I would argue that the other bumper mounted option is no more "beefy" than ours, considering it's made of the same thickness of metal. In fact, the design of the metal backing plate on theirs is a lot less strong than our metal backing plate, just by design.

The U-Bracket that bolts between the tow hook bolt and our backing plate is probably the most ingenious part of our design. Not only does it allow for the most amount of adjustability so you can put the plate just where you want it, but it will act as the relocation kits "crumple zone" in the event of a hit. If that somehow gets destroyed, you call us, and for a couple of bucks we'll send you another one.

If someone backs into you hard enough to do damage to the plate holder, if you had no plate holder in place they would probably do the exact same amount of damage, scuff, scratch, remove paint, whatever. If someone is backing into you hard enough to damage the relocation kit and push the plate into the bumper causing scratches from the plate, chances are they were going to do damage to your car without the kit.

The bolt itself would have to take a very severe hit to damage it, and even then I don't know if you're going to do any significant damage to it. You have to remember that these tow hook mounts are literally designed to pull the entire weight of the car, and I wouldn't be surprised if you could lift it vertically with it.

So from experience (thousands of these sold, we make them for a lot of cars), I've never heard of anyone complaining about "massive damage from a slight tap." And I'd rather have them damaging the relocation kit, than my car. So I don't think you really have anything to worry about. Also, typically people hit the dead middle or driver side of you car when parallel parking, which the relocation kit is out of the way of.

Chase
Engineering

You have to use parkingpanda or parkwhiz to find better spots. There's a lot of covered garages for $20-25/3hr depending on what area you're going to. I generally park further out of Manhattan at cheaper spots and take an Uber or subway in.

I hate to say this as I like to see people have good business, but....

it would do more damage during a slight tap at 1mph while some is parallel parking than a simple plastic black bumper being tapped. It also has a lot of leverage being a stick sticking out of the bumper, on an angle of any kind it would bend something unholy. That being said, almost no one on these forums parallel parks their brz with this anywhere in a real city where it would matter. I might be the only person on here that would. I like the look, love the idea, and love how I can just take it off and on for photos or when I go to another state and no one cares. I think it is a great product, just problematic for me and the pieces of crap animals that exist in New York City.

Parallel parking in NY City is done on either side. If you parallel park on the left side of the road, that tow hook area is the dominant target.

thank you for that information :)

This is getting silly, El Jefe your totally overthinking this if you don't the like relocation mounts because of how they look that's one thing...

http://i805.photobucket.com/albums/y...a235cd-800.jpg

but look it sits flush with the nose of the car.. its not poking out a mile. Anyone who bumps it during parallel parking is going to collide with your bumper first.

your acting as if a tap to this relocation mount is going to trigger your car to explode.

You dont live or park in ny city. Tapping is 4000lbs moving steadily crushing against a lever that is stuck into the frame of the car. Nice squeaking crushing bending tap of idiot drivers who have no concept of money and are just pigs without souls.

Thank you VIP BRZ for posting that angle. It almost could not be any more flush with the bumper, and is carefully designed to do so.

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/attac...3&d=1347101362

http://i42.tinypic.com/287g228.jpg

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b3...510_090346.jpg

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/att...immspeed-3.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7172/6...8abb31cd_b.jpg

We've sold literally thousands of these kits, with many being in the same state, and even the same city you live in. I promise you're not the only one.

Even if I can tout with YEARS of experience, multiple platforms, and thousands of kits sold, and great reviews, I can see that you still don't believe me. That's cool! I was just trying to help out. it's obviously not going to make you happy, so I can't recommend it.

Chase
Engineering

I do this deliberately to block off my oil cooler so it doesn't overcool the car, and then take it off during track days for extra cooling.

I just refuse to have anyone claim against physics and engineering that this does not compromise safety or structural integrity, and to claim anything else beyond the fact that people enjoy it and it looks nice. And so, because I began this thread, I will rebut and last comment this point regardless of what reseller or company making this will note. Certainly not allow my comments to be regarded as silly as they are valid points. Plus, a quick search of tow hook + accident or parking issues, one will search in seconds and find a lot of issues as well as concerns.

The very fact that the rebuttal did not even realize that people parallel park on left sides of roads, shows the lack of universal applications for a BRZ/FRS sticking out stick on the upper passenger side.

Dude you're ridiculous

I do.

Hey buddy! I forgot about you :)

lol :P

Really though, I kinda get what you're saying in terms of risking frame damage, but the other car would have to back up into you real hard. And in those cases, even without the tow hook mount, you'll end up with nasty damage.

Gotta remember, even with a direct hit to the tow hook and frame, energy also gets transferred into the wheels. The car isnt completely stationary so the frame isnt absorbing all the energy.

Anyway, this is what I have insurance and a dashcam for.

I'm an aerospace engineer, so I'm totally with you when it comes to looking at things from a physics and engineering standpoint...
...and I think this is one of the most ridiculous threads I've seen, and that you are overthinking the crap out of this.

if you bend a bolt stuck in a screw hole less than an inch, what happens to the screw hole?

degrees do not mean much at this level, this is like leverage from HS physics

people slowly back into a car, they dont ram it normally. The car also goes back on an angle, especially if the car in front of you is jammed in from an idiot parking to close to their bumper after they parked. IMagine the stick being bent slowly, acting as a fulcrum on the tiny screw hole. It just doesnt sound great.

Also, there are many forum posts not on this forum about damage and safety issues with an exposed stick permanently in the tow hook hole. It is possible to make a break-away version that snaps at the base if leveraged off during a park. It just does not exist yet.

Yea but even the most asshole-ish of drivers will not just bump into another car and keep pushing. I've seen a lot of bad parallel parkers bump cars ("parking by braille") but never one that just bumps a car and keeps on pushing.

Also, the screw hole in this case is quite deep and designed to support the forces needed to pull a car. And cars aren't always towed out of a spot in a perfectly straight line.

This thread has me interested in the GrimmSpeed kit though. @GrimmSpeed do you have any pics of how flush the plate is on a BRZ with your kit? I'm using some random no-name kit on my car and the plate sticks out a bit more than I'd like.

Pulling is not being forced with 4000 lbs sideways on an angle.