DIY: How to make a custom front license plate mount

To prevent drilling, and having another mount like the Tow Hook one which will interfere with the parking sensors, I took some tips from the BMW group at this link and create my own that would work with our grill. http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=374893

No cutting needed. All this worked great. See pics. I will post a final picture shortly once I get it on the car. I still have to make a slight adjustment to center mine a little better but it looks great. Also I would recommend a frame on it to help hold it better for strength.

Parts needed from Lowes:

QTY

1 - Amazon Mounting Bracket: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0013HP98C/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
1 - 64767 STAN 8-IN ZN MENDING PLT
2 - RH SLT/PH MS 1/4X2 1/2 2C
1 - FLT WSHRS SAE 1/4 16CT
1 - ROLL Window/door seal. (I had some of this around the house so I don't have a part number available. If you can find some thinner stuff than what I used, I would recommend that.

My picture shows one bolt longer than the other as well, just get all 2" bolts and you will be good.








Place the weather door seal on the plate like this.



Also place it exactly in the same spots on the bracket.



Once done, it should like this (but like this once you mount it). Basically it's going to squeeze the slants in the grill to hold it on.



Detach the bracket like this.



Unscrew all the bolts except one end. Leave the one end very loose. Slide the unit around the slats and put in one bolt, washer and nut on the other far end to hold it in place. Center it up and down and side to side best you can.

Put all the bolts in at this time and mount the bracket back on (as it will be hard to mount it when it's all tightened down due to very tight tolerances on the sides. Once you got that one, then you can tighten it back down.







Place a strip of weather seal across the back where it would meet the bumper to protect the car.

Install complete.

very cool. this should be a sticky thread.

Thanks for sharing!!!

Anytime!

Nice job, better than the others I've seen.

Can you back up and take another pic of the front, please? I want to take it all in.


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Looks good

Excellent job man! Looks like one could go with a bolt as short as 1 1/2" for the four that hold the bracket to the grille, heck I might try 1", just so I keep as much distance from the bolt to the intercooler. Thanks for posting this up. Ordered my bracket from Amazon today.

Sorry to resuscitate a dead thread, but can you provide an update on the mount? Still using it? How is it working? Anything rusting, or have you thrown one of the non-lock nuts through your IC?

I've been using this mount for about 8 months and have had no issues with it. I covered my mount with plastidip to avoid rusting, because it's not stainless.

I love it! I might need to do this to my car eventually because for some reason my car didn't come with a front license plate mount from it's CALIFORNIA dealer... Luckily I spend most of my time in New Mexico, so it's not a serious problem.

Damn, wish I saw this before I bought the tow hook plate holder

Boosted_2.0 said:

To prevent drilling, and having another mount like the Tow Hook one which will interfere with the parking sensors, I took some tips from the BMW group at this link and create my own that would work with our grill. http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=374893

No cutting needed. All this worked great. See pics. I will post a final picture shortly once I get it on the car. I still have to make a slight adjustment to center mine a little better but it looks great. Also I would recommend a frame on it to help hold it better for strength.

Parts needed from Lowes:

QTY

1 - Amazon Mounting Bracket: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0013HP98C/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
1 - 64767 STAN 8-IN ZN MENDING PLT
2 - RH SLT/PH MS 1/4X2 1/2 2C
1 - FLT WSHRS SAE 1/4 16CT
1 - ROLL Window/door seal. (I had some of this around the house so I don't have a part number available. If you can find some thinner stuff than what I used, I would recommend that.

My picture shows one bolt longer than the other as well, just get all 2" bolts and you will be good.

Click to expand...

Any issue with the adaptive cruise control module right below the plate ? (if you have it)

MeltedSolid said:

I love it! I might need to do this to my car eventually because for some reason my car didn't come with a front license plate mount from it's CALIFORNIA dealer... Luckily I spend most of my time in New Mexico, so it's not a serious problem.

Click to expand...

Mine didn't either, but I specifically asked for no plate.

Looks nice but depending on your climate it won't take long for that frame and bolts to start rusting horribly.

I know it's plated but it won't last. Once it starts it could leave rust marks on your bumper.

Stainless steel is your only option if you want it to last. Cost a lot more money mind!

Did this today, used all stainless bolts, washers, and nuts from Lowe’s. They weren’t much more expensive, something like $1.68 for six bolts instead of $1.32. My car is the 2017 R with DAP, I will say that I think the slats in my grill are deeper so the whole thing sits back closer to the car. Made it very difficult to get the nuts onto the bolts and tighten them down. I haven’t driven it yet but I will give an update once I get in the highway to see if the radar and other assistance features still work properly. I’ll also post some pictures if I can figure out how to upload them

Thank you Boosted for the instructions, everything was very clear and way cheaper than the $90 kit I was going to buy!