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I would love to do this mod, but want to keep the chrome surround on my car. Assuming the P7 kit does not have an option for a chrome surround, as chrome-plating plastic parts is a special process, so this detail is a concern.
Can anyone confirm whether the sides of the grill surround are cut-out where the crossbar intersects?
Thanks,
Jay
Sorry Jay, there is indeed a cutout in the factory surround to accommodate the crossbar. The cheap Dutchman in me wanted to try to bondo or otherwise fill the void and then wrap it, but it would be hard to do and of course with chrome next to impossible.
Sorry Jay, there is indeed a cutout in the factory surround to accommodate the crossbar. The cheap Dutchman in me wanted to try to bondo or otherwise fill the void and then wrap it, but it would be hard to do and of course with chrome next to impossible.
Thanks for the quick reply, Chawumba- Totally expected that... going to have to figure out a solution.
I too would have preferred a chrome surround, but found no solution: custom chroming plastic prohibitively expensive, chrome wrap too stiff, chrome paint appearance unacceptable.
so rough and tough..
3" is center of existing tow hook
best bet is the one closest and up slightly i would think as seen in the first picture. the rest or just the other surrounding holes.
I looked for previous post dealing with this but couldn't find it.
I finally got my grille and surround installed. I gave rocspo's directions to the installer which were great and he made some changes.
1 Instead of cutting out old sensor mounts he made new ones. I measured the trapazoid opening and little wings and made a template on an index card which he used to cut grille mounts out of 3mm ABS sheet (found at local plastic supply) and drilled an 18mm hole in center. I would have rather used sensor mount brackets, but since I couldn't find them for that oblong sensor, he glued sensors directly to ABS. (Since then I found a BMW sensor mount that I think would have would have fit).
2 Instead of mounting sensors with connectors pointing inward, he pointed them outward in order to avoid having wiring exposed behind grille. He glued wires from sensors directly around trapezoids so they can not be seen, and they exit to the side of grille.
3 He then mounted wiring harness to run below grille, and then extended sensor wires to go below and around surround. Since sensor wires are not color coded, he colored them with different colored nail polish before he cut them. I thought the sensor wires looked to be about 24 gauge but couldn't find it locally and didn't have time to order it online (a company called NTE has it) so I found a couple old power supplys from a radio and an old router which I think is 24 gauge and he cut it up and spliced them in. They work!
As rocspo did, he removed styrofoam from behind original bumper, painted bumper behind grill and mounts flat black. He didn't glue mounts permanently until he calibrated them after reassembly.
Thanks to unhinged, rocspo, and ryan for all you help.
I have attached pictures which were taken in direct sunlight so the sensors look more noticeable. In regular light they are hardly noticeable.
Any progress on relocating the tow hook?
I now have the P7 grill and surround and ready to install, but I sure would like to solve the tow hook problem at the same time.
Any progress on relocating the tow hook?
I now have the P7 grill and surround and ready to install, but I sure would like to solve the tow hook problem at the same time.
so, lance and i have some ideas, i have alot of pictures of the situation to help come up with a viable solution but nothing solid really until winter when we have some downtime to fab. if you have a V8 (or at a min a V8 exhaust and valance like lance) it can be towed faily easily (even lowered like me) from the rear with plenty of clearance for the strap thru the center of the rear exhaust valance, that is how i have towed mine 2x at this point. if you have a 6cyl (with stock center exhaust valance) this is a real issue and im really not sure how you would get the car on a flatbed, compounding the issue even further if lowered. so to sum it up we/us/them/someone needs to fab up an offset towhook that gets in the threads of the factory hole and exits through a hole in the P7 grill slightly to the right and up about an inch. let me know if you would like the pictures with the bumper on and off for reference.
My car is in the shop (two weeks so far to get the stereo "fixed"), so I can't pull the cover to look at the tow hook connection.
Dies the hook thread into the crossbar itself, or does it extend through the crossbar into a tapped hole behind?
My car is in the shop (two weeks so far to get the stereo "fixed"), so I can't pull the cover to look at the tow hook connection.
Dies the hook thread into the crossbar itself, or does it extend through the crossbar into a tapped hole behind?
yes it threads into a reinforced box in the cross member right at the connection point that bolts to the rest of the unibody.
I just looked at the tow hook that came with my car (why isn't it in the car?), and see that it is reverse thread... why?
I would think it best to buy an aftermarket right-hand tow hook and fab up a simple bar tapped to accept the hook, and bolt up to the unibody
Well guys no matter how hard I tried I could not get the front sensors to work correctly after fitting the P7 Grill. Continuous false indications, so I removed it and re fitted the original!
Well guys no matter how hard I tried I could not get the front sensors to work correctly after fitting the P7 Grill. Continuous false indications, so I removed it and re fitted the original!
Well guys no matter how hard I tried I could not get the front sensors to work correctly after fitting the P7 Grill. Continuous false indications, so I removed it and re fitted the original!
I am working on a fix for this for those of you who wont miss the middle two sensors but don’t want warning messages/system failure.
For the two center sensors to work correctly, It is absolutely Necessary for the front of the sensors to be flush with the front of the honeycomb, and the correct honeycomb openings are utilized.
I have given up on trying to come up with a solution for the front tow hook as all solutions that I have come up with will be of compromised strength. I am satisfied with using the rear axle mounting points if/when the car needs the hook. Besides getting a lowered car onto the flat tow from the rear is a much safer bet than dragging it up a ramp from the front.
Well guys no matter how hard I tried I could not get the front sensors to work correctly after fitting the P7 Grill. Continuous false indications, so I removed it and re fitted the original!
Sorry to hear. Strange how some work perfectly, and some just won't. Is is possible a wire got crossed when you spliced in extra lengths of wires? My sensors work so well I've already forgotten I made the swap. Or perhaps Unhinged is right, they are very sensitive to which honeycomb they are installed in...
