I will send you drawings when I have them completed. I'm thinking, if done right, the mounts could be a press fit into the honey comb grill.


Does anyone know what the official name is for these 3 pin connectors? We'll want to build real plug & play harnesses to avoid cutting and splicing in extension wiring.

 

Rear sensor on the left, front sensor on the right. I believe it will be easiest to fit the rear sensor through the P7 grille.

 

Has anybody purchased one that they don't plan to install?

 

Let me know how that turns out. I had my surround wrapped by a guy who is a known artist with film wrap, and the end result looked like crap. The film had to be heated to wrap the conical form of the part, but the Chrome-look films are far more sensitive to heat than other films, and the end result was a very distorted appearance to the chrome that was wholly unacceptable.

Additionally, it was impossible to do without a readily visible seam, which we aimed to have placed center top, where it would be least noticeable. It too was still noticeable and unacceptable.

Have since had the film carefully removed, and the part sent out to one of these firms that claims they can apply a chrome-like liquid coating to any automotive surface, including plastic parts. The first effort came back weeks later, with so many runs and dimples in the finish, that we sent it back for a second attempt. The redo was better than the first, though still not perfect... now, three months later, that finish is starting to craze and turn black around the edges, and all this with the part sitting in a safe, dry, unexposed to the elements place in my warehouse as the car has been at the body shop for repairs the last 5 months because some dolt tapped my rear bumper.

Would love to know how the auto industry applies the chrome-like finish to the DLO (window surrounds) and or fender and hood vents, because none of the aftermarket outfitters my buddy has talked to has any good answers for this, and these guys trick-out award winning SEMA cars to the major auto mfgs. for a living.

 

Will keep you posted. If my guy can't do the wrap, nobody can. He is planning on putting a seam top center, but will be using a carbon fiber filament to cut both ends from underneath the film. Should make for a perfect seam. If he succeeds, you might consider sending the surround to him.


My only other option would be to paint it the body color, but that might make the nose look a bit unfinished. Then again, might be real sharp.

 

@ Unhingd

The one with the rear sensor is good. This then goes straight out behind the P7 grille. A plug and play connection as a change of the cables to the sensors would be also perfect. Only the biggest problem still remains: A plug-in adapter for the sensors to clip into the honeycombs.

 

Do the OEM sensors fit in the honeycomb holes?
If they do, then maybe a little trick I have used over the years might work - black RTV silicon sealant/adhesive. Hold the sensor in place then fill each side gap with lots of silicon, and smooth off with a finger dipped in turps. Keep holding it in place until the silicon grips (maybe put some duct tape across the back as a temporary hold), then clean up any excess with a rag soaked in turps before it sets.
You will find that the sealant ends up gripping real hard and no way any sucker held on with it is going to move.
And of course the bonus is any silicon showing is black and will be barely noticeable.

 

As you can see the rear sensor is indeed best for this application.

 

True but IIRC the other fellow that installed them did it on a plate epoxied to the back of the grill.....so the body of the sensor is in the clear......OTOH, I'm not sure how much room there is between the back of the grill and the alum crossbar so the rear sensors could be a problem in that regard depending how far they "stick through" the grill.

....sigh; I really need to just do this but I'm in the middle of a move and I'm pretty sure my wife would divorce me if I ripped the front off my F type right about now.....


Dave

 

Unhingd do you have the P7 grill or the Paramount Performance grill?

 

Unhingd has the OEM Grill, which is also known to the quality. Will be with my now the sourround black lacquer leave. The black emblem is already installed. The quality difference is simply the madness between Paramount and OEM. The best, the OEM is still about 100 € cheaper ...

 

 

+1.

 

Would also depend on how long the modular connector is, and whether or not it is a straight connector, or a right angle connector.

Where does one plan on running the wire harness if not neatly siliconed to the back of the grille? I don't think allowing wires to just flop around between the grille and the cross bar is a viable option.

 

It would help if we had a few photos of an F-Type with disassembled front bumper and grill. So you could see how the cables could run. Would an option simply lay the cables with the straight back sensors on the metal bar behind the grill with a cable extension?

@ Unhingd
My friend is ready with the 3D printer and is still waiting for the technical specification ...

 

I think running the wires back to the bar is definitely better than sticking wires to the back of the grille. Do you know the exact specification of the wire, I think it is important as the resistance is fairly critical.


There is a specification of an ABS insert in the early entries either page 1 or 2, with a drawing maybe this might assist.

 

Does anyone know the color code of the P7 OEM grill. So the black honeycomb part.

I would like the white surround in the same black lacquered as the honeycomb part.

 

Not sure I agree. From this photo provided in the original post, the wires cannot be seen, yet the bumper bar behind the grille is readily visible, certainly from up close, thus I suspect that camouflaging the entire wire harness - which isn't made to be pretty - will become more of a challenge.

 

Regarding the color code of the gloss black honeycombe, I doubt that it exists. Coloring plastic is an entirely different process. So looking for a match in paint will be a question of testing or getting a paint shop to scan the grille and come up with a close match.


Please let us know if you come by a code.

 

If the cable from the left sensor to the left on the
honeycomb is moved to the surround and then into the inside of
the surround, you would have only about 7 cm until the cable runs into the surround and is no longer visible.
Important would be to know how the cables run? Does the cable run from the left sensor also to the left in the fender to the
left sensor all the way out? And how long are the cables?