Yes, there is that, but the same thing happens w/ the bar at anything over 5 mph.

 

49 CFR Part 581, "The bumper standard," prescribes performance requirements for passenger cars in low-speed front and rear collisions. It applies to front and rear bumpers on passenger cars to prevent the damage to the car body and safety related equipment at barrier impact speeds of 2� mph across the full width and 1� mph on the corners.
This is equivalent to a 5 mph crash into a parked vehicle of the same weight. The standard requires protection in the region 16 to 20 inches above the road surface, and the manufacturer can provide the protection by any means it wants. For example, some vehicles do not have a solid bumper across the vehicle, but meet the standard by strategically placed bumper guards and corner guards.

Jag did the bare minimum huh?

 

No, the current US bumper rule is actually 2.5 mph w/ no damage to any major system. The underscored words are significant because even at 2.5 mph, there will be damage to the bar.

Now think about what happens when you're tapped at the same speed from the rear w/ no bar. Both front and rear pieces are meant to be sacrificed.

 

LOOKS GREAT!
Rocspo, could you get a close up of the sensor mounts and exactly how were they mounted? Do they work as well as the stock, which isn't very well anyway for parking curbs?

 

Hmm. I like the P7 a lot. I love the D Type hump/s a LOT and dream of having something like that, someday. I like the mouth too.

Question: Why is the bar there on our cars?

I sort of like things "being what they are". I don't like ceramic tile mimicking wood. I don't like a finish that is plastic trying to look like metal. I am fine with my car being what it is.

I made a joke that I bought the base, but I liked the orange button, and my sales guy was like "we'll throw one on there for you". I was like "no no"... but I brought that up in another thread... people badging their cars differently, etc. I guess no one would ever in a million years mistake ours for a Project 7.

Maybe this isn't the same thing, and it's just a fun aesthetic mod per owner's preference. Yes, that's far more likely. I am glad I have settled that with myself, and am now unanimous.

I think I'm trying to talk myself out of spending more money on my car. But I'm also going through a renovation and move out, so ambivalence and wavering is now a skill.

edit:
went back a page and really looked at that grill. Damn. It's fantastic, but I feel too ambivalent to vote either way.

 

Foosh - your sig says you sold the F? I missed that. Happy driving glad you're still here. =)

 

Well Unc, that would be the take if you thought for a minute that the manufacturer alway gets it right. Also in this case, Jag didn't put that bar on because they liked it, they did so to meet standards.

A perfect example that will amplify this point is the Tesla model S.

Look at any of the previous years models. Look at the front nose. Now go to the site and look what Tesla did to the latest model. Got rid of the nose bumper and integrated the nose with the valance. 100% better look.

I have just ordered my parts and awaiting shipment. What made me pull the trigger was that my bar was mangled by the dealer with screw holes and after getting myself a Sho and Go, I would have needed to replace the bar anyways so why bother buying another when I can simply do this mod?

Funny, who would have thought that moving a license plate would morph to a $1200 mod? I hate forums sometimes.

 

I know the bar is for safety issues but it looks damn good without it!

 

Yes, the bar is a safety element to minimize injury to struck pedestrians rather than the car. The P7s were exempted because of the limited production (250).

 

Looking at my bar, I fail to see how it could offer any impact protection. It's just thin plastic. I opted for the Project 7 grille as well. I'm going to have my grille surround wrapped in carbon fiber.

 

Thanks for posting this. I was wondering what the grey looked like. I ordered the other option - white hoping that it is similar or the same as the factory polaris white which may look good on my polaris car. If not it'll be easy to modify. Not sure what Jag was thinking with the gray, it matches nothing.

 

I know... why not black, Jag?

 

The P7 grill surround is white or grey to match the P7 stripes. I too originally ordered the white for my Polaris white car but ended up with the grey so I'm still deciding what to do with it. I don't like carbon fiber unless it's real so I'm leaning to just getting it painted gloss black (my car has the black pack). My wrapper didn't sound confident about the ability to wrap the surround and have it stay put.....and I was worried about clearances with the additional thickness.

As far as the value of the bar in an impact, I'd suggest it adds very, very little and only at really low speeds.....a non-issue for me.

Glad somebody finally did this. I was 99.9 percent sure it would fit but now it's 100% :-) And dang; does it ever look good!

Cheers,
Dave

 

My car didn't have the black pack so my previous surround was chrome. I went to get it wrapped and the wrap guy suggested that I plastidip it instead. The job took him 30 minutes and came out very nice and clean. Looks as if it came factory black and just like wrap, you can easily go back to stock with a peel. This was the correct solution for this particular part because he stated that the wrap will start to peel because of the shape of the surround.

Is the white surround actually polaris white or is it a white other than polaris and thus clashes?

 

as to exactly what to do with the sensors so the few of us that plan to follow in your illustrious footsteps won't need to reinvent the wheel.

For anyone who has successfullly completed the change-over, please provide details for this important grey area so we can provide the answer to our bodymen. My parts are in the mail so I would love to get this info asap.

 

Not sure if the white P7 grill is Polaris white or not.....and now that I have the grey it doesn't matter to me.

I would also like to hear more on the park sensor detail though I plan on doing the job myself. I've had a few ideas but it's always nice to learn from others.....if I end up doing it next, I'll fill you in.

I thought of the plastidip but from what I understand it isn't gloss black, but more of a satin finish.....so I'm torn; the plastidip isn't permanent and I don't have to give my uber-rare surround to a bodyshop so I like that...but at the same time, gloss black the same as the grill (and my black pack stuff) would undoubtably look best...


Dave

 

I ordered white and I planned to keep it white. The issue is once the surround is installed theres no removing it without starting over. I'll photoshop the front with a white surround. It's not prominent enough of a part that I'd spend hundreds changing it unless of course it happened to be chrome. I'll take a close up of my plastidipped surround for you so you can see what it will look like. It blends fine with the grill, no glaring difference.

Personally, I feel that having the surround the same color as the car transforms the front from a large mouth bass to a small mouth bass which I think gives you a far better look. Heres an example of how I did the very same thing on my XJ. Both Jags have huge oversized grills, the coded surround tones it down. Judge for yourself.

Of course the surround NEEDS to be polaris, not just any white.

 

Thanks, excellent point. I did consider that as well though I'm not sure which I like the look of better (smaller appearing grill with the white surround vs. larger appearing grill with the black surround). If I decide to paint, it's not going to cost much more to paint it the proper Polaris white compared to generic gloss black....decisions, decisions,

Dave

 

I will do my best to describe the fabrication process, but I did not take any pictures during my installation so you'll just have to visualize it.
Step one: measure where the parking sensors are on the original Grill bar. You will want to mount them in as close to the original positions as possible to avoid calibration issues later.
Step two: find the corresponding positions on the new grill. The vertical positioning is more critical than the horizontal positioning, but neither have to be exact. You will be remounting the sensors in the middle of two of the grill openings, so find the two openings that most closely replicate the original positions. I marked them by surrounding them with blue painters tape. It's easy to get confused later on if you don't mark them.
Step three: fashion plastic templates that perfectly fit those two grill openings in the new grill. I designed mine so that they fit tight in the grill while being recessed in about 1/2 inch from the front edge of the grill. This makes them less noticeable.
Step four: drill holes in the centers of these finished templates. Make the holes the same diameter as the parking sensors. These templates will not be used on the actual installation. They will just be used to make copies of them in masking tape.
Step five: put masking tape over the finished templates and cut them out so that the tape is exactly the same size as the templates, including the holes in the middle.
To avoid unnecessary additional fabrication, you will be using the existing sensor mounts from the plastic bar on the new installation.
Step six: once you have removed the existing grill and grill bar, place the templates you made out of masking tape on the old grill bar, using the holes you made in the tape to align them perfectly with the holes on the grill bar for the sensors.
Step seven: using a saw or a Dremel Moto tool or whatever you like, cut out the sensor mounting holes from the black grill bar, using the tape as your guide. When finished, you should end up with two trapezoids with mounting holes in the middle of them that perfectly fit the two grill openings on the new grill.
Step eight: verify that these trapezoids fit the grill openings the way you'd like them to. Make any adjustments now before you reassemble everything.
Step nine: reassemble everything, making sure that the grill sensors are in the correct holes which you marked previously. DO NOT GLUE THEM in place yet!
Step ten: now it's time to align the sensors. Make sure the car is parked on a flat level surface. Find a shoebox or some other box you can use to replicate a curb. When aligning the sensors, it's a lot easier to move the curb than it is to move the car! Start the car and turn on the parking sensors. Unless you've got a really long box, you can only do one sensor at a time. Put the box directly in front of one of the sensors, a few feet in front of the car. Now slowly push the box toward the car until the parking sensor goes off. Use a broom stick or something similar from the front of the box to move the box so that you're sure it's the box that is setting off the sensor and not your leg! Adjust the angle of the sensor in the grill opening until the parking sensor goes off when you'd like it to. Once the sensor is aligned perfectly, glue it in place with clear, two-part five minute epoxy. This won't harm the paint, and is easily cleaned up if you make a little mistake. Recheck with the box to make sure everything is still in the perfect position. The curing time of the epoxy will give you time to make minor adjustments if necessary. Repeat the process for the second sensor.
Step eleven: once the epoxy has fully cured, paint over it with some gloss black paint.
Step twelve: (who knew this would be a 12-step program?). Enjoy your beautiful new grill.
Don't forget that you have to remove the cloth covered piece of Styrofoam behind the black grill bar for the new grill to fit. Also, you might want to paint everything behind the grill flat black so that you can't see it through the grill, especially on lighter colored cars.
This may not be the best way, and it's certainly not the only way, but it's the technique that worked for me.

 

See how the grill looks far more proportioned to the face when it appears smaller?

That little surround makes a huge difference in terms of scale to the front. To my eye, almost a 50% reduction in grill size!...It's a double whammy because not only are you not widening the black but you are also gaining the white which doubles the perceived effect. If you open the pics up to full size and keep clicking "next", the photos will toggle.

But you decide!