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Ok, I just have to ask...


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After seeing a ton of pictures of Subarus and then noticing them on the road, what the hell is the deal with the damn license plates mounted on the passenger side of the front bumper instead of the center???

 

I mean, sorry, but almost all of them mounted like that already have holes in the center of the bumper and a good percentage even have plugs in those holes...

 

And please don't tell me it is so that you get more air into the radiator and having it mounted in the center of the bumper restricts airflow, since that is total BS...

 

I guess I just don't understand some of this "kid racer" stuff... Then again, I come from building cars with real displacement and THEN using forced induction to get well above 600hp... No forced induction needed below those figures...

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My license plate was only held on by the top two screws. It was getting bent up in the car wash and I was worried it was scratching the paint. So I put the tow hook license thing on and covered the holes with a legacy plate. If you like to take pictures of your car without the license plate there's reason to have this. To be honest though I do like the aesthetic. The intention is to remove restrictions from any front mount intercooler.
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It was getting bent up in the car wash and I was worried it was scratching the paint.

 

The carwash? blasphemy! :lol: I would be more worried about the car wash scratching your car than plate. I hand wash all my cars. I have the Subaru accessory that spaces it off the bumper. It puts it a couple inches higher than the stock location.

 

I would guess most do it because they like that style. Almost none of us have front mount intercoolers. My GT had the offset tow hook plate, its was the 1st thing that came off my car.

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some folks run a front mount intercooler, where good airflow is needed in that area. Most do it because they like how it looks, or don't want to drill holes in their front bumper and use a mount that screws into the tow hook location. I don't run a front plate at all (no front plates in NM)
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^ i got rid of mine, since when I go through the automated car wash, the plate gets bent. Otherwise, i like it. I didn't think about the FMIC reason to relocate the plate. I thought it was for red light cameras and the possibility that your plate is less likely to be picked up if it is not in the center.
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^ i got rid of mine, since when I go through the automated car wash, the plate gets bent. Otherwise, i like it. I didn't think about the FMIC reason to relocate the plate. I thought it was for red light cameras and the possibility that your plate is less likely to be picked up if it is not in the center.
Cameras generally point at the back of cars because of privacy laws.

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk

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The carwash? blasphemy! :lol: I would be more worried about the car wash scratching your car than plate. I hand wash all my cars. I have the Subaru accessory that spaces it off the bumper. It puts it a couple inches higher than the stock location.

 

I would guess most do it because they like that style. Almost none of us have front mount intercoolers. My GT had the offset tow hook plate, its was the 1st thing that came off my car.

 

I put the same spaced plate mount on mine when I bought it just recently.

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I'm a bit lost on why the question followed by a bash? There are general "I like it that way" reasons I'm sure. Sorta a fad to some extent, like camber, or matte black paint, or dice hanging from the rear view mirror - Just something that sets it apart from the norm to join together that group.

 

As you are quite proud of your background - then I would ask why many big, oh sorry, REAL displacement cars run hood scoops that aren't functional? I could start an argument about how stupid and redneck or whatever that is. But for what purpose?

 

I think you went about this poorly. Just ask the question. Receive an answer, and if you don't like that particular idea. Don't do it. No need to attack a common fad among a group then call them names. I don't run a front plate cause I feel it wrecks the beauty of the front. Hence why I never went with that fad. I will have a FMIC so another reason would fit in too. And FYI, my four banger has eaten many "real" lunches.

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A lot of states require front mount plates, like Wisconsin does.

 

And, I fully agree, non-functional BS is just that, BS... Kinda the "kid racer" thing, like I mentioned.

 

Personally, I am all about function over form. Ie, function comes first and form follows. Not to say that aesthetics aren't important, just that the performance has a higher priority, as long as it doesn't look stupid or is just outlandish (unless that is what you are going for, I mean, look at Rat Rods)...

 

My own F-Bodies have cowl hoods. Primarily to get air from building up under the car at high speeds. Works well too, since these cars are known to flip at over 190mph and I personally have had my T/A over 220... Again, function first. Now that car has a VFN carbon fiber hood, with the entire hood except for the sides of the cowl painted Imron black with Diamond Coat clear. So the aesthetics are there, just that the functionality dictated what was needed. I wouldn't go as far as to say it was done to save weight, since the car is over 4000lbs with all the added stuff, but it does help as well compared to a fiberglass hood.

 

Sorry if people took offense to the "kid racer" comment. I am in my 40s and far from that kind of attitude. I also know of plenty totally built AWD cars that are "real" cars in a performance sense (such as a certain 1000hp Eclipse that was completely hand built and fabbed), just that for every one of those that are serious real performance cars, you have 10,000 cars that are hacked and half-assed and just a disgrace because some young punk doesn't want to grow up and be an adult.

 

And that is not just an "import" thing, it also applies to just about all makes and models.

 

There is a difference when you are disciplined and talented enough to not only build a car (including engines, suspensions, electrical, performance computers, tuning, etc) and take it seriously and build all aspects, compared to someone who just buys a few speed parts to be "cool". Not that we don't all get our start somewhere, but there is a big difference to being dedicated and half-assing it all the time.

 

And, yeah, it takes resources, time and energy to get to that point. I have plenty of car buddies and a certain few are most certainly the "kid racer" type that doesn't want to take the time to wrench and do things right, they just keep jumping from car to car and buy a few add-ons here and there and never really dedicate to "going all out". To each their own.

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WTF is up with those TransAms anyway? Flippin' cars look like their having a case of roid rage with all that plastic cladding and those giant scoops that remind you of a close-up of Arnold Schwarzenegger's nostrils in Pumping Iron. Way back when these overweight dinosaurs were popular, they were favorites of rednecks and Jersey Shore guidos everywhere. They needed all that power to get their massive and space-inefficient bodies up to speed from stoplight to stoplight. And driving those overpowered POS in the rain or snow was a real handful, I mean they didn't even have all-wheel-drive like a real car should.

 

;)

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My own F-Bodies have cowl hoods. Primarily to get air from building up under the car at high speeds. Works well too, since these cars are known to flip at over 190mph and I personally have had my T/A over 220... Again, function first.

 

Unfortunately your theory is wrong and is a common misconception. Cowl hoods create a high pressure area at the base of the windshield that push air down into the engine compartment and does not help air from build up. If you have a carb or air intake that area it allow cold air into the engine other wise it may have some cool effect (but its not the most effective way to cool the engine). The typical f-body cowl how is basically non functional for looks only.

 

If you don't believe me, tape some thin strip of paper or string to your windshield under the cowl hood and see which direction the air is going.

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Unfortunately your theory is wrong and is a common misconception. Cowl hoods create a high pressure area at the base of the windshield that push air down into the engine compartment and does not help air from build up. If you have a carb or air intake that area it allow cold air into the engine other wise it may have some cool effect (but its not the most effective way to cool the engine). The typical f-body cowl how is basically non functional for looks only.

 

If you don't believe me, tape some thin strip of paper or string to your windshield under the cowl hood and see which direction the air is going.

 

 

That is totally WRONG. At least on the 4th gen f-body design, especially at extreme speeds.

 

The 4th gen f-body has a huge area where the dash/cowl/windshield stick far over the engine. It also only draws in cool air from below the front bumper as there are no cutouts in the bumpers for the radiator. The stock design (no cowl hood) traps tons of air in the engine compartment (actually the air has only one path to follow, under the car, which creates lift). A cowl hood alone accounts for at least a 10-20% reduction in running temps in the engine compartment side panels alone. I and a bunch of others have proven that (try putting an all aluminum racing radiator in a 4th gen and you will essentially cause engine compartment temps to increase instead of decrease and it will eventually cause an overheat condition with the A/C running on a supercharged/water aftercooled setup because it conducts far too much heat to the engine compartment itself. A cowl hood in that case causes an improvement, but is not a fix. In the case of that setup going to a stock radiator (with plastic ends and a smaller aluminum core) actually allows for more direction cooling with less heat soak to the compartment itself. The cowl hood with that does even more in regards to dropping temps. (as a side note, it is a "cheap hack" to remove the rear weatherstripping at the cowl panel to allow for a "poor mans cowl" that reduces engine bay temps by a good amount as well)

 

And yes, I have seen actual smoke coming out of a 4th-gens engine compartment via a cowl hood at speed (90+ all the way down to stopping from the highway to side roads and not once did see the flow reverse and disappear as it drew in air in the opposite direction as you state), as a car I was diagnosing had a supercharger failure that started spewing oil onto hot headers, so yeah, there was a lot of smoke.

 

Again, at high speeds 4th-gen f-bodies trap too much air under the engine compartment area and it causes the cars to flip. Don't believe me, lookup video on the Lingenfelter salt flat speed runs. There is video of the firebird they ran flipping at >190mph or so.

 

Oh, and all 4th-gen f-body cowls are aftermarket. The factory never used one on a 4th-gen.

 

I really hate it when people don't know what they are talking about because someone makes a statement they don't like. On some other car designs and with different configurations your statement may have merit, but on 4th-gen f-bodies you are quite mistaken.

 

Sorry, "kid racer" stupidity is just that, stupid.

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Oh, I might also add, adding a cowl allowed the car to create so much more downforce on my T/A that at speed my car actually sucks to the pavement. Before the cowl hood it did not do that.

 

And yes, I am talking at speeds >175mph. Not really important to most people, but important to me for what I was wishing to accomplish.

 

Best 1/4 mile run mph was >152mph. I wanted the car to be able to handle anything, including standing mile runs if I wanted to run them.

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You as well as many others were at one point between 16 years old and 39 years old (and beyond). People's taste in what makes them happy often changes with age, but sometimes does not. Some people don't feel the need to 'outgrow' the style that you apparently take issue with. It still doesn't make them less intelligent than you, and they certainly don't deserve to receive your teaching from on high.

 

Point being, you shouldn't feel the need to enter this room with your pants down, screaming your measurements. This is not the forum (pun intended) for that type of animalistic territorial marking.

 

This community has been a haven for many in the Subaru community, and we strive to keep it that way. Many aren't afforded the luxury of an upbringing where dad (or mom) turned wrenches and built project cars with them. Doesn't make them less deserving of a chance to see if they might like it in their adulthood.

 

Your other posts/questions don't seem to have this flavor of condescension. If this trend bugs you that much, try channeling that emotion into developing a 'functional-first' (like you said) version of this license plate mod to benefit the greater car community.

 

By the way, all this probably belongs somewhere in the off topic forum.

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Oh, no-one helped turn wrenches with me. I was (and am) the only one in the family that has any mechanical/technical/engineering interest. (as a side note, no, no silver spoon here either, I have accomplished everything based on hard work). And no, actually none of the kids have an interest in cars either. Closest is my 17/yo daughter, and that is a slow process to get her involved.

 

No-one is discouraging anyone. Just pointing out that pointless style doesn't make much sense. (kinda like people, used to be able to say teenagers, but many adults are doing it too, wearing paints that are falling down exposing their underwear)

 

Honestly, I am ALL for more people turning wrenches, screwdrivers, doing electrical and being less reliant on others. Having a passion for what they are doing and giving it their all. We need a LOT more people in society doing just that. I just see the mindless stuff as a distraction from real accomplishment. Too much trying to "fit in" and too little trying to "be something real".

 

Sorry to say, but there needs to be a LOT more organization to these kinds of forums. More or less a bit more effort to compile useful information, update older information, and in general make this all more useful for ANYONE interested in being involved.

 

As it stands it seems like this and other forums are just put there, the owners make a buck off it and no-one really steps up and makes sure the info is distilled and useful.

 

In the past you had forums that people took passion with and did all I described and they were useful in many many ways. Now it is finding a needle in a haystack, or seems to be only focused on enough for someone to sell their own wares through, but the real useful info for those that don't want to buy something from someone is hidden and spread out.

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Sorry to say, but there needs to be a LOT more organization to these kinds of forums. More or less a bit more effort to compile useful information, update older information, and in general make this all more useful for ANYONE interested in being involved.

 

:lol::lol:

 

Welcome to the forum? Apparently you haven't read through the 5th gen section enough or you have and deem it not useful. The stickies at the top have alot of good info...

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