Front license plate screen

Well, I was thinking that opening up the area in front where the front license filler plate sits with a screened plate would allow more cool air through the STS intercooler and radiator. So I ordered one and just got it in today.



I dunno... Am I being WAY too picky thinking they could have cut that screen and mounted it better so the mesh was perpendicular to the ground? I don't know why stuff like this bugs me. I guess because it just shows a lack of attention to detail.

What do you all think? You can be brutally honest if you want to. I'm seeing so much shoddy workmanship lately, that maybe it's just me who is looking at everything too critically...... :shrug01:

I am anal when it comes to certain things so I can understand you being bugged by the direction of the screen pattern. But it still looks good and it seems to be a functional mod.

I have to agree with you Rich. I'd be sending that back. Is that the best they can do....I think you could make one yourself and make it turn out right. If that was my company I would be embarrassed to admit it was mine.

Just for comparison, here's what this plate looked like that I actually ordered:



The place that actually made this thing is located in Spring Hill, FL, (http://www.americanhydrocarbon.com/) so I sent them off an email to ask them about this. The pic on their own webpage



Looks better, too, than what I actually got.

Notice that the mesh goes from left to right and top to bottom, not at all like what I got. So I'll see what they say about this. Probably will be something along the lines of "Gee, we've never had anyone else complain about this."

Yeah, I'm picky about stuff like this, so don't pull some switcheroo on me thinking I won't notice. :thumbsdown:

BTW, I did a close-up crop of the screen I get and you can see that the mesh runs from corner to corner rather than top to bottom and left to right.

Hey rich, do you need to cut away part of the bumper to open it for air flow? On mine once you remove the front filler plate you have the holes for screwing on a tag. No air flow there.

Kap142 said:

Hey rich, do you need to cut away part of the bumper to open it for air flow? On mine once you remove the front filler plate you have the holes for screwing on a tag. No air flow there.

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Yes, I know. I've actually had the original panel off of the front bumper for several days now waiting for this screened one to come in.



So yeah, some cutting is in order. I guess I've gotten kind of blase about slicing and dicing on the car after all this crap. You don't know how tough it was for me to make my mind up to cut into the firewall way back when, when I needed the clearance for the fuel rail end on the driver's side. That certainly did break the ice for me.

I've got a side cutting drill bit for my Dremel that should do the job nicely. But there is a wiring harness directly in back of the area I need to cut away that will have to be relocated first. The harness runs across the bottom and attaches to those white snap in pieces you see in the center of the square indents. But of course I'm not cutting a thing till this gets resolved concerning the screen panel I received.

Once I cut it, I'm pretty sure I'll be taking out those mounts for a front license plate completely. I do hope that screen will be sturdy enough to take some sharp raps from bugs hitting it at high speed. And I hope there are no unintended consequences from doing this sort of thing. Seems like a good idea, but heck.....

I actually ordered the panel from a place called Pinnacle Corvette (http://www.pinnaclecorvette.com/C5_ZO6_Carbon_Fiber_Cold_Air_Screen_Plate_97_04_p/cf1262.htm), and I sent them an email as well about this. Their response was that what I got was unacceptable and they are going to contact the manufacturer too to see what they want to do about fixing this problem for me. So at least they are on my side with this, and agree with me, and not giving me the bum's rush.

So we'll see how this pans out.

Well, I got an email response from American Hydrocarbon, and they sent me a return shipping label for the screen plate through Pinnacle Corvette. Interestingly enough it is not going back to them, but to another place called "Carbon Fiber Works" in Starke, FL. But in any event, it is on it's way back to whoever built the thing, I guess. :shrug01:

My return shipping address wasn't on the label, so no telling what sort of path and timeline the replacement part is going to have to take to get to me.

I guess I could have taken a shot at building one of these myself, as there is an interesting thread about this mod over on CorvetteForum -> http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-...of-z06-screen-on-license-plate-cover-mod.html. Even gives part numbers for the correct screening needed.

But I would have to buy another front license plate panel anyway, since one of the holes for the mounting screws is buggered up and I would have to fix that as well if I wanted to just cut up my original panel. But I'll wait and see what they do about this one first, I suppose. I made it pretty plain in my email what I expected concerning this panel, and even pointed them to the above mentioned thread on CorvetteForum. But it's not likely that American Hydrocarbon is unaware of that thread. If you read that thread yourself, you'll know why I say this.

Rich Z said:

Well, I got an email response from American Hydrocarbon, and they sent me a return shipping label for the screen plate through Pinnacle Corvette. Interestingly enough it is not going back to them, but to another place called "Carbon Fiber Works" in Starke, FL. But in any event, it is on it's way back to whoever built the thing, I guess. :shrug01:

My return shipping address wasn't on the label, so no telling what sort of path and timeline the replacement part is going to have to take to get to me.

I guess I could have taken a shot at building one of these myself, as there is an interesting thread about this mod over on CorvetteForum -> http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-...of-z06-screen-on-license-plate-cover-mod.html. Even gives part numbers for the correct screening needed.

But I would have to buy another front license plate panel anyway, since one of the holes for the mounting screws is buggered up and I would have to fix that as well if I wanted to just cut up my original panel. But I'll wait and see what they do about this one first, I suppose. I made it pretty plain in my email what I expected concerning this panel, and even pointed them to the above mentioned thread on CorvetteForum. But it's not likely that American Hydrocarbon is unaware of that thread. If you read that thread yourself, you'll know why I say this.

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I am taking care of this to get you the screen plate you want.

I took a three inch hole saw and just drilled three holes in my bumper.
I then removed it and painted the area with flat black.

BLU2K said:

I am taking care of this to get you the screen plate you want.

I took a three inch hole saw and just drilled three holes in my bumper.
I then removed it and painted the area with flat black.

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Those 3 holes lurking in the background look cool. I wonder how they would look finished with door edge molding?

Wow Pat (Blu2K) I am not really crazy about front screens but the way you cut the holes and prep'd the area makes me really like it. The hole saw looks so totally professional and so subtle. Very cool and very professional.:thumbsup:

BLU2K said:

I am taking care of this to get you the screen plate you want.

I took a three inch hole saw and just drilled three holes in my bumper.
I then removed it and painted the area with flat black.

Click to expand...

Thank you.

Notice how that molding around the edges looks more professional and aesthetically compatible with the other screened areas on the front of the car. That is the look I am interested in for my car.

Also, the black that you see through the holes you cut is a panel that helps funnel the air from the air dam underneath to the radiator. Did you have to cut that to allow the incoming air to reach the radiator itself? Or was this strictly for an aftermarket air intake filter going to the throttle body? I don't have that radiator panel on my car, because the STS turbos intercooler sits there instead. So I don't have that particular issue to address in my case. Matter of fact, the air inlet filters are back hidden between the trunk area and the rear taillights on my car. But providing cooler air to the intercooler as well as the radiator should be beneficial, I think.

BTW, just a note on the importance of trying to cool down the incoming air charge AND the engine coolant temperature:

The PCM blends IAT (intake air temp) and ECT (engine coolant temp) to calculate the temp of the air entering the cylinders....

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Rich, For a non turbo car with a stock LS6 engine should the motor be getting more fresh air. Of course what I'm really asking is what improvement would I see,feel if I did a similar modification?

I 100% agree with you. I'd be pissed too. Seems they are making it right though....

Kap142 said:

Rich, For a non turbo car with a stock LS6 engine should the motor be getting more fresh air. Of course what I'm really asking is what improvement would I see,feel if I did a similar modification?

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Well, cool air and cool gasoline makes for a denser mix in the cylinders. Cooler heads via the coolant system also helps in this regard. A denser mix of air and gasoline in the cylinders would tend to produce more power. Heck, that's what forced induction does via mechanical means. Force more air into the cylinders, which means increasing the fuel supply from the injectors for a proper AFR mixture. There is a reason that forced induction upgrades always include bigger injectors. That is also the purpose behind the intercooler itself. To cool down the air charge. So pretty much everything points to cooler being better when talking about air coming into the engine.

I've been looking at the PCM tables quite a bit lately, not to mention I can see when that intermittent IAT sensor glitch hits and tells the PCM that my incoming air temps are way high, that the PCM reacts accordingly by pulling timing, and also enriching the air/fuel ratio in an effort to try to keep the cylinders cool. Both of those changes will help reduce cylinder temps, but also reduce power as a result. Heck, one of the tricks back in the good old days was to put a cool-can with ice in it on the fuel line to cool down the fuel right before it hit the carburetor to help increase fuel density and subsequent power. Basically when tuning a car for power, you increase the timing until you start getting the knock sensors screaming, and then you back off a couple of degrees. Cooler air and cooler fuel will allow you more timing advance without getting knock. Heck, that's the reason for higher octane gasoline as well. To reduce knock, which is why you tend to get better performance out of higher octane gasoline.

Now take this all with a grain of salt, of course. There will always be a practical limit to the amount you can advance timing on an engine. This is actually quite a complex topic in it's own right, and I'm still a newbie on the learning curve.

Now, will you see a seat of the pants difference with this front license plate mod? :shrug01: Beats me. But I can't see any way that it could hurt your performance. In my case, I've got the intercooler smack dab in front of my radiator. So I'm thinking the cooler the air hitting the intercooler, the cooler the air will be when it gets THROUGH the intercooler to the radiator.

Kap142 said:

Rich, For a non turbo car with a stock LS6 engine should the motor be getting more fresh air. Of course what I'm really asking is what improvement would I see,feel if I did a similar modification?

Click to expand...

Ken, btw, look at the design of the front ends for the C6s. Seems GM opened up the front to allow more cool air into the engine compartment through the radiator. Maybe there was a reason for this design change?

In any event, the latest status I got on my screened license plate cover was that I should have it by the end of the week. Apparently the outfit who is making it had to order the correct screen. Sounds to me like they might have been making screens for a while using a different mesh and weave. So I'm the first one to get one of these and notice the difference? :shrug01:

But apparently I'm not getting the black molding around the opening.

The front area of the C6 is not only for cooling but downforce. A lot of research was done from the Corvette Racing team to redevelop the frontal area of the C6 (and luckily why we no longer have flip-up headlights).

I did this mod on my C4...just had John at AutoXTC custom make one for me.


Not sure if the C5 is the same, but you'll want to make sure the bumper is enclosed with what ever opening you make...other wise it will cause lift at high speeds.

This is the massive hole I cut, before boxing in the opening, therefore making sure the air goes straight into the engine bay versus throughout the bumper area.

From what I can see the intercooler for the turbos sits directly in back of that opening I will be making. If I remember correctly, it's also slanted backwards slightly so incoming air should impart somewhat of a down force on the fins.

I'm wondering if getting some sort of extractor hood might be a good idea? I mean, yeah, bringing IN more cool air is the goal, but how does the air get out of the engine compartment once it's forced in there? The air inlets on my car for the engine are located in BACK of my car, not under the hood. So I've not got anything under the hood to pull air out of the engine compartment.

Since I've got those paint cracks on the hood where Aaron Scott dropped the hood on the air bridge, I've got a paint job in my future sooner or later. And I might want to consider getting a new hood with more clearance at that point anyway.

But truth be known, it's not likely I'm going to be trying to hit 200 mph in the car.

At least AutoXTC used decent looking mesh and took the time and effort to make the mesh STRAIGHT across the opening. It looks like you had to do quite a bit of cutting to get the airflow into your engine compartment.

Yeah, lots of cutting and then finding decent materials to box in the bumper (1/4" plastic sheets). One day I'll cut out that useless brace in front of the air box too.

You've certainly got a lot of choices for hoods for the C5. Fiberglass, carbon fiber, vents, hi-rises, etc. Getting heat out is certainly a good thing!