Hello everybody,

I am writing this post to show everyone my newest piece of hardware I've acquired through Grimmspeed; Mainly known for Subaru's and Mitsubishi's.
I contacted them back in March of this year with a request and they gladly worked with me on this.

Long story short I was not content with the current crop of plate relocation kits currently available for the MINI so I contacted Grimmspeed to rectify the situation.

Short story long
This all started when I got my M7 grills and Alta FMIC; I did not want to run a centered plate anymore due to two facts.
1) I did not want the blocked airflow into the FMIC
2) The grills come flush with the bumper so the plinth could not be mounted without modification.

So I went the side mount route, with the only available option at the time. I'm not going to name names here but did what it was suppose to do, move the plate off to the side.

With few to none other options I was forced to stick with this for some time but after the inital "Cool" factor wore off I didn't like it anymore, it stuck out way too far from the bumper, being parallel with the face of the car was the issue. This ended up being more of a danger than a stylistic issue but still, it didn't look too great either.

In my small garage and even walking through parking lots and driveways this soon became a hazard to all shins who dare cross paths with the razor sharp edges of the license plate.
Being so far off of the bumper of the car and only held on with a piece half of the width of the plate I soon found the plate getting bent on the edge of the mount. Mounting the plate was kinda a hassle too, the need for washers and nuts and bolts was a little bit of a pain.

But what was I to do.
No other companies had anything I liked or worked the way I was hoping for... or so I thought until meeting up with a group of friends for a wrenching day.

On my friends Lexus I noticed he had a similar offset plate mount, upon further inspection I found it to be a Grimmspeed piece and absolutely loved how everything was put together on it; It has almost infinite mounting options and can be tilted along a semi circle of a bracket to match the curvature of any bumper (or at least a tangent of a curve), The engineer in me loved this

I knew which plate mount I was buying next... until I got home to find out that their main focus is JDM

Bummed at first I didn't let it stop me. I decided what the hell let me call and ask if they would send me the curved bracket and mounting plate so I can kinda make my own version of it. The only problem with this is that the plate would still be a few inches (2-3") off of the bumper and turns out the bolts were completely different sizes.

It didn't take long for me to ask if they would fabricate one up for me and before I knew it we were in business. I measured up some specs off of the MINI and got some good pictures for them (since they haven't worked with our cars before) and I sent out my tow hook to them so that they could get the Thread and pitch specifications (which are proprietary to BMW apparently)

So some time goes by and I have been talking with them on and off over email but before soon things get quiet; they had moved on to working on the BRZ/FR-S duo with the recent release of the car to the market, but they hadn't forgotten about me.
Apparently to r&d small quantity stuff gets low priority but I knew this and really there wasn't any rush other than the ever present threat of my shins getting sliced to bits with the shorts out and summer now in swing

Fast forward to a few weeks ago and I get an email and phone call to let me know that things are wrapping up nicely and they would be getting a package shortly

Yesterday I finally got it and my shins couldn't be happier! oh and me too. I think it looks great, fits very nice and close to the car with no loss in adjustability, and is super easy to get set up the way you want it. Oh and no more washers, nuts, and bolts! the plate is tapped for the bolts they supply machined into it.
The overall quality of the pieces are top notch; I've always heard this from some of my Subaru friends but now its nice to see for my self.

So Thank you Grimmspeed for working with me on this and building me a kit for my car, It's neat to know that I have the first set made for production of the MINI too.

Just so everyone knows; I do not work for Grimmspeed, they did not pay me anything to write this. I am writing this under my own free will as a thank you to Grimmspeed and to share my experience with the rest of the NAM community. Yes they will soon start making this kit available for our cars but they did not tell me to "try and sell" the community on the kit. I am doing this to let everyone know of my experience with the company (which was excellent customer service btw) keep the mounts that you have if you like but others may want something better.

So I guess I am kinda "selling the kit" but that comes with the territory of venturing into a new market with a new part

Pictures! enjoy although they are from my cellphone and it was raining out.

 

Looks nice! I have the Platypus mount which mounts it straight instead of it being angled with the bumper like yours. I think i like yours better haha

 

Wow I was gonna pick up a Platypus, but I think I'll be getting this one instead if price is right
anymore pics from the front? like at a lower angle?
Thanks for sharing!

 

That looks like just the look I'm looking for! I've had one on back order from Alta for a couple weeks...not the Platypus. Does anyone have any experience with the one from Alta? It has been on their landing page. It looks nice, appears close fitting and contouring. Just hoping.

 

Thanks guys. I am really pleased with it. I love how close it is to the bumper and how I have the option to put it anyway I like. Although I found where I want it to be so I will stay that way but it's always nice to have options.. **cough Alta cough**...

Yeah I'm not a fan of that one either, While angled, it's still too far from the bumper.

Oldcracker, I'll try and get some better pictures tomorrow with my real camera during the day.

 

How's this? .... yes I know its crooked I fixed it after taking the pic

 

So will Grimmspeed be making them available any time soon, and I'm afraid to ask what you had to pay for the R & D on this one? My alternative is taking so long.... They must be waiting to do a batch run or there is a problem with them.

 

That kit looks pretty nice. I just sent them an email inquiring about one.

 

They will be making them available soon, I just don't know when. I can talk with them about it and see what I can find out. I will let them know that there definitely is interest in the system so hopefully they will move things a long even quicker.

Mike, Since I was the one who brought it up to them and worked with them on it (took all of the measurements, photographs and sent out equipment very early in the process before they had a local car) they sent me the first one for some feedback and it fits just the way I wanted it to. I've already let them know that the kit is spot on so they should be out soon.

 

cool. put in a good word for us.

 

lol thanks for the pic Peter, it still looks pretty good

any ETA?

 

i also got the privilege of testing one of these out on my 03.


i've had the one that BavAuto sells in the past, but GrimmSpeed's version is much much better in everyway!



btw, Grimmspeed has better picture of it when it was freshly installed winkwinknudgepostpictureswinkcough

 

Kudos to GrimmSpeed for their mission statement. As a current Minnesotan I applaud keeping jobs in MN.

 

You could put me down for one.

 

put me down for one too! i just picked up a 2012 cooper s today from a 2011 sti. i had the grimmspeed plate kit and it was a great piece.. i'd love to have one for the mini

 

Any update on when they would become available?

 

I'm interested in this too!

 

+1

 

If you are looking for an angled license plate mount. I already have one for you;


Just like every one of our parts, this one is made entirely in Oregon, and sold at a reasonable price. In fact, I am extending our discount on this product to NAM members through Labor Day weekend. Just use the Code: NAMPLATE. You'll get $10 of the price of the Platypus which will cover the angled plate option if you choose it.

Please let me know if I can answer any questions about this new addition to the Platypus.

 

Kellen, I have to admit that it's pretty lame of you to come into my thread about the Grimmspeed mount and try to sell your product. You should create your own thread if you want to push your product.

In the mean time, Grimmspeed is working on getting a group buy organized for those who want to know so they will be out soon, I don't have an exact date but it's worth the wait.

 

Actually, since there had been no response to the question, it seemed completely relevant to let members know that the product that they are waiting for not only already exists, but is available from a company that has been supporting NAM and the MINI community for many years.

Peter, as the OP for the thread, I agree the direction of the discussion is yours, and I respect that. I will make no further posts in your thread. My Lameness is unintended and I apologize for interrupting.

 

Peter314.

Could you keep us all informed of when this product comes out. I would like one.

 

Yeah, I can do that. I'll update the post as things become available

 

Price point???

 

I'd say competitive to the rest of the market.