[RPM33]

Originally Posted by DrewDDS

The auto cars just use the trans cooler to protect the heat exchanger

Drew: Are you going to get rid of the M2?

[RPM33]

Originally Posted by DrewDDS

I was taking off from a red light, maybe 100 ft away from it. I’m not sure how fast I was going, but it couldn’t have been more than 45mph. The truck in front of me switched lanes and I saw the rock fly up as the trucks tire crossed over a crevice between the two lanes. I thought the rock hit my a pillar or windshield. Oddly I stopped and got some washer fluid at an auto parts store, smelled coolant faintly and shrugged it off since my f80 had a faint coolant smell too. Didn’t connect the dots until later on when my a/c didn’t get cold.

Before buying the car I did look at the front end and think about things hitting the radiator, but I thought hey, BMW knows what they are doing. Wasn’t at all considering that they knew when they released the car that damage to the radiator would be the end users responsibility. Honestly have a million other things on my mind at the moment besides my car. I bought the m2 in October, moved houses in December then had a second child days after settling in that ended up as a week long stay at the NICU and terrified that she had some massive health problem, sleepless nights, employee issues at my dental practice jeopardizing my income, a lawsuit due to another house we attempted to purchase… it’s just been one thing after the next, and needless to say this car has been the last thing on my mind until this.

What’s going on at your dental practice? We feel for you!

[Mr. Hankey]

Originally Posted by KC87ZB

Again, this is about design, regardless of MT or AT. BMW wanted the open bumper design so that’s what they went with. Now we get to live with it the way it is or insert additional protection.

I personally think BMW designed the M2 with big grills like the G80/82 initally, which would have provided protection down there. Then it seems to me they shortened the grills for a more “traditional” look and just left that center area unfinished and open, set back from the rest of the bumper cover. Cost cutting measure to just leave it open up front as they were likely building this car to a price point in their lineup and trying to cut costs.

That’s the story I had to tell myself as I was pulling the front bumper cover off of an otherwise perfectly good new car to add protection that should have been provided from the factory. I couldn’t just let that edentulous front end ride around dentureless with that wide-open gap. It just looked and seems a half-assed compromise made prior to production and could provide better protection.

Oil cooler - they’ve built BMWs for YEARS with that down there. It’s a efficient design that cools well. They used to cover it with a plastic panel, but no longer, so that at least deserved the Zunsport.

[Mr. Hankey]

Originally Posted by M2siast

The G80 bumper doesn’t have a grille either.

Good point…the center grills are at least slatted the entire height with just wider than a finger-breadths gap between slats. Much less likely a frontal direct rock strike to the radiator happening than the 9 x 6.5” gap in the front of this thing.

[xtougher]

Originally Posted by JABCAT

I have 9k miles on my M2, I drive between Austin & Dallas & back almost every weekend (240 mi one way). I35 is a literal mine field of garbage and road debris. Last year my 330e was hit 3 times by kicked up road debris, kicked up tire treads, etc. The first time cracked my front splitter. The second time shattered my headlight, lower grilles, new splitter, fog light housing and popped the kidney grilles out. Resulted in $4k in damage. The third time, cracked my new, new splitter.

Every time I drive that route I can hear the small pebbles skipping off my car, my windshield, heck even my $150 painted front emblem from IND is already chipped up. Thankfully, I have full front covered in Xpel Ultimate.

So to answer your question, I detail my car every week and I have yet to find any rocks behind the screens. Imo, it would take all 9 realms aligning and a rock the size of a baseball to bust through the screen and damage the radiators. But who knows, I could be wrong.

Originally Posted by JABCAT

My SA also liked the screens & asked where I got them. Why I like the ZunSport screens better than the others is because they sit in front of the crossbar in the opening. So even if something does it them, its not getting through to the radiator.

I can attest to that drive, as I've also made that drive many times (not NEARLY as much as JABCAT though!).

I did just intall the Zunsport screen underneath for the oil cooler, but looks like I should just go ahead and order the others for the front as well.

[BroDoze]

Originally Posted by xtougher

I did just intall the Zunsport screen underneath for the oil cooler, but looks like I should just go ahead and order the others for the front as well.

Order me a set, too, please. All I have is the oil cooler one.

[Carefree]

Originally Posted by xtougher

I did just intall the Zunsport screen underneath for the oil cooler, but looks like I should just go ahead and order the others for the front as well.

Quality product, superb fitment, and easy install.
Love the front screens and if you have adaptive cruise, no problems.
Highly recommended.

[xtougher]

Originally Posted by BroDoze

Order me a set, too, please. All I have is the oil cooler one.

On it.

Originally Posted by Carefree

Quality product, superb fitment, and easy install.
Love the front screens and if you have adaptive cruise, no problems.
Highly recommended.

Yeah, seems to be the consensus. I guess I was just delaying the inevitable. LOL

[Carefree]

Originally Posted by xtougher

Yeah, seems to be the consensus. I guess I was just delaying the inevitable. LOL

They’re a very inexpensive “insurance policy” and actually more attractive than I envisioned.
Good luck.

[Ronin76]

Originally Posted by Carefree

They’re a very inexpensive “insurance policy” and actually more attractive than I envisioned.
Good luck.

Did you also get the oil cooler?

[Carefree]

Originally Posted by Ronin76

Did you also get the oil cooler?

No, my only other insurance “mod” was a Turner skid plate.

[Ronin76]

Originally Posted by Carefree

No, my only other insurance “mod” was a Turner skid plate.

Gotcha! Thanks for the quick reply.

[NewToM]

Originally Posted by Ronin76

Did you also get the oil cooler?

I have the full set and happy with it.

[Baller]

Originally Posted by Carefree

No, my only other insurance “mod” was a Turner skid plate.

I don't think this skid plate is really doing much to protect your oil cooler, or am I looking at this all wrong?
I'm confused, it honestly looks like it protects everything but the oil cooler, with massive openings across the face of the cooler itself.
But I'm also 100% of the time wrong.

[M_Power Rob]

Originally Posted by Baller

I don't think this skid plate is really doing much to protect your oil cooler, or am I looking at this all wrong?
I'm confused, it honestly looks like it protects everything but the oil cooler, with massive openings across the face of the cooler itself.
But I'm also 100% of the time wrong.

The skid plate protects the cooler under the car which without a skid plate, is wide open to destruction and subsequent engine destruction/failure (with verified events of this happening).

[JABCAT]

Originally Posted by Carefree

Quality product, superb fitment, and easy install.
Love the front screens and if you have adaptive cruise, no problems.
Highly recommended.

Agree. Had them on my wife's X3MC first & was the 2nd thing I ordered for the M2 (after iSweep brake pads). Zunsport finally has an oil cooler screen for the X3MC coming soon & I'll order that immediately as well.

[DrewDDS]

Just an update for everyone - I paid BMW $3643.93 to replace my radiator and picked it up June 19th. After reading some of the comments here I somehow had the feeling that I was super unlucky and this wasn’t a common occurrence. Yet I was thinking of buying a protector and decided to look at the front end to picture how much it would detract from the appearance. Lo and behold, there’s another massive ding in my new radiator after less than two months. Seriously folks, there is no need to defend this design choice. It’s horrible, and there’s no excuse for this. Pic attached

View post on imgur.com

Get a protector, or consider a better designed car. I wish they had put mesh like the f80’s g80’s, but we’re left to stick an ugly aftermarket piece on instead.

[two_three_two]

Originally Posted by DrewDDS

Just an update for everyone - I paid BMW $3643.93 to replace my radiator and picked it up June 19th. After reading some of the comments here I somehow had the feeling that I was super unlucky and this wasn’t a common occurrence. Yet I was thinking of buying a protector and decided to look at the front end to picture how much it would detract from the appearance. Lo and behold, there’s another massive ding in my new radiator after less than two months. Seriously folks, there is no need to defend this design choice. It’s horrible, and there’s no excuse for this. Pic attached

so to be clear, you paid almost 4 grand to replace the radiator, and then after all this decided to not cough up ~$300 more to protect the new radiator?

i dont get it dude, you are going on and on about the "design flaw", and then actively choose to not fix it...

[Carefree]

Originally Posted by DrewDDS

Just an update for everyone - I paid BMW $3643.93 to replace my radiator and picked it up June 19th. After reading some of the comments here I somehow had the feeling that I was super unlucky and this wasn’t a common occurrence. Yet I was thinking of buying a protector and decided to look at the front end to picture how much it would detract from the appearance. Lo and behold, there’s another massive ding in my new radiator after less than two months. Seriously folks, there is no need to defend this design choice. It’s horrible, and there’s no excuse for this. Pic attached

https://imgur.com/a/xzKHrgb

Well, give yourself credit for at least thinking about buying a protector.

That’s a good start.

[DrewDDS]

Originally Posted by two_three_two

so to be clear, you paid almost 4 grand to replace the radiator, and then after all this decided to not cough up ~$300 more to protect the new radiator?

i dont get it dude, you are going on and on about the "design flaw", and then actively choose to not fix it...

I know you were salivating to make this response, but it’s really not productive in any way. I’m not asking for help, just documenting. Enjoy

[two_three_two]

Originally Posted by DrewDDS

I know you were salivating to make this response, but it’s really not productive in any way. I’m not asking for help, just documenting. Enjoy

no, i was not salivating at that at all. people fucking their cars up brings me no joy whether self inflicted or not. im just making sure that the facts are straight here.

and in fact, it is productive- here lies yet another G87 radiator.

"My name is DrewDDS, king of new radiators. look on its works, ye arrogant, and despair! no new radiator remains. round the decay of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare, The lone and level rocks stretch far away."

it can and will happen again and again so protect it.

[Carefree]

With all that’s been written here (since mid 2023?) regarding this problem, design flaw or not, I’m puzzled why a new buyer wouldn’t invest approximately .005% of the average overall purchase price (I’m using $65K MSRP and $325 skid plate) to protect a possible disaster.

Someone ‘splain this to me.