[MPR]

For those that do not know, G42's equipped with the ZTK/cooling package have an oil cooler directly behind the front bumper on the underside of the car, which is vulnerable to getting destroyed if it collides with anything. The Turner Motorsports skid plate provides some protection, but it leaves the fins of the oil cooler exposed. The addition of stainless steel mesh over the open areas should provide 100% protection from colliding with objects and road debris/stones from getting kicked up and potentially damaging the oil cooler.

Parts needed:
1 x Turner Motorsports skid plate
2 x Stainless steel mesh
- On Amazon as "1 PC 11”X14” (28cmX36cm) Wire Mesh 5 Mesh, Sturdy Metal Mesh Sheets for DIY Projects 304 Stainless Steel No Rust Mesh Screen"
1 x Large 3/16" x 3/8" Aluminum rivets
- On Amazon as "ISPINNER 50pcs 3/16" x 3/8" Large Flange Aluminum Blind Rivets, 4.8 x 10mm Pop Rivets (Silver) "
12 x Stainless steel washers - I found 5 packs that fit the bracket bolts perfectly at Tractor Supply store. I used 3 washers per bolt.
Edit: See this post, as 3 washers per small bolt may result in rubbing. https://g87.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...2&postcount=42

Tools needed:
Installing steel mesh:
Drill with 3/16 bit to drill holes in skid plate
Wire cutters to cut mesh
Black marker to mark where to cut mesh
White out or some type of paint to mark where to drill (I used some of my BG touchup paint with a toothpick)
Rivet tool
- On Amazon as "BEETRO Heavy Duty Hand Riveter, Rivet Gun, 3/32"-1/8"-5/32"-3/16", 4 Nosepieces Set Includes 100pcs Rivets, Durable and Suitable for Metal, Plastic and Leather"

Installation of skid plate:
18mm socket - For bolt to connect mounting plate to car
10mm socket - For removing bolts on front bumper and for removing black plate at the back of oil cooler
Size 4 (mm?) allen key

1. Each piece of mesh covers half of the skid plate so you will need to complete the below process twice.
2. Lay one piece of the mesh over the left or right side of the skid plate to get an idea of where you will make your cuts. You want to cut it so that 2 square pieces/areas of the mesh slide into the 2 square holes under where the plate has an upward angle.
3. With a marker, draw a line where the cuts are needed. You can't really mess this up as you are working with a grid, so just mark at the closest box/row that will allow the mesh to slide under. Keep in mind that at the dead center area both pieces of mesh will meet/overlap and get riveted together. I also trimmed off 1 or 2 inches from the top of the mesh as it was excess and not protecting anything - this is the area towards the back of the car on the underside.
4. Once marked, use wire cutters to snip your marked lines. I made cuts one at a time, which was tedious.
5. When all cuts are made, slide it into place and ensure you are happy with the fitment on the skid plate. With the mesh being a grid, you can align the mesh material with the borders of the skid plate to ensure it's completely straight.
6. Next, using your white out/paint, make marks where you will drill your holes. Try to aim for dead center of one of the mesh's boxes. I tried to keep my holes uniform/consistent by doing them in the same row of the grid. Be sure to flip it over to mark where to drill the 2 holes on the bottom side (the 2 pieces of mesh that slide into the boxes and go to the bottom side of the skid plate.
7. Once all marks are made, remove the mesh and begin drilling. The material was pretty easy to drill into, but it was a bit messy. You should wear eye protection to be safe.
8. Once all holes are drilled, ensure that the holes are cleaned and there are no jagged pieces of aluminum remaining. Place the mesh back onto the skid plate and insert all of rivets on the the oil-cooler side. Be sure not to secure the rivets on the middle piece since you need to install the other piece of mesh and then rivet them both at the same time/over each other.
9. If everything looks good, begin securing the rivets. With the rivet tool and rivets linked above, it took me two squeezes of tool to get the rivet tip to snap off (I'm new to riveting so maybe this is normal).

Repeat everything for the other piece of mesh.

The install took around 30-45 minutes.

1. There is a black piece of plastic on the backside of the oil cooler that needs to be removed - its around 5 10mm bolts/screws.
2. Hold the skid plate in place to get an idea of which 2 bolts need to be removed to secure the 2 brackets.
3. Remove these 2 bolts and install the brackets. Leave the bolts loose to allow it to move so so you can adjust as needed.
4. Remove the 4 screws on the underside of the bumper that align with the skid plate mount points.
5. Lay 2 stacks of 3 washers on the oil-cooler side of the skid plate and from the other side insert the bolts so it goes through each stack of washers. This will provide you a little extra clearance so the skid plate doesn't come in contact with the oil cooler.
6. Secure bolts into bracket. No need to fully tighten yet, once it has enough grab to hold the skid plate up, install the 4 screws that secure the skid plate to the front bumper. Tighten bumper screws and 4 bracket bolts and then tighten the bolts that secures the bracket to the car.

It looks like the 3 washers I used on each of the bracket bolts is enough. I was able to take a picture of the area between the oil cooler and skid plate and you can see the distance between the rivet head and the side of the oil cooler, which is the furthest reaching part of the oil cooler. There is at least 1 cm which should be plenty. I plan to check on the skid plate each time I do an oil change.

[Ricochet48]

Great write up!

Surprised the skid plate protector wouldn't already have an option for some mesh protection.

Still very surprised BMW cheaped out and provided absolutely no protection stock too.

[MPR]

Originally Posted by Ricochet48

Great write up!

Surprised the skid plate protector wouldn't already have an option for some mesh protection.

Still very surprised BMW cheaped out and provided absolutely no protection stock too.

Thanks, yeah Turner should really add this.

I wish the forum allowed me to decide where images appear in the post, I could have made it a little neater.

[oldbmwtech]

Originally Posted by MPR

Thanks, yeah Turner should really add this.

I wish the forum allowed me to decide where images appear in the post, I could have made it a little neater.

Very nice write up and detailed instructions

[KevM2]

And in terms of air flow this is not too restrictive?

[MPR]

Originally Posted by KevM2

And in terms of air flow this is not too restrictive?

It'll get less air passing over it with the skid plate alone, the mesh will reduce it by slightly more. It's still worth It IMO - - for daily drivers it's a no brainer.

[MPR]

This thread needs a picture of the oil cooler as it comes from the factory. Something insignificant as pulling too far into a parking spot could destroy the oil cooler.

[MPR]

Get your skid plate before it's too late! (didn't intend to make it rhyme and be corny)

[WilcoJunoHotel]

MPR

Did you consider something like this instead of the mesh?

https://www.amazon.com/Douzime-Venti...s%2C106&sr=8-3

Since I will likely never track the car, I am probably going to add the skidplate and just cover up the open areas completely since I won't need the additional cooling. With the cooler down low, it will probably provide some cooling even if covered up.

I have hit way too many pieces of trash in the road over the years to be comfortable letting that cooler run "commando" like that.

[MPR]

Originally Posted by WilcoJunoHotel

MPR

Did you consider something like this instead of the mesh?

https://www.amazon.com/Douzime-Venti...s%2C106&sr=8-3

Since I will likely never track the car, I am probably going to add the skidplate and just cover up the open areas completely since I won't need the additional cooling. With the cooler down low, it will probably provide some cooling even if covered up.

I have hit way too many pieces of trash in the road over the years to be comfortable letting that cooler run "commando" like that.

No, I wanted to provide as much air flow as possible to not essentially eliminate the oil cooler. I don't track so I don't need the cooling either but still don't want to cover it up.

The covers you linked will work, but I think the mesh I used will allow the oil cooler to still work while providing the needed protection. The stainless mesh is super strong and should prevent anything from making contact.

[advr6]

Thanks for the detailed instructions.

Installed mine today. The hardest part was riveting the ISPINNER rivets. They must be industrial rivets as I had to put a 3' extension on the handle to get them to where they snapped.

The 2 piece low profile ramp from Canadian Tire worked well.

[MPR]

Originally Posted by advr6

Thanks for the detailed instructions.

Installed mine today. The hardest part was riveting the ISPINNER rivets. They must be industrial rivets as I had to put a 3' extension on the handle to get them to where they snapped.

The 2 piece low profile ramp from Canadian Tire worked well.

I just had to do 2 pulls on my rivet tool to get them to snap off--the first pull did not bring it in far enough to break off. Looks good!

[sclui56]

I still think Turner's really needs to make the mounting block couple of mm's longer and supply 2x longer bolts to avoid contact to the oil cooler.

[WilcoJunoHotel]

Do you know the overall dimensions of the Turner skid plate (width & length) and the size of the 4 openings? My car will be arriving next week and I want to get a head start on this project.

Thanks.

[MPR]

Originally Posted by WilcoJunoHotel

Do you know the overall dimensions of the Turner skid plate (width & length) and the size of the 4 openings? My car will be arriving next week and I want to get a head start on this project.

Thanks.

Not off hand, but you could just buy the same size mesh as what I posted.

If anyone has the skid plate and hasn’t installed it yet, please measure the area on the bracket that bolts to the car, I want to use a few washers there instead of where the plate connects to the bracket—just need to know hole diameter and diameter of the flat area so I can buy washers that fit.

[WilcoJunoHotel]

OK, NP.

If anyone gets a chance in the next few days to crawl under their car to measure, I would be grateful.

[sclui56]

Originally Posted by MPR

Not off hand, but you could just buy the same size mesh as what I posted.

If anyone has the skid plate and hasn’t installed it yet, please measure the area on the bracket that bolts to the car, I want to use a few washers there instead of where the plate connects to the bracket—just need to know hole diameter and diameter of the flat area so I can buy washers that fit.

Will probably need a longer shoulder bolt if adding spacers.

[MPR]

Originally Posted by sclui56

Will probably need a longer shoulder bolt if adding spacers.

I think there’s a few mm of slack

[sclui56]

Need to do the same on my daughter's, there's a slight vibration noise. I had, and still have, the proper spacers (I think), just didn't feel the factory bolt was long enough since Turner's plate is re-using the same bolt, but added the mounting block which ate into some of the excess thread, so I skipped the spacers during the initial install.

[sclui56]

Just redid my daughter's plate today due to an annoying vibration sound caused by the plate too close. Since Turner wanted us to reuse the factory bolt to hold the 2 brackets, the thread became insufficient even before adding washers. I bought some washers first and ended up buying some longer 10.9 shoulder bolts to accomplish this.

[MPR]

Originally Posted by sclui56

Just redid my daughter's plate today due to an annoying vibration sound caused by the plate too close. Since Turner wanted us to reuse the factory bolt to holder the 2 brackets, the thread became insufficient even before adding washers. I bought some washers first and ended up buying some longer 10.9 shoulder bolts to accomplish this.

Do you know the bolt and washer size?

[sclui56]

Originally Posted by MPR

Do you know the bolt and washer size?

Somehow the images are not showing up here so I changed them to links. Sorry. The bolts were either M12 or M10, can't remember. Just need to be longer because the stock bolt could not even grab 1x washer. There's sufficient space to accommodate a longer bolt, I simply added the thickness of the bracket + 2x washers and estimated.