You are looking at the BEST license plate bracket for your US E46 Touring (wagon) BMW!
We never understood why BMW would put a cheap, plastic bracket on the back of a BMW to hold a license plate. The screws holding the bracket on would rust, the steel inserts hold the plate on would also rust, causing the hardware holding the plate on to seize or just no longer function. Our bracket was engineered to emulate
51-18-7-000-814, the E46 touring specific bracket for the rear tailgate.
PROBLEMS we have identified with the bracket and hardware being used by BMW;
- The screws that secure the plastic bracket are plated steel and will corrode over time. These two screw would normally not be seen since it is under the license plate, but it is holding the bracket onto the trunk.
- The four (4) nutserts that are pressed into the plastic frame (to hold the license plate) are also steel and will eventually seize with the bolt and just spin in the plastic frame becoming useless.
- The plastic frame itself is flimsy, doing a near minimal task of holding on the license plate.
- The hardware securing the plate to the bracket will rust, seizing to the nutsert or even spinning in place becoming completely useless.
Our SOLUTION;
- Create a more robust bracket that would not only be stiffer but also more corrosion resistant; CNC’d aluminum with an anodized finish. We machine a near identical plate, matching factory dimensions, from 1/2" plate of aluminum.
- Instead of nutserts pressed into plastic, map the correct position and machine the threads for the hardware directly into the plate.
- The hardware used to secure the new bracket to the trunk would be made from stainless steel (or optional corrosion-proof titanium)
- The hardware used to secure the license plate to the newly engineered bracket would also be stainless steel (or optional made from titanium)
Kit includes;
- One (1) Rogue Engineering designed and manufactured CNC'd aluminum license plate bracket
- Two (2) Stainless screws to secure bracket to trunk.
- Four (4) stainless screws to secure license plate to bracket.
Optional;
- Two (2) Gold anodized, titanium screws (to secure plate bracket to car)
- Four (4) Titanium bolts (to secure license plate to bracket). Your choice of black or gold.
- Silicone license plate frame (surrounds plate and edges so that plate is isolated from aluminum bracket preventing potential rattle)
Fits E46 touring (wagon) ONLY! If you need the one that fits the 1999 and newer BMW
click here.
