Torklift Central’s removable Tesla Model S front license plate bracket brings the best of both worlds – The Law but with a rebel twist.
Torklift Central of Kent, WA has devised a way for Model S owners to mount their front license plates without having to undergo the rudimentary factory process of drilling permanent holes into the Tesla nose cone. Drilling into your brand new Tesla Model S is not only an unnerving experience, but it could potentially reduce the resale value of the car. In comes “The Law” – a full stainless steel (powder coated in black), multi-piece front license plate bracket that’s easy to install yet fully removable when desired. The stainless steel material provides a rust and corrosion free guarantee along with a Lifetime Warranty.
The Law – Tesla Model S Removable Front License Plate Bracket
The product comes packaged within a traditional shipping box. No frills or fancy marketing materials needed here. Just give me the stuff!
- Instruction Sheets
- 1 x Base Plate (hooks onto the factory lower mesh grill)
- 1 x Base Plate Front Plate (secures base plate onto the lower mesh grill)
- 1 x License Plate Bracket (removable when license plate not needed)
- 1/4 x 1 Hex Bolt (qty 2)
- 1/4 x 1/2 Hex Bolt (qty 4)
- 1/4 Flat Washers (qty 2)
Installation
It’s a good idea to pre-assemble all the pieces and envision how the bracket will be secured prior to installation. Disassemble and locate the “L” shaped base plate. The side with the welded nuts will be pushed (requires gentle force) through the 2nd to top row of the honeycomb lower front grill. The 2nd row position is extremely important here since we’re working within pretty tight tolerances. One row too high or too low will cause the base plate to potentially scrape against the body during installation.
Tip: Place a Microfiber Cloth
Push the “L” shaped base plate through the 2nd row position into the lower front grill and secure it with the base plate front plate (long flat piece). Feed the two 1/4 x 1 hex bolts through the base front plate and hand tighten until the front plate is loosely attached to the base plate.
Continue to ratchet down the front plate until it’s securely fastened. The honeycomb grill will now be sandwiched between the front plate and “L” shaped base plate.
Tip: There was a minimal amount of clearance between our ratchet and the front bumper so we once again used a Microfiber Cloth
Take the front license plate bracket, and place it on top of the base plate. The welded nuts on the front license plate bracket should be facing upwards at this point. Hand tighten the two 1/4 x 1/2 bolts and continue to tighten until the two plates are securely joined.
Tip: There won’t be any room for a socket so be sure to have a 1/4″ wrench handy. A ratcheting wrench will come in super handy – something every true DIY’er should own.
Installed
Torklift claims a 5-minute installation time that we think is certainly possible if you have a good grasp of how all the pieces fit together. However for novices like us, installation took approximately 30 minutes with a majority of that time spent on processing the instructions, pre-assembling and trying to be extra cautious on a car we don’t own.
Here are some pictures of Torklift Central’s – The Law fully installed on the Teslarati Tesla Model S. What we really liked about this piece, aside from the fact that it requires no drilling and is 100% removable, is the mounting position. It sits low enough so that it doesn’t detract from the elegance of the car.
We chose to mount our license plate assembly dead center, however one could have easily mounted it to the left or right of the centerline if that’s the look they’re going for. There’s no horizontal restriction on where the assembly can be placed, provided the base plate is inserted into the 2nd row of the lower honeycomb grill.
Conclusion
Designed specifically for the Tesla Model S, “The Law” – Removable Font License Plate Bracket is a precision crafted bolt on application that’s weather resistant, easy to install, requires no drilling, and 100% removable. Although the license plate bracket is fully removable, we felt that the removal process could have been a bit easier through a “quick release” mechanism. As it stands now, removing the license plate from the base plate requires having a wrench in hand.
The components are manufactured in stainless steel and finished off with a sleek powder coat in black. We feel that the use of stainless black oxide bolts would have been a better aesthetic complement than the bolts provided, but that’s really a minor detail that doesn’t take away from the beautiful craftsmanship of the product.
Torklift’s engineers did an excellent job fabricating each precision piece. At just $104.95, half the price of a missing-license-plate violation, “The Law” is truly a bargain for those looking to have a non-invasive front license plate bracket that’s fully removable, and comes with a Lifetime Warranty.
WHERE TO BUY
Visit Torklift Central
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[box type=”bio”]For those looking for other creative ways to install the front license bracket, look here.