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2003-2009 Nissan 350Z

who else have a L shaped imprint on rear bumper?

Old Jul 24, 2006 | 07:54 PM
  #21  
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checkin it out
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Old Jul 24, 2006 | 08:04 PM
  #22  
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I think I can answer the question for all of you...

The rear bumper on our cars is obviously a very large piece of plastic, when they are designed and molded, they have reinforcement ribbing built through out as a structural support for the smooth outer surface- when the bumpers come out of the mold, they are extremely hot for one, and typically handled by robots with special End of Arm Tooling for two which leads me to the following explanation...

In some cases the gripper or End of Arm Tooling (EOAT) for short may not have grabbed everything appropriately (or perfectly), and left that "Stress mark" in your Bumper. It may have also be a settling mark from the molding process as well. Fortunately it is only aesthetic, and holds no bearing on the structural integrity of the bumper - bummer as it may be- nothing is perfect- infact I think mine may have a very faint mark too.

Think of it this way, by the top of 2nd through the middle of 3rd you should have enough distance on who ever you just whooped and wont need to worry about them noticing a small flaw in your bumper :-)
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Old Jul 24, 2006 | 08:33 PM
  #23  
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Originally Posted by Joem32
I think I can answer the question for all of you...

The rear bumper on our cars is obviously a very large piece of plastic, when they are designed and molded, they have reinforcement ribbing built through out as a structural support for the smooth outer surface- when the bumpers come out of the mold, they are extremely hot for one, and typically handled by robots with special End of Arm Tooling for two which leads me to the following explanation...

In some cases the gripper or End of Arm Tooling (EOAT) for short may not have grabbed everything appropriately (or perfectly), and left that "Stress mark" in your Bumper. It may have also be a settling mark from the molding process as well. Fortunately it is only aesthetic, and holds no bearing on the structural integrity of the bumper - bummer as it may be- nothing is perfect- infact I think mine may have a very faint mark too.

Think of it this way, by the top of 2nd through the middle of 3rd you should have enough distance on who ever you just whooped and wont need to worry about them noticing a small flaw in your bumper :-)
Outstanding!
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Old Jul 24, 2006 | 08:46 PM
  #24  
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is that mirror really called a "broadway mirror"???
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Old Jul 25, 2006 | 08:43 AM
  #25  
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Originally Posted by Joem32
I think I can answer the question for all of you...

The rear bumper on our cars is obviously a very large piece of plastic, when they are designed and molded, they have reinforcement ribbing built through out as a structural support for the smooth outer surface- when the bumpers come out of the mold, they are extremely hot for one, and typically handled by robots with special End of Arm Tooling for two which leads me to the following explanation...

In some cases the gripper or End of Arm Tooling (EOAT) for short may not have grabbed everything appropriately (or perfectly), and left that "Stress mark" in your Bumper. It may have also be a settling mark from the molding process as well. Fortunately it is only aesthetic, and holds no bearing on the structural integrity of the bumper - bummer as it may be- nothing is perfect- infact I think mine may have a very faint mark too.

Think of it this way, by the top of 2nd through the middle of 3rd you should have enough distance on who ever you just whooped and wont need to worry about them noticing a small flaw in your bumper :-)
nice explanation... but why is it only on the Z? and why so many of them? mine isn't faint... you can definitely see it in person. if it's from the factory, it isn't right for nissan to be selling these cars w/physical flaws such as these. i understand maybe a small line or so... but my mark on the bumper is pretty big and very noticeable. i still think it was leaving crop circles on my car

Originally Posted by MeetJoeAsian
is that mirror really called a "broadway mirror"???
i dunno. it says broadway on it. the coolest mod you can have on your car
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Old Jul 25, 2006 | 10:17 AM
  #26  
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Originally Posted by MeetJoeAsian
is that mirror really called a "broadway mirror"???
Yeah, those "Asian" (lol) rectangular rearview mirrors that you can buy are made by Broadway.. or that's what it says on them at least. It's kind of ricer, lol, but I love mine.
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Old Jul 25, 2006 | 10:49 AM
  #27  
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The "L" is definitely not from the manufacturing.. I also have the "L" on my bumper and I have noticed that it gets more prominent the longer I own my Z. From my dedicated and dedicated research, it seems as though the L is more prominent on the Zs that are driven faster than the others.. I believe in the early design of the Z, there was a secret meeting where the creators of the Z decided to leave a message for those left in the Z's dust. The message?





"LLLooooOOOOsssEERRRRR!"
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Old Jul 25, 2006 | 10:52 AM
  #28  
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I have it on mine. I noticed it a while back, but I just thought that someone bumped me in a parking lot.
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Old Jul 25, 2006 | 11:00 AM
  #29  
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My theory is that there is a |_ or _| shaped part behind the bumper. So if someone hits your bumper hard enough to bend the plastic it will leave that mark.
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Old Jul 26, 2006 | 03:34 PM
  #30  
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see I didnt have an L on my bumper before this weekend. i valet'd my car at a ferry parking lot for the weekend and the idiots there mashed my bumper into the black lisence plate frame of another car. I noticed the faint black square shape when putting my bags in the trunk. Luckily 99% if it came off with some rubbing compound. However, with the right light, there still is a little bit of a mark or dent...which seriously bugs the crap out of me
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Old Jul 26, 2006 | 06:12 PM
  #31  
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negative on mine.
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Old Jul 26, 2006 | 06:45 PM
  #32  
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Someone rear ended me about a year and a half ago so I now have a new bumper. Just checked mine and the L isnt on mine.
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Old Jul 26, 2006 | 07:04 PM
  #33  
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I think the people who have the L were probably bumped from the back. I don't have it on mine.
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Old Jul 26, 2006 | 08:09 PM
  #34  
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It's signifies something like the scarlet letter

L -> L O S E R











just kidding . . .
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Old Jul 26, 2006 | 08:20 PM
  #35  
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Originally Posted by saberphx
Ewww acrylic! Nothing but glass on glass.

Smart man.
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Old Jul 27, 2006 | 02:50 AM
  #36  
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Checked... I don't have it on mine. Damn Aliens!
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Old Jul 27, 2006 | 07:18 AM
  #37  
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count my rear bumper in on the L conspiracy...i've always wondered if it was only mine or if others had it too.
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Old Jul 27, 2006 | 08:13 AM
  #38  
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I have something like that, but it was caused by a friend of mine barely tapping the bumper with his WRX the 2nd day I had the car. His front plate did it. Hardly noticeable, but its just as you describe.
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Old Jul 27, 2006 | 08:52 AM
  #39  
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Originally Posted by Kiamo
I have something like that, but it was caused by a friend of mine barely tapping the bumper with his WRX the 2nd day I had the car. His front plate did it. Hardly noticeable, but its just as you describe.
iono... i thought it was a plate too but the shape is different from standard plates. and btw, for those of you who have the imprint...

mine is not directly centered on my rear bumper... it's off towards the passenger side and the same for all the other Z's i've seen with the mark. We can all theorize that we've been lightly tapped or we tapped something... but then shouldn't the mark be in the middle?
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Old Jul 27, 2006 | 09:38 AM
  #40  
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ANSWER: It's the crease left by the licence plate of whoever bumped your car. It's technically a dent
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