I am looking to get some permanent numbers made for the car, but with so little steel on the car I was wondering what people are using and where to get it. Currently I use blue painter's tape and I'm tire of doing that routine. I see Vette guys with all sorts of stuff stuck on their cars and wonder how they are doing it? Is it permanent? Does it harm the finish if left on? Ideally I'd like to remove the numbers/letters when not racing so don't look like a ricer driving around with a car all stickered up.

Chris

The Vette guys have to use the static-cling vinyl. Since out rear fenders are steel, magnetic numbers work. The small end of the legal size range for numbers and class letters will fit. You can get two 8" digits between the door and fender arch, with (barely) room for a leading 1 if you scoot them up a little higher. The class letters will fit over the fender arch. That still leaves some room behind the arch for sponsor magnets.

I have a black car, so on a really hot day the magnetic numbers may stick to the finish a little. Wax does not seem to help, but I lightly dust the back of the magnet with a dry teflon spray to keep it from sticking.

I have used magnetics as well (for AX) for quite a few years. They hold well and the required size can/does fit on the back quarter panels. Never had an issue with the numbers sticking but to help keep from getting minor surface scratches (on a dark car) I would strongly recommend keeping those areas waxed, wiping both the area on the car and the back of the magnetics before applying, wiping the magnetics after use and then storing them in some sort of protective sleeve (in a binder) ......but I'm a little anal (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

Seeing that your up North, another tip for when the magnetics are cold is to put them on the manifold when you get out to the event for a short bit (like waiting in line to register). This will help thenm to conform to the body panel curvature and thus hold much better.

I did give thought to the static cling type but you can only re-apply those so many times and then they are worthless ~ from my understanding. I've had my magnetics since 2001 and they still look and work as good as the day I purchased them (no telling how much I would have spent on static cling numbers by now)

This post has been edited by bowtieboy: Feb 15 2009, 01:45 AM

I also use the magnetic numbers and letters. I picked up a set from soloperformance.com. They've worked well for me, you just have to keep them flat all of the time or they don't like to stay on very well.

+1 for Soloperformance.com They have all the colors/sizes/styles that one could want at a reasonable price. I got a set of magnetic numbers in 10 inch size and I run them on my quarter panel. I have a black car and I've never had an issue with them "sticking" to the paint. However, if it rains and then the sun comes out, the water trapped behind the numbers can get baked into the paint. So leason learned. As soon as it stops raining, take your number off and wipe them clean.

I store my numbers on a sheet of galvanized steel. That keeps them flat and keeps keep the magnets strong, so I don't have to worry about warming them, even on very cold days. However, I have learned not to put the magnets back on the steel sheet wet. If it rains, I wipe the numbers off and then lay them out to dry for a day or so. When they are completely dry, I put them back on the steel. If I try to just wipe them off and place them on the steel immediately, they will bond to to the zinc plating, and chunks of magnet will tear out.

For the Miata, which has steel doors, I did spring for the meatball for "representing the club" occasions. We volunteer at the Keeneland Concours d'Elegance every year, and park our liveried cars in the club paddock. I left the meatballs back-to-back and flat in the trunk for a few weeks, and they lost a lot of the grip after baking.

This post has been edited by sgarnett: Feb 16 2009, 03:19 PM

I got mine from a local shop belonging to one of my local groups member. We had a Vinyl Party where he just charged for materials and he cut the vinyls for us but we did the manual applying of the vinyls and cutting of the heavy magnet sheet. It was a lot of fun to do. I got my numbers as big as I can fit on the quarter panel and as you can see they are plenty legible and look great.

(IMG:http://lh6.ggpht.com/_Iw4GuQ6RUWU/SOls24xVHDI/AAAAAAAAHNI/JAB0yZqWVqU/s800/DSCF6188.JPG)

I also got an extra 1 digit for when my wife co-drives.

This post has been edited by killer_bluebird: Feb 17 2009, 06:11 AM

We have used the magnetic vinyl. I just cut them out and paint them. I've used vinyl paint, but find regular automotive enamel works well. If you have a specific font you want to use, you can print them out on a printer from your favorite word processor app, and use them as a pattern.

We have a local guy who will also cut numbers and letters or even do the square or meatball 'plaques'. While the static cling vinyl won't last long, the magnetic vinyl won't last for ever either. 7 years' use is really phenomenal.

Our current numbers are painted on (dedicated race car), with magentic vinyl for class and co-driver changes. Most 4th Gens do have enough metal on the rear quarter (provided the repairs haven't been too heavy) to hold legal numbers and class letters for most classes.