Drill-less front plate holder
 

The X5 I'm in the process of buying is not pre-drilled for a front plate and I'd like to keep it that way. I know at least one person here has used a tow hook plate mount and was wondering if people had any other ideas or could point me toward a reputable company.

Thanks.

I used one on my E90 M3. It was actually a "GOMINIGO" plate holder that I bought for the Mini (but they drilled the Mini anyway because they couldn't follow directions).

The one that I used did not have a backing plate that covered the whole plate--instead it used a pretty cheap stamped steel bracket that just went across the top of the plate. As a result, the plate was constantly getting bent. I've seen others that do use a backing plate that goes across the whole licenses plate, which might fix that problem.

It kept my bumper hole-free, but I'm not convinced it actually made the car look better. The combination of the off-center mount and the bent up plate led to more than one person asking me what the hell was wrong with my licenses plate.

I'm not sure I'd use one again.

Thanks. I'm pretty hesitant to drill holes but I don't want it to look stupid either.

Have you given any thought to just ignoring the requirement and simply not having a front plate? I have left off my front plate for years. Occasionally I get a warning but never a ticket. Is it worth the small risk of a small ticket to drive around with a goofy-looking tow hook plate mount all of the time?

If you're going to do the crime, you gotta be willing to do the time.

I just don't use a front plate.

That's not a bad idea. I figured I would just stick it on for long trips.

This is good to know. Thanks!

I've been cited 3 times. :speechle:

Those tow hook mounts don't look right, I'd just mount it up right before going that route.

I wouldn't do that only because I do so much street parking in places like Alexandria and Arlington, and the police around here have not been shy about ticketing for things like out of date registration stickers. I have to believe they would ticket the hell out of you for no front plate. At $45/shot in Alexandria (e.g.) that would add up quickly.

The front plates bug me and I don't like the way they look, but I don't think my aesthetic objections are worth giving the cops an excuse to ticket/pull me over. I'd rather fly below that particular radar.

I have only received a ticket for running without a front plate once. Was parked at a meter in a popular dining district. Have parked at many other meters without a problem so I do not plan to attach the plate any time soon.

I always figured the front plate would be something that got me in trouble when I got in trouble for something else - like speeding over 100 or going through an intersection sideways or something. But while I was waiting for the registration to arrive for the Z4, I was pulled over b/c of the plate in Burbank. I just figure it's not worth worrying about - I put them on. Otherwise I would worry about it excessively.

Low bumpers get pitted to hell in the desert anyway. I don't really think avoiding the holes for the plate mount matters all that much here.

I assume you're less bothered about having a plate than about the idea of drilling holes?

UK plates are almost universally attached with double-sided foam tape. Though it may be that the foam is grippy enough that you'd have to damage the paint to remove it, leaving you with large(ish) rectangular areas rather than small holes that need plugs.

I'm not inclined to jinx myself, but the VW sleeps outside and often parks outdoors in downtown Rockville and in Bethesda and it's been uneventful. We got a warning a couple of years ago for the M3 but I never put a plate on it - then again, it sleeps indoors.

The Audi has a front plate.

is there a way to zip tie it to one of the grilles? or can you put it on the dashboard (somewhat) facing out the front window?

MA has annual inspection requirement and you need the plate to pass. Not to say you can't just attach it once a year, but something to think about.

Zip ties, and a tin guillotine on your dashboard - now we're really cooking. :ack: :p

Yeah. I'm going to have to get a plate on there somehow for the inspection. Great. Maybe I should just have the dealer put on the standard plate mount.

The other nice thing about the plate is that in street parking it acts as protection for your bumper.

True. I need to find the OEM BMW front plate mount for an m-sport X5 to see what it looks like.

www.realoem.com

:D

You rock. Thanks!

In the Fiat world, there is a plate mount that retracts under the bumper.

I don't have a front plate on any of our cars. We got a ticket once in the Roadster (301 bridge coming home on Labor Day). And Camille got a verbal warning about the M3. She pleaded it was her husband's car and she nothing about the plate or lack thereof. :)

That's what I do. Temporary double-sided sticky tape to get the sticker.

Worked for the 987S, the 328iT, and the 997TT.

I'll probably just do this for the initial inspection. Thanks.

Warning from a cop who saw me parking in Baltimore, TBH he seemed more interested in talking to me about how long I thought Alfa would sell cars in the US this time around.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...26ea8cefab.jpg

He also agreed that there’s no way to mount it without ruining the look.

Alex


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Oh man. So are you leaving it plateless?

Yup. Keeping it in the trunk. Thought I might keep it in a tow hook mount in the trunk so I could pop it on for a cop.

Alex


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Looks good:cool:

Is that passenger side thing that looks like a vent a sensor of front collision and or dynamic cruise control?

Dynamic cc.

Alex


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Issues?? http://forums.carmudgeons.com/showthread.php?t=158343 (recall)

So far the double sided tape on the VW is holding fine.

I haven’t mounted the plate on the Tesla yet, but it came from the store with double sided tape.

And, yeah, I wouldn’t put a plate on that Alfa, either.

I use the Skene Design plate holder on the E90. It’s not technically drill free, but rather drill in an invisible area.

It also looks a million times better than the bulky stock bracket, and because you can mount it in the center, it doesn’t look offensively stupid, like the tow hook brackets.

https://skenebrackets.com

I guess I could have posted in this thread last year. I had mixed feelings about installing the front tag bracket on the Camaro. The car definitely looks better with none. The intended location for the bracket is pop riveted into the lower grille. There are tow hook options for display on the side and hidden holders that display the tag at the bottom of the front end, but I think they both look cheesy. The tow hook ones are $25-$50 and the hidden ones are $90-$100. A replacement grille insert is ~$100 and does not need painting.

I also thought about the fact that I spent/spend extra for the special edition and vanity tag that I want people to see and decided that it doesn't look too bad, so, fuck it.

Euro plates don’t look completely horrid, but there’s no place to put a US plate that doesn’t fuck it all up.

Alex


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I put the double sided tape holder on the front of my 3... decided against the other aftermarket options...

You have to tell us about this car at some point. We just heard initial saga but not the resolution and review.

Well, my streak ended. I finally got pulled over in the M3 for not having a front plate. He gave me a written warning but did mention that as of July of 2018 written warnings go on your record in MA. I had a good run of 8.5 total car years with no front plates.

I'm now considering options.

Sigh... cops with nothing to do in my town. Oh well.

I like the option Nick linked to above, My NSX had something similar but the bracket also allowed the plate to fold under the car.

So... the new OH plate for my wife’s Model Y showed up in the mail today (in TX)... Just a single plate.

According to https://www.10tv.com/article/news/lo...4-17e29a0acc2a , Ohio stopped issuing front plates as of July 1. Existing cars with a front plate no longer require the front plate to be mounted. And we moved out of Ohio 18 days later!

Now we just need to receive the title and we can go get the cars titied/registered in Texas...

That’s awesome.

I’d be happy to pay a premium to have a smaller front plate that is European height. Us plates are too freakin tall.

Texas requires a front plate tho