23109VC

When I bought my RL the dealer had their cheapy chrome and black license plate frame on my car with the Acura logo and their dealership name on it. I'm wanting to add something different and wondered what most of you have put on your cars?

I went to the local pep boys to check out frames...they had a smoked tinted plastic cover that went over the entire license plate...I thought it might look ok on my carbon gray and tinted car...but it didn't look right to me when I held in near the rear of my car.

Our cars have so much chrome trim on the rear I wonder if a chrome license plate frame would look the best? Maybe a nicer one from the daler that just says Acura or something like that?

Anyone care to post pics of their cars "rear" to see what looks good?

Thanks.

037

can't go wrong with CF...

tnobori1

Not the best pic, but it's the only one I have on my phone right now. Chrome Acura frame from eBay. Btw, it's worth paying more. The cheap ones are flimsy and can have crooked decals.

robarsan

WeatherTech makes a good frame. I've had mine over 4 years and its done a good job sealing out the elements. Sorry, no picture.

Ballinger

Carbon fiber would make your car faster, of course. Double effect if the frame says "Type R".

The catch in California is that any cover over a plate is illegal and opens you up to receive a ticket. I started with the smoke cover, chrome rim you saw at the auto parts store and it looked very clean, but I knew I was asking for it (and since I don't use a front plate, why risk it from the angle most cops see my car anyway?).

I'm frameless now, although carrying a healthy coat of reflective gloss to frustrate the red light cameras in the event I roll a yellow in a left turn lane, etc...

F35PHIXER

Please tell me more about putting reflective gloss on your plates, I like it !!!

037

1. apply gloss
2. run red light that u know got a camera on it,
3. if ticket then go back to 1

F35PHIXER

Ah, was hoping you had had proof positive first .

Zelaya

iTrader: (1)

I keep mine plain and simple. No tag frame. Every winter goes by I ended buying new one because the salt ruined the chrome and lose the shine so I gave up

Ballinger

It's essentially lacquer, marketed as a coating for license plates. It makes them so shiny that the flash on red light cameras causes the plate to hyper-expose and wash out---no numbers for the company to tap in to the DMV computer. You can't buy the stuff in California (labeled as that) but I mailordered it as a matter of principle when the state banned it.

You take the plate off, clean it, then spray lacquer it with several coats. Now, once a year, I pull it off and give it a top coat, leaving it so clean and shiny looking

037

this may sound crazy but I think running red lights in general not such a good idea. Speaking from experience after having a buick park ave jump through red at bout 30mph in front of me.

his car was totaled, my tl had 18k worth of body damage.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

this is weird....why add a frame???

in Texas its illegal to have the frame as it blocks officers view, or some bs.

go frameless.
it'll look alot better than chrome.

Ballinger

Yeah, you're out there on the edge with that one, man. Running red lights, speeding up offramps, and trying to hit 60 in parking garages are all where it's at. Tokyo Drift!

There are some of us, in addition to livin on the edge, that drive on surface streets with red light cameras that snap photos for ticketing cars in an intersection after the yellow, such as a turn lane, etc... in rush hour rather than high speed driving. It's a rare thing for me to get caught in the intersection, but I rest easier knowing I've done my part to ensure the evil bastards have to work hard for their money.

037

I'm glad you're keeping up with my parking garage videos and staying mostly off topic of red light cameras.

the parking garage video was all in 1st gear, in case you missed it.

as for red lights, the camera has to get you before the light and past the light, so rush hour traffic or any kind of traffic is out of the question. Also, most states allow turn on red from right lane, so I have no idea where you need to be dodging red light cameras not on purpose.

23109VC

anyone else have pics to post?

i think the chrome actually looks okay..as the rear of the car has a lot of it..it blends in...

the black smoked frame I got looked "wrong".. it seemed to clash with the rest of the colors on the car...

wackjum

I have my alumni plate. It is mostly chrome with a blue plastic thingy. I think it goes pretty well with the car.

I can get a better pic in the daytime.



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Ballinger

That's funny, I did miss your parking garage vid...didn't even know about it.

I can remedy your ignorance regarding red light cameras and rush hour: in California, Arizona and other states, the cameras can be set to shoot pictures of any car "entering" the intersection after the light goes yellow. This is up to the cities, and is aimed at people "training" through left turn lights and blocking intersections after the red because they just had to squeeze through but don't make it. The catch is, the cameras take photos of cars that entered on green but were still "in" during yellow, or they simply take photos at any random-ass time. In fact, there's been a fair amount of dispute over this in California recently.

Either way, it's very easy to drive in rush hour traffic and get flashed by a traffic camera. The gloss coats only work on the still cameras with flash, btw, not the cool video cams that result in youtube fun.

So, once I realized my license plate frame/cover was a rolling ticket request, I took off the frame, glossed the plate and began driving with wild abandon. The chrome edger actually looked pretty good, but I haven't put that part back on.

23109VC

Ballinger- why was your license plate frame a "rolling ticket request".. I didn't catch how a frame would get you a ticket?

i'll put the smoked one on, take some pics, and you guys tell me what you think... on m y last car i had a similar frame..but that car had a lot less chrome on it... the RL has a lot of chrome..and while i'm no ta "chrome" guy... I think the frames with chrome might blend/flow better with the colors of the car....

tnobori1

Any cover over the actual plate is illegal in CA. I had a smoked one on my dark grey CL that looked nice but I got a ticket for it while parked legally at a meter in San Francisco. CA budget is fucked so we're more susceptible to the BS tickets than we would have been a decade ago. Within a month of my license plate ticket I got one for not "curbing" my tires on a "hill" that would have been tough to get a skateboard to roll down.

Ballinger

Yep, even "clear". Frames are okay, but covers aren't.

037

Ballinger, I'm not from CA so I don't know how your cameras work but here in NY you need to have a picture of your car before intersection showing red and your car past the same intersection still showing red.

tnobori1

^ not here. They're exactly as Ballinger described, down to the idiotic triggering method. On a positive note they're relatively easy to get out of.

oo7spy

Y'all need to vote that shit out. College Station, TX had them for a little over a year... until the next election came around. They put it up as a proposition and reasoned it was a violation of rights. Voted down by 54%, and they took them out within three months. Problem solved. They will take your money all day if they think they can.

EL19

iTrader: (4)

Same here in DC/MD/VA. Those cameras suck.

woodek

I still have the dealer frame so I can be incognito. That or Im just lazy.

I do need to get a new one and also get the plate to be tighter against the trunk. When I shut my trunk the plate rattles and sounds cheap.

23109VC

ah.. got it.. the "cover" is illegal..

I'm going to return the cover/black frame i got...and maybe look for a nicer Chrome type one from a dealer...one that just has the Acura logo on it or something... I know it's redundant..since the back of the car has "Acura" and "RL" on it... but I'd rather have a nice chrome frame vs no frame at all...

now I need to get some wheels... !!!

EL19

iTrader: (4)

Yea I have a peice of dynamat behind my rear plate to stop rattles. Keeps the plate adhered to the trunk too

oo7spy

Me too. Rattles FTL!