demolition_x

i have been going with out a front plate for almost three years, and it seems its the reason every time, then when i show them it in my back seat they ask to see my front window tint and write me a ticket for one or both. i usually try to run it in the window when im home but its gets annoying and it seems thats not good enough.

i actually got pulled over in town on easter with my windows down going to the store cause of no plate, then the cop asked if i have window tint. so he was gonna write me a ticket but ended up having to go to another call. and my front windows were down.


so i think i have to put my plate back on.

i thought about the reverse mount but i would have to buy the mount.

what i wanted to do was trim the plate so it fit under the bumper against the opening to the radiator.

now my question is think i will have problems for trimming the plate?

jpadilla

In Texas that is defacing a plate. You can not in any way block any printed portion of the plate with a frame including the design on the bottom. I by the way have no front plate for about 6months now w/o issue but I know I can get ticketed for it.

fsttyms1

cant help ya. Mines been off illegally now since AUG of 2000 when i bought the car

Deity711

In Houston a lot of people are getting away without their front plate with all the Katrina victims here. Louisiana cars don't have them so cops aren't really looking these days. If you got stopped for something else you'll probably get busted though.

I just have my plate on there with the bracket the car came with. I actually think it looks weird without it.

TLsu

wE aREn'T REQuiREd To havE ThEm in Louisiana.

snowman81

I don't think I would go with cutting the plate up. You could get a ticket for that, then you would also have to pay for a new plate. I would just buy the bracket and flip it. As for me...I just got the front bumper repainted and since I have Texas plates but live in VA, I don't think I will have any problems.

jpadilla

Quick question about houston/katrina ... I liked going to galvenston and stay at either The Galvez or at San Luis. Are the hotels a mess now?

sushi96720

hawaii is a two plate state but i took mine off. guess i'll put it back on when i get stopped.

Rpappi

cant you just keep the plate say in the holder in the back of the passengers seat and when you get pulled over just throw it up in the window. or are the police smarter than that?

merkin110

Doesnt work, i did that in my old Nissan and the cop still wrote me a ticket. He said the plates have to be displayed outside of the vehicle on the bumper or some crap like that.

fahoumh

A couple of years ago I was given a ticket for not having my front plate on and it's been on ever since. I tried the "I just washed my car and I forgot to put it back on" line but they didn't bite. The car looks a lot better without it but I don't want to throw away money every time I get a ticket, which would be often given my luck.

LacViet

How's about folding the plate instead of cutting it?

Here's mine:

merkin110

Yea i want to do that too. How did you do that?

demolition_x

thats exactly what i want to do. did you bend it then zip tie it?

trust me, having tints and no front plate = bad news for me and small time cops.

if i had a plate i think i wouldn't be pulled over for tint.

TailsToo

That too would be illegal in Texas.

LacViet

I just fold the top and bottom of the plate about an inch each side. Our car already have two holes on top of the bottom grille for mounting the plate's frame, so I just screw the plate in those two holes. Very simple! As for legal or not, don't really know, but my impression is that as long as you have front license plate, then it's ok. Have it for a while now, and so far so good

demolition_x

lets hope. i got to clean my air filter soon so i will mess with it when i take the bumper off.


so you just screwed it in the top and bent it down? and the bottom is just hanging there?


im sure i will figure a way. either that or mount it behind the bumper and not cut the plate. but im sure i will get hassled either way.

CL Platano

Just make sure they are able to see the lettering below the numbers or they may get your for that too. My boy got pulled over because he had a license plate frame that was covering the word New Jersey ..Suburban cops have so much to do..

2003TL-S

I have had mine off illegally as well since I bought my car back in '02. Been pulled over a few times as well as been in an accident and the cops never say anything, except once. The one cop that did say something to me was after leaving a bar, got pulled over for doing speed limit, he asked me where it was, until I looked at the front of his cruiser and his wasn't there, hmmmmm??, so I asked him where his was, he didn't really have an answer.

jwallace

I took my license plate bracket off, flipped it over and mounted it upside down, below the bumper lip. Unfortunately, I have two black holes in my bumper, but at least the plate isn't cutting up the relatively clean line of the bumper.

Rpappi

do you have any pics of it flipped over i want to try that.

Da_iLLeZt_TL973

here mine i just zip tied it lol

montyburnz

I took my front license plate off for about a week then decided to put it back on. I even went through the trouble of going to the dealership and getting bumper plugs for it. I know it looks a million times better but I was all paranoid driving around without them. Everytime I would see a cop I would try to hide or get near the car in front of me so he couldn't see my plates. Plus, there's always cops near where I work giving people BS tickets.

Decided peace of mind was worth more than vanity. I didn't want the embarrassment of getting pulled over while driving my co-workers to lunch, etc. Also didn't want to give the cops a chance to give me crap about my tints, radar detector also. So bottom line, if you state is lenient about front plates or doesn't have any laws regarding it, I say go for it. If they crack down on it and are pricks, I say it's not worth the hassle and tickets.

iisylentii

i dont have pictures of it but i have mine in the bumper grille at a slant holding it in with zip ties

Rpappi

damn that thing is slammed. is it kinda loose on there or does it stay tight. that would suck to loose your liscense plate because it came off. isn't it kinda scuffinf up the paint where it touches it on the bottom of the air dam

Monty do you have any pics of how your is. is it similar to the pic just tucked in the bumper? the top tucked or the bottom tucked.

Deity711

They should be good. I don't think Galveston got hit all that hard by Rita. I know Beaumont was a mess.

I used to vacation in Biloxi at The Palace, and according to their website they're up and running again already, so if they're up, Galveston should be good to go too.

amandasewell69

I JUST GOT BACK FROM GALVESTON, IM THERE REGULARLY, THERE ISNT MUCH AFTER THE KATRINA MESS IN GALVESTON, ITS JUST THE SAME, AS FAR AS I KNOW NO ONE IS IN THE HOTELS,
NOW THE SAN LUIS AND GALVEZ, (EXPENSIVE!)
BUT ANYWAYS I WAS THERE FOR SPRING BREAK AND HONESTLY I DIDNT SEE ANYTHING OUT OF THE ORDINARY THERE. NOW HUNTSVILLE GOT WRECKED. NOT GALVESTON THOUGH

jpadilla

Yea, I know Galveston did not get hit ... I was just wondering if any Louisiana evacuees where staying at the hotels (courtesy of FEMA) and if they trashed the hotels.

Deity711

That I do not know. I wouldn't expect the high class places to let them get too out of control, though.

I do know the ones in Houston are driving up the cost of my rent.

importvizion

In cali cops are asses they will pull you over if its not on there bolted on... I had it zip tied and they said it has to be bolted on

LacViet

Here is the close up pic on mine:


Another look in front:

KaMLuNg

iTrader: (5)

when i lived in NJ... i just kept it in the window... i do the same now that im in TX....

demolition_x

yea i tried LacViet version yesterday, it wasn't bad but still didn't look right. even tried behind the bumper and it looked good but prob get in trouble for that.


so im just gonna do the window till i get caught next i guess.

BIG_KOUT

see I have mine like LacViet, but I bent it a little more, and put duct tape on the bottom of the plate(un-noticable) so it doesnt scratch the top of the bottom piece of the bumper where it sits above. I also bent the plate so that it follows the V angle of the bumper instead of sitting flat accross.

btw, what a pain in the ass to get those screws in

Rpappi

do you get any issues with the police. i want to do this little mod because i hate that big giant liscence plate frame.

AcuraKiddd

LacViet how did u put that mesh in ur grill and bumper just zip-tied?

BIG_KOUT

I have no police issues. The state, and my numbers are totally visible when looking head on.

LacViet

I cut the mesh just a little bit larger than the grille so the mesh will have tight fit inside the grille. The bottom of the mesh is covered with the plastic door guard to prevent scratching when putting the mesh in. If you look careful at the pic, you can see I attached the mesh using tiny copper wire. Strip out the telephone wire and you have tiny copper wire that can use to tight the mesh in the horizontal/ vertial bar of the grille.

Luke7

Keep the plate and mount in your trunk. If / when you get stopped just tell the cop you didn't have time to put it back on. He / She will probably let you go. I did this for years and never did get stopped, but was prepared with the heartbreak story if I did get pulled over.

1osunut

I just had my front bumper repainted along with the front OEM spoiler so they would match exactly (Honda cannot get white bumpers to match the fenders) and I left the front plate and bracket off the car. I have a dummy invoice in the glove box for front plate mounting hardware from the Acura dealership I go to. I have the plate on the floor in the backseat. If I ever get pulled over I will simply say that I just had body work done and I'm waiting for the parts to come in that were on back order. I think it will work. I have had it off for 3 weeks so far and not one cop has even looked my way.