I've been driving my evo with my front license plate like this for a while
(disregard crappy phone camera)



I dislike the idea of drilling holes into my car but also dislike the idea of losing power which is what I hear from others by putting my plate there which blocks the air flow.

Does anybody know how much power I'd lose if any at all? Any input would be great! Thanks. Also wouldn't mind suggestions for front license plate mountings. Otherwise I'll just install the regular tomorrow :\


Oh yeah, I live in California if that helps at all

 

Get the motorized fold down license plate so you just just hide it underneath. (next to driver's side fog light area)

 

After I got a "no front plate" ticket, i looked around and ended up with this.

http://skenedesign.com/FPBracket/index.shtml

Now yes, you do drill 2 small holes, but they are underneath the lip on the bumper, and they are small holes, easy to hide if needed in the future. And like me, you have black, so its even harder to see the holes. Basically a guy that owned an M3 designed this for his car and now sells it.

It is basically an adjustable L-bracket that screws and tapes itself to the underside of a lip.

Now in my case, i also have a clearbra, so rubbing isn't as much of a concern, though I used some outdoor duct tape over the bracket to prevent any damage from rubbing, and even the tape seems to be holding up well.

If you need any more pics or info, let me know. I've had it on my car since May, its held up well so far.

Awesome, just noticed we both have an Evo X and Celica. Though mine's has clearly seen better days and is only the ST, a '96 with 240,000 miles on it.

Some examples of mine on my car

 

Cool! Thanks guys! Don't think I'll be getting that motorized fold down equip.

For comic0guy, how sturdy is it? By that I mean is it possible for someone to just tug it out from the car? The screws look pretty small. And there are some pretty ghetto neighborhoods in the bay. The last thing I want is for someone to go running off with my license plate and the mount for god knows why.

Yay for celicas! . I had to pass my down to my little cousin though. 190k Miles and still doing fineee. I just hope she doesn't ruin it :'[ I put so much work to make it seem like it came out fresh from the dealer.

 

I'd say its pretty sturdy, but a lot of things if you pull hard enough will come out.

Something I plan on doing, just haven't felt like taking off my undertray is to add some elastic nuts on the inside of the bumper, so it can't easily be backed out or any vibrations won't cause it to move. Though it doesn't seem to have moved since i put it in, that includes me complaining about it as i took it off for my detailer.

Maybe it might suck for the mount getting stolen, but obviously anybody's license plate can easily be stolen with a screwdriver.

And something else i just realized, all the screws are allen heads, so not your typical screwdriver would get it off.

Honestly, i bet you could email the guy about your concerns for security he might have some suggestions.


Edit: To be honest, taking off the stock mount or this one would take about the same time, given the right tools...maybe even longer with this one, because getting on the ground to take it off is a pain....or at least it was in the dark the one morning i did.

 

What length bracket did you order? Their web site does not cover EVO's, jeoulous I guess!! Anybody try this on a 9?

 

I ended up ordering the "Extra Short"

He lists the ones for various models, but says if not listed to measure the spot where you would put it. On the Evo X, it has plenty of room, but just not quite enough for the next size up.

You can obviously place this wherever there is room, i choose the stock location, and pushed up the plate all the way so as not to block the fog light. But you could easily hang it lower if you didn't have or care about blocking the fog light.

Main reason I choose this was I wanted it to be secure, so I wanted screws (though like i said i also plan on adding some elastic/locking nuts), but luckily it is screwed in an out-of-sight location.

I'll take another pic for you guys, I did a better tape job behind the plate, so it looks cleaner than the one i posted(that little sliver of black on the top is the tape sticking over). As well i can give you some close ups.

 

Thanks! Always looking for options!

 

My choice, favorite among old farts, is just say screw the front plate. I've gotten on ticket, the same Hwy Patrol ***** who checked the tint on my windows, which had several pct of margin. It as annoying to cough up $85, but to keep the car unmarred, it's worth it. That tick was over a year and half ago. And the times I've been pulled over for speeding since, NOT an issue has been raised about the plate. Cops of course check us out, check out my new CF hood all the time. No worry here, they should have other things to do, and they know it. Bad press for the local community to know you're being harassed for that while there are real violent criminals not arrested for actual serious crimes.

 

Here are a couple of closer looks from the front, side, and underneath:

 

I think a lot of people agree with you on keeping the car unmarred, including all of us in this thread, which is why we wanted to attach it somehow without drilling the three GIANT gaping holes into the bumper. This does require holes, but they are so hard to find, its acceptable.

I, myself, had planned to run without it till someone complained and wrote me a ticket, that only took a month, which was only driving on the weekends.

 

3m tape holds just fine. I run w out a plate and have got a few tickets, however i do it on purpose. One bc i dont want to dill holes or block air flow and 2 gives me a way of of a ticket for a ticket. I have been pulled over before for speeding and the cop let me go w a front plate ticket. Put the plate on with 3m tape drove around for a month with it got the ticket written off and off with the plate again lol.

 

Thanks comic0guy, just ordered that kit I have the materials at home to build a similar one, but its cold out and i've been lazy

 

No prob. Two tips I have for you.
Just measure more than once or twice for the holes....in my case, i wish i had looked at it again, my plate could move another inch or in towards the center. Can't now because I would be attaching the bracket over a hole.

Second, he provides some small rubber bumps to go between the bracket and the bumper. For me this didn't seem enough, so I organized three layers of tape in such a fashion that would protect the bumper from rubbing damage and provide the least amount of surface area for the elements to get inside the adhesive and ruin it.
Even with my first attempt that was on for a couple of months didn't hurt the tape, i used Gorilla Tape from Home Depot.

 

Too bad. I really do DD my ride, have gone through my podunk town every day for pushing three years (I am pushing 48,000 miles, will hit 50k easily in Jan), and have only gotten trouble over it one time. That you got a tick in your first month, tough crowd those cops. Or you did something that said "look at me", not driving like the herd does.