Front License Plate Bracket Holes?
 

I'm looking to buy a new Z from an out of state dealership (one that requires front plates). My question is, do the front plate brackets leave holes in the bumper? Thanks in advance!

Im not trying to be smart but if it didn't how else would it hold?

I know its a pretty stupid question, but on some cars (my last TSX for instance) there was a bracket that mounted from underneath the bumper and it didnt leave any visible holes from the front once removed.

Yes there are two holes

http://img32.imageshack.us/img32/9403/dsc2855s.jpg
Shot at 2010-05-10

if you look at the bare plastic(black part of the bumper) toward the middle of the top of it there are two indentions for you to mount it

Yeah my car came from PA and I live in NJ... there are two little holes where the plate was but only on the unpainted plastic so it is pretty easy to conceal.

or some folks get those tow hook plate brakets so that they can remove it during photoshoots, etc.

i personally just mounted at the factory location.

Just plain and simple, tell them that you will take care of the front license plate. You don't want to go thru my ordeal with the holes they drill in my front bumper.

I'm not at home but do a search to see if you find one of my posts concerning that so you can see the pics of my front bumper.

I found a plain bracket that I just screwed into the black plastic piece below the front Nissan badge. It blocks a bit more of the airflow into the front grill, but I did not want to put the holes in the bumper

http://thejungle.ath.cx/370z/mods/frontlicense.jpg.

If you look really close you can see a PW 370z through the windshield between the headrests (totally random - too bad its a pretty $hitty pic)

I know here in TX the dealerships drill holes in your front bumper to put the front license plate on. They did so on my Nismo & I was pissed & I had 3-4 dings from that front license plate. I told them to fix it & w/o the holes. They did fix it but left the effen holes there. I have the colored screws that came with it that match my car color, so it is not noticeable.

I was very particular in letting my local TX dealer know that I did not want them to install my front license plate. Then they said they would have to charge me for the bracket if I wanted it - I said hell no and they threw it in the hatch for me anyway. :icon14: Luckily they had it shipped down from Oklahoma, and it was only on their lot for about 30 min before I came and picked it up.

Clear Lake Nissan delivered my car with the plate bracket in the trunk (hatch area), and no holes in the front.

I told my dealer at the time of purchase,DO NOT drill holes in my car or the sale would not go through,nor put any dealership decals on the body,I let them put a plate bracket on with their name on it instead of decals.

You could wait until your pulled over for not having a licence plate then deal with a mounting system.

In Canada we have provinces like Alberta that dont require front plates... the only way a cop will know if im not from one of these provinces is to see the back end , an I have made sure not to actually follow directly behind a cop,I've found if I look around at other sports cars like Vetts alot of them dont have front plates either,just keep a low profile if you happen to see a cop.. tuckin behind someone so you arent the first guy thru a set of lights.

Dont forget alot of cops are car guys/girls , an they may not even notice the missing plate ,as they are drooling while checking out the entire car... of course if you bring unwanted attention to yourself,expect the worse,including not having a front plate

Just keep your plate handy,apolgise to the officer tell him you didnt want to restrict the flow of air because Z's have notorious cooling issues.

That or forget how your car looks an put the plate on , but let the dealership know what mounting system you want incase you dont want to drill holes.

I agree....... You could always make up a story & say the bracket got cracked & you are going to put it on. Hopefully you do not get pulled over again by the same cop.

[QUOTE=JARblue;1680610]I found a plain bracket that I just screwed into the black plastic piece below the front Nissan badge. It blocks a bit more of the airflow into the front grill, but I did not want to put the holes in the bumper

http://thejungle.ath.cx/370z/mods/frontlicense.jpg.

So it's just a basic license plate frame and you drilled your own holes into the black plastic for it?

Yup, generic black metal frame with only the top two screws screwed directly into the plastic. No pilot holes necessary as most screws won't have any trouble with the plastic, but I would not want to reuse those same holes if I uninstall the plate. I can't imagine it going anywhere unless something major hits it - and it would have to be major enough that I would probably rather it hit the license plate first than my grill or bumper directly.

I still have yet to attach one. Some day I'll get caught but until then I'll hold off. I had one on my 280Z back in the 1980's.

I did buy a Stillen mount just in case that day arrives.

Thanks for all the insight! Since I'm in PA they don't require front plates but if I were to buy from NJ or NY I'm assuming the car will already be drilled for a front plate while in their inventory. That's more or less of what I was getting out.

Does you hear it flopping or rattling? My sister's rear plate on her CRV is only secure don top and you can hear it rattling.

you can put some double-stick mounting tape between the frame and plate and put a soft foam sheet behind the plate to the body panel. no rattles! :tup:

Yeah, hers rattles because she forgot the foam. This one, though, isn't up against a flat surface to its back, so I was wondering if that would cause rattles. Well, I'll hold out until I get in trouble for not having the front plate. Then it'll be this or a Stillen holder, though I don't like it offset ad $75 or whatever is a lot to hold your license plate IMO.

No rattling because the bottom of the frame hangs out over open space (the grill is set back a little). The top is securely fastened to the black plastic. The bottom shakes a bit, I'm sure, but without anything to knock against, it does not rattle.

I really like the Stillen one that mounts in the tow hook spot, but off-center was a deal breaker. Also, I have a friend who never put their front plate on, but keeps it in the car to show to the officer and swears that they are going to do it the instant they get home - about 2 years and 20 warnings and 0 tickets later, it's still not installed.