Front Plate Mounting Poll

[gnychis]

I mounted my plate under the nose cone and it drops down below. See the thread here. http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/showthread.php/29931-Under-the-nose-cone-license-plate-mount I hate U.S. front plates and I'm pretty happy with the result.

Absolutely love that look. Unfortunately, I don't have the tools to do it :\ I'm curious if this is actually legal, as part of the plate is not visible. Any thoughts on this?

 

[leshore]

On the third day I had the car, I parked on Main Street in my home town here in So Cal. A police officer was coming out of the nearby deli and came over to talk about the MS. When he was through admiring it, he suggested that I mount the front plate. He said they are tough on that here in town. Even though my son's care has been missing the front plate for 2 years without a ticket, I went ahead and had my front plate attached to the nose cone. I think my car will draw more attention that my kid's Prius.

 

[jbruce]

Absolutely love that look. Unfortunately, I don't have the tools to do it :\ I'm curious if this is actually legal, as part of the plate is not visible. Any thoughts on this?

People often put on plate surrounds that cover almost as much of the plate. What information is not being displayed? The "ca.dmv.gov" on the bottom of the plate clearly signals that its a California plate.

You can pick up the tools to do this mod at home depot for under $80.

U.S. plates really look ugly on most cars, like buck teeth. If it were not for my wife putting up a fit about having a plate on the car since she drives it sometimes--she was afraid a cop would pull her over and harass her--I would never put on a plate (front or rear). Most of my friends in Southern California drive around with dealer plates for years or leave on the euro delivery plates. My friend has run the stainless dealer plate from Ferrari of Beverly Hills on his car for over 7 years. None of them have ever received a parking ticket in these situations. The problem arises when you finally do mount that one rear plate. I wish CA would offer plates in the international / euro format. I think they would see much higher front plate compliance because the look more elegant. On the plus side the euro plates are also more readable from a distance.

 

[tliving]

The other thing I haven't seen mentioned on the forums, is that should you choose not to mount your front plate, then inspections in a state requiring a front plate are problematic. In MA, post delivery, you have to get your car inspected within 7 days. Tesla can't do it (4 year wait list to become a licensed inspector). Most won't pass the car (rightly so) without a front plate. You have to look around for an inspection station that won't mind...

 

[scaesare]

No plate, although required where I'm registered in Northern VA, and I work in MD.

So far no hassles, even with several trips to DC. There's a speed trap I've come to know on my commute route home where they cup uses a LIDAR gun, which typically are targeted at the front plate to get a good reading... the officer watched me drive by and has given me the eyeball a few times, but I think he's looking for registration stickers on the front windshield.

I figure if I get a fix-it ticket every so often, I'll just attach temporarily and go see the judge...and then promptly remove. I do keep the factory bracket and screw set along with the extra plate in my trunk so I can claim "I finally got the plate and I just need to drill the holes to mount it, Officer..."

 

[liuping]

The other thing I haven't seen mentioned on the forums, is that should you choose not to mount your front plate, then inspections in a state requiring a front plate are problematic. In MA, post delivery, you have to get your car inspected within 7 days. Tesla can't do it (4 year wait list to become a licensed inspector). Most won't pass the car (rightly so) without a front plate. You have to look around for an inspection station that won't mind...

I think the magneplate.com system would be perfect for this. It looks like a permanent installation when on, and when done with inspections just pull the plate off and store it in the frunk.

The current system is not really for driving any distance, but you could put it on before pulling into the inspection station. A new option is supposed to be available early May, that will let you can leave it on for extended drives (or "permanently" if you want)

 

[dsmith2189]

I used blind nut fasteners to mount my plate.
Front License Plate Solutions - Page 19

Recently I have been thinking about switching to the mount from Torklift Central