Never put your license plate in the windshield

NEVER

I heard of someone who got his nose cut off by the plate when he got hit

Not good...

 

Thank god no one misinterpreted me as cop bashing. I know there are good ones out there. I only bitch about the bad ones.

I hate liberal excuses.

The box has started. There are some fresh pics posted in the audio section of the face being laid up in fiberglass.

 

I think the only reason they want the front plate on is so they will have a nice flat metal object to shoot radar at... If I'm not mistaken I read this in a radar detector manual.

 

The laser radars (which operate in the Infrared I belive) need a good surface to work from. And in many states, that surface is the front license plate. I'm thinking of the lower passenger-side corner of the front bumper to move the plate to (while not blocking the oil cooler).

I wonder if some nice, flat clearcoat will help defeat that $1 "reflectorization" fee I pay every year here in Texas...

 

i believe the front plate is totally unnecessary. If other states dont need one, why do we? I second the motion to start a petition to get that fixed in legislation. This goes for all cars, not just for our beloved 8.

 

When I had my Miata I was pulled over for not having a front plate. Can't remember the fine, but it sucked.

I currently do have a front plate on my 8. I am not using the factory bracket. I went to a parts store and bought a flat plate mount. It fits flat on the front and I also have a smoke plastic cover on it. Kinda makes it blend in a little.

Doesn't look great, but not as bad as some I have seen.

 

i'd like to see pics of the plate flat against the car. right now, w/ the plates on the brackets, it reminds me of it having really big front teeth on the car. i want the plate in the front to prevent getting pulled over, but i wish it was more discrete.

btw...you mentioned it has a smoke covering over it, isn't that illegal in tx now??

 

I will take a pic and post. Will probably wait until I get the car clean though. All this rain . . .

 

I live in Killeen, I dont think theres a chance in hell that Ill get away with driving with no front plate there, if the cops in town dont get me, Ill get written up driving through the gate at Ft Hood, I wonder if they mind if its in the windshield and viewable?

 

Regardless of whether it would be allowed, I personally think that putting it in the windshield looks worse than in front.

Besides, I don't like the idea of that sharp, metal piece sitting or loosely affixed to the dash. If it gets knocked loose in an accident, big bump, or quick direction change, that's one of the last things I would want flying around inside the car.

---jps

 

Yes it is. He might as well drive without a license plate.

 

...AND yesterday I received my first speeding ticket. The cop never said anything about not having a front license plate. Defensive driving here I come

 

Bummer about the ticket. I have to watch myself like a hawk when I'm out on these back-of-beyond two lane roads.

This morning I was doing a good 30 MPH over...And it felt like I was just gliding along.

 

I agree, it is hard to stay under 100 when it is nice day... I wish there was an autobahn around here, I really want to hit top speed some time.

 

Previous posters are correct in saying that the front license plate offers a reflective surface for radar - there are probably other reasons for it as well, but that's part of the reason for the requirement.

Having said that, I've been driving around Austin for eight years without a front plate (a Miata until this year, then the 8) and I've never been cited for it. I got popped for expired inspection a few years ago and the cop mentioned it, but no one has ever pulled me over expressly for a missing front plate.

It's esthetic. I just think the damn things are ugly, and they scratch up the nose unless you take extraordinary measures to protect it. This is pretty much the limit of my civil disobedience.

I haven't taken the 8 on the road yet, but I'll put the front plate on when I leave Austin. Thanks to whoever gave the warning about east Texas - I have to hit the road to Alabama soon.

 

You can add me to the "law abiding citizen" list. Love my 8, hate the plate. I do have a bone to pick with the radar theory, not with the forum members but with the cops. The Laser or LIDAR guns project a beam about 3 feet wide from 1/4 mile, making a nice flat (ugly) licance plate the perfect target for an accurate return. The RADAR Guns, on the other hand, project a cone about 100-150 feet (minimum, depending on the band) wide at 1/4 mile making any one part of the car pretty much impossible to aim specifically for. Looks like the RADAR theory is just a legislative excuse to me. As far as identification goes, how many head on car chases have you been in that were long enough for you to read the plate? Too many holes, too many holes.