Plate Relocation kit preview (homemade)
 

Hey, this thread is for anyone considering the Plate Relocation kits that will be available. I figure alot of people are curious what it would look like.


Disclaimer : Yes, Its a BC plate, it's NOT mine, and i know it says Abbotsford Nissan..back off :D

This was a 5 minute photoshop, so deal with it ;)
All plates are lined up to be DEAD CENTER over the TOW HOOK. Most kits have slide adjustment a few inches up/down left/right..so use your imagination please

BRZ OEM location
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8145/6...60db0757_c.jpg

BRZ Tow hook Location
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8142/7...f4886102_c.jpg

FRS OEM LOCATION
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7040/7...0c394823_c.jpg

FRS Tow Hook Location
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8168/6...3a0dd8dd_c.jpg


Personally i think the FRS looks good with the offset plate..the BRZ im not so sure of.

I think WingsofWar's chop he did at my request looks far better than offset.... the only issue is that doing this leaves your front bumper completely unprotected should someone tap you when parallel parking. (Of course the same is largely true for the offset method.)

Attachment 6936

The tow hook location looks weird for both the BRZ and FR-S cause their bumpers aren't flat, well the BRZ is kinda flat. I think the tow hook option only looks good on the EVO, cause it's much more flat.

I understand this is a chop. IRL, how can this be done? I am thinking you need some kind of special screws/threads thing to penetrate the mesh and to the bumper, and that leads me to my next question.

what is the material for that mesh? I think some dealer was suggesting about tying the plate to the mesh instead of using a kit to locate the plate. I wonder, depends on the mesh material, if that is a viable solution.

I gotta agree it looks weird on the side like that. Just doesn't look right on either front end. But going a little lower like on the brz so it's on the mesh seems like a better alternative.

^ Trouble is the BRZ has a somewhat smaller air intake area through the grill than the FR-S, and dropping the plate would cover a good proportion of it up, which could lead to heat issues on track days.

My dealer said they could mount it there with ties. But looking at the FR-S in person, I think a more stable mount would be to screw it into the plastic bar behind the upper portion of the mesh.

It might be a pain to Fasten it. You'll likely need to put a machine screw + nut on it, which means you need to reach the OTHER side. I have a feeling that black piece behind the upper mesh is very thin. Too thin for a self tapping screw likely.

Presumably it would be relatively easy to put one arm under the lip to hold a nut and then drive the bolt through it. Even if it's difficult, once the plate is on you are never going to be taking it off. Worst case, might have to do it on a lift at the dealer.

yea, i know it's not really a big deal. Just wanted to warn you that's all.

Worst case Scenario the bumper has to come off altogether to get in that area. The 'actual' bumper is right behind that area and could easily be blocking "reach" access. i guess you'll find out? ;)

what about an offset plate using the tow hook hole but have it offset yet again, not centered on the tow hook hole. Maybe bring it a bit towards the center of the car.

I was hoping an offset plate would look better, but unfortunately it doesn't seem that way. A front plate simply ruins the BRZ.

Yeah, I definitely prefer the arrangement shown in Scion FR-S's post.

If anyone gets a chance to carefully examine the front bumper area, look under the blacked-out portion to see if there are any existing bolts or screws underneath. If so, a flat aluminum bar (or preferably two connected in an 'H' pattern) could be attached using the same bolts and extend forward through the plastic grille mesh with a 90-degree bend to provide attachment points for the plate.

My current summer toy has basically that arrangement. A little wobbly/springy since it's cantilevered out about 10" and the existing bolt locations it uses go into a semi-flexible piece, but it works.

I wouldn't be surprised if somebody comes out with a kit to do this.

Edit: Hmmm, another idea: depending on the vertical angle of the mesh, if a single flat bar can be slipped in behind it then use long bolts from the plate through the mesh to the flat bar. Basically clamping the plate to the plastic mesh with the plate on one side and the flat bar on the other.

Personally, I dont think the offset plate looks good on any car. It ruins the symmetry of the front. Id run no plate or cover it with a dark tinted cover before an offset kit

Agree with you on the first part. Solution not so much, guaranteed police pullover here.

Yeah, no plates is just asking for trouble here in Ont. I've used the tinted covers on all my cars with no issues though.

Near the top, the mesh is right up against the black plastic liner behind it and when I tried to wiggle it it did not move. You'd have to seriously deform the mesh to get a bar behind it. Heavy-duty plastic ties similar to what used to bind wiring together might just slide behind the grill to hold the plate. Might look a bit cheap though and the cops may view it as a non-permanent attachment.

Dropping the plate lower so that you go through the open part of the mesh, your idea would probably work, but I think it would make the plate placement awkward, as well as block more of the air flow to the rad. Also the cops may not like such a low placement. I like what WoW did for the placement, it's perfect.

Not a look I personally like. And I assume you never go on the 407! They have chase cars going after those trying to skirt the license cameras.

Quite true, but license plates have bolt holes along the bottom too. So if the attachment bar was lined up with the bottom edge of the plate to clamp it to the mesh, maybe that would work. Not as elegant as 'hanging' from the top bolt holes, granted.

What I'm curious about is if there's any way to actually slide the backing bar in there, e.g if there's a gap behind the bottom edge of the fascia but in front of the radiator and you could slide it up into place.

I'll keep mine in the stock location, thank you very much. There's not enough surface area on the bumper cover to run an offset plate without it looking weird. Unlike my current car:
http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...ardtop/040.jpg

offset plates look really bad to me. If it bothers you so much just drive without it and pay the ticket if you ever get one. And covering the front grille is a bad idea for cooling if you are going to drive hard for any extended period of time.

Those are some serious flares for an MR2! :D :w00t:

The bottom hole/bar arrangement should work, although I think you would also have to add transparent ties to the top holes to keep the plate from oscillating wildly in turbulence at speed.

IIRC, there should be no difficulty accessing the back part of the mesh below the bumper, you would have to go under the lip to get there but above that there is considerable space between the mesh and the rad.

One possible issue with the bottom hole mount though is the fact that the mesh is not perpendicular to the ground - it slants in toward the car at the bottom. If you only use the top holes and bolt/screw it into the plastic behind the mesh, the plate will be vertical; using your bottom-mount setup the plate will angle downwards - cops may not appreciate that.

According to the Highway Traffic Act for Ontario, grill plate placement will be fine, and ties should be OK as no attachment method is specified - see discussion here:
http://www.ontariohighwaytrafficact.com/topic884.html

did anyone come up with a decision yet?

I looked up plate decals - illegal D/T replication of government property.

Yea, sounds about right . Brz or frs, im gonna use the stock location. Its not bad at all. Ill likely paint the black plate bracket body color to make it look cleaner

I'll keep it matte black to match the front grill.

GOD! I WANT MY CAR NOWWWWWWWWWWWW. WHERE DO I FREAKING SIGN!

Don't knock Color Matching till you try it ;)


You're getting a FRS i take it?...you getting it from JP scion? What number are you on the list?

I highly suggest you deal with ANYONE but Jim Pattison Dealers...seriously

What's wrong with Jp scion?

Jim pattison dealers in general are horrible to deal with. They do alot of shady things and they'll tell you one thing, then charge you for another

Jimmy Pattison is the Devil.