Front License Plate with FMIC
 

So how do those of you with a front mount intercooler run a front license plate? I'm moving to Hawaii and have to have one mounted on the front of the car (no exceptions). I bought a bracket, but there is no way that it will fit or so it seems. I'm running a GReddy 3-row if that is of any consequence. Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Joe

i would think if you dont have dual oil coolers, that you could mount it over one of those vents that doesn't have the oil cooler behind it. like the same way they do with EVO's

Drill new holes in your front bumper so you can mount the plate higher.

Or get one of those pivot plate brackets so you can angle the plate inward toward the IC hole, almost like air pushed the plate into the bumper.

That might help.

make / find one of these...i had one on my previous FD. here are pics from back in 2003 of my little brother demonstrating:

stopped:
http://memimage.cardomain.com/member...65_25_full.jpg

driving:
http://memimage.cardomain.com/member...65_26_full.jpg

i got mine at Bee-R when i was in Japan in 2003.

how does that work?

Maybe it is on a spring. So when driving the air is pressing stronger than the spring can hold so the plate folds under. Once stopped the spring can return to extension.

However, that may be highly illegal in some states with it folding under that far. Now if you made it fold under so you can still read the plate I dont think an officer would pull you over in any state that requires a front plate.

Air pushes the plate as you drive.

Just flip the stock bracket upside down. Apparently that's what I did without realizing. Mine's completely out of the way of the intercooler opening

The problem I'm having is that my FMIC is in the way of mounting a bracket in that opening without drilling the bumper. I'm really trying to avoid that if possible. I'm thinking I'm going to have to build a bracket that will snake up in front of the IC and then over to something to bolt to... Eh. I was just hoping that there was some easy fix that I was over looking. :scratch:

While the vent is an interesting idea, I've got an R1 so that's out. Any other ideas?

It's probably illegal, however I got away with it... but I just bent the bottom of the license plate so that i cleared the mouth of the front bumper.

I never got pulled over for it...

i have one for you. i used to live there. The folding one will get you a ticket;) trust me:D I will get pics of it tomorrow and PM you.

Dave

I guess I got lucky:)... It didn't clear the mouth of the bumper completely, and you could still see the plate number as well as "Texas" on the top of the plate. The only thing that was hidden after I bent the plate was "The Lone Star State" on the bottom. However, even though it didn't clear the mouth completely, it still gave the intercooler a bit more space than without the modification to the plate.

Here's a pic...

http://a332.ac-images.myspacecdn.com...e1e19b2733.jpg

To be honest there is not much you can do except drill holes in your bumper. Cops here are real anal about recon related items because that is the easiest thing for them to give you tickets over. The evos have the license plate in the lower corner but that is not stock i believe. It could be though but I thought that it is not. If your license plate is too low, that is a perfect reason to give you a ticket...and believe me if they are having a bad day, they will and will also try and nail you for whatever else they can at one time. A lot has to do with whether or not the cop likes you or not. If he doesn't he will make your life a living hell. One time the cop gave me 7 tickets at once...all equipment violations. Also, DO NOT bend or cut your license plate. That is also grounds for a ticket. The reasoning behind it is that the the plates are property of the state and therefore does not belong to you so if you deface the plate in anyway, they can give you a ticket for that as well. I got a ticket once for cutting of the edges on my motorcycle plate.
On my FD was trying to figure out where to mount my front plate as well. But when you install a FMIC you are forced to destroy the original mounting locations. So I was forced to drill holes in my bumper to mount the plate. I just went to a motorcycle shop, bought some rubber nutserts and stuck them in the bumper and mounted the plate to that....it looks clean.
Over here, you don't really want to block any of the opening in the front bumper cause the traffic here is so bad that I would think that any air that you can through the FMIC would help...especially since the FMIC blocks a ton of air to the rad.
I hope this helps. Yes we have a bunch of messed up laws. It doesn't make sense to try and find ways around it because in the end it all catches up to you. I tried and all it got me was a very long driving abstract, a ton of tickets, and a bunch of wasted time by having to go to court for those tickets.

dash board?? I took mine off when i got a fmic....
stop caring after a while and never got stopped
Never really an issue


http://memimage.cardomain.com/member...431_5_full.jpg



http://speedhawaii.com/sp.cgi?t=main...uise0104.htm#1


This was pretty much every FD in hawaii... how many front tags do you see..but then again this was 3 yrs ago... maybe things have changed since i left

So what did you do when you had to have the car inspected or go to recon? I was told that if it wasn't mounted to the front, it was an automatic failure. I mean, that is my main concern at this point. I need to have it pass so I can have the car plated. There just seems to be varying opinions on this whole inspection process.

it all depends who you go and see to get your saftey check. There are a lot of inspectors that just don't give a rats ass and pass just about everybody.

r u military?
If so.. the Hobby shop on Kaneohe Bay gets you in and out....

headlights
high beams
horn
wipers
turn signals
sign here
done
as long as your car wasnt over the top with mods.. wheels suspension exhaust they didnt really care.. but like the man said it just depends on where you go... chat up the rotor heads over there... (len aka Chameleon on the forum is the man)
they should have the low down on the spots... but i dont think that you need to go drill holes if you dont " have " to

If you had a honda.. you were good as gold when it came to safety checks...
Learn to say "Da kine brodda" and "howzit cuz"

Nope. Not military. I took at job as an attorney in Honolulu. That would be great. I have spoken to a few people on ForumsHawaii, but haven't really gotten to many answers except for some basic info. As far as appearance goes, the car is pretty stock minus rims, being slightly lowered, exhaust, and a FMIC. It's got quite a bit more than that done, but nothing that you could really tell without looking under the hood. Do they normally check for a catalytic convertor? I've heard varying things.

Joe

the "EVO" mounting is stock.... some only have the holes drilled in the bumper, while other have the actual angled bracket. there are MANY LanEVO's in my town with that mounting location. it is stock, even on the new X's


i do agree it will be difficult finding a way to mount the plate in such a fashion that doesnt necessitate drilling holes in the bumper, but i really dont see anyway to get around it.

although some of us in texas just buy suction cups from wal-mart and mount the plate on the inside of the winshield in the top corner on the passenger side.
most texas police dont care about front license plates anyway, except for Highway Patrol. but you're not in texas so that heresay, and do this at your own risk

FWIW, in my state plates must be level, at least 12" from the ground and can NOT swing. That would apply to those hinged plate brackets. Most other states that still require a front plate (all but 8 or 9) will likely have similar requirements and it won't matter if the car has been "inspected" or not. .

no biggie, try a simple piece of 16ga alum 2x2x10", the plate is above the mouth 100%, i rolled the plate a bit to match the bumper curve.......

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...7/HPIM0232.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...7/HPIM0226.jpg

Recon is why I sold my old Honda. For the ot of state people it basically any mod done to your car must go through 'recon'struction inspections. Wheels, suspension, brakes, intakes, everything. I remember when I was younger it was way worse...spoilers that block rear view were tickets. Hell I remember one guy getting a ticket because he put his stock wheels back on after he go the recon for the rims. I'm not sure how bad it is nowdays...

it is still pretty bad over here. Anything that is not written down on the recon inspection paper gets your recon sticker revoked right then and there....on the spot! If I were you, i wouldn't chance getting a 70-80 dollar ticket just because you wanted to make your car look prettier with no front plate on. If you leave the plate on the dashboard or stick it on the front winshield that will get you a ticket. Sticking it on the winshield might even get you 2 tickets....one for not having the plate mounted on the front bumper and 2) for having an obstruction on your front winshield.
YES when you go for recon they WILL look under the hood. Anything that is not secured under the hood will not pass(i.e. intakes not secured). From my undertanding rims are not really a big issue any more for recon. So long as the tires do not stick out pass the fenders and the tires are of the correct load rating for the vehicle. Oh and also you have to have the specified amount of clearance between the tire and the fender. I have no idea what the measurement is because that is one of those rules that they make up as they go along...meaning whether or not they like you. One thing I can tell you for sure...DO NOT try and cheat on any of the measurements because the cops as well as the inspectors carry have access to a measuring tape or a meter stick.
The recon people might check if you have a cat. Again that all depends on which insector you get. The safety check guys usually don't check for a cat.

Hmmm... I recognize that car... I think that used to be Brent's car... A LONG time ago.

Nice! :)

I don't know who that is. The hood, wheels, and spoiler (well lack of) are all different. It's an R1...maybe it is his car...seems like this car had a hard life before it met me...haha now I'm stuck trying to bring it back to glory...as if an RX7 doesn't have enough issues. :lol: