he said a "Hitler mustache" thats fucken toooo funny! and sooo tru!

 

Well, fisrt, that's a terrible angle, because you know how low the FD sits, and people wouldnt look at it that way unless they crouched down.

And that DOES droop! I was tring to say that I think if the line was straight, and not concave like in that pic, then the opening would look much better.]

EDIT: And you need to align your friggin hood. =]

 

i think we have a stale mate.. 50% say they like it plated and 50% dont..

personally to me it looks more natural plateless.. and personally i dont see how anyone could like a plated better..

i cant think of 1 high performance car in the world with one. however i can understand that people want 100% factory look but come on. be reasonable and look past the factory bullshit

all jokes aside its a more natural look without the plateholder..

 

Hey man, go with whatever you like. Plain and simple

 

i think i looks odd if its a plateless bumper without an emblem in the middle!

 

I like the plate holder..Without it, it looks less agressive & like something is missing to me..

 

When I first saw the plated 99 bumper my first impression was "WTF is that??? it does not flow well with the car!". As time went on I accepted it and now it does not look bad to me anymore. I just think I got used it so now I kinda like it.

^^ given that it still does not take away the fact that seems like most people's (rx7 fans and non enthusiasts alike) first impression of the bumper with a plate holder is "what's this ugly *** bump on the nose ough!".

So now Im wondering if those who like the plated bumper are like me, basically if it grew on them. So what was your first impression when you first saw the real OEM bumper? did you instantly love it? or did the plate kinda look out place? Just curious.

But I will say this NOTHING FITS BETTER THAN OEM!!!!

 

deff looks out of place.. it had to grow on me but i still dont think its natural.. you would never see a plate hold one a ferrari or a lambo so why the FD

 

$100k+ exotic versus 16 year old Mazda...I mean really, I love the FD but you guys hit the crack pipe sometimes with your comparos to exotics

 

just cause its a mazda and not 100K dollars means its not exotic? i would think the FD is the most exotic japanese car ever made.. i see more ferarri's then i do FD's..

im sure everyone has seen the show barret auto auctions.. anyways they only auction off classic american cars but a few years ago they sold 2 FD's.. it was the first time in history they ever sold anything other then american.. thats a big deal to me and the FD..

there was probably more time put into designing the FD then most ferarri's or whatever you would call exotic.. from what i believe the FD took about 12 years to develope..

you should do a bit more research before you throw out your crack pipe statements..

 

i didnt see what you were driving lol now i gotcha..

 

I personally like the looks of the plateless better, but as Montego mentioned, fitment just isn't there. I remember Sport Compact Car used the OEM 99spec plated bumper, and was able to shave the plate off... which is not an easy thing to do given it's made of urethane.

 

It always baffles me how many people seem to own these cars, and either have zero respect for them, no appreciation for what they are, or express outright disdain for them.

If you don't have any more belief in what is great about thse cars than this, why not sell it and buy a '93 626 to drop a V8 in. After all, one 16 year old Mazda is the same as the next right?

 

lol i like the way this guy thinks.. sell the car, ill take another 1

 

plated. plateless looks naked...

 

naked as in more areodynamic? lol..

i really think they added a plate holder to correct that sagging issue the non plated oem urethane bumpers had..

 

The OEM Bumper has a plate holder because:

A) Designed mostly for the japanese market, meaning it has to abide by japanese rules, and all japanese cars come with some kind of holder/plate for a front license plate.

B) Most countries and states in the USA legally require a front plate so mazda saved the hassle of drilling into the front bumper. If someone does not want to run the front plate, and risk it, that's their problem. True exotics in the financial sense are sold in very few numbers, and not mass production vehicles, so the people who buy them, need to deal with the problem.

C) Going back to A, It's an over $1000 (or something really really expensive) dollar fine in japan to not have a front plate, and with the cops and the cameras, chances are you are going to get caught.

Mazda knocked away as many of those birds with as few of stones which resulted in the plated factory 99 spec bumper. Not only can you not beat the quality of OE, but it makes sense in a practical sense.

 

i agree only with the fitment part. otherwise u could be right, however that plate holder is cheeks..

 

It's your car, so do as you please. I personally think it's stupid to buy a plateless bumper and then drill or ziptie a plate to it when mazda did it for you in the first place.

EDIT: Especially with New Jersey on the verge of adapting california's ultra-**** emission and automotive laws.

 

what if i live in a state that does not require a front plate.. im fucked simple as that.. mazda should have done what they did at first, make a simple bracket so you can make it your option..

 

The car was not sold officially outside of Japan, and i stated already what the reason is to have the holder in japan.

I.E: They only thought of what legal obligations to their customers they had. And the last time they tried some kind of "bracket"...they ended up with this lovely tin-can contraption that left indentations and scuffs on the bumper itself.

 

come on, they brought the car here with a plate holder in the front but it was a bracket that was removeable.. thats the best option in my opinion

 

oem plated for me it also has an airguide when plate is removed


plateless remind me of this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTsoYpzYA4I

 

yeah its a shark, now picture it with a big stupid lookin block on his head..

shark verus shark w/ block on his head... hmmmmm ill take the shark..

i like adolf hitler lol

 

The center intake hole is EXACTLY the same (smiling) shape with and without the plate brick. The plate may simply pull your eye to look elsewhere, but if you DO look, it's the same.

Seeing as how the '99+ model was mostly for Japan home market, there probably wasn't any reason to tool it up otherwise because of the plate laws, and they took the opportunity to integrate the intake.

I don't think there's any way to argue that the brick isn't un-natural, or that it doesn't interrupt the natural lines of the car. It's an add on that looks no more in place where it is than it would stuck in the middle of the windsheild, or on the side of the door.