Front number plates - a favour

[YorkshireSam]

Could I ask a favour of anyone who's fitted a shortened front numberplate to their post 2019 (revised front end) model...?

Any chance of posting a pic from a 45 degree angle at the front so I can see how it sits against the grille, with a bit of info about approx plate size and how you decided to attach it?

I've got a short private plate which I may transfer and mulling over options to see how it could look. There was a useful thread here recently but would be really good to see what others have done in more detail.

Any input appreciated - thanks in advance.

 

[scz4]

I'll be able to do that later this afternoon for you. I have a 5 digit plate on my 2021 car. Looked into a few options, but in the end I cut the original plinth.

 

[scz4]

I found some pictures on my phone. Let me know if you want close-ups.

 

[YorkshireSam]

I found some pictures on my phone. Let me know if you want close-ups.

PXL_20240722_180350362.PORTRAIT.ORIGINAL.jpg
PXL_20250101_142042746.jpg
PXL_20240810_174605218.jpg

Exactly what I was looking for - thanks very much, it looks good.

Out of interest do you remember whether you cut the ends off the plinth to shorten it, or took a slice from the centre then reattached the remaining halves? Can't quite make it out from the photos, so a tidy job either way! Cheers

 

[scz4]

I found some pictures on my phone. Let me know if you want close-ups.

PXL_20240722_180350362.PORTRAIT.ORIGINAL.jpg
PXL_20250101_142042746.jpg
PXL_20240810_174605218.jpg

Exactly what I was looking for - thanks very much, it looks good.

Out of interest do you remember whether you cut the ends off the plinth to shorten it, or took a slice from the centre then reattached the remaining halves? Cheers

I just placed the plate on, marked ends masking tape then used a hacksaw and cut 1cm in from the tape (you have to remember the top of the plate has curves)

Best method for sure would be to cut in the middle, but I don't know anyone who can "weld" plastic.

So for me it's a 9 out of 10 looks for 1 out of 10 effort and 10 out of 10 for plate security.

 

[YorkshireSam]

I found some pictures on my phone. Let me know if you want close-ups.

PXL_20240722_180350362.PORTRAIT.ORIGINAL.jpg
PXL_20250101_142042746.jpg
PXL_20240810_174605218.jpg

Exactly what I was looking for - thanks very much, it looks good.

Out of interest do you remember whether you cut the ends off the plinth to shorten it, or took a slice from the centre then reattached the remaining halves? Cheers

I just placed the plate on, marked ends masking tape then used a hacksaw and cut 1cm in from the tape (you have to remember the top of the plate has curves)

Best method for sure would be to cut in the middle, but I don't know anyone who can "weld" plastic.

So for me it's a 9 out of 10 looks for 1 out of 10 effort and 10 out of 10 for plate security.

Thanks for that - a neat job and exactly the look I want without too much messing about. Cheers

 

[cj10jeeper]

Not specific to the facelift, but if you cut the required amount from the centre to match your plate size, with half of that from each side of the centre line, then it all marches perfectly and looks 100% OEM

The 2 halves can easily be welded with any flat bladed soldering iron or even the better hot air guns with temperature control and any handy metal implement to smooth the edges over. If required use the scrap from the centre used to add material to reinforce. in total a 15 minute measure, cut weld job.

 

[scz4]

Not specific to the facelift, but if you cut the required amount from the centre to match your plate size, with half of that from each side of the centre line, then it all marches perfectly and looks 100% OEM

The 2 halves can easily be welded with any flat bladed soldering iron or even the better hot air guns with temperature control and any handy metal implement to smooth the edges over. If required use the scrap from the centre used to add material to reinforce. in total a 15 minute measure, cut weld job.

Based on my experience with my old MY14 car, on the pre facelift car you can simply remove the plinth and attach the shorter number plate directly to the horizontal "black bar\section". No need for any plinth.

 

[DOC IW]

These grille clips are a great way of fitting a plate to the honeycomb grille if you want a really clean look and remove the plinth completely:

https://www.bespoke-plates.co.uk/shop/accessories/honeycomb-grille-clips/

 

[DOC IW]

To remove the plinth completely, undo the screws holding the plinth to the brackets underneath. The brackets are held on with bolts from behind and wing retainers which need to be turned horizontal before they can be negotiated through the hex grille holes. The best way to achieve that without taking the whole front off the car is to use a Dremmel with a metal cutting disc and cut a groove into the exposed tip of the bolt and then use a screwdriver in that groove to back the bolt out from the front. Don’t back it out too far though, you don’t want bits dropping out of reach behind the grille! Once those are loosened enough, get your fingers or some other tool in through the adjacent hex holes to turn the wing retainer horizontal and then negotiate it out through the hole.

 

[DOC IW]

I find my number plate slightly loose with the current clips going in to the grill and it slightly dips down, as you can see in the photo. With an 8 day trip around Europe taking in some of the famous passes coming up this year I don’t want to lose the plate so might look at trying to get some slightly larger clips.

@DOC 1W does your plate stay on firmly or is it easy to put on and take off?

The clips I have used hold really firmly, not loose at all, no risk of the plate dropping off. The plate is removable though fairly easily, you have to get your fingers in behind to squeeze the plastic of the clips a bit and pull.

 

[F-typo]

Would this kind of thing work?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/176734059943

 

[DOC IW]

https://www.bespoke-plates.co.uk/shop/accessories/honeycomb-grille-clips/

These definitely work well. These are what I have used. They hold the short front plate really firmly into the hex grille holes and it looks really neat without the plinth. They also allow the plate to be removed completely relatively easily with a bit of fiddly persuasion if you want if you’re at a car show or something.