Front-Mounted License Plate (how to mount?)

[Dracconus]

While I have seen on my mirage the "dimples" where a front License plate COULD be installed I have also pushed in on the "oh-so-flexible" front bumper and found almost a half inch to 3/4 inch of "give" before it even FEELS like I've "touched" something in these spots...
THUS I lead with this concern.

Has ANYONE here mounted a license plate to the front of their car? In Texas it's illegal to drive a car without a front plate and thus it's a LARGE concern for me. I honestly didn't notice until I'd left the dealership, and if necessary have NO problem taking it back to have the mechanics there do the drilling/work that way it's supervised, warrantied, and done by the dealer, not me IF necessary.

However, alternatively if anyone that lives in Texas could confirm that they've done it regardless of "what the dealership said" that would be awesome, as I have no qualms with taking off the bumper, and putting a lock-washer in the back of the bumper, and using a through-bolt to make sure that no one steals my plates (hey...people do stupid things, I take every precaution I can since driving without even ONE of your two plates is a moving violation, and a 200 dollar fine if a cop's having a bad day.)


Also if you HAVE installed a front plate, can you please give me specifications on the thread size/bolt length that you used. Thanks.

[Dracconus]

I'm having a hard time believing that out of the 54 viewers that have seen this no one has a front license plate.
Even if you just un-bolt yours from the front to tell me the length of them at least that's a start to figure out whether the plate mounts to something or not.
I live in Texas, where I'll be fined VERY soon if this isn't taken care of, so I'd love to get an answer if possible before i just say "f**K it, and drill into my car and use wingnuts.

[MetroMPG]

I'd check for you if I had one!

I suspect there's no nut behind -- my guess is it's just drilled and a coarse thread stainless screw through the bumper plastic.

Until you find out for sure, you could always drill a a small hole and use a short screw/washer (before doing your final theft-proof method).

[Alpha_One]

Philippine Mirages have holes in the front bumpers with rubber bolt grommets in them. That's where you mount the front plate. Strange that the US spec ones don't have mounting holes.

[Dracconus]

Philippine Mirages have holes in the front bumpers with rubber bolt grommets in them. That's where you mount the front plate. Strange that the US spec ones don't have mounting holes.

Especially strange that they'd send units to a state knowing that they have to follow state regulations and it's not "up to code."
There are dimples where there should obviously BE a mounting plate/point, but I've pushed in on said area with my thumb, and can feel a VERY substantial amount of "give" that indicates no plate behind the bumper to physically mount anything to besides the ABS plastic.
I'm going to get under the car tomorrow morning, and figure out what, if anything is behind these dimples, and see what we've got going on behind it. My largest fear with drilling is that 1. I don't own the car, the bank does...not too sure how happy they'll be about me affixing a mounting method that they didn't approve of/have on the car at the dealership (not that I really care as I've already made other modifications to the car, but they'd never know about those xD

[Jilbo]

Philippine Mirages have holes in the front bumpers with rubber bolt grommets in them. That's where you mount the front plate. Strange that the US spec ones don't have mounting holes.

Australian cars are exactly the same

[kalifornia]

time to drive back to the dealership and make some inquiries, for now I would place the plate on your dash. you should beable to talk your way out of a fix-it ticket if stopped. I've seen plastic inserts that have threads tapped, stop by a auto zone and inquire.

[grsupercity]

I'm having a hard time believing that out of the 54 viewers that have seen this no one has a front license plate.
Even if you just un-bolt yours from the front to tell me the length of them at least that's a start to figure out whether the plate mounts to something or not.
I live in Texas, where I'll be fined VERY soon if this isn't taken care of, so I'd love to get an answer if possible before i just say "f**K it, and drill into my car and use wingnuts.

Just drill where the dimples are and pop rivet it on. should be fine!

[fifteenwindow]

Our front plates are screwed to the plastic bumper with these screws:



They are 3/4 inch long, and the threads are 1/4 inch wide. Not secure at all, but I hope this helps you figure things out.

[Dracconus]

Our front plates are screwed to the plastic bumper with these screws:



They are 3/4 inch long, and the threads are 1/4 inch wide. Not secure at all, but I hope this helps you figure things out.

Thanks, Fifteenwindow! This is exactly the type of information I was hoping to fish out of people.

As a side note, I DID manage to dig around behind the bumper with my phone, and I found (to my dismay) NOT much help at all. I could actively see the "marker" for where a drill spot SHOULD have been routed before it was sent to the dealership (kind of like a bullseye on the inside of the bumper) but the second (rightmost) hole is completely covered by the shroud of the "grill" which would have to be removed to tell whether I've got any kind of clearance so having a "length" to compare is DEFINITELY going to be useful in knowing how deep I could drill.

Would you mind turning the screw 45 degrees and measuring the length of the threads for me so that I know the length?

**EDIT** Just looked up, and realized a second screw was in fact turned to show length. Thanks again.

**Double Edit** I think what I'm going to do is go to home depot, or lowes, and grab some 3/4" bolts with a flat head so that they can't be removed, and disassemble the grill area, and wing nut them on since plate theft is HEAVILY common in the state of Texas (why I'll never know) plus the winds in this area can hit excess of 45mph sustained pretty much any day of the year (gotta love the plains)