dr bob

I tried the "just took it off for a show" excuse but the undrilled bumper shell was a giveaway. Ticket...

Fabricated a bracket that fits into the grill slot and brabes on the internal baffle frame, and clamps to the lip of the bumper shell in the top grill slot. Fits snug against the bumper, so I put a few strategic patches of foam weatherstrip in for bumper protection. Takes just a couple minutes to get it on or off with just a phillips screwdriver now. No holes in my pristine bumpre shell.

I have a few pics someplace.

Tass 928

Nice Job! I would take a chance and run that. Must be great for cleaning and polishing that area.

Do you think there would be an issue with paint lifting when you eventually remove it?

chaadster

Kiesan,

Great idea! Simple, but very clever. I reckon you could even put the real registration tab right on the vinyl plate, no? I say go with it!

JPTL

Here in PROM (People's Republic of Maryland) we're required to have a front plate. I too, hate the look of the front plate as it is the only 'tacked on' part of the car and totally breaks up the rounded lines of the front end....so I rebelled by not displaying a front plate. I kept it in the back, along with a printout of a Porsche dealer's invoice form indicating that the front bracket was on order. It was a good idea, or so I thought.
First off, I got a ticket in DC where they'll do anything to tap into revenue sources from DC & MD. So they enforce the other states' laws but keep the fines themselves.
So I stayed out of DC, and kept my plate-free front end.
Then I was in Bethesda with my wife, after having a nice dinner with friends (also a few Mojitos, a bourbon and a beer or two).
I was fine to drive, and my driving didn't stand out in any way, however the fact that I had a nice, shiny Porch without a front plate, gave the officer an excuse for pulling me over (even though I was going about 5 mph in the city).
Since he'd pulled me over, he figured that being 1:30am, that it was a good chance that I'd been drinking. So....sobriety test on the side of the road.
I barely passed, but I was sweating in my boots. The cop kept saying "Relax. Don't be so nervous." He was kidding, right?
If I had consumed one more beer, I would have been toast.
All thanks to not having a front plate, which I now (with silent protest) display.
Here's my other method of expressing my 'silent protest'. The Porsche Crest looks so similar to the Maryland Crest, that i just had to do it. Plus the MD crest doesn't belong on my car, IMO.

Imo000

Maybe the laws are different there but here the front plates have to be retro reflective too. So unless you actually use the same materials that the original plates are made from (less the aluminum backing), these stick on plates are just as illegal as not having one. By materials I mean everything, the backing the exact paint, etc.

Emickelsen

I think it's a great idea. Cali IS the same way, and I have yet to have a front plate on several vehicles and 13+ years. Still no ticket ( KNOCK ON WOOD!! ). I doubt any metermaid or cop would look that close. It looks to be a very accurate representation. Wht not take the real plate and bend it to the contour of the car? Aside from the very minor/very shallow third dimention of it, it's vertually the same. Avoid the worry.

Stan.Shaw@Excell.Net

I would think forging a plate, even if using your own number, would be frowned on by the law.

No front plate required in MA, if you have a green lettered plate. I have had two for nearly 20 years, and don't ever plan on turning them in

JHowell37

I will call my brother who teaches driver's ed in MD to verify this, but I think he said that in MD they cannot ticket you if your car has no provision for a front license plate. A provision being holes drilled to accept a plate, bracket, etc. They cannot force you to drill holes in your car. I will find out from him today or tomorrow. Once he verifies it, the next step is to find the actual law on this and get a copy of it to carry with you. I would think that presenting a copy of this to the cop along with a subtle reminder of an internal affairs complaint for gross incompetence would discourage them from writing the ticket, but they'll likely try to get you on another violation.

michaelathome

It's been a few years but IIRC if your cars were purchased in CA they the dealer is required to install a bracket UNLESS it is at an additional charge. The example that comes to mind is Corvettes I think it was an extra $65+/- for the kit. Again this was a few years ago. This gets a little more confusing if the car was purchased out of state because some states do not have a front plate requirement. So what it ultimately boils down to is if you have it (bracket) use it. This was also my understanding about why the state only issues one set of registration stickers, specifically for the rear plate.

I have gotten a ticket for no front plate while in CA. Car had holes and mount points in the bumper and I had chosen not to use them.

Here in VA a front plate is required, hence they send you 2 sets of registration stickers.

My 928 front bumper does not have any holes, it does have dimples where it looks like there may have been some euro bracket or something not sure but definitely no holes. I will not put a plate on the front, not drilling holes so I carry the plate in the car. I know my car came through TX then LA then to me here in VA. Not really sure if my bumper is original or a replacement but none the less no holes.

I would do the vinyl in a heartbeat if it were reflective. Odds are that the POPO would see it from afar and not look twice. There are so many reasons that you can be pulled over I agree that one less wouldn't hurt anyone.

I do agree with Stan though in that in forging a plate, even if using your own number, would be frowned on by the law.

Michael

Mike Frye

Lobby your states to remove the front plate requirement! The cops hardly ever use it and it would cut the cost of manufacture in half (probably more if you figure they have to be shipped as a pair, stocked as a pair...). Rumor has it that NJ is thinking of eliminating the front plate requirement. I'm crossing my fingers!

Randy V

Very clever, Kie!

I hate the idea of drilling into that beautiful front bumper as well.

if I had to install an actual plate, I'd look at attaching it to the front valence instead, like this -

JPTL

JHowell, the ticket that I got was in DC. They'll ticket MD/VA drivers for anything, regardless of whether it can be upheld in court, because nobody fights the tickets. It's just how they do things.
IIRC, Maryland won't ticket you for a vehicle not in compliance w/MD registration requirements, but they'll give you a repair/correction order that gives you time to remedy the 'violation'. They treat window tinting the same way. No ticket, but they can pull you over for it.
Just the fact that they can pull you over for such a violation is enough for me to (reluctantly) hang my front plate.
Mike, no way in hell would MD do away with the front plate req. If anything, they're going in the opposite direction. Many counties are just getting the taste of red light & speed camera revenues. With some systems, images of front plates are sometimes used to verify/confirm a questionable violation. I'm sure that MD realizes that making a car less identifyable in images could lead to a loss in revenue from citations, and therefore they wouldn't entertain the suggestion. It also makes the parking enforcer's job a little tougher in some cases.

F451

Nice K.

My solution here in WA state is to run without that g-damn front plate is to keep it on the interior passenger shelf. Take the mounting bracket, bend it up, and throw that on the rear seat floor area.

If I get pulled over, I will play the "my bracket got mangled, and it cost $250 from Porsche, so I have not ordered it yet" card.

It may fall on deaf ears, but at least its an attempt to avoid the ticket.

And btw, I think I learned that technique from someone here on rennlist.

ps: K - I think you run with the Ducati crowd? I had an ST2 and was on the Duc list, but have since sold the Duc and bailed on the list.

largecar379

this from my Texas DPS Officer friend (state trooper):

fake plates, no matter how good they look, will get you a ticket, fine, and jail time (read: FELONY).

not running a plate one the front will get you a ticket and fine, minimum.

re-locating your front plate to the location I have mine at: OK.

plate frames are OK (as long as identifying items such as State of issue, year/month of issue, etc, are no covered).

plate covers are OK as long as the plate is read-able (subject to officer's discretion).

Here in Houston, there is a recently announced effort to curb car theft. Baiting cars to catch would be thieves, checking license plates/vin #s at random, etc., is being shoved to the forefront as I write this.

60 cars per day are stolen here, so why take a chance on your 928 coming up missing because of a plate not being on the car???? (when someone steals a car, they don't take the plates of the car before stealing it......think about it.)



---Russ

SharkSkin

No front plate, though it's required here. Standard answer that has saved me from two fix-it tickets: "The bracket is on order from Germany, I'm doing my best to take care of it".