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Got pulled over for front plate.

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Old Aug 29, 2003 | 11:56 PM
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Default Got pulled over for front plate.

well, i guess my luck ran out tonight. after a 2 months of having my z and two weeks having my plates. i finally got pulled over in sf for no front plate. just as i was leaving work i got pulled over a few blocks from my work by sfpd. got a fix-it-ticket.
so now i'm deciding on whether i should put the plate on or not. i'm thinking of putting on the plate where the grille is, so i don't have to drill holes in the bumper. i have a stillen street scene grille and was gonna put the plate in between the stillen grille and the stock grille. think that would be ok???

oh btw, the cop (who was actually really nice) complimented me on the z and asked me how it handled.
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Old Aug 30, 2003 | 12:21 AM
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Ironic that we were just talking about this mgl, and now it happened.

Did you have the plate on your dashboard? Did you use the excuse 'I'm still waiting for the dealer to send me my front bracket'? Where in SF was this?

In any case, you're gonna have to put the plate on before getting the ticket signed off... if putting the plate between the Stillen and stock grills... well, I am assuming that there will be an obstructed view of the plate this way, right? (I cannot quite recall what the Stillen grill looks like at this time...). If the plate is not in a plain, unobstructed view, then you probably shouldn't do it as it would be considered the same as not having the front plate at all.

Putting the plate on the dash does not suffice the front plate requirement despite the clarity that is provided by a glass windshield... so I would think that a grill would make the plate somewhat less visible, and far from regulation limitations.

Sorry to hear, let us know what you decide to do.
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Old Aug 30, 2003 | 12:28 AM
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DONT PUT ON THE LICENCE PLATE WITH THE STOCK PLATE FRAME!!!!!!!!!!!! YOU WILL BUTCHER YOUR BUMPER!!!!


get teh Z-Bracket.... it mounts on the front grill.. looks really good too... look at the picture in my signature... I have one installed..

I had my plates for almost 2 months and I got pulled over turning into a parking lot in OC... THe cop was pulling out on his motor cycle.. and turned around and got me... he thought i stole the car at first! he was like prove this car is yours.. bla bla bla...ahha
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Old Aug 30, 2003 | 12:43 AM
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i got pulled over on california and 7th ave.
i told the cop that there are no holes for me to mount the plate. and i told him that i was gonna bring it back to the dealership for them to install one. he was just about to give me a warning, but then asked for my license, reg., and insurance and i knew right then that he was gonna give me a ticket. but its no big deal... it wasn't the first time i gotten pulled over. i just pay the $10 and have the ticket signed off.
after the cop gave me the ticket to sign, we actually start talking about the car and colleges and stuff like that. the cop was really nice, but he knows where i work, and i'm driving the z everyday so if he sees me again and i have no front plate... then its no longer a fix-it-ticket, but a $100 fine or something like that. so... i'm not sure what to do.
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Old Aug 30, 2003 | 12:47 AM
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Originally posted by KONVERTER
DONT PUT ON THE LICENCE PLATE WITH THE STOCK PLATE FRAME!!!!!!!!!!!! YOU WILL BUTCHER YOUR BUMPER!!!!


get teh Z-Bracket.... it mounts on the front grill.. looks really good too... look at the picture in my signature... I have one installed..

I had my plates for almost 2 months and I got pulled over turning into a parking lot in OC... THe cop was pulling out on his motor cycle.. and turned around and got me... he thought i stole the car at first! he was like prove this car is yours.. bla bla bla...ahha
the bracket attaches to the tow hook, right?? it wouldn't work for my car because of the stillen grille. unless i cut a hole in the stillen grille which i don't wanna do.
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Old Aug 30, 2003 | 12:59 AM
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Guess that you could always rig it with simple tools found at Home Depot... some thin wiring so that it affixes to the grill while being little to virtually not noticeable... or at worse, use zip ties (for the sign-off) until you think of a better plan.
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Old Aug 30, 2003 | 04:39 AM
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no it doesnt attach to the tow hook.. it goes into the stock grill.. prolly wont work with the other grills...
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Old Aug 30, 2003 | 06:00 AM
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StrictlyZ has one a bracket that attaches to the tow hook. Go click on their link and look for it (they're a sponsor of these forums).

I too got pulled over a couple weeks ago. I drove for eight months without a front plate.

So, I'm on my way to work, and as usual, feeling boxed in by the brainless masses that all drive at the same speed in every lane. Traffic was pretty dense that morning. I was tooling along about 65mph (60mph road) when I saw a cop merging on to the highway. For some reason, I just had a feeling in my gut that he was going to pull me over. I don't know why.

So I'm in the left-hand lane, and he's driving in the right hand lane on my corner, surrounded by other cars. After about a minute or two of this, he changes lanes and gets behind me. I'm thinking "ok here it comes..." Sure enough, about 30 seconds later the lights come on. And I'm thinking to myself "I didn't DO anything!"

Well, actually I was thinking to myself "But I didn't DO anything while you were on the road! Of course, I'm glad you didn't see me the last twenty miles, and that you won't be following me the next twenty miles, because then you would have had a reason to pull me over! But right now I didn't do anything!"

So we pull over to the side of the road. He gets out and walks up to my window. "When you bought this car they gave you two license plates didn't they?"
"Um... yeah they did."
"So where's the other one?"
"Well it requires a bracket to put it on and I'm not sure where I put it. The dealership just put the back plate on when I took it in."
"Well, I'm going to give you a $101 ticket this morning. I've been seeing a lot of these lately and it's really getting to be a problem." A problem as in they need a better target to spot me with lidar.
"Oh, I didn't know it was such a big deal."
"It's not a big deal; it's the law."
"Oh I guess I wasn't aware that it was required."
"Show me your registration."
"OK..."
"Read what it says right there."
"Month and year sticker goes only on the back plate, but both front and rear license plates are required."
"Um, yeah. Guess I never noticed that before."
He goes back to his car with my license. He comes back a few minutes later, after determining that I am a very good boy. Well, at least my record says so! I've been very lucky...
"Well this morning I'm just going to give you a warning. But you need to put that plate on there, or next time you're going to get a ticket."
"OK, thanks." Buh bye...

He was actually very friendly about the whole thing, not giving me any attitude. But you can't argue with "front license plate required" printed right on the registration.

So I gave in and got one of those StrictlyZ brackets and reluctantly mounted my plate. Sigh...
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Old Aug 30, 2003 | 06:45 AM
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i have the Z-bracket on my CS Track and it works fairly well. The only complaint is that i have noticed my front licese plate becoming slightly warped around the corners after driving at high speed. (but then again, i don't like license plate frames)
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Old Aug 30, 2003 | 06:57 AM
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I got a plastic bracket and cable tied to the grill look at my avatar.
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Old Aug 30, 2003 | 09:27 AM
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i've been debating whether or not to get the strictlyz front plate adapter too. seems too much for $50... might just make one at home depot. what materials did u guys use and how much did everything cost?
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Old Aug 30, 2003 | 01:02 PM
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Originally posted by n8vz
i have the Z-bracket on my CS Track and it works fairly well. The only complaint is that i have noticed my front licese plate becoming slightly warped around the corners after driving at high speed. (but then again, i don't like license plate frames)
you care about your lecence plate gettting bent???? hehe...

i dont pay attention to mine if its bent or not... i dont have aframe on it... but my z bracket has seen over 130MPH so ill see if ts bent.. haha
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Old Sep 1, 2003 | 11:48 AM
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i'll probably zip-tie the plate to the stillen grille. kinda ghetto, but it'll work. i was gonna put the plate in between the stillen grille and the stock grille, but then i'd have to remove the bumper and its just too much of a hassle and because i'm lazy
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Old Sep 1, 2003 | 02:12 PM
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My sentiments exactly, at least until you come up with a better fix.
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Old Sep 2, 2003 | 01:16 PM
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MGL

What color's your Z? I'm on 4th and Clement (White). I always get a front license missing ticket...MBZ, NSX and Civic. For now I bought an aftermarket front license frame holder that goes on the front tow hook. No drilling. Bought it at Striclty Z for $ 50.
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Old Sep 2, 2003 | 01:37 PM
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hmm...i wonder what would happen if i put the plate "behind" the stock grill... i think when i get back to cali, this is what i will try until i get a ticket. =)
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Old Sep 2, 2003 | 02:57 PM
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Originally posted by tobydog
MGL

What color's your Z? I'm on 4th and Clement (White). I always get a front license missing ticket...MBZ, NSX and Civic. For now I bought an aftermarket front license frame holder that goes on the front tow hook. No drilling. Bought it at Striclty Z for $ 50.
i gotta ss.
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Old Sep 2, 2003 | 03:01 PM
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Originally posted by jboyyracer
hmm...i wonder what would happen if i put the plate "behind" the stock grill... i think when i get back to cali, this is what i will try until i get a ticket. =)
i tried that. the plate is too far back and is not visable. don't think that the cops will accept that as a legal way to display the front plate. the main thing that the policeman told me was that it has to be visable for the red-light-running cameras, so basically you can get a ticket if you run the red.
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Old Sep 2, 2003 | 05:41 PM
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Originally posted by mgl
i tried that. the plate is too far back and is not visable. don't think that the cops will accept that as a legal way to display the front plate. the main thing that the policeman told me was that it has to be visable for the red-light-running cameras, so basically you can get a ticket if you run the red.
And the REAL p***er about that is: motorcycles are exempt from front plates! So I guess they're exempt from the cameras as well!
What's up with that?
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Old Sep 3, 2003 | 09:51 AM
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You got pulled over by SFPD???? I thought they only hassled motorists if they had a body dragging under their car.
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