Don't mount the plate.

My Elan, TT Supra and Elise: all no front plate.

Never got a ticket. Stopped maybe 2-3 times in 20+ yrs.

Hidden advantage: You can sometimes talk police into citing you for a lesser infraction, such as blocked vision (radar detector) and...no frt plate.

 

... Hidden advantage: You can sometimes talk police into citing you for a lesser infraction, such as blocked vision (radar detector) and...no frt plate.

Intruiging supposition. Trade a speeding violation for a c-note front plate ticket. Mucho savings and even more fun if you challenge and have the ticket discharged by a court! Food for thought.

... Just get the transparent mega hold Velcro and stick it on for daily use, off for special occasions.

Been doing that for 3 years. Its ugly, the front plate looks like it was in a WWII battle, and it is, in fact, illegal here in the Garden State. After waiting for Lotus to ship new rear clams for a year, and finally obtaining a rebuilt one from Sector 111, I'm just glad to be able to drive it again. And sans front plate, looking better than ever.

 

I had the registration on my Acura permanently revoked for no front plate in the state of Iowa. Request for a trial was denied. Didn't matter that I put the front plate on, I could not renew the plates in my name. Just get the transparent mega hold Velcro and stick it on for daily use, off for special occasions.

 

Was that a first offense? If so, they're crazy in Iowa.

 

In NH, no front plate is a "Misuse of plates" violation, which is 2 points on your license and whatever fine they choose to throw at you.

 

The doorjam(sp?) has a sticker that says the car has a front bumper exemption, so therefore it would not meet the requirements for you to properly mount a plate because the front end wasn't designed for it.

 

Good point. Only I do not have the cohones to ask an officer of the law to get on his knees and decipher a sticker. Though it would be a fun photo and worth a tongue-lashing.

 

http://www.lotustalk.com/forums/f157/picture-question-blackwatch-racing-front-plate-mount-exige-84700/

Don't know if this is still available, but you could pretty easily fabricate if not. Advantage is you can set the height to be a "pre-scraper" if you want, doesn't require holes, minimal airflow blockage, and used it for 3 years never had an issue. Plus, the statute says must "hang"; it doesn't say the bottom must be, or the top must be, and as the mounting point is not less than 12 inches...

 

driving in the snow?


https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=XqZUWKAJ_ok

 

That's not driving in the snow! This is driving in the snow...

http://youtu.be/-Dkys6csRws

 

make it temporary

When I resided in NH (28 years) I would attach the front plate to the grill of my Elan with paper clips for inspection purposes. Once home again, I would take the plate off. I kept in in the boot and if I was ever stopped, I would tell the member of NH law enforcement community that it had fallen off and I was going to re-attach it when I got home. Never found out if this would work as I was never stopped. I now live in a state that doesn't require front license plates - yay!

 

Calling any NJ probono lawyers ...

For what it's worth... I haven't had any issue in New York Tri-state area because of a missing front plate (over 7 years of ownership).

I was once threatened with a ticket for having the coolest car the Police had seen all day at a checkpoint ... but no mention of missing license plate

 

... I was once threatened with a ticket for having the coolest car the Police had seen all day at a checkpoint ... but no mention of missing license plate

Good story of police with humor. It's a tough job.

"And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made;" +1 on your literary sig. line.

 

In Massachusetts they have 'green' and 'red' letter plates. Green letter is one rear plate, red letter means both front and rear plates need to be displayed. Green letter plates are 'grandfathered' in when they changed over to red letter. The green letter plates can be failed at inspection if they cannot be read for a distance of 60 yards. I see green letter plates that can hardly be read yet somehow these cars still get a sticker. If a green letter plate is failed at inspection you have to go to the motor vehicle and have it replaced with the red letter plates, there is no charge.

OXYMORON... make up your mind Massachusetts... one plate or two? I was pulled over by a State Trooper with my Esprit over my rear license plate frame covering the 'state logo' When I told the cop I had the same frame on the front he told me they didn't care about the front plate. :scratchhead: I thought they used the front plate to bounce radar? He told me the frame cut down on the plates reflective quality's at night.

My '74 Triumph Spitfire has been registered in CT, MA, and NY with no front plate for 28 years. I keep it behind the drivers seat and if pulled over my excuse is it cuts the flow of air to the radiator and the engine runs hot. I put it on for inspection with zip-ties and after the inspection I remove it.

One local cop told me to bolt it 'to the hood' :facepalm

Was running the Esprit without the front plate, keep it under the bonnet. If I get pulled over I will apologize and say I removed it for a charity car show because people were taking pictures and forgot to put it back on. I can do it right there in front of him. -poke-

 

I have been driving around NJ daily in Exiges since 2006. 0 tickets for no front plate. I did get a few warnings (the paper kind). I do have copies of the statute, and copies of the Federal DOT safety exemptions laminated and I hand the pile of paperwork to the officers when they pull me over (with key sections highlighted and annotated). Most don't know what to make of any of it or how to handle it so they typically just let me go, or if they are really annoyed with the stack of paperwork give me a ticket for my window tints. (that only happens in the cold months as I have the windows up, all 3 other seasons they are down)
My other benefit is having the ChaseCam in the car and turned on at all times. I am super polite and cooperative with the officers, but if they have their panties in a bunch I inform them that they are being recorded, I cannot turn the camera off, and the video is being sent to a remote location wirelessly. Most simply (and silently thereafter) hand me my paperwork back and leave. Most police that act like they should be acting review the paperwork, run my license and warn me that I should have a plate on the car. That's about it.

 

NJ statute 39:3-33. The owner of an automobile which is driven on the public highways of this State shall display not less than 12 inches nor more than 48 inches from the ground in a horizontal position, and in such a way as not to swing, an identification mark or marks to be furnished by the division; ...


Maryland has similar language. The word that throws me is that it must be in a horizontal position. I must be reading it wrong, but shouldn't it be in a VERTICAL position?

 

NJ statute 39:3-33. The owner of an automobile which is driven on the public highways of this State shall display not less than 12 inches nor more than 48 inches from the ground in a horizontal position, and in such a way as not to swing, an identification mark or marks to be furnished by the division; ...





Maryland has similar language. The word that throws me is that it must be in a horizontal position. I must be reading it wrong, but shouldn't it be in a VERTICAL position?

I think it means the plate must be horizontal and not rotated 90 degrees.


Sent from AutoGuide.com Free App

 

I'm not going to argue the fine letters of the law, but if I had a real issue with aggressive front plate enforcement maybe I'd go this route: "Really officer?... you saw no plate?... Let's have a look... Hmmm, maybe you were just distracted by the awesomeness of the car..." V V V

[ame]http://www.amazon.com/Electric-Powered-License-Plate-Frame/dp/B001TLLZ4E[/ame] < here's a link

I honestly don't know if it can work with a Lotus (probably not) but it would be interesting to see if it could be done.

 

NY Statue

hey everyone, just bought an exige over the weekend. Anyone have the NY statute stating the license plate requirements. Want to put a copy in the car because i refuse to mount a plate on the front.

 

hey everyone, just bought an exige over the weekend. Anyone have the NY statute stating the license plate requirements. Want to put a copy in the car because i refuse to mount a plate on the front.

Just show the cop the driver's door jam where it says there's a bumper exemption. No bumper, no mounting area for the plate.

 

jdell67,

A bit of online detective work. First find the NY statute on licence plates. Once you have the number, search. Print out, and if the Lotus cannot conform, keep a copy in the boot.

Doubt if local police will have a clue and may issue a summons. A NY State Trooper may, though I think it's 50/50. Fight it in court if you have the time and $.

May still lose. Avoid attorneys unless you want to make a point. Hard and can be expensive fighting the State.

 

Thanks RPetry,
Ill try and find the info online and re-post it if successful.

 

^^^
Depends on your state's statute. Read the law, it is actually understandable in some states.

In N.J., there is no way to be compliant, front license plate or not. Catch-22. Go ahead and Live Free or Die.

 

Assuming that the wording i grabbed from above is the correct NJ law, how is it not possible to comply?
NJ statute 39:3-33. The owner of an automobile which is driven on the public highways of this State shall display not less than 12 inches nor more than 48 inches from the ground in a horizontal position, and in such a way as not to swing, an identification mark or marks to be furnished by the division; ...

The only piece of that I can see as close to not complying is if the 12" rule means 100% of the plate, and that's a pretty shaky argument. Horizontal means it can't be tilted forward or back (no hiding it leaning into a grill), so just make sure it's mostly perpendicular to the ground. Honestly, any cop is going to laugh at you if you give the excuse "I couldn't comply 100% to the wording of the law so I didn't put it on at all".

Most of your argument seems to be that the plate makes the car look worse. Which is fine, but don't argue that making the car look worse means you can't legally mount it. If you don't like it, don't mount it and accept that getting a ticket is probable. If you don't like tickets, find one of the dozens of ways people have mounted them on these cars.

Ours is mounted as shown. Plate sits just higher than the lowest bit of the clam, but low enough that there is zero impact on the coolant temps. Removes in 30 seconds, and doesn't look completely horrible.

 

I was pulled over once and for no front plate and at the time I didn't know to try to use the "bumper exemption" until one other member here brought it up. I had no way to mount it as I told the popo, so he said to zip tie it to the front grille. Of course, my coolant temps went up because the plate was blocking so much of the airflow. I had it signed off then I removed it. Idiot popo.

 

Cegan,

As a mechanical engineer, and your experience with an Elise, kindly answer the question. Is my 2nd photo of a legal front license plate for NJ restricting airflow to the radiator or not?

No more tit for tat. Go look at the NJ statutes, they are online for your perusal. Your mounting is not legal in NJ. It is not "wiggle room", it is the law.

Enough of this. It is a simple question.

 

Is it restricting airflow? Yes, any surface area covered is a restriction. Is it restricting enough to make a difference? No. Mounted like that should not meaningfully reduce air to the radiator, or cause your car to overheat, or come close to overheating. Will you see a change? Maybe. The average temps may rise a degree or two.

I spent my 5 minutes looking. Everything I found says "must be mounted a minimum of 12" from the ground and a maximum of 48" from the ground" with zero clarifying text to say what part of the plate they are measuring from. That's the "wiggle room" I meant. If they don't specifically call out where the measurement is from, you can say the top edge is 12" from the ground and therefore inside the letter of the law. I don't care to look further because A)I don't live in NJ, and B)no cop is going to stop you, and measure it. As long as it's mounted clearly, you're going to be fine.

I think we've successfully built a mountain out of this. I tried to help.

 

In Cali some police are just looking to pull you over for something. So I mounted mine with a snap fitting. No problems with heat. And its removable.