That would be me. The off-center plate looks like crap to me - totally throws the visual look of the car off balance IMHO. That said, I tihnk the tow-hook plate mount is a WONDERFUL and clever idea for those that don't want to drill their bumper - it's just not a look I like.

There's one two hook in your tool kit - check where the battery is for a black foam box - inside are some tools and a tow hook. The foam block looks like padding for the battery, but it opens up. If you want spares (for the rear, perhaps) Outmotoring sells the OEM ones, which look great when "dipped" in rubberized tool handle paint:

http://outmotoring.com/mini_cooper_tow_hook.html

 

Thank you for the info! Now I'm afraid to spend $50 on something that can be unscrewed from the exterior of my car

 

I can understand that. In my case, that is also the beauty of it since you can just remove it whenever you want and have no plate and no holes. I normally just run no front plate, haven't really been bugged by cops about it even though I live near a large sherriffs dept. office and have multiple cruisers go by the other direction each day.

I mainly slap on the no-holes mount if I know I will be parking in a city/downtown type area for an extended time. Have to worry about those **** metermaid types cruising for cash. Another time I install it is if I am on a mini run with lots of other minis (highway patrol tends to like to target big groups like that and look for minor infractions)

 

I don't like the toe hook mount..it looks out of place. The plates need to be in the middle. just my take.

 

And that's an EXCELLENT point... I really do salute the designer of this solution for "thinking outside the box" - it's a great idea. It's just not the look I like.

PS - I'm eagerly awaiting my Euro front plate - now THAT's how a MINI should look!

 

I agree - right in the middle!

 

I got a ticket a while back and need to put one on to get it checked off. I don't want to drill and keep the plate on so the velcro might be a good idea. My question is does the velcro come off withoutdamaging the paint?

 

i just got tired of cops pulling me over so mounted mine earlier this year.
this is using the factory mount for the aero kit. it actually doesn't look
too bad imho as long as you dont have a lot of things on the front-end.

i found that it looks better when your front is simple.

pict taken yesterday:


earlier pict:

 

No, it's just adhesive. Probably not even as difficult to remove all the residue as a typical sticker would be. Anyway, this solution still works for me...




Ken... it almost looks like we have the same wheels -?

 

I was pulled over for speeding a few weeks back and was also cited for NO FRONT PLATE. My choices were to present my vehicle to the court 'repaired' or pay a steep fine. Not wanting to give the City of Plano any more than I had to, I opted to make the 'repair'.

My first thought was to get one of those 'No-Holes' license plate brackets that plugs into the tow hook hole (thanks again for all the offers for loaners). This is still an option that I am considering, but with the pending fines and court fees, I felt I should wait until those were paid first.

So I decided to mount my OEM bracket. The only problem is that in order to mount it, you must drill into your front bumper. Not an option.

Well, after messing around with some basic hardware parts, I was able to make a low-cost solution that keeps my bumper in tact. Here were my steps:

First, I noticed that the OEM bracket came with little hooks on the back. After playing around with the fitting, I noticed that they actually hooked onto the lower part of the upper grill:


That solved the top part of the bracket. In order to mount the bottom part (which was supposed to be screwed into the bumper), I needed a few parts from the hardware store. No more than $4-5.


Step 1: Soft Fitting. With some masking tape, I did a soft fitting of the parts to see how everything worked together:


Step 2: Marking The Bracket. While it was still on the bumper, I marked the position of the 'L-Shaped' brackets to help with mounting.


Step 3: Fine Tuning. During my soft fit, I notice that the 'L-Shaped' brackets were at the wrong angle. With some pliers and a little bit of elbow grease, I was able to adjust them to the right angle (Pictured below is one at the original angle and one at the new angle).


Step 4: Mount the Brackets. With some small screws, I fastened the 'L-Shaped' brackets to the OEM license plate bracket.


Step 5: Black Out. Not wanting the shinny chrome of the parts to show, I decided to spray some flat black paint onto the exposed parts. I did this to all the mounting hardware as well. Be patient and let everything dry, or you'll be touching everything up after mounting.


Step 6: Protect the Bumper (Optional). I'm not sure if this will be a temp solution or not. Either way, I didn't want the bumper scratched by the backside of the OEM license plate mount. I had some old weather stripping in the garage, so I used it:


Step 7: Final Mount. Using the painted toggle bolts, I was able to mount the bottom of the OEM license plate bracket to the bumper by running them through the lower grill. Here I've positioned the toggles vertically behind the 'L-Shaped' brackets:


From the front, most folks won't be able to see the mounting brackets.


There you go. I'm not sure if it'll stay like this, but it got me through the inspection.

I'm sure there are better, faster, cheaper ways to do this, but given my lack of mechanical skills, I thought this was a pretty good solution.

Thanks for reading.

 

yah, i think we do! nice taste.

 

i dont understand these no-holes plates. you're going to have a plate
on your car anyway, just use the factory bracket... no?

unless your car is a show-car/race car and need to remove that thing
often for watever reason.

 

Thanks for the support!

One clarification, we are more than the sales agent. We are the original developer. Our machine shop friends took a couple of tries to get that thread right.

Stainless is good (to vary a quote from Faber College statue)