Got my plates, and knowing the kind of luck I have with traffic cops, I decided to put my front plate on. I also knew I wasn't going to put it at the prescribed location, that just looks horrible to me. 'Sol Deep' posted a couple of pics way back where he lowered his by turning the bracket upside down, so I decided to give it a try, and document the process so others can make up their own mind.
Those who have been here awhile have discussed front plates ad infinitum, so in the interest of keeping this thread on topic, and saving you new guys some typing, I am going to prepost the most typical responses.
1. "Thank God I live in a state without front plates!" [Yes, I'm jealous.]
2. "I could never mess up the front of my Solstice with a plate!" [Good luck with your choice, I respect it.]
3. "I think it looks stupid" [Then don't do it]
4. "Bob Lutz says if you move the plate one inch, the car will blow up" [Wait till mine blows up, then say 'I told you so']
5. "If I get pulled over I'll lie to the officer/seduce the officer/run from the officer" [Once again, good luck with all that!
]
With that out of the way, here's the first pic
^An electric jig saw made quick work of the upper inserts. I suggest you don't do this until you have test fitted, as cutting off the wrong ones would suck.
^At least these are the holes I used. It might be possible to use the ones underneath, but they seemed undersized and extra tight, so I went with the ones I marked.
^Here is the bracket inserted upside down from the original orientation. (narrow portion of middle groove up)
^ Only the top 1/4" or so of the two sided tape contacts the car. I went ahead and peeled back the tape about a half inch and let it stick, because I figured it was better for the bracket to be stuck to the finish instead of flopping up against it.
^ Side view
^ This looks a little wierd, as the back of the plate is reflecting the fence beyond.
As you can see, the bottom of the plate is about level with the top of the air dam. I really don't think it will block air from the radiator, plus it allows more air in through the grilles than the stock installation. However, I will monitor coolant temperature and post here if I see any difference.
Here's Emmaline with her new tags.
Allright guys, there you go. Seems firmly mounted. Don't think I'll have any problem with it coming off. Only worry is what will happen if you push the plate over a parking curb, and then back up. Of course, we should all be getting pretty practiced at stopping short of parking curbs, as low as this car is.
