MarkW

Im looking to get some plates made up for the car for "Show use only" :D , and you can have a slogan at the bottom.

Any suggestions for a good topical slogan for the bottom of the plate, or is that too Max Power and should I just leave it blank.

I was thinking I could advertise the forum and have "www.rx8forum.co.uk" at the bottom (or should that be www.rx8club.com now), or something like "Rotary Power".

There is a plate builder here where you can mess with your own design......

http://www.gtgrafix.com/newOrders/gtPlateBuilder.htm

morganrogers

I have yet to find ANYWHERE that will still make 'show plates' (not for road use - yadda yadda).

Does this place actually do them ? I dont want anything mega , but I would like my plate 'spaced' a little. Just a half gap between the RX and the B (e.g. instead of "RXB" I would like "RX B")

Will they actually do it ?

Morgan.

PS - I am having "No Rotor - No Motor" on the little slogan !

MarkW

I bought 'show' plates from these guys before, as I had a private plate on my previous Impreza that had 'non-standard' spacing.

The plates were good and arrived quickly in the post.

The also do some other fonts which have a more normal looking 'B'.

As a side issue, when I originally ordered from them I used my debit card and noticed too late they didnt have a secure server and my card number was transmitted openly.

A couple of weeks later I was subject to card fraud, and had £3000 taken out of my current account, which I got refunded after a few weeks.

Im not saying the two incidents are related, but I always now double check that websites are secure before sending any details.

AnilS

I used a company called Impact Signs in Manchester (0161 9299594). This was done over the phone, purchased using my credit card.

A5 RXB is on show plates, front is rectangle and rear is square, although I think the rear would be better rectangle also.

No slogans, the car will do its own talking.

AnilS.

Topic

Call me thick but what exacly is a "show plate". I would like one of those plates with RXB at the end, any recomendations where to purchase from as I have never had a private plate before.

I was at the Preview show at the Heritage Motor Museum at Gaydon and met Anils & Family. I have now joined the forum and become a "forum anorak" every night but this is my first real post.

MarkW

Hi Topic,

Best place to buy plates is the DVLA - www.dvla-som.co.uk , you should be able to pick one up for £250 all in, or £500 if it is a '1' plate or a new style one.

Be wary of other companies advertising plates, as all they do is go and buy it from the DVLA for you and add on their margin.

The rules for number plates tightened up last year and you can now only have one font and size, and thename of the supplier must be on the plate.

There are a number of companies who will make you up plates as you want them with different fonts/logos etc, but there are not strictly legal for road use so they get round it by calling them show plates. i.e. plates you put on your car to exhibit it at a show whilst not on the public highway etc.

Hope this helps. Have you ordered yet?

Mark

AnilS

Hi Topic, nice to meet you at Gaydon and welcome aboard the Forum.

MarkW is right about purchasing through the DVLA. My plate (A5 RXB) was another £120 from elsewhere. To buy from the DVLA is very straightforward and easy, so much so I've just bought a plate for my dad (his birthday). His plate also had a mark up other sites.


AnilS.

sixspeed

If you really want something different, I'm trying to see if there's someone that can get hold of Japanese-style plates. Would be good for shows, but definately a no-no for the road!

There are some nice plate designs over in Japan. They have these backlit plates, that glow Electro-Luminescently at night :D

http://www.tigerdude.com/japan/license/premium.html


Ok, a bit Max Power, but having said that it is the legal plate design in Japan. So if you want to get something for shows/meets and give your car an authentic Japanese look, then it could be fun. Just got to find someone that can make them up now. And being a show plate of course, you could have anything written on it


-andy-

rich606

Great idea!!

Mark thanks for the link! Am now proud owner of B8 RXB!!

Bargain price too when you think how much the accessories are going to cost us.

Has anybody had any problems with slightly tinkered "show plates"??

18ME

A few years back when the MR2 Roadster first came out, I put Japanese style writing (that looked like swords joining the numbers and letters) on it reading W5 MRE and I had a Lexus IS200 Sport at the time with S5 MRE with the same typeface.

I thought 2 cars looked good at the time both being Jap cars, new and with fancy writing.
It didn't take long before I got pulled though, first the Lexus but the police officer just wanted to have a look at the car but the second time in the MR2 was a miserable git and told me to swap them over straight away.
Looking back though it was a bit gimmicky.:D

copperband

On a similar point does anyone know the legalities on "short "plates, ie for those of us with just 5 digits on the plate Is it legal to have the letters and no.s in the correct font and size but simply displayed on a shorter length plate?

For anyone that saw the 350Z on top gear that featured "shrort "plates IIRC.

Ed

18ME

This is my plate which is totally legal, made by Signum cut to the size that I wanted.

As long as the spacing and the font is the right size you can any size you want. Mine is 400mm wide but could have been less if I didn't have the euro sign and I think the std size is 520

Topic

Thanks for the help MarkW & AnilS. I shall be purchasing from the DVLA on Thursday. Favourite is M13 RXB.

M - Martin / Michele (Wife) / Mazda
13 - Date of birth / lucky number
RXB - Really Xellent Beast

Any more suggestions?

Ordered car over internet. See below.

MarkW

My previous Impreza was a limited edition called a "UK300", and I bought the plate "M30 OUK"

I had the plate in the pic below made up by gtgrafix and it is smaller than a standard plate as you can see, and the spacing is 'slightly' incorrect :D

RobDickinson

Its easy to find out the legalities of numberplates , but there they are :

Height ........................................... .................79mm
Width (except the figure 1 or letter l).............50mm
Stroke............................................ .................14mm
Space between characters.............................11mm
Space between groups...................................33mm
Top, bottom and side margins (minimum)........11mm
Space between vertical lines...........................19mm

My (possible) R6RTY comes in at a minimum width of 338 instead of the normal 520 width.

copperband

Rob,

I found those dimensions as well but it doesn't refer to a plate size legality so presumably from what others have said here a "shorty" is perfectly legal.

18 and Mark - nice cars and plates guys

Ed

cw007

Well just to add to the variety.

My neighbour's mate has a suzuki 900 cc bike with a license plate under the rear seat that is only 1 inch in height and 5 inches in length. You cant read it from 20 feet away let along 100 feet.

He constantly gets pulled over, the way he looks at it.

30 quid spot fine for getting pulled over (worst case) than a ban for speeding as he does that reguarly. Personally hes a 21 year old a$£ehole.

18ME

I suppose that's the risk people take, especially on bikes.

morganrogers

Well - I ordered my 'show plates' from GTGrafix - will post how they come out , I am hoping they will be here tomorrow.

I am posting to warn you all that you must have documented proof ready. What will happen is that once you place your order , they will request a copy of the proof of ownership. Whether a logbook (as if ! ) , or the certificate of entitlement to a plate that I guess we all have (RXB club).

You can scan and e-mail , fax or post a copy of this to them , but they will not despatch your plates until they have that proof. It is the law , even with show plates (which are obviously not for road use).

One final point is that they will use the 'old' font if you want. The difference here is that the letter B on the new font has little sticks top and bottom , whereas the old one does not. Worth a thought.

Also - get thinking what text you are going to have at the bottom ! Will post pics when they arrive.

Morgan.

MarkW

Nice one Morgan ,

I'll wait to see what yours look like before I order mine now then!

Did you get the standard type, or the 3D effect or Carbon one?

morganrogers

Standard font - i.e. black. (but 'old' style)

I didn't actually want a funky font that will not be picked up on a speed camera or anything , but I did want the font that is displayed by 90% of the cars on the roads ! i.e. before the horrible 'times new roman' type font came in !
I struggle to see why this should now be illegal to be honest. I understand that max-power types should not be allowed joined up writing and the like but current controls seem a little tight - particularly when you take into account the amount of cash the government have made flogging us all the damn plates in the first place ! ! !

Did go for message at the bottom though !

MarkW

Got yer plates yet Morgan?

Goose

I ordered mine on Friday and they arrived yesterday. I'm very happy! They 'massaged' the spacing of the letters for me, and even cut off the tails on the B for me, so i have 'legal' lettering!

I went for a message on the bottom of my last set from there, then wished i hadn't, so didn't bother this time!

Just got the red border to match my red motor.

They didn't request proof of ownership from me though, i just did it over the phone. Now i'm just missing one little thing................!

morganrogers

Yep - Got plates.

Sorry - have been meaning to post a piccy of them.
They have not come out badly - not sure about the sapcing but they certainly did not have the little sticky-outy bits on the B.

Will photo them and post tonight !

Prompt service too.

cw007

how much for the plates?


do you intend to use them everyday or not?