With a couple of steel pieces from Home Depot and a drill I somehow managed to mount the front license plate below the grille. The key is the black screws that hold the bottom sheet to the black plastic section under the grille.

Hopefully this mounting hasn't blocked the air-flow in a harmful manner.

 

Looks better than putting it over the grill for sure, I don't think you'll have any airflow issues with your plate there. I feel sorry for everyone that has to put a plate on the front of their 8, makes a mess out of that beautiful front end, thankfully they don't require a front plate in my province.

 

I'm supposed to have a front plate.... but I just never put it on. With a smashed and broken bracket in the trunk as a backup plan, I'll never need a front plate again! :D

 

Does Los Angeles require their cars to have a front plate?

 

Everywhere in CA requires a front plate.

 

Texas too...

 

I agree with ranger 4277. I was supposed to have a front plate on my Typhoon, but it ruined the look. I never put it on and never got stopped. I hope to have the same luck with the 8. I like the broken bracket idea!

 

Not to mention the advantages vis-a-vis photo radar. :D

 

I was so happy when I moved from VA to FL.....no more front license plate! It's the little things that make life worth living ;-)

 

Here in NY a front plate is required. I like the nose of my 2002 WRX (being replaced this winter by an 8) and because of that I just never put the plate on. I took the plate holder off, so if ever stopped (and I've been stopped twice) I could just shrug and say "wow, It must have fallen off recently....I'll get another one" It has not been a problem in the two years I've owned the car. I do not plan on putting one on my 8, either.

By the way.....I also have a couple of friends that own Ferraris. Neither of them has put their front plate on the car (God forbid they dessicrate that beautiful nose) and neither has had a problem......one has had his for over 10 years with no front plate.

Regards and happy 8-ing.

 

Man...

And yet I'm pulled over by Barney Fife in little Brodhead WI for no front plate on my Mountaineer.

 

Of course, if you have a Ferrari, the cop is going "WOW, a Ferrari!" and not looking for a front plate .

Everyone should come to Florida - no front plates, no emissions testing, no vehicle inspections, no snow .

I have seen Japanese cars with "flip" plate holders. At speed, the air force makes the plate flip horizonally into the nose of the car so it doesn't block airflow.

Dale

 

If I ever get pulled over, I doubt I'll even use the broken bracket excuse... I'll just pose the question to the nice officer "Would you put a plate on the front of this car??" His human side will sympathize and he'll agree, he will then sigh and dream of owning such a vehicle of his own.

I seriously think the plate on the front is overlooked on the 8 and other sporty looking cars just because they don't 'appear' missing when left off. There isn't an obvious flat area designed to accomodate the plate, It looks unnatural when it IS there. Last time I saw a ferrari drive by (360 Modena Spyder.. drool), I was too busy admiring the curves to notice any front plate. (even though time appeared to enter slow motion mode when it passed) About 5 minutes later I realized it had no plate. If it did have a plate I probably would have noticed right away since it would be a crime to have one on the front of that car.

 

Yet, you'll notice that approximately one in three cars you see on the road does not have a front plate attached (mine being one of them). :D

 

I wish I could say that it was true but on the last Ferrari Club of America drive event, the local CHP office handed out 63 No front plate tickets out of 67 cars. I was one of them.

 

That stinks, Matt.......talk about a cop with an attitude. So you traded your 308 for an 8, huh.

At a local Ferrari event out here on LI a few weeks ago a dozen or so F-cars gathered and put on about 100 miles with no incidents...admirers included an on-duty cop....but I guess it's a matter of playing the odds......we lucked out.

I'm curious....why trade the 308 for an 8? Not getting enough use out of the 308? Wanted a daily driver with no worries of engine out services?

I'm planning on my first F-car purchase in a year or two and I'm looking at later model Mondials, probably a 3.2......any thoughts? For me, the back seat is what will make my F-car worth the time and expense......wife and kids can share the excitement.....just like in an RX8!!!

 

The 308 was my daily driver but my commute went from 4 miles to 44 miles and the maintenance costs were rising. It needed a engine rebuild and I did not want to sink 12k into it. I will get another f-car in about a year or so. I am thinking about a 355.

I really like the Mondial's. the 3.2 are better then the plain 8 or even the 3.0 QV. Problem is that Ferrari tested a lot of new technology on the Mondial. The Valeo Transmission comes to mind. If you can swing it, I would opted for the 456. It has 4 seats and it is a v-12. The Mondial is really just a streched 328. All the additional weight makes it underpowered.

If you want additional info or thoughts, e-mail me @ mmlemus@yahoo.com

Matt

 

Put the plate on and do a freeway run in the late evening to pick up a good assortment of squashed bugs and *then* stow the plate and the 'broken' bracket - this will lend credence to your 'explanation' :D

 

Matt -

Nice 308......I really like the "understated" colors (azurro is another of my favs) a bit more than red.....and I hear you on the service bills. They are the real challenge to continued ownership.

Thanks for the advice offer....I'll keep it in mind. I know the Mondi's are a compromise....and are really considered to be "lesser" Ferraris, but they are also the best buy, bar none, IMO in the F-car world. The 456 is an amazing car, and a bit out of my "entry-level" price range. But perhaps for my second one.....

The first Ferrari I ever drove was a 95 355 Spider, blue/tan (my favorite model). I still get a racing heartbeat thinking about it. Good luck with yours.

How do you find the performance of your 308 compared to the RX8? I find the 3.2 Mondi to be similar in handling, but there is NOTHING like an 8 cyl cranking out at 8,000 rpms. The feeling from the rotary at 9K is a close second, though.

 

Ever since I lived in CA, (starting in 93), I had no front plate on any of my cars. I have a Ford Probe since 94 and I was never stopped yet for a missing front plate. Even my wife's Passat is without it (she told me she doesn't like the look and asked me to take it off). No problems so far (for the last 5 years with the Passat).
The Probe is another one of those cars that get their lines ruined with the front plate.

 

No front plate in AZ!

 

You're covering your front rotor! :O

 

As someone else said, they are required in California. The front plate of my 91 RX-7 convertible fell off at an amusement park about 2 years after getting the car (or was stolen?). Back then, I was averaging a speeding ticket every 6 months or so, and one cop commented once on the missing plate [I paid the fine, it's a 0 pointer]. I had the car parked on the street in front of my house for 2 years (the last of which was while waiting for the RX-8), and I get a ticket [again, I paid it, since DMV wouldn't just send me a single blue personalized plate, I would have to switch to the white ones].

I removed it from my 82 RX-7 about a year after getting the car, and never got hassled (got rid of that car in 98 after about 250K miles).

I just transfered this plate to the RX-8 (well, I transfered it to my last RX-8 and am waiting on the registration from DMV for the replacement car's), so we will see.

 

I remember a while back a neighbour on my street, a short quiet street you only drive on it if you live on it, he had an old beater parked on the street. He rarely drove it, no front plate bracket so he had the plate on the front dash. Within one week without driving the car he was ticketed twice for the front plate.

 

The front license plate is a money maker for cities that operate red light cameras. In order to issue the tickets, CA laws require the camera to capture driver's face plus front license plate. Without the front license plate, the cities can't issue the tickets. Therefore the city poiice will go after any car that don't have front license plate. Because they see you as a potential Xmas bonus.

How do I know all this? City of Beverly Hills explained it to me as I paid them the $350.00 red light ticket (It was yellow). FYI, one guy's case was toss out because he got hold a city document that showed city shorten the yellow light duration by 0.5 second after the camera was installed. It didn't apply me because it was at a different intersection.

City like Beverly Hills is notorious for going after missing license plate. My advice to those who want to fight the system in CA. If you get pull over for that and your front windows are tinted, roll roll them down quick. In most of cases, the cop will write you up the tinted windows violation too. That is pain in the A** to fix and costly too.