For those not living in FL, to regain the Mazda smiley face. It's found at Canadian Tire for Canuck 8 lovers and i will look up the details for anyone interested. The install is easy and no holes or unsightlies needed. The old one goes back np if you don't want to keep it.. I sprayed the bracket with undercoat and 3 top coats of satin black on the steel bracket. I fastened with ss fasteners and chrome acorn nuts. One has to be careful on parking curbs but it is worth it to me at least. Some I have heard keep the front plate on the dashboard and take the fine for not proper display of front plate. Ughh
will post pic later

 

what??

anyway, i think your talking about a bracket that allows you to mount the license plate on the bottom of the lip on the front bumper..

and it also looks like trash imho.

 

When I bought the car, it doesn't have holes at the front bumper. Anyway, I think it looks better without a license plate at the front of the car.

 

Exactly and I couldn't bring myself to drill any holes so this seemed to be a decent compromise.
I think it looks fine and the bracket barely shows until one is right on top of it imho

 

The license plate mounted low blocks the air flow into the radiator. There is little restriction in the original position.
You also have an increased risk of damage to it from curbs, poor roads and road debris.
While Dodge was racing in NASCAR in the 60's, they found that a recessed grill increases drag on the car. The license in the original position would reduce that drag.

 

i am amused by the attempt to mask the LP number

 

Thanks for the constructive critique to a new member here. I want the best for my car and I really do like her face without the LP plate stuck in her teeth but I don't live in FL anymore so that's that.

 

I'm using the Bell mounting bracket mentioned in this thread:
https://www.rx8club.com/exterior-app...t-ever-172424/

So far, so good.

 

Thanks for the link I will check it out.

I am curious those are not typical NY plates that I remember are they a
special issue?

 

^ No, NY is phasing out the old blue/white plates. The "goldish" & blue colors were used in the past. You can check out the history here:
State of the Plate: 100 Years of New York License Plate Designs -- Daily Intel

 

Glad to see more NY plates :D Im not alone.

Quick question, my plate came factory mounted in front of the radiator. Does this disturb airflow or cause performance issues?

It is currently off. I had to get that ugly **** off quick, not to mention I refuse to support the dealership that initially sold me this car. But I do eventually wanna have it on there.

 

No. The area behind the plate is blocked off anyway, just take a closer look.

 

Here's mine with the factory bracket.



And for those who said that having a license plate or not in the OEM position would not make a difference, Tamas... Take the time and watch this YouTube video!

 

Admittedly I didn't watch the video (too long, LOL), but the fact is that the area behind the license plate is blocked off, so I don't see how can the plate being mounted there cause a significant difference in air flow.
Now it is possible that with the OEM mount the plate extends a little bit more downwards and it blocks maybe a half inch more area that otherwise would be open. This may have some effect for a race car (like in the video?), but for a street car, having the plate there should not result in any noticeable difference in the air flow.
As far as the look, there will definitely be a difference
So I don't have the plate mounted there either (or anywhere in the front, for that matter), but it's not because it would block the air.