I've gone plateless up front for over a year, luckily without any hassles. Maybe because it seems like every other car here doesn't have any plates at all, new or not. But last month, right before taking a trip up the coastline, I figure I shouldn't push my luck. So I remembered a while back seeing Japanese Miatas with side-mounted front plates (another car that suffers from the teeth-in-mouth look). Then last year the EVO VIII came stock with a side-mounted plate, so I thought that piece might be worth playing with. So here goes <another> method to mount the RX-8 front license plate:

Mitsubishi parts needed:
#MN126768 garnish, fr license $22.76
#MS240581 bolt, fr bumper $0.86
#MU440009 nut, fr bumper $1.84

Other parts:
Galvanized steel ties (Home Depot, #LSTA18), for brackets
Sheet metal (12 x 6"), the backplate
Misc nuts and bolts (use whatever works):
#4-40x1/4" and #8x32x3/8" to attach brackets to backplate
1/4" x 3/4" to attach: cover + license plate + garnish + backplate

Optional:
WeatherTech ClearCover license plate frame $25

 

Front license mounting kit for Mitsubishi EVO VIII. You don't need everything in the picture, just the parts listed above. You can use any similarly-sized clip-nut + bolt, but since it was a good fit, I recommend it. Notice that the "garnish" comes with a strip of foam across the top so it doesn't scratch the paint.

 

Brackets and back plate. This will attach the plastic EVO garnish to the RX-8's airdam. I recommend drilling slotted holes in the brackets so you can adjust the height and tilt of the assembly once in place. The top row of holes on the backplate is for the license plate bolts, the 2nd row are for the garnish pegs. Note that the bottom holes for the WeatherTech cover haven't been drilled.

 

Clip nut in place on air dam, with hole drilled (this is the only modification to the car). The second picture shows the 2 existing air dam screws which I attached the lower end of the C-shaped bracket, and the angled L-bracket.

The three attachment bolts: note that one of the airdam bolts is shorter. Because of the added reached needed once the brackets are in place, I ended swapping this bolt with another longer one from the other side of the car.

 

C-bracket in place; then both brackets in place; brackets and backplate

 

EVO license mount in place, with and without plate.

 

Done, with WeatherTech frame attached (I know, in CA, covers not allowed, SHHH)

Pros:
- no more Bug Bunny front end
- no more fear of fix-it tickets
- doesn't block air intake
- no modification of a painted part
- comes off with easily (everything should unscrew with a 10mm hex wrench)
- doesn't mar front end
Cons:
- lose about an inch of ground clearance (careful with front curbs)
- still not as pretty as naked front end

I have since taken this off because the last reason, but plan on using it for road trips, or whenever I'm feeling cop paranoid ;-)

 

Good job!. Nice to see that there are other alternatives in mounting the front plate.
Cheers!

 

Thank you, I can't wait for the parts to come in.

 

How did the mod go? Where did you get your parts from? I am excited about this one!

 

What's the fine in Texas for not having a front plate?

 

i hate to be a wet blanket, but it looks kinda funny to me.

 

Just an interesting note. In the enduro race on Best Motoring International...there was a rather LARGE difference in water temps on the rx8 when they added the front license plate to the car. Of all the car's (with front plates added), the Evo had the least change in temps, due to the side mount (didn't block anything).

They had two sessions, one without plates, and one with plates. For those interested, check torrentspy and search for best motoring, and download the enduro race.

This mod significantly increases airflow to the radiator. (as opposed to having to run the front plate in the stock position)

 

I saw that BMI episode and I don't understand why it would help. The front plate on the RX-8 covers the faux front grill, not the air inlet at the bottom in front of the radiator. As far as I know, the front grill doesn't serve any purpuse in cooling.

I think the English commentator is mistaken. I attributed the temperature increase on the second session to Gan-san. That guy is very competitive!

 

I dont think this mode at all increases the airflow to the radiator, especially if your plate is the long type sitting as close to the upper edge of the front grille.

Take a closer look at your grille, a good half of the grille (on the upper half) is an enclose section.

 

Hey guys, I'm just quoting the show...you can see the increase for yourself, they documented it with a very complicated and expensive sensor system. There was definitely a temp difference between no front plate and a front plate on the rx8.

BMI: Enduro Race

 

Part of the front grille is open.

 

Better than the bugs bunny look. But with it off center like that it still looks goofy. I saw another post where Rotarty Rasp chopped the plate and put it in the center of the front air dam. Looked much better. Has anyone tried the EVO low-mount solution centered rather than off center? It seems like with some spacers we could still get sufficient airflow to the radiator.

 

Bump. This one is much nicer than the other thread where the plate is still mounted on the front grill.

 

i just did this relocation, but have only one picture so far:

 

Better pictures at the end of the gallery here.

For some reason, I can't post IMG tags in this thread, so I'm uploading the two daytime pics as attachments just in case.

 

i relocated mine off the car. looks great

 

Sorry to go against your efforts but it looks off center, out of balance, kind of like a dealers tag looks when you take it out for a ride and they just stick it on the car somewhere. IMHO!

 

lol

me too


I dont care how many tickets I get even though I have not got one ticket in over two years

 

Now you're just tempting fate.