Absolute minimum size for a front plate?
Discussion
What's the absolute bare minimum size I can get away with for a front plate? My Griff runs 15 degrees cooler without one and I want to run with the absolute minimum restriction to the airflow that I can...
Does the plate have to be completely solid too? Daft question I know but every little bit of airflow helps!
Does the plate have to be completely solid too? Daft question I know but every little bit of airflow helps!
Depends on your reg.
The size of the plate isn't specified. The size of the text is.
Plus you have to have a minimum of an 11mm border around the text (pretty sure its 11)
so if your reg was A1 for instance your plate could be pretty small.
I cut my front plate down a bit for the same reason. Better Cooling
The size of the plate isn't specified. The size of the text is.
Plus you have to have a minimum of an 11mm border around the text (pretty sure its 11)
so if your reg was A1 for instance your plate could be pretty small.
I cut my front plate down a bit for the same reason. Better Cooling
Edited by twin40s on Tuesday 7th August 18:15
peterguk said:
Perfect... Just a shame I've already cut the absolute maximum off 
It may seem an odd question but does the plate have to be solid?
Solid?
When my old man used to run Elan's ( which had the same cooling characteristics as a Griff ), he stuck just the letters onto the grill. The age of the car was such that he could have white letters on a black grill.
A griff is too new for that, but if you painted a white rectangle on the grill the same size as the plate is meant to be, and have black letters on that, as long as it is clear and easy to read you have met the spirit of the law, and have max cooling.
Otherwise, go for the sticker on the bonnet option ( altho I am sure read somewhere, possible on here, that was not legal either )
Sorry for typing errors, long day followed by long drink......
When my old man used to run Elan's ( which had the same cooling characteristics as a Griff ), he stuck just the letters onto the grill. The age of the car was such that he could have white letters on a black grill.
A griff is too new for that, but if you painted a white rectangle on the grill the same size as the plate is meant to be, and have black letters on that, as long as it is clear and easy to read you have met the spirit of the law, and have max cooling.
Otherwise, go for the sticker on the bonnet option ( altho I am sure read somewhere, possible on here, that was not legal either )
Sorry for typing errors, long day followed by long drink......
A question for the bib or anyone who knows the answer.
It states in that leaflet that you cannot change the spacing of the letters. Ie. LLNN LLL to LLN NLLL or old style LNNL LL to LN NLLL yes.
How would you know what the spacing is meant to be. I know it would be quite obvious on the new style plates. But say i did have a reg M1 2JK and i changed that to M12 JK how would you know at the side of the road that its not meant to be like that?
Also if i did close the letters slightly then how would you tell, would anybody actually measure?
It states in that leaflet that you cannot change the spacing of the letters. Ie. LLNN LLL to LLN NLLL or old style LNNL LL to LN NLLL yes.
How would you know what the spacing is meant to be. I know it would be quite obvious on the new style plates. But say i did have a reg M1 2JK and i changed that to M12 JK how would you know at the side of the road that its not meant to be like that?
Also if i did close the letters slightly then how would you tell, would anybody actually measure?
Quinny said:
vonhosen said:
Your plate must comply to BS AU145d standard.
Not quite as black and white as that Von.The regs state that all vehicles registered after 1st Sept 2001 must comply with, and display the BS AU145d Standard.
This standard also applies if you've actually bought a new set of plates to go on an older car.
But if you're still using your old plates on a car registered before 1st Sept 2001, they must comply with the old regs which didn't have the requirement for the BS mark.
This is a copy of the regs
Vehicle Number Plates. New Style Number Plates. A new number plate format was introduced on 1 September 2001.
At the same time new regulations took effect governing design, manufacture and display of number plates. The regulations introduce a standard typeface, making it easier
for number plates to be read. The change applies to the plates
of vehicles registered from 1 September 2001 and to all replacement plates issued from that date.
Quinny said:
vonhosen said:
Your plate must comply to BS AU145d standard.
Not quite as black and white as that Von.The regs state that all vehicles registered after 1st Sept 2001 must comply with, and display the BS AU145d Standard.
This standard also applies if you've actually bought a new set of plates to go on an older car.
But if you're still using your old plates on a car registered before 1st Sept 2001, they must comply with the old regs which didn't have the requirement for the BS mark.
This is a copy of the regs
Vehicle Number Plates. New Style Number Plates. A new number plate format was introduced on 1 September 2001.
At the same time new regulations took effect governing design, manufacture and display of number plates. The regulations introduce a standard typeface, making it easier
for number plates to be read. The change applies to the plates
of vehicles registered from 1 September 2001 and to all replacement plates issued from that date.
) to spot that 
I was wondering if there's anything in the standard that specifies how solid the plate must be as any additional airflow I can create will help. TBH I think I've already done everything I can even down to maximising the bend radii.
The Griffalo said:
Quinny said:
vonhosen said:
Your plate must comply to BS AU145d standard.
Not quite as black and white as that Von.The regs state that all vehicles registered after 1st Sept 2001 must comply with, and display the BS AU145d Standard.
This standard also applies if you've actually bought a new set of plates to go on an older car.
But if you're still using your old plates on a car registered before 1st Sept 2001, they must comply with the old regs which didn't have the requirement for the BS mark.
This is a copy of the regs
Vehicle Number Plates. New Style Number Plates. A new number plate format was introduced on 1 September 2001.
At the same time new regulations took effect governing design, manufacture and display of number plates. The regulations introduce a standard typeface, making it easier
for number plates to be read. The change applies to the plates
of vehicles registered from 1 September 2001 and to all replacement plates issued from that date.
) to spot that I was wondering if there's anything in the standard that specifies how solid the plate must be as any additional airflow I can create will help. TBH I think I've already done everything I can even down to maximising the bend radii.
If I'm considering reporting you for an illegal plate, I'll look at everything I can to do with it
Edited by vonhosen on Tuesday 7th August 23:22
vonhosen said:
The Griffalo said:
Quinny said:
vonhosen said:
Your plate must comply to BS AU145d standard.
Not quite as black and white as that Von.The regs state that all vehicles registered after 1st Sept 2001 must comply with, and display the BS AU145d Standard.
This standard also applies if you've actually bought a new set of plates to go on an older car.
But if you're still using your old plates on a car registered before 1st Sept 2001, they must comply with the old regs which didn't have the requirement for the BS mark.
This is a copy of the regs
Vehicle Number Plates. New Style Number Plates. A new number plate format was introduced on 1 September 2001.
At the same time new regulations took effect governing design, manufacture and display of number plates. The regulations introduce a standard typeface, making it easier
for number plates to be read. The change applies to the plates
of vehicles registered from 1 September 2001 and to all replacement plates issued from that date.
) to spot that I was wondering if there's anything in the standard that specifies how solid the plate must be as any additional airflow I can create will help. TBH I think I've already done everything I can even down to maximising the bend radii.
If I'm considering reporting you for an illegal plate, I'll look at everything I can to do with it
Edited by vonhosen on Tuesday 7th August 23:22
I think it's the original plate as it had the supplying dealers badge on it before I went mad with the hacksaw
Were 20 mm letters legal in 1996?
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