Thin front number plates
Discussion
I'm going to swap my car onto my late Dad's plate, and wondered about stick on number plates for the front. Then, once I found out these are illegal, I changed my mind to the small thin ones you see on some TVRs, especially if they've come from Fernhurst?
Any ideas if these are ok with the Plod, and if so, where I can get them done?
Cheers!
Any ideas if these are ok with the Plod, and if so, where I can get them done?
Cheers!
Got a 3/4 size plate on the front of mine, helped cooling a bit, got it from FancyPlates a while back.
Not had any problem from plod but had to assure the man doing the MOT recently that I'd put the original one back one
Rich
Not had any problem from plod but had to assure the man doing the MOT recently that I'd put the original one back one
Rich
i got a small made to measure from www.fancyplates.com i haven't been stopped, but i do keep a legit one in the boot just in case. "i have the small on eon as i was having colling problems officer" or "i am just returning from a meet and forgot to replace the correct ones officer".
IIRC the offence of having a non-standard plate only carries a £30 fine - not endorsable.
IIRC the offence of having a non-standard plate only carries a £30 fine - not endorsable.
Sharky500 said:
I had mine done at Fernhursts. They use motor cycle size lettering. I have never once had a problem with Mr Plod.
Speak to Bryan Sutton at Fernhursts - think mine was £15+VAT.
Oh and by the way - it doesn't only look better. It also makes a significant improvement to cooling.
Speak to Bryan Sutton at Fernhursts - think mine was £15+VAT.
Oh and by the way - it doesn't only look better. It also makes a significant improvement to cooling.
Cool - thanks for this, I'll give them a buzz and get one through them, a little help with the cooling has got to be a good thing!!
Not wanting to cause a bun fight or anything 
but if you need to fit a smaller plate to keep the car cooler shouldn't you be looking in to why it is running hot in the first place?
Mine runs at 90C even on the hottest days with a regular sized plate,and perhaps even a little cool in the winter months.
If you are doing it for cosmetic purposes then fine, it's just the cooling thing the confuses me?
but if you need to fit a smaller plate to keep the car cooler shouldn't you be looking in to why it is running hot in the first place? Mine runs at 90C even on the hottest days with a regular sized plate,and perhaps even a little cool in the winter months.
If you are doing it for cosmetic purposes then fine, it's just the cooling thing the confuses me?
.Mark said:
Not wanting to cause a bun fight or anything but if you need to fit a smaller plate to keep the car cooler shouldn't you be looking in to why it is running hot in the first place?
Mine runs at 90C even on the hottest days with a regular sized plate,and perhaps even a little cool in the winter months.
If you are doing it for cosmetic purposes then fine, it's just the cooling thing the confuses me?
but if you need to fit a smaller plate to keep the car cooler shouldn't you be looking in to why it is running hot in the first place? Mine runs at 90C even on the hottest days with a regular sized plate,and perhaps even a little cool in the winter months.
If you are doing it for cosmetic purposes then fine, it's just the cooling thing the confuses me?
Fair enough point. However, to be pedantic (unavoidable when you're a Virgo)I didn't said it was running hot!
I did it for cosmetic reasons - I noticed all the Cerbs I saw at Ferhursts ran small plates, and I thought it made the Chim look much better by giving it a "bigger mouth". I have never had any cooling problems with my car, before or after I put on the new plate. It is just very clear that since having it on the car, it runs an indicated 5 degrees cooler in normal use, and cools down much more quickly if the engine has got hot (say in traffic) and then you get moving again. Fans come on less frequently too.
The fancy plates 3/4 size plate isn't silly small and is very good quality and very clear. I doubt you would get stopped for displaying one - might be differant if you get pulled over for another offence. I ran one on my Chim for 2 years and now have one on the Griff - never been pulled yet
Ian_Greaney said:
Yup!
Fancy plate's are very good, different designs / fonts possible.
See my profile pic for mine front No. plate.
Fancy plate's are very good, different designs / fonts possible.
See my profile pic for mine front No. plate.
That is one YELLOW machine! Sorry to hijack the thread, but have you any idea of the effect of your engine mods on power? That sounded kind of identical to my plans for mine - already got the chip.
Hi Sharky!
Well since The car already had the mods when I bought her I cannot "compare" before / after. She was originally owned by Steve T. the Surrey RO, so Im sure he can give a better indication. but, for some sort of comparison I have drove 2 500's before purchasing mine and they certainly were not as smooth running, and did not pull as strong from 1000 -5500 rpm. She just seems to behave better and want to go more!
At Chimfest 06 I had a couple of head to heads with 2 500's on dual carriageway can honestly say that had the upper hand on both occasions! (not sure who they were im afraid, and hope they dont take this the wrong way!).
Completely reliable, done 20000 miles in 17 months too! (only AFM failed)and cost £189.00.
Would recommend the mods as they do seem to enhance the car. IMHO.
Ian.
Well since The car already had the mods when I bought her I cannot "compare" before / after. She was originally owned by Steve T. the Surrey RO, so Im sure he can give a better indication. but, for some sort of comparison I have drove 2 500's before purchasing mine and they certainly were not as smooth running, and did not pull as strong from 1000 -5500 rpm. She just seems to behave better and want to go more!
At Chimfest 06 I had a couple of head to heads with 2 500's on dual carriageway can honestly say that had the upper hand on both occasions! (not sure who they were im afraid, and hope they dont take this the wrong way!).
Completely reliable, done 20000 miles in 17 months too! (only AFM failed)and cost £189.00.
Would recommend the mods as they do seem to enhance the car. IMHO.
Ian.
Sharky500 said:
Ian_Greaney said:
Yup!
Fancy plate's are very good, different designs / fonts possible.
See my profile pic for mine front No. plate.
Fancy plate's are very good, different designs / fonts possible.
See my profile pic for mine front No. plate.
That is one YELLOW machine! Sorry to hijack the thread, but have you any idea of the effect of your engine mods on power? That sounded kind of identical to my plans for mine - already got the chip.
I'm going from memory here, but pre-mods she was running quite lean at high rpms (not unheard of on a 5L car) and made ~250bhp, post mods a more healthy 285bhp. This is not by any means the full story though. The mods meant she'd pull cleanly through to 6k rpm, where previously she'd run out of puff after 5k. The injectors seemed to give better economy, although granted I never measured it exactly. She also started much easier after the mods and felt more responsive too. The mods were intended as a sensible base for further additions. The next likely steps being an ACT plenum and an uprated cam. Mapped ignition via OMEX was a further possibility.
It sounds like you've still not had to do the cam yet Ian!
I'm glad you're enjoying her and it's obvious she's being looked after properly. I suspect there might be some more grunt to be had when you eventually do. You might even be able to nudge into the 300 club ... 
Steve.
Edited by Steve_T on Monday 9th October 15:42
Gassing Station | Chimaera | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff