Installing front license plate without drilling

Ok, so my CA plates came in the mail and the front bracket is not installed on the car. It was sitting in plastic wrap in the trunk. I wish I had had my dealer install it. Anyone have any experience with these things? I'd like to install it withouy damaging the bumper.

Spies posted an image from the service manual giving installation instructions in this thread: http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=2575&start=10

It's designed to be installed into two holes you drill into the plastic bumper.

ENIAC said:

It's designed to be installed into two holes you drill into the plastic bumper. I came up with a mod to install the front plate lower down and without drilling any holes. I'm mounting through the grill. I'm using 1/2 inch hard plastic irrigation riser as the standoffs and wallboard anchor toggle bolts to secure the plates.

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I just my plates too and would love to see pictures of your rig ENIAC.

JasonT said:

Spies posted an image from the service manual giving installation instructions in this thread: http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=2575&start=10

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Actually the picture is from the regular user manual that came with the Leaf.

ENIAC,
Can you post a picture or two of your plate mounting?

How long did you make the riser-standoffs?

Did you use 4 standoffs?

Did you use the "mounting" plate?

Thanks, Gary

Spies said:

Actually the picture is from the regular user manual that came with the Leaf.

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D'oh! I didn't remember seeing that in the regular manual, so I assumed it was from the service manual. Man, I need to keep my mouth shut more often around here!

Update: I removed the instructions for my front license plate mount mod due to concerns about possible damage to the grill if the LEAF were to bottom out and scrape the license plate. I revised the position for the mount on my LEAF and I now have 8" of clearance. But this may not work for some. I would feel horrible if my mod resulted in damage to someone LEAF.

Nice instructions ENIAC! Looking forward to the pics.

I also stumbled onto these guys that make front license plate kits that screw into the tow hook receptacle. Not sure how well that would work on the Leaf but it might be worth checking out. http://www.gominigo.com/NHLPB-main.html I wish I knew about these guys before I got my Prius and the dealer drilled holes in my bumper and not quite center to boot. They do group buys too.

I have a call into gominigo about the no hole front plate bracket kits. Hopefully I will hear from them soon and will report back when I do.

Here is how the kit looks on a Nissan Cube and think it would look similar on a Leaf.

Here are some photo's.

Looks good, but also low. I'd be worried about ripping it off on a curb or when exiting a driveway into a highly crowned road. The lower valance on my Prius routinely scrapes in such situations, so anything lower than that would definitely not last. It seems like the Leaf clearance is similar.

Spies said:

Nice instructions ENIAC! Looking forward to the pics.

I also stumbled onto these guys that make front license plate kits that screw into the tow hook receptacle. Not sure how well that would work on the Leaf but it might be worth checking out. http://www.gominigo.com/NHLPB-main.html I wish I knew about these guys before I got my Prius and the dealer drilled holes in my bumper and not quite center to boot. They do group buys too.

I have a call into gominigo about the no hole front plate bracket kits. Hopefully I will hear from them soon and will report back when I do.

Here is how the kit looks on a Nissan Cube and think it would look similar on a Leaf.

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Nice job, ENIAC. I happen to like the GoMiniGo option because it's offset from center and will look less like a tooth in the LEAF's smile.

Yikes, that doesn't look like it's going to stay there (or stay flat) long.
The first steep driveway dip down into a rain gutter will make contact.

I was hoping to drive the Leaf around without a sportscar-like aversion to dips and scrapes.

Ingineer said:

Looks good, but also low. I'd be worried about ripping it off on a curb or when exiting a driveway into a highly crowned road. The lower valance on my Prius routinely scrapes in such situations, so anything lower than that would definitely not last. It seems like the Leaf clearance is similar.

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My thoughts exactly, Ingineer.

I was really intrigued by your idea, ENIAC, and really appreciate your incredibly detailed, instructive post! Well done! But given how low it sits on your LEAF and how my driveway is just as Ingineer described, I'm afraid I'll have to look for another solution. If I *have* to have a front plate (hmm...) I'd rather have a higher mounted one than what I know will become a highly mangled one.

Glenn

What a drag! :lol:

The tooth is closer to being in an air no-flow zone, whereas he tow hook position is likely to create substantial drag, right?

I talked with them this morning and they would very much like to do a Leaf version. They already have Nissan versions, of course, and feel that the changes necessary to accommodate the Leaf would be minimal. I'm arranging for them to get the measurements and pictures they need to proceed and will followup when I know more.

Edit: Spies has lead on this now.

Spies said:

I have a call into gominigo about the no hole front plate bracket kits. Hopefully I will hear from them soon and will report back when I do.

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garygid said:

whereas he tow hook position is likely to create substantial drag, right?

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Not so sure it will at the moment.

I am now in contact with gominigo and have sent them some preliminary measurements. It looks to me that the tow hook solution would require about a two inch offset to the right and about a 30 degree angle back to get the plate as flush as possible to the outside of the bumper. I would think in this position the impact on drag should be minimal. Not really sure of the aesthetics until I see it on the car. If gominigo has the pieces in stock to pull this off I should have a working prototype in a couple of days.

Maybe once I have the bracket in place NASA will let me use their wind tunnel free of charge :lol:

Spies said:

I am now in contact with gominigo and have sent them some preliminary measurements... If gominigo has the pieces in stock to pull this off I should have a working prototype in a couple of days.

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Spies,

If your stagecoach ever leaves the station, a bunch of us may want to hop on board. We'll let you drive!

Gominigo offers a group discount and Forum presence as well:

Group Buys

Yes, we do them. However, here are a few stipulations.

Minimum order for a group buy is 6.
Payment must come from one person.
Shipment is to one address.
Please give us a warning that you are organizing a group buy.
Also, if you have created a thread on one of the web forums, let us know. We will join the thread and answer everyone's questions as quickly as we can.

Now for the important part. We will offer a discount to our prices. How much depends on which item and how many your group is planning to buy.

Please email us with any questions.

[email protected]

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Ingineer said:

Looks good, but also low. I'd be worried about ripping it off on a curb or when exiting a driveway into a highly crowned road. The lower valance on my Prius routinely scrapes in such situations, so anything lower than that would definitely not last. It seems like the Leaf clearance is similar.

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Right now the plate is 7 inches off the ground which is the same as the LEAFs pan clearance. I could easily move it up higher on the grill because of the way the mounting system works. I could lift it another inch or so and still have ventilation over the plate for the radiators. I also checked the front spoiler of our other car and it's just under 6 inches off the ground.

My issues with the OEM mounting is that you need to drill the bumper, it covers a portion of the chrome strip, the plastic mount is actually wider than the license plate, and it's half the height. It looks goofy as hell. There's nothing I like about it.

By the way, I just looked it up and the Prius ground clearance is 5.6 inches, I'm already 1 1/2 inches above that.

Sorry for the "interuption" ... but ... out-of-box thinking ... does CA (or any other state) allow the use of a "decal" or facsimilie of the license plate for use on the front ?

If so ... suggested solution: use a thin-film transparency of your actual plate at 1:1 and have a "wrap" installed on the front bumper

All right! The pieces from Jason at gominigo are on their way and should be here in a couple of days. I am getting a number of different spacers for the kit to dial in the best length and position for the Leaf. Once I do I will post pics and let Jason know what the most appropriate pieces for the kit will be. I will be trying out the kit with a 27.5 degree bracket with a 2" offset. This is going to be similar to the kit for the Subaru Outback as shown here: