License plate covers

bob m

bob m

New member
Few things make a well detailed car look shabby than those cheap dealer license plate covers. I have had good luck with Griots, but at $40.00 + $15.00 shipping, I may just want to see if there are any good recommendations before I go the Griot`s route.
 
I just get license plate frames/covers from Amazon. Never had any problems with tarnish/corrosion. I`ve never paid $40 for a frame/cover
 
I buy the rubber frames that wrap around the edge and cover the back, mainly to stop the plate from flapping in the wind and making noise. On my wife’s van, there was a noise that I couldn’t figure out until I tightened the license plate screws and figured out it had been flapping in he wind. Now all of my cars have the rubber license plates covers on them.
 
dgage said:
I buy the rubber frames that wrap around the edge and cover the back, mainly to stop the plate from flapping in the wind and making noise. On my wife’s van, there was a noise that I couldn’t figure out until I tightened the license plate screws and figured out it had been flapping in he wind. Now all of my cars have the rubber license plates covers on them.
Click to expand...

Would you have a name or link?
 
bob m said:
Would you have a name or link?
Click to expand...

I use the same Rightcar Solutions Silicone License Plate Frame as PoisonTheWell. I have 3 of them now (2 black and 1 white) and like them for keeping the plate quiet. I went to the local home improvement store and picked up a pair of M6x1.0x16mm stainless steel screws to attach them to the car (Acura’s and Toyota’s).

PoisonTheWell said:
I put a Rightcar Solutions Flawless Silicon License Plate Frame on my most recent car. $15 on Amazon. No complaints so far.
Click to expand...
 
bob m said:
Few things make a well detailed car look shabby than those cheap dealer license plate covers. I have had good luck with Griots, but at $40.00 + $15.00 shipping, I may just want to see if there are any good recommendations before I go the Griot`s route.
Click to expand...
You may want to check out the 67 Corvette frames, at Corvette Central (online). Very simply, understated, stainless steel. No bolt holes...just neat, 3/4" frame. About $28, for the pair, if I remember correctly.
 
dgage said:
I buy the rubber frames that wrap around the edge and cover the back, mainly to stop the plate from flapping in the wind and making noise. On my wife’s van, there was a noise that I couldn’t figure out until I tightened the license plate screws and figured out it had been flapping in he wind. Now all of my cars have the rubber license plates covers on them.
Click to expand...
I second this post..I always have these on hand from amazon 12.99 or so for a pair. The price of one from the pair is actually factored into every paint correction/ coating package. On delivery I show them the plate cover and tell them it was part of the package price and educate them on why they need this vs a metal plate rubbing on their paint.
0bbdd952b8ec3ca1576f74c7cea69582.jpg


Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk
 
I`m internet illiterate and couldn`t find the link button...
Also unsuccessfully quoted the two people seeking the link for these rubber plate holders


6363011815b47f83f3fa9b9e90e8b835.jpg


Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk
 
WOW. Good post an such a "simple" , overlooked automotive item.

I will say this about stainless steel rust-proof screws that not all stainless is "rust-proof" or corrosion-proof. MOST OTC stainless at hardware stores comes from "offshore" (China or Taiwan) manufacturers and is 410-series that is cheaper to buy and machine. The "better" grade is 302/304. The REALLY good grade is 316 (think surgical-medical grade or salt-water corrosion resistant), but that is like 6 times the cost of 410 series. 410-stainless is still better than plain steel screws that will rust. One way to tell if it really cheap stainless steel is to bring a magnet with you and see it the stainless steel is slightly magnetic. If it is, it`s cheap stainless. Works well on testing less-expensive (AKA, cheap) imported "stainless steel" kitchen knives/cutlery.

Laugh as you will, I put anti-seize compound on license plate screws, only to realize that MOST domestic car manufactures have PLASTIC threaded inserts in the sheet metal to attach license plate with.

Stolen license plates a big thing. I do not know of any dealer that substitutes the OEM screws with tamper-proof Torx head screws, the screw head that has a 5-sides star-shape with a "post" in the middle of the star drive to prevent removal or "tampering. Yes, they make special tools that "fit" this screw-drive, and yes, they are readily available to the general public, but most license plate thieves would not think of carrying these "special" tools around. Just food for thought.
(Only a CADD Technician who has experience with screws, the material types that they are made of, and the drive head on them would think of those things.)

Speaking of screw head drives, the screw cross on Japanese cars is different than a Phillips-head screw cross and is referred to as JIS (Japanese Industrial Standard) screw. Yes, they make special screw driver tips to "fit" these screw cross drives. Those of you who may have inadvertently tried a Phillips-tipped screw drive in a JIS screw, which seems to fit , but then stripped out the head drive when trying remove it to tighten it, well, now you know why.
More food for thought.....
 
Thanks all. Before I posted this, I ordered a cover from Weather Tech and though well made, my plate did not fit inside as well as it should - huh? go figure, but I did not like the fact that the bare plate could be touching the paint and possibly incur scratches. Soooo, with the input here, I bought the silicone covers mentioned from Amazon.

As an aside a few years ago, while driving to work in NYC one morning, I got pulled over by the police. I was not speeding, went through any traffic lights, my lights were all working, so I could not imagine why the pull over - other than the fact that I did not have my front plate on the car - even though in NY and NJ it was required. Sooooooo the police officer told me that the covered plates were prohibited and let me go w/o a ticket. I couldn`t figure out why they would be but apparently they hinder traffic cameras from getting a clear pic if you should run a light. After that, I swapped out that covered one for the one from Griot`s, but unfortunately left it on my Audi when I traded it in for my CX-5. Live and learn.
 
Accumulatorette likes having an Isringhausen Imports frame on the back plate of her A8, but other than that we don`t run any frames on any of our vehicles. I`ve tried [you name it] but always come back to preferring none at all. No problems, I still have the same plates on everything that I got the last time Ohio required new ones (and that was a long, long time ago...decades) since they get nasty (well, OK..there`s a bit of very minor accident damage on two of `em, but at this point I really do consider it "patina").
 
Ohio recently dropped the Front Plate Requirement, but it was selectively enforced anyhow. We`ve both received plenty of tickets in states where the front plate was required, but while some LEOs commented on it, neither of us was never even given an official warning let alone a citation for it. I consider it merely a means of [messing] with people that the LEO wants to hassle (confirmed, BTW, by numerous LEOs I`ve known), and we`re not in that demographic.
 
Ah! So glad to hear you don’t need a front plate any more! Cars look so much better without them. You’re more like us down here now!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top