Rob O

I got another 'no front plate' ticket in downtown Portland yesterday. I think it's my third, or maybe fourth ... at $85 a pop. I even had the plate on my dash, on the passenger side fully visible. OR requires front plates, and is aggressive about citing violators. Enforcement is almost entirely through parking patrol, versus warranting a traffic stop, and living on the edge of downtown means I'm there almost daily, So I needed a solution that didn't require permanently affixing a front plate to my RS5 grille ... which is a ****ing travesty.

I had considered doing something with magnets for a while. And I use magnetic phone mounts in all our vehicles. It struck me that maybe one of those vent mounts might work, since the RS5 grille design has similar slats. I searched for the lowest profile mounts I could find, and came up with the following. Works like a charm.

heisnuts

That's awesome, Rob. What an ingenious way of solving the problem.

I never park my S5 on the street downtown for exactly that reason. You are almost 100% guaranteed a ticket if parking enforcement walks by the car. I have even been known to take our old '95 Civic (that we have had since new) when I go downtown so I can park it on the street with no worries.

KCTiger83

Well I'll be dipped in &^%&* and well.....I'm astounded! Great job. I have resisted any kind of front plate mount, as my state requires but does not appear to enforce. Your solution is so ingenious and easy, that it seems ridiculous to continue to take the risk. Think I'll do what you did and leave the mounts on permanently. Only mount the plate in an area where parked/patrolled by LEOs or Parking Officers.

Thank you for sharing & the video demonstration....greatly appreciated!

KCTiger83

Rob: Does this look like the correct product?


Thank you.

mhblaw

Great! I am also in a state that requires a front plate but very lax enforcement. Last time I got stopped was in MN. I carry some zip ties that work for a temporary install, but this is really cool!

Rob O

Yup ... that's the one.

Rob O

Quick update. I got a plate surround and used a set of "push fasteners" I found in the garage from something I'd taken off another vehicle at some point. They push in and hold tight, without needing modification as they don't touch anything on the back side (i.e., they don't make contact with the grille). Now it looks permanent!

synergize

Hey Rob O: Are you an Ex- Marine? You know... adapt, improvise, overcome, this is exactly something our wonderful USMC members would do, brilliant?

N8!

You could put together a kit of all the parts needed to do this mod and make some bank off auto forums!

You might even be able to recover the $'s you lost to tickets.

chaaa..ching!

Nikon1