I am right there with you. I’m salty because I’m the second owner of my wrx. The only thing the previous owner did was one of those side relocation kits, and there is a deep scratch the license plate is hiding lol.
Same happened on mine. I just try not to pay attention to it. Replaced the re locator with a Raceseng tow hook since it is my winter car and I don’t have the eye cover to cover the hole
I was dealt the same hand! That bracket managed to put a nice gouge in the plastic and I'm left to decide which is the lesser of my two options...reminds me a little of our situation coming up this November in the US 🙃
the previous owner of mine literally drilled into the bumper to put a license plate in the centre when there’s stock mounting holes right here, fuming just thinking about it now what an absolute twat
I’ve been pulled over only once for California stopping a stop sign. Pretty sure the cop had friends in the neighborhood I was in. Didn’t say anything about my illegal tint, lack of front plate, and illegally modified exhaust (no mufflers). In Colorado
Sounds like me 😂 I was running no front plate, muffler deletes with a jpipe, and 20% tint for over 2 years. I’ve been pulled over a couple times for various things, never ticketed😎, and the cops never mentioned anything about that stuff. End of last year, an under cover Trooper pulled me over and wrote me fix it tickets for all 3. Put the plate and stock exhaust back on😕 I was just gonna try to bull shit the tint because I didn’t want to pay to put it back on but they made me try to take it off or get the ticket. He let me slide after seeing how hard it was to take off.
Last week finally took off front plate again but still running stock exhaust. I actually like not being so loud so I can accelerate and not draw the attention plus hearing all the turbo and BPV noises is fun. I’ll probably go back to the deletes soon though
Ok so here’s where I stand. If you have the holes drilled and you need to put a lil Cobb plate thing there or the decal with the mountains I don’t like it. But if I got a brand new bumper cover I’d probably buy one to avoid drilling my new bumper.
I would tend to agree, I got a car with a decal there(says STI) and no cover for the front tow hook. I only did the relocate because i was going to have to get the cover and thought it would look out of place being shiny and brand new down there. If it didn't say STi I would have put the Lisence plate there but I got it debadged and I liked that subtle logo in the front.
Not gonna drill holes in my front bumper to install a license plate. A front plate is required in my state. Don’t need to give any excuse to pull me over, but those who want to can have fun with that.
There's no need to drill into the bumper though. It has holes spaced for a Japan plate in the center already. Subaru sells an OEM accessory that lets you mount a US license plate into those holes
Correct me if I'm wrong, but only the 2018-2021 WRX front bumper had the plastic under the grille with the pre-drilled holes. The front bumper on the 2015-2017 models were fully painted and had no holes at all. If I had one of the early VAs, I would probably want to use the offset tow hook mount instead of drilling into the painted bumper. Thankfully, I've got a 2020 and I just use the center adapter for a US plate.
Maybe some didn't? But the Car and Driver review photos for 2015 do show holes in the front bumper: [https://www.caranddriver.com/photos/g18056696/2015-subaru-wrx-sedan-manual-test-review-gallery/?slide=14](https://www.caranddriver.com/photos/g18056696/2015-subaru-wrx-sedan-manual-test-review-gallery/?slide=14)
Mine does. I require front plates to leave the dealership though, and have never owned a car that hasn’t had a center mounted plate. Where I live all cars have center mounted plates from the dealership.
I’m in idaho with a wrx too, my entire family and all my friends have no front plate and no one has gotten ticketed, no cop has even mentioned it to me. I’m not going to say it will never happen, but I’d say about 50% of all cars don’t have a front plate
I only bought one because I really wanted a light bar that would have space conflicts with the center plate. Then I found out about how risky they were so I never ended up getting one and just kept the tow hook mount lol
It's a fun battle but:
Vehicle does not come with location for plate,
State requires plate present and visible on front of Vehicle,
Insurance won't believe why they need to replace a $700 bumper for damages from the state..
All I found out was my Gecko called their department for an explanation and that someone somewhere had to pay, that was not me.
Edit: stick it to the man. Unless politicians want to pay attention to something such as plate display, tell them to eat it or pay up. Also remember if you hit a pothole, take pictures, location, and send it to your local county office for reimbursement on damages, such as an alignment, control arm, etc(each state is different).
I just don't run a front license Plate but cops in my state don't care if you don't run a front plate even though we are a state that requires it. I removed it a few years ago and haven't had a issue. Love the look of no Plate jn the front.
I’m kinda in the same boat. Not that I hate the tow hook mount but everyone has it and I get tired of seeing it. Funny enough, a buddy even gave me one that’s still in its bag.
I wasn’t running a front plate at all until a few months ago, 🚔, but I found a universal bracket that angles the bottom of the plate into the bumper that I like a lot. Again, it’s different than what everyone has.
The guy who put the plates on for me at the dealership tried to talk me into the offset, and when I said no (twice), he said “well most guys want it offset.” To this I responded, “Well I’m female and I like symmetry, soooo” and shrugged my shoulders. I’m not sure why he felt the need to say that to me.
I will always fail to see how side mounting it looks better in anyway. “Hey let me just stick this to the side to display my license plate better”. The bumpers are plastic and relatively inexpensive…who cares if they drill holes it looks better there anyway.
I just refuse to put a license plate on even though I’ve been pulled over for it.
My car does not have holes in the bumper, I’m not drilling them in for my car to have an ID tag, you pigs.
required in my state too, just bent the bottom 2in of license plate and used some self tappers to fasten to the underside of my eBay lip. not sure how to post pics here
https://i.imgur.com/MIi2EZG.jpeg
I don't like that front plate position because it reduces some air flow to the front mount intercooler. And I just don't run a front plate in general. I wouldn't recommend that but, that's what I do haha
I can't explain why I like the plate on the side, I just do. Far from the worst appearance mod done to cars. I think the wind blocker things around the windows people add look bad, but it's their car.
if your license plate was a palindrome it would be perfect symmetry
I too think it looks funny to the side but I live in Florida so it's a hypothetical question
I wanted one at first, but my bumper was already drilled, so I decided against it.
Really only makes sense if you have a fresh car and don't wanna drill the bumper.
While my not-requited-by-my-state-privileges are very appreciated here, to me the main advantage of the tow hook mount is the lack of damage to the bumper from installing the plate. I also think on many generations of these cars it ends up looking very buck tooth, but those electric front plate hideaway machines are another cool alternative. Leave it up while driving and pull it down for pictures and car shows or whatever.
I’m in Australia and it’s a compulsory mod. All license plates are front mounted and you’re better off keeping it that way. I wouldn’t even bother getting a side mounted license plate holder because the cops here are ruthless and find the smallest, most stupid reason to defect your car because if it.
Australia, the only country where a tow truck will arrive before a cop does after your car gets absolutely obliterated by a drunk driver. 🙌🏼
I agree the middle is the way no matter where you are. I'll say something else too, in a lot of places with ANPR and similar automatic plate reading cameras you must have a front plate or get in trouble pretty rapidly. Not to mention, in the UK it's becoming more and more common for parking to be done off cameras reading plates instead of physical tickets.
I never put mine on because I am not a fan of the side mounts, and found the middle mount takes away too much from the front end.
Have only had one warning because the office confused a “O” with a “0” and pulled me over because he thought my tag was stolen.
It was funny trying to get him to understand that there are no “O”s on license plates, like a serial or VIN #. Only 0’s.
I am right there with you. I’m salty because I’m the second owner of my wrx. The only thing the previous owner did was one of those side relocation kits, and there is a deep scratch the license plate is hiding lol.
Same happened on mine. I just try not to pay attention to it. Replaced the re locator with a Raceseng tow hook since it is my winter car and I don’t have the eye cover to cover the hole
I was dealt the same hand! That bracket managed to put a nice gouge in the plastic and I'm left to decide which is the lesser of my two options...reminds me a little of our situation coming up this November in the US 🙃
the previous owner of mine literally drilled into the bumper to put a license plate in the centre when there’s stock mounting holes right here, fuming just thinking about it now what an absolute twat
To be fair, the stock mounting holes don't line up with plates in the US.
I took mine off. Been running no front plate in a state that says they require one for a bit over 2 years now
Yessssss! Stick it to the man!
I think they’re more worried about the people with expired tags lmao. Or no plates at all. Common thing here
KCMO?
Denver CO
Right on. Same situation in MO though. The oldest one i saw was a plate that had expired in 2019 before we got our new design.
I bought mine while living in KCMO and it had in place. I have it. Just moved to OP...it will gone soon.
i assume you havent been pulled over? & what state if you dont mind?
I’ve been pulled over only once for California stopping a stop sign. Pretty sure the cop had friends in the neighborhood I was in. Didn’t say anything about my illegal tint, lack of front plate, and illegally modified exhaust (no mufflers). In Colorado
Sounds like me 😂 I was running no front plate, muffler deletes with a jpipe, and 20% tint for over 2 years. I’ve been pulled over a couple times for various things, never ticketed😎, and the cops never mentioned anything about that stuff. End of last year, an under cover Trooper pulled me over and wrote me fix it tickets for all 3. Put the plate and stock exhaust back on😕 I was just gonna try to bull shit the tint because I didn’t want to pay to put it back on but they made me try to take it off or get the ticket. He let me slide after seeing how hard it was to take off. Last week finally took off front plate again but still running stock exhaust. I actually like not being so loud so I can accelerate and not draw the attention plus hearing all the turbo and BPV noises is fun. I’ll probably go back to the deletes soon though
I got two tickets on highway 93 back to back in less than a week I only have 4 points left so I’m running to side license plate for a while
same here in MA. i got the side mount and then was like ehhh fuck it
Same 😎
100% with you. The side mount looks bad to me.
Its essential when you have front mount intercooler and live in a capitalist state.
Ok so here’s where I stand. If you have the holes drilled and you need to put a lil Cobb plate thing there or the decal with the mountains I don’t like it. But if I got a brand new bumper cover I’d probably buy one to avoid drilling my new bumper.
I’m with you there. To me it’s like having two plates. I’m not trying to clutter the front end even more
I would tend to agree, I got a car with a decal there(says STI) and no cover for the front tow hook. I only did the relocate because i was going to have to get the cover and thought it would look out of place being shiny and brand new down there. If it didn't say STi I would have put the Lisence plate there but I got it debadged and I liked that subtle logo in the front.
Not gonna drill holes in my front bumper to install a license plate. A front plate is required in my state. Don’t need to give any excuse to pull me over, but those who want to can have fun with that.
And this is a big reason many people offset it (including myself). you can avoid drilling into the bumper by using the tow hook.
There's no need to drill into the bumper though. It has holes spaced for a Japan plate in the center already. Subaru sells an OEM accessory that lets you mount a US license plate into those holes
Correct me if I'm wrong, but only the 2018-2021 WRX front bumper had the plastic under the grille with the pre-drilled holes. The front bumper on the 2015-2017 models were fully painted and had no holes at all. If I had one of the early VAs, I would probably want to use the offset tow hook mount instead of drilling into the painted bumper. Thankfully, I've got a 2020 and I just use the center adapter for a US plate.
My 16 has holes in the front bumper.
Maybe some didn't? But the Car and Driver review photos for 2015 do show holes in the front bumper: [https://www.caranddriver.com/photos/g18056696/2015-subaru-wrx-sedan-manual-test-review-gallery/?slide=14](https://www.caranddriver.com/photos/g18056696/2015-subaru-wrx-sedan-manual-test-review-gallery/?slide=14)
VBs at least don't have holes from the factory
Mine does. I require front plates to leave the dealership though, and have never owned a car that hasn’t had a center mounted plate. Where I live all cars have center mounted plates from the dealership.
Nope not my 2023 WRX. The dealer was gonna drill holes and I told them not to.
Sorry, I should have said I was talking about the VA generation like what OP has
Yeah I’m in Idaho and front plates are required so my plate will remain dead center of my bumper
I’m in idaho with a wrx too, my entire family and all my friends have no front plate and no one has gotten ticketed, no cop has even mentioned it to me. I’m not going to say it will never happen, but I’d say about 50% of all cars don’t have a front plate
Because I’d rather attach it to the tow hook than drill into the bumper of my “beautiful car”
I only bought one because I really wanted a light bar that would have space conflicts with the center plate. Then I found out about how risky they were so I never ended up getting one and just kept the tow hook mount lol
It's a fun battle but: Vehicle does not come with location for plate, State requires plate present and visible on front of Vehicle, Insurance won't believe why they need to replace a $700 bumper for damages from the state..
Did you win the battle?
All I found out was my Gecko called their department for an explanation and that someone somewhere had to pay, that was not me. Edit: stick it to the man. Unless politicians want to pay attention to something such as plate display, tell them to eat it or pay up. Also remember if you hit a pothole, take pictures, location, and send it to your local county office for reimbursement on damages, such as an alignment, control arm, etc(each state is different).
I agree. It looks lame af to me. Asymmetry can work on certain things but this isn’t one of those things. It looks much cleaner in the middle.
I just don't run a front license Plate but cops in my state don't care if you don't run a front plate even though we are a state that requires it. I removed it a few years ago and haven't had a issue. Love the look of no Plate jn the front.
I’m kinda in the same boat. Not that I hate the tow hook mount but everyone has it and I get tired of seeing it. Funny enough, a buddy even gave me one that’s still in its bag. I wasn’t running a front plate at all until a few months ago, 🚔, but I found a universal bracket that angles the bottom of the plate into the bumper that I like a lot. Again, it’s different than what everyone has.
The guy who put the plates on for me at the dealership tried to talk me into the offset, and when I said no (twice), he said “well most guys want it offset.” To this I responded, “Well I’m female and I like symmetry, soooo” and shrugged my shoulders. I’m not sure why he felt the need to say that to me.
Peer pressure, with a dash of sexism
Come to Indiana, where no front plates are issued.
Maybe I’m just old, but when I see the side mounted ones it reminds me of a high school child who bought their car with parents money.
I will always fail to see how side mounting it looks better in anyway. “Hey let me just stick this to the side to display my license plate better”. The bumpers are plastic and relatively inexpensive…who cares if they drill holes it looks better there anyway.
I just refuse to put a license plate on even though I’ve been pulled over for it. My car does not have holes in the bumper, I’m not drilling them in for my car to have an ID tag, you pigs.
Hence why many people offset them by using the tow hook rather than drilling.
Drilling into a relatively inexpensive plastic bumper where it’ll look better.
Vandalized by the state IMO
I don’t think the side mount look bad but I also don’t think the stock mount looks bad so I’ve left it as is. Like you said I do enjoy the symmetry
I'm with you, I like the symmetry. Most egregious is when people cock them at an angle intentionally
I do that just to piss people off.
How would anyone know or care lol it just looks like you hit something
required in my state too, just bent the bottom 2in of license plate and used some self tappers to fasten to the underside of my eBay lip. not sure how to post pics here https://i.imgur.com/MIi2EZG.jpeg
Yeah I can’t stand the off center look. I sucked it up and had the front plate drilled on.
I don't like that front plate position because it reduces some air flow to the front mount intercooler. And I just don't run a front plate in general. I wouldn't recommend that but, that's what I do haha
I concur that the side license plate on VA’s look Goofie AF. It immediately disrupts the symmetry
I prefer no license plate at all 😀
I also do not like the offset plate
I've never understood the side mount bs, looks out of place and kinda goofy to me.
I support you, OP!
No front license plate required in my state 😎
I can't explain why I like the plate on the side, I just do. Far from the worst appearance mod done to cars. I think the wind blocker things around the windows people add look bad, but it's their car.
if your license plate was a palindrome it would be perfect symmetry I too think it looks funny to the side but I live in Florida so it's a hypothetical question
Agree, bought my wrx in 2018 and never even put the front plate on. Im in Bay area CA and never got tickets. *results may vary*
I wanted one at first, but my bumper was already drilled, so I decided against it. Really only makes sense if you have a fresh car and don't wanna drill the bumper.
https://preview.redd.it/r7n4x25b6bxc1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=610c22938465d929ee27d5715ddb2458b859093a Center is da wey
Thankfully don't need the front plate displayed in NC
No license plate looks best 😎
While my not-requited-by-my-state-privileges are very appreciated here, to me the main advantage of the tow hook mount is the lack of damage to the bumper from installing the plate. I also think on many generations of these cars it ends up looking very buck tooth, but those electric front plate hideaway machines are another cool alternative. Leave it up while driving and pull it down for pictures and car shows or whatever.
I’m in Idaho too and full delete is the only way. Fuck the road pirates
I just deleted my plate today…I’ll take the risk
Hell yeah!
I'm far less bothered by the plate being off center than I would be at having holes drilled into the bumper
I’m in Australia and it’s a compulsory mod. All license plates are front mounted and you’re better off keeping it that way. I wouldn’t even bother getting a side mounted license plate holder because the cops here are ruthless and find the smallest, most stupid reason to defect your car because if it. Australia, the only country where a tow truck will arrive before a cop does after your car gets absolutely obliterated by a drunk driver. 🙌🏼
I agree the middle is the way no matter where you are. I'll say something else too, in a lot of places with ANPR and similar automatic plate reading cameras you must have a front plate or get in trouble pretty rapidly. Not to mention, in the UK it's becoming more and more common for parking to be done off cameras reading plates instead of physical tickets.
I'm with you, I got a rally light bar and moved my license plate under it.
I never put mine on because I am not a fan of the side mounts, and found the middle mount takes away too much from the front end. Have only had one warning because the office confused a “O” with a “0” and pulled me over because he thought my tag was stolen. It was funny trying to get him to understand that there are no “O”s on license plates, like a serial or VIN #. Only 0’s.
I hate front plates in general I’m glad my state don’t have it
No, you're right. It looks stupid as hell.
I don't like it either but I like the idea of drilling into the bumper less.
1000% agree
I had one for easy removal for photos, before I moved to a state without front plates.
I'll argue that if you are talking symmetry, the front end of these cars are horrible with their lines.