i know this has been asked before but i've just had my front number plate bracket refurbed so looking at putting a smaller front plate on (my car is jdm) i've read smaller front plates should have 64mm high lettering. however i've ordered a plate 12x3 which turned up this morning but it only has 55mm high lettering. is this too small? i'm sure i've seen plates that size on imports before.

I have 64mm lettering on mine. Front and rear.

Not sure about the legality but I think they "look" right for the car.

 

It’s a bit of a grey area really. The regulations have an amendment which gives an alleviation to import vehicles with apertures that preclude a standard UK plate from being fitted; for example a Z32 rear plate due to the recess. This is where the 64mm figure you’re thinking of came from (it states all the required dimensions due to the restricted space available).

 

Whilst this is not technically the case for the front but you will likely never have an issue with the front and rear matching. If you stick within these guidelines then you can prove that you’re displaying within the regulations, however with 55mm characters you’re pushing it!

Had a custom plate made to suit the area on 99 spec bumper, never had an issue.... normal size plate looked huge in comparison.

 

Jeff

 

 

3/4 sized plate on my old Z. Had it on there for 15 years and never had a single issue with it.

 

Fancyplates do them. Stick to a nice plain legible font, no graphics, borders, slogans, nothing gaudy and I doubt you'll have any issue.

 

 

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As small as possible to avoid cameras

cheers guys so am i right in thinking a 3/4 size front plate is the 406x89mm size? i've tried 406x111 (standard height) & 406x89 on the plate designer and the 111 high looks better as the number fill it out slightly better.

It all rather depends on how many letters/numbers make up your registration. This is my front plate (355mm x 111mm)

with legal character sizing and border.

 

i'm playing with mine at the moment 330x89 looks good but not sure if it will use 64mm letters, my reg is quite short in text using 2 number 1s (FLZ 4117) 330x89 looks ok, as does 355x111. 406x111 is ok but 406x89 leaves to mush white space either side of the reg...........damn pain in the neck. but i think 330x89 or 355x111 will be the winner in this.

 

cheers all

i'm playing with mine at the moment 330x89 looks good but not sure if it will use 64mm letters, my reg is quite short in text using 2 number 1s (FLZ 4117) 330x89 looks ok, as does 355x111. 406x111 is ok but 406x89 leaves to mush white space either side of the reg...........damn pain in the neck. but i think 330x89 or 355x111 will be the winner in this.

 

cheers all

 

You don’t have to stick to a standard size, if you want your border to be even all the way round, just specify that when you order. I would recommend fancyplates.com for this service, you can just tell them what your want and they will custom make it to your needs.

 

Print this document and keep it in your glove box if you do get stopped or questioned by an MOT tester: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2002/2687/made

 

On the fancy plates order system in the comments you can give a detailed remark of what you’re after. If anything is unclear they’ll contact you to double check. You want to specify the standard UK font, 64x44mm characters, 10mm stroke, 10mm spacing, 5mm spacing top and sides to the edge and 13mm at the bottom.

 

It does say that the vertical group spacing should be 5mm as it “assumes” that the plate will be constructed across 2 lines, however it does not specify that it has to be across 2 lines and doesn’t give a horizontal group spacing. That’s why I have my J30LYP without spacing as I would argue it on interpretation!

Edited October 31, 20196 yr by Joely P

It all rather depends on how many letters/numbers make up your registration. This is my front plate (355mm x 111mm)

with legal character sizing and border.

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]119034[/ATTACH]

 

Your car really does look epic with those headlights, that was a good move! One of the things I’m not keen on with them is that they highlight the projector housing being slightly lower than the reflector which can make it look a bit googly eyed(!), but the headlamp washers on the UK cars seem to mask and correct this to the point where it not noticeable.

You don’t have to stick to a standard size, if you want your border to be even all the way round, just specify that when you order. I would recommend fancyplates.com for this service, you can just tell them what your want and they will custom make it to your needs.

 

Print this document and keep it in your glove box if you do get stopped or questioned by an MOT tester: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2002/2687/made

 

On the fancy plates order system in the comments you can give a detailed remark of what you’re after. If anything is unclear they’ll contact you to double check. You want to specify the standard UK font, 64x44mm characters, 10mm stroke, 10mm spacing, 5mm spacing top and sides to the edge and 13mm at the bottom.

 

It does say that the vertical group spacing should be 5mm as it “assumes” that the plate will be constructed across 2 lines, however it does not specify that it has to be across 2 lines and doesn’t give a horizontal group spacing. That’s why I have my J30LYP without spacing as I would argue it on interpretation!

 

brill thanks joely i'll get on it today, then my next job is sourcing a few more parts for powder coating........

As for the rear plate, depending on how many letters you have, in the fancyplates' plate constructor, you can select font orientation, so all lettering on one line which looks a lot neater than across 2 lines. Then you can select plate size exactly. So order a larger one than the aperture and in the comments, have it cut specifically to fit.