Front Number Plate Fixing

[Vesmeister]

My Seven is only four hundred miles "old" and the front plate is already hanging/drooping drunkenly from the double sided tape that Caterham Midlands used to affix it with..

Any advice on what to use to fix it back on? I would prefer not to drill into the nosecone as if the plate is screwed in it may risk doing more damage if it catches on something. Velcro would seem the obvious choice, but is it strong enough?

I've seen posts about moving to a 3/4 size plate, but would rather stay with a full size...

John

[LawrenceR]

I had my full sized front number plate attached with Velcro for 4 years, it fell off once in the first week. I added a bit more Velcro and it never fell off again.

[Steve_K]

I was suffering from this too. It tends to go just after a long run; presumably heat soak causes the adhesive to weaken. Had a blat Tuesday and an hour after garaging, the front plate was on the floor. Gave up with tape and have just stuck it back with Sikaflex 221. This seems to work well but removal later might be a pain

Steve

[DJ.]

I bought a roll of double sided adhesive tape from Maplin (very similar but much cheaper than those pads at Halfords). I then put a strip the whole width of the nose, and a couple of narrower pieces going up each side to the top of the plate. The plate is mounted so the middle is over the long strip and the edges are secured by the smaller pieces.

If you do this, it won't come off in a hurry, but make sure you get it straight first time

Duncan

[nickhi]

I had the same problem with the sticky pads.  Plate fell off a couple of times and always felt wobbly especially on hot days.  I got some heavy duty Velcro, it now feels very secure.

 

[martyn]

Search for 3M Dual-lock.  It is similar in concept to velcro but much more robust and doesn't wear out over time. They offer two different types of adhesives on the backing - normal and heavy duty.  If you're worried about the adhesive weakening then go for the heavy duty.  I've got the normal and haven’t had any problems with it.

I wanted something removable / interchangeable because I run a 3/4 plate. Makes it easy to switch at MOT time.  I also remove the plate altogether when on track for better airflow into the radiator.

[Mort]

No More Nails Exterior double-sided tape.  I've been using it for years with great success. There are quite a few other threads on this subject if you can get the search function to work.

[whatsup]

used these http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5-10-15x-N52-Grade-Super-Strong-Magnets-Rare-Earth-Neodymium-NdFeB-25mm-x-10mm-/291335971308?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&var=&hash=item43d4fa21ec epoxy glue to no plate and the rear of the nose cone. hard to move but still detachable for track days etc. only be careful very fragile if you drop or knock them together they will break.

[Jonathan Kay]

That's clever.

Jonathan

PS: Two aspects to removing plates held with Sikaflex: removing the plate and removing the residue. If you can get access to the side of the join you can saw through with dental floss or similar.

[martyn]

I’ve previously heard someone recommend putting a piece of thread or dental floss under the adhesive before mounting with the end of the thread sticking out.  Pulling it provides a quick and easy way to remove without leaving residue.  That was in the context of sticking down a GoPro mount.  Dont know why you'd want to do that with a number plate, but I thought it was a good idea.

[SM25T]

3m no more nails tape. The External use variety.

[Doug phillips]

Two plastic number plate bolts for me, never had a problem in 13 years.

[Max C]

I accept that you don't want to drill the nose, but I did and it looks OK. I epoxied 2 of M5 rivnuts into the holes and painted them body colour. Hold the number plate on with 2 of M5 screws, (heads painted white or black depending on where on the plate yoour hole is). You can now chop and change your plate at will. I turned mine back to front on a recent track day to hide the number. You hardly notice the holes and would do it again.

[Andiwen620]

 

Hi,

My 620 (3 months old) has numberplates fitted by Caterham Crawley and they used two brackets that clip in from behind the grille and then two black short screws that go in from the front. They then lock on a quarter-turn.

I only know this because I drove into a kerb on Monday and broke the number plate off and lost the two screws. (Caterham are putting two screws in the post)

I had a new Supersport R last year and they only used tape.

Andi

[makingff]

I did see a photo of a 7 that had the number plate mounted angled slightly upwards (like a small wing?) which I assume meant there was some kind of bracket under the nose cone.

I liked this idea and would love to be able to find the picture as I want to do something similar myself.

Simon

[Anton]

My last office had a long drive with humps that were just high enough to tap the front number plate so regardless of what sticky pads, velcro or tape I used it kept on falling off.  So I drilled four small holes in the number plate and wired it to the grille (previously I had one wired through the nose cone but had a lump torn out when I hit one hump and ripped the plate off one side).

[juleslid]

Chaps, that might have been me (S77VRN).

As a pilot I love my aerodynamics and thought that a full-size plate angled slightly upwards would push more air towards the rad, and might even might even help me towards the holy grail of creating a bit of downforce.

Simply used a 90 degree bracket attached to the underside of the nose cone and this puts the plate at quite a nice angle...

Jules

[Jonathan Kay]

Photo, please.

Jonathan

PS: I canardly believe you'll get much downforce.

[NedK]

That's an elevatortuous pun, JK. But I bet there slots more where that one came from.