Number Plates on the Mk7

[Mountainman]

The rear is to hide ugly holes, and provide a good solid base for the plate protector to mount to over the top of the plate. Also so if you use Euro size rear plays, the mount can go into slimline hole separation so you don't have to have holes at the outer extremity of a Euro plate and no way to hide if you go slimline later.

Why would anyone ever need a protector for a rear plate? I can understand stone protection for the front but the rear???

[tonymy01]

The protector is not for protection but for style.

[Mountainman]

The protector is not for protection but for style.

Ah, I see. I'm for the clean, uncluttered no frame, no protector naked plate look myself. And on the base model I don"t have to worry about that ugly & seemingly unnecessary front base on the GTI / R.

[ziggyboy]

+1 on having no frame/protector. Plates look really nice without them. The number plate borders gets hidden with frames so it's not as nice.

[CT69]

It depends a lot on what style of plate you have, which varies from state to state. I agree many look better when you can see the border (especially if it is a colored).
My plates are identical to my Avatar seen here, and the black and white looks good in a black framed protector against the white paint of the car (and black front grill of the GTI, which I don't have yet)

[n0d3]

Also with covers, you can get security screws to secure it against the plate if you're afraid of people stealing your plates.

[CT69]

A quick update on Lakin baseplates and covers I ordered from Philip Reeve. They arrived on 17th as promised. The workmanship of the base plates is great, and they look fabulous. The covers will suit my plates quite well.
Instructions provided are very clear, and the couple of small queries I had were very promptly answered via email by Philip.
Now all I need is a car to put them on! (ETA 28-30th April). Will post more pics then.

[Dutch77]

+1 on Philip's service and workmanship. He pushed my order through and it also arrived last week as promised and looks great. There's a small VWW discount as well for those that don't know.

Understand what people are saying re: uncluttered look, but I've ordered covers for the front and rear. Not a big expense and figured I'd try it out. If it looks bad then I'll just take them off. I'll post up some pics of the finished look.. I just need a car first.

[CT69]

Dutch77: what option did you go for on the front? VWs wide OEM plastic bumper is much wider than my slimline non-Euro plate. I got Philip to make a baseplate to fit the existing holes, which is 7cm wider each side than my plates. In black and white (baseplate, number plates, white car) this will look good, and is much neater than the VW bumper.
The other option was to get perfectly matched white filler plugs for the existing holes, then fit a smaller baseplate to match the number plate. I didn't want to drill any extra holes, so avoided this.

[Dutch77]

Dutch77: what option did you go for on the front? VWs wide OEM plastic bumper is much wider than my slimline non-Euro plate. I got Philip to make a baseplate to fit the existing holes, which is 7cm wider each side than my plates. In black and white (baseplate, number plates, white car) this will look good, and is much neater than the VW bumper.
The other option was to get perfectly matched white filler plugs for the existing holes, then fit a smaller baseplate to match the number plate. I didn't want to drill any extra holes, so avoided this.

That was easy for me - in SA we only have full sized Euros so it mounts straight on.

They are a total rip off but I like the look.. always chuckle when I see them fitted to Australian/Japanese cars, they just don't look right.

There is a chance that at some point during my ownership of this vehicle I will end up interstate, so I was particularly keen to avoid wide drill holes in the rear bumper. Ideally I'd shift to a slimline Euro look but who knows. Good to know I can check your out for my Queensland option.

[CT69]

I have 372x100 at the front, and standard size (372x134) at the back. Philip has designed the spacing of the four drilled holes at the rear such that any size plate can be substituted in the future

[wasabiz]

Hmm... Do you think I would need to get one of this if I were to get a Europlate over at WA?

[CT69]

wasabiz: like many things we do to our cars, this is a pretty personal decision. My personalised plates have covers mostly to protect them (in Qld at least they are transferable from vehicle to vehicle). The Kingpin covers form a waterproof and dust proof seal with the base plate. They are sturdier than the standard $1 rubber edge cushions provided by most dealers (as advertisement more than plate protection) and better quality I think than Altrex protectors.
Why bother with a base plate?
The Lakin base plate at the rear protects the paintwork from being damaged by the number plate, and is designed to be interchangeable for any size plate without having to drill lots more holes in your car if you change plate size. At the front, it is neater and less bulky than the VW plastic bumper.
Suggest you check out the Lakin website.
I cannot speak highly enough of the customer service and workmanship provided by Philip Reeve.

[Dutch77]

Hmm... Do you think I would need to get one of this if I were to get a Europlate over at WA?

You'd need something like CT69's set up if you went what's called baby Euro in WA, otherwise the standard size is full sized and fills the front holder in full. You guys get a lot of choices unlike us SAers.

Failing all that I see you also have frangipani plates.

[wasabiz]

wasabiz: like many things we do to our cars, this is a pretty personal decision. My personalised plates have covers mostly to protect them (in Qld at least they are transferable from vehicle to vehicle). The Kingpin covers form a waterproof and dust proof seal with the base plate. They are sturdier than the standard $1 rubber edge cushions provided by most dealers (as advertisement more than plate protection) and better quality I think than Altrex protectors.
Why bother with a base plate?
The Lakin base plate at the rear protects the paintwork from being damaged by the number plate, and is designed to be interchangeable for any size plate without having to drill lots more holes in your car if you change plate size. At the front, it is neater and less bulky than the VW plastic bumper.
Suggest you check out the Lakin website.
I cannot speak highly enough of the customer service and workmanship provided by Philip Reeve.

Thanks for the info. Yeah, looks like I'm gonna have to go over to the website and have a chat with Philip.