[rgx3]

The dealer said they would drill and install the front license plate holder when my plates come in but I was looking at the front and there doesn't seem to be anything meaty to drill into. What are the options for mounting? And yes, I plan on having a front plate and not breaking the law so any temp mounting solution won't do, but thanks in advance.

[Horsedoc67]

One "no holes" solution is from gominigo.com which screws into the tow receptacle on the right side of the bumper below the headlights, however, if you have the M-Sport with PDC it creates a conflict. I just installed one on my X3 M-Sport and had to tweak the plate to an ugly angle so as to let the front PDC function properly. If you order it be sure to specify the offset bracket 3. I have one also on my 2010 Z4 (w/o PDC) and it looks great. It would be best to call them and talk to Meg to make sure it will work for you.

[Radioactive]

Stand mount works perfectly with the installation hardware. Very solid, no problems. I did mount my plate with a frame and plexiglas cover. Really keeps the plate clean. No bug residue.

[nyalpine90]

[RichardBR]

Originally Posted by nyalpine90

One little bump in the road, and the plate is gone...

[nyalpine90]

def..its very low

[Radioactive]

I'm still puzzled on using a "hide a plate". I can understand wanting to have a clean look in the front and be in compliance with the law. But if you drive with the plate hidden, do you have ESP or something that tells you the police are close by so you can flip it up? Or do you just have it not showing when you are parked? Enlighten, please.

[nyalpine90]

to avoid gettin a ticket if u do get pulled over u just show it, its hidden for looks only

obiviously if u get motorized one u can activate it to flip out, they have manual ones as well

[Radioactive]

Ok, thanks, Typical government rule. You really don't have to show it, just have it. In CA they would probably give a fix it ticket for not showing.

[nyalpine90]

it all depends on the police officer too..u probably can still get a ticket for not having it display blah blah

[RichardBR]

Originally Posted by Radioactive

Ok, thanks, Typical government rule. You really don't have to show it, just have it. In CA they would probably give a fix it ticket for not showing.

Don't you guys gave speeding cameras along the roads? In Europe we have lot's of them, and it is a serious crime to remove the plate in the front. You get huge tickets for doing so.

In Norway we also use the front plates when passing toll plaza's. Toll plaza's are all automated and everytime you pass through, a computer reads the plate and remove one pass from your toll pass account. If you don't have an account, you'll recieve an invoice in you mailbox after a few days.

The government also have cars with traffic cameras taking pictures of the plates on passing cars. A computer says instantly if the driver has paid his insurance, road toll or has unpaid tickets or if its a stolen vehicle. I know that some states in the US have these cameras mounted on police cars for the same purpose.

[rgx3]

Originally Posted by Horsedoc67

One "no holes" solution is from gominigo.com which screws into the tow receptacle on the right side of the bumper below the headlights, however, if you have the M-Sport with PDC it creates a conflict. I just installed one on my X3 M-Sport and had to tweak the plate to an ugly angle so as to let the front PDC function properly. If you order it be sure to specify the offset bracket 3. I have one also on my 2010 Z4 (w/o PDC) and it looks great. It would be best to call them and talk to Meg to make sure it will work for you.

There is no punch out hole to access a tow recepticle on my 2012 x3. There is a upper corner triangle portion of the black facia that has a seam and an arrow pointing to the lower corner as if to specify where to push or pry. I tried pushing on it pretty hard and it didn't move and was a little scared to pry on it for fear of damaging it. It's also pretty big and I would rather put the standard mount on since it does fit with the contours well. I held the standard mount up and I don't think it looks too bad but like I said it goes into soft plastic and not metal with sheet metal screws and doen't seem like it would be real secure. Thanks for all the replies.

[jcl8370]

double sided 3M automobile tape? That's what I plan on using.

[roundtree]

Originally Posted by Lotus7

That triangular cover will pop out if you press hard enough. That is the location of the tapped hole for the tow ring "eyebolt" if you ever need to use it.

You should have a heavy, forged single tow ring in your supplied "toolkit". The only other tool included is a very cheap screwdriver that can also be used to remove the front foglights for bulb replacement purposes.

And there's an illustration for it on page 247 in the 2012 owner's manual.

To me, this seems like the best solution overall (kewl, motorized plate hiders aside...Q would be happy). Has anyone purchased and used this "no holes" kit with the 2012s?