I drove my Copen yesterday through three mini floods and it coped well. One of them was pretty deep so I went on the crown of the road. Some !@!¥@ in a big 4x4 came towards me and created a decent sized bow wave which hit the front end with a thump. I expected the copen to splutter to a halt, but no problem, just wet brakes to dry out. Im saying no problem but unfortunately the front number plate disapeared sometime during all this. Probably when the bow wave hit.
More stupid than brave. I work on the north side of the river Wear but live on the south side and so to get home I have limited roads to use as there are not a lot of bridges over the Wear. The road I took was my only option, I'm just glad I got through ok. That road was closed today the rain got worse after I got through so the police closed it. I expect the plate would have been run over by the queue of traffic that was behind me so I won't be looking for it. I've already ordered another plate and have taken the opportunity to replace it with a square plate which I think looks better. I'll make sure this one is held on with more than double sided tape though.
Does the square plate fill the width of the flat section of bumper it goes on? I'm getting the plate tomorrow, but I don't think a UK square plate is as wide as where the plate goes on the bumper.
Hi DaG, I have just taken some measurements of my front plate. It is 12inches(305mm) X 6inches(152mm) the letters & numbers are 2.5inches(63mm) high there is a gap between the top of the letters and the top and bottom edges of the plate of 3/8inch(10mm). I hope this makes sense, I can't find my original receipt as it was back in 2009, but I have looked on a few of the show plate website's and it looks like you should be able to design you own. Oh. I fortgot to tell you to make sure you use the legal font for the letters & numbers or you may get a pull from the police or fail your MOT. If you are worried about the MOT you could always put the old one back for the test. You must also have the British standard number for the plate material or it will fail the MOT. Hope this helps. The width of this plate is the same as the mounting area and does not protrude lower than the front bumper, so I personally think it looks better than the square ones. I have just passed the MOT for the 2nd year with this plate fitted without a problem. See attached for plate size, I can send a PM showing the lettering if required.
I thought UK plates had to be a standard size, width length, etc. A mate of mine bought show plates of eBay which had a watermark pattern running through them. Sellers get around the law that requires the buyer to provide V5 and driving license when they buy plates by calling them show plates. Anyway he got pulled by the police and was told to change them, he wasn't very pleased. Looking at japanese plates they are more squat than Uk plates and obviously the mounting area is made to fit those. Where did you get the plate from, if my square plate looks bad I'll try and get one like yours.
My front plate is an import size plate. So is roughly the size of a Japanese plate. The letters are slightly smaller than normal too. The plates are the original set that came with the car from the dealer. Even has Daihatsu on them. Not had any problem with MOT's or the police. This size plate fits perfectly on the square mount on the bumper. http://emob1024.photobucket.com/albums/y303/CopenKenney/DSCF0084.jpg
Not wet, but drove home at 7 tonight in this nice chilly breeze with the top down! first time drive with top down and was romantic being sable to see the stars above me down an unlit road
