Recessed silicone license plate frames are the new best license plate frames

"Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein) 10/15/2020 at 15:19 • Filed to: None

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Four years ago, I !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! that recessed license plate frames, wherein the little tabs for the screw holes go behind the plate so the plate looks like it’s floating in the frame, were the best license plate frames.

This is still very much the case, but with a change of material. Instead of those metal frames that can and do scrape up the paint underneath them, n ow you can get silicone recessed frames. GENIUS.

Somewhere in my OCD-level perusal of new stuff for my Civic Si, I randomly saw an ad for this one brand of silicone plate frame called Rightcar Solutions.

They offer several colors, including blue like my car. There’s even a picture of the blue frame with a black California tag on the back of a blue Si just like mine.

But, I’m going to stick with basic black, because the ugly Maryland license plate design needs some visual separation/buffering from the body of the car.

And of course on Amazon, in addition to the Rightcar Solutions silicone recessed tag frames, there are innumerable other gibberish-sounding brands of silicone plate frame, with the usual silly stock photos that accompany generic products in all sorts of product categories on Amazon, like, say... !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .

Maybe instead of the current 4-series bucktooth grill BMW should’ve gone for this 1 giant kidney + triple headlight look? 

That’s...not what a DC tag looks like either.

Anyway, it’s going to be a little bit before I can put this thing on my Si. It’s sitting in my parents’ garage while I wait until my achilles tendon rehab progresses to the point that I can drive again. I’m going through a slightly long & drawn out tag transfer process thanks to the sales guy mangling the tag on the back of my 335xi when he tried to remove it. My dad drove my car with no plate on it, and the temporary registration (not tag) the dealer gave me in the back window.

I still have the never-used front plate from the 335xi, so I’m going to put it on the back of the Si and keep the front plate-free, as it should be. But I needed to wait for the tag transfer to go through before I could request replacement stickers. I just got my new registration in the mail today and requested the stickers.

Now I have to decide which of the bajillions of Amazon brands of silicone frame I want to get. Many goofy combinations of stock photos will be involved.

facw > Textured Soy Protein 10/15/2020 at 15:24

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But why do you need a license plate frame at all?

Textured Soy Protein > facw 10/15/2020 at 15:26

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License plates are ugly and when mounted bare on the car, look unfinished. A frame cleans up the looks, and these silicone frames prevent scratches . Especially here in Maryland where we have the waving state flag graphic at the bottom of our tags, they look *terrible* both on their own and in the ugly dealer tag frames that must people don’t bother to remove.

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > Textured Soy Protein 10/15/2020 at 15:26

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No frame or death. Seriously why do these exist? I’ve never used one.

Textured Soy Protein > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever 10/15/2020 at 15:28

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Butbutbut the silicone cushioning. 

facw > Textured Soy Protein 10/15/2020 at 15:29

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License plates are ugly and when mounted bare on the car, look unfinished. 

If you say so... They seem fine to me unless there are serious color clashes.

Textured Soy Protein > facw 10/15/2020 at 15:29

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Maryland plates are serious color clashes with everything except maybe red or yellow. 

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > Textured Soy Protein 10/15/2020 at 15:30

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I actually don’t agree. Yes, plates are ugly. But, adding a border to them and increasing the amount they cover the car (even slightly) is worse.

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > Textured Soy Protein 10/15/2020 at 15:30

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If they are on correctly, they shouldn’t move around....

facw > Textured Soy Protein 10/15/2020 at 15:31

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I will admit I pre ferred the old plates with the small shield.

Textured Soy Protein > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever 10/15/2020 at 15:35

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Trust me, these Maryland flag plates are truly atrocious looking especially on lighter colored cars. The only thing they look better than is the stupid War of 1812 plates that preceded this design, which everybody was like “uhh why does this need to be on our plates?” about.

ranwhenparked > facw 10/15/2020 at 15:37

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Yes, those always looked pretty classy to me, to the extent that a license plate can, anyway.

E90M3 > facw 10/15/2020 at 15:39

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Right, I enjoyed the plain texas plate on my car, thought it looked pretty clean.

SBA Thanks You For All The Fish > facw 10/15/2020 at 15:49

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To accumulate moisture and salt behind the frame, thus accelerating corrosion and keeping paint-and-body guys in new Cayennes.  Of course.

AlfaCorse > Textured Soy Protein 10/15/2020 at 15:51

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No frame looks better to me, even the recessed and silicone frames just make the plate visually bulkier. If the plate is mounted how it is supposed to be, how does it scratch the paint, it shouldn’t be contacting the paint?

That said I do like period correct dealer frames on old cars.

SBA Thanks You For All The Fish > Textured Soy Protein 10/15/2020 at 15:52

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Because of Fort McHenry’s pivotal role in that whole historical anecdote?

Tripper > Textured Soy Protein 10/15/2020 at 15:52

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Ordered, the o2s plate is right on the paint!

facw > E90M3 10/15/2020 at 15:55

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Yeah, I’ve heard (and it seems reasonable) that Texas chose that plate to be boring and thus encourage people to buy one of the approximately 18 billion custom Texas plates, but the standard one is a nice clean design.

E90M3 > facw 10/15/2020 at 15:58

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That could be the reason. I did in fact run a Georgia Tech plate on the M3, because I wanted one.

ClassicDatsunDebate > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever 10/15/2020 at 16:05

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same. Well, except the Wrangler has stock rear one that you can’t get around NOT using. (perfectly cromulent sentence )

Textured Soy Protein > SBA Thanks You For All The Fish 10/15/2020 at 16:06

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The Qeve brand one which is the source of the picture of the guy smiling on his quasi-BMW with not-actually-DC plates has a bunch of holes in the back for speed ventilation/drainage .

Textured Soy Protein > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever 10/15/2020 at 16:08

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Many cars only have 2 plate holes. No matter how much you tighten the top holes that can let the plate flap around a little bit, and it’ll be in direct contact with the paint.

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > Textured Soy Protein 10/15/2020 at 16:11

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I suppose.  The ST has two holes, but then these weird little silicon knubs to hold the plate in place.  100% a quirk

ZHP Sparky, the 5th > facw 10/15/2020 at 16:27

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I too am confused by this problem. So you get a frame that matches the color of the car for the plate to be mounted on? Meaning the main benefit is you avoid scratching the car with your license plate? I can’t say I’ve ever had that be an issue.

If the color of your car vs. the color of your plate clash SO MUCH to the point where you need an intermediary color between them, OK maybe...but that’s getting pretty damn anal about things in my mind. It’s a car..and a PLATE. Mount it and forget it. 

OhCrikeyTheRozzers > Textured Soy Protein 10/15/2020 at 16:27

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Just ordered a silicon frame off of Amazon and excited to put it on. I’ve got a white plate on a white car and think the black surround will look great with the black  trim. 10/10 with you on this.

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > Textured Soy Protein 10/15/2020 at 16:30

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“ Best frame” is like saying “best STD” or “best mem be r of the Trump family”

ranwhenparked > Textured Soy Protein 10/15/2020 at 16:31

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Sequential lights or GTFO

Textured Soy Protein > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 10/15/2020 at 16:36

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You mean “best dealer frame,” you must’ve left that part out, because recessed frames are the best frames. It even rhymes so you know it’s right. 

Sovande > Textured Soy Protein 10/15/2020 at 16:55

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You can get something different than the wack ass typical MD plate. These are all black and white.

https://mva.maryland.gov/Pages/Organizational-Non-Logo.aspx

Textured Soy Protein > Sovande 10/15/2020 at 16:58

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But that costs extra money and I’m not a member of those organizations.

I could go for a Chesapeake Bay plate but those also cost extra money.

A black recessed frame makes the standard Maryland flag graphic plate pop just right on a blue car.

Sovande > Textured Soy Protein 10/15/2020 at 17:03

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Well I tried. I feel your pain as the standard MD plate is real ugly. At least in VA it’s just a plain blue and white deal.

Can you get a random numbered personalized plate, or is the background still the ugly flag thing? 

MM54 > Textured Soy Protein 10/15/2020 at 17:23

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I took the plastic dealer plate on the 124 and flipped it around to be a “recessed” frame, worked pretty well to keep the sharp edges of the plate off of the paint, but I may look into these.

Textured Soy Protein > Sovande 10/15/2020 at 17:25

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The personalized plates have the same state flag graphic. And that’s...a lso spending more money. 

I fully believe that the flag graphic is fine, *if* it has a subtle recessed frame border like this. The problem is, that’s the only way it works.

The graphic is just kinda floating on the white plate, and looks like crap when mounted directly on plain silver or white cars, which are numerous. They look even worse when the flag graphic is half covered by a dealer tag frame.

GLiddy > Textured Soy Protein 10/15/2020 at 17:26

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When I didn’t want the metal back of the plate to scrape against the paint, I just put strips of duck tape on the entire back and then trimmed around the edges. I don’t care for license plate frames really, but I do have this one on my Toyota. Honestly, its a pretty good frame. The plate sits inside of tabs on the frame which hold it pretty well away from the car except for the mounting screws.

Textured Soy Protein > ZHP Sparky, the 5th 10/15/2020 at 17:29

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Maryland plates are that much of a color clash.

My OCD makes my cars look better than other people’s cars. 

Textured Soy Protein > GLiddy 10/15/2020 at 17:32

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I approve this frame, if it’s mounted on M cFly spec Tacoma.

Sovande > Textured Soy Protein 10/15/2020 at 17:40

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Normally, I’d be inclined to think you had lost your damn mind, but I think you may be on to something. Not about lessening the impact of the ugliest plate out of all the states by using a plate frame, but about the fact that you know exactly what you want your car to look like. I can completely appreciate that. Every little subtle thing will make it your own and I’m all on board for that. I had three different grills on my C30 and probably six sets of wheels. I went through three suspension setups before I was happy. Shit I changed all the interior trim to wood because I didn’t like the “upgraded” aluminum. And every time I looked at it or got in it I was pleased because it looked just exactly like I pictured it in my head, right down to the milled caps on the valve stems.

Have fun. Heal quick. 

Textured Soy Protein > Sovande 10/15/2020 at 18:01

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Yeah I have a precise list of nitpicky shit that needs to be tweaked. I’m not going to put on any stupid lips or skirts or any shit like that on, but there are several little things that need to be improved about the looks of the car:

I made sure no front plate was stuck on it.

The amber sidemarkers stick out like sore thumbs. I already have smoked ones + amber LED bulbs waiting to go in.

The chrome strip above the windows should go away entirely. I’m having it wrapped in black to match the rest of the window trim when I get my tint.

The white section of the tailights containing the turn signal and reverse light makes them look cheap. Having them smoked when I have the tint done.

The black wheels have shiny polished lug nuts. Switching them to black or anodized blue which I’m leaning towards as a subtle but appropriate tuner-y touch.

I’m probably going to stick wheel spacers on so even with the stock ride height they’re at least flush with the fenders. I’m planning to keep the stock wheels for winter and eventually if I do a BBK I’ll need 20mm spacers to clear the calipers. But I’m trying to wait a while before I do any lowering or buy summer wheels so the spacers will clean up the looks at the stock height.

The headlights are full LED, but the taillights are all regular incandescent bulbs with the exception of the running lights that come on with the headlights . Swapping the brake, turn signal & reverse lamps to LEDs. The brighter LEDs will shine thru the tint on the white section.

Sovande > Textured Soy Protein 10/15/2020 at 18:58

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Not you’ve really thought about it much...

I like the plans. I want to get my car tinted too and I also want to get the window trim wrapped.