German style reg plates

waxon-waxoff

I was thinking about getting german style reg plates. Whats the general opinion on them, tasteful or tacky?

Anybody have any problem with gardai saying they are illegal? Im guessing a "D" on the flag and the state badges are going to get ya pulled over

L1011

The font doesn't meet the requirements set down in law here (which specifics shapes and stroke widths but not a specific font).

You're far more likely to get away with them if you leave off the fake state badges and leave on an IRL eurobar - a number of boardsies have this and seem to get away with it.

Neilw

MYOB wrote: »

The font doesn't meet the requirements set down in law here (which specifics shapes and stroke widths but not a specific font).

You're far more likely to get away with them if you leave off the fake state badges and leave on an IRL eurobar - a number of boardsies have this and seem to get away with it.

There is nothing in the requirements about the actual font required. German font is actually easier to read then standard font. No issue with toll camers or any other equipment.

These plates also pass the nct once there are is IRL, county and hyphens between the year/county/number.

carchaeologist

They only look good on BMWs really imo.

deaglan169

Neilw wrote: »

There is nothing in the requirements about the actual font required. German font is actually easier to read then standard font. No issue with toll camers or any other equipment.

These plates also pass the nct once there are is IRL, county and hyphens between the year/county/number.

+1
i have a set also and no problems with toll cameras or gardai

Typhoon.

They look well on Seat leon too

This guy does em.... he done em for this guy

he's never had any bother having them on the car

Gumbo

carchaeologist wrote: »

They only look good on BMWs really imo.

look well on any German car imo

special deals on them over on bmw-driver with some of the forum sponsers over there.

Neilw

Typhoon. wrote: »

They look well on Seat leon too

Sure why would they look odd, every car in Germany has them, even Jappo's:D

sharkman

Eireplates

biko

Sure why not? They're a lot better than some other plates out there.

waxon-waxoff

deaglan169 wrote: »

+1
i have a set also and no problems with toll cameras or gardai

When you say "no problems with toll cameras", you probably mean you still have the problem of toll cameras

CharlieCroker

Seen them on plenty of cars but bery grand specific.

TBH, i'd only be putting them on German makes or the wider VAG range. One of the lads on here put them on a Seat Leon and (imo) they didnt really suit (no offence) but i wouldnt be worries about the legality. There's only a problem really if they;re difficult to read, which these aren't.

OP, what car are you thinking of?

deaglan169

waxon-waxoff wrote: »

When you say "no problems with toll cameras", you probably mean you still have the problem of toll cameras

very true but we all know on this forum we must behave ourselfs:D

colm_mcm

I heard they are allwed as they are an official EU font, as long as the county name is on top and the IRL is on the side then they can't say anything.

Eoin

MYOB wrote: »

The font doesn't meet the requirements set down in law here (which specifics shapes and stroke widths but not a specific font).

Any more details on this? I can't find any specific info to say that my plates are illegal:

waxon-waxoff

CharlieCroker wrote: »

Seen them on plenty of cars but bery grand specific.

TBH, i'd only be putting them on German makes or the wider VAG range. One of the lads on here put them on a Seat Leon and (imo) they didnt really suit (no offence) but i wouldnt be worries about the legality. There's only a problem really if they;re difficult to read, which these aren't.

OP, what car are you thinking of?

Ill be putting them on a 318is, i think they will look good on it

Berty

I asked a GTC member one day at a quiet checkpoint and he said

"Germany is a very very progressive economy and very orderly people SO if its good enough for them then it should be good enough for this backward country"

*Not word for word of course

BTW, I had German style plates on my Audi A4 up till around 2pm today when I took them off because Im giving the boss back the car during the week. I thought they looked good, unique but far from illegal.

Now If I put the Bavarian/round logos on the plates and D Euro Plate then I would be asking for it but I had the IRL badge, dashes between the sections.

Berty

waxon-waxoff wrote: »

Ill be putting them on a 318is, i think they will look good on it

Ensure they are metal pressed plates and not the plastic ones because they will not look the same.

Traumadoc

In Australia, the government will issue you german style plates ( for a fee!)

http://www.vplates.com.au/euro-plates/

Why we dont have this here is beyond me.

colm_mcm

Nakatomi wrote: »

Why we dont have this here is beyond me.

You can't figure out how out of all the fonts ever we don't use the same font as Germany on our number plates?

L1011

Neilw wrote: »

There is nothing in the requirements about the actual font required. German font is actually easier to read then standard font. No issue with toll camers or any other equipment.

These plates also pass the nct once there are is IRL, county and hyphens between the year/county/number.

Thats precisely what I said...

FE-Schrift (the German font) does not meet the stroke width requirements here (the 6, possibly the 9, and some of the letters have overly narrow strokes), nor the shape due to the cut 0. If you pass the NCT with them, the tester clearly wasn't bothered about an argument. They're perfectly legible, just not legal.

Traumadoc

We should have plates issued by the government, and if you wish you can have personalised plates, so you are not stuck with standardised plates referencing the original owners home county.

The closest thing we have to personalised plates here cost 1000 euro and can only be issued if you are the original irish owner.

colm_mcm

Meh, personalised plates are tacky. we have one of the most logical reg systems in the world.

slimjimmc

MYOB wrote: »

Thats precisely what I said...

FE-Schrift (the German font) does not meet the stroke width requirements here (the 6, possibly the 9, and some of the letters have overly narrow strokes), nor the shape due to the cut 0. If you pass the NCT with them, the tester clearly wasn't bothered about an argument. They're perfectly legible, just not legal.

I'm not a fan of German style plates, I think they're pretentious. However that aside, according to SI 432/1999 so long as the characters are black, 70mm high, 36-50mm wide, stroke width of 10mm and at least 8mm apart they are legal. It mentions nothing else about the font style to be used or that cuts are prohibited. If it's not mentioned in the regulations then it's not against the regulations.

14. The identification mark shall appear in black characters and each letter or figure shall have a height of 70 millimetres and a stroke width of 10 millimetres. The total width of the space taken by each letter or figure (other than the letter “I” or the number “I”) shall be not less than 36 millimetres and not more than 50 millimetres. The distances between adjoining letters and adjoining figures shall be uniform and shall be not less than 8 millimetres.

tossy

Berty wrote: »

Ensure they are metal pressed plates and not the plastic ones because they will not look the same.

+1 I have seen plastic German style plates and the look awful.

Nakatomi wrote: »

In Australia, the government will issue you german style plates ( for a fee!)

http://www.vplates.com.au/euro-plates/

Why we dont have this here is beyond me.

Thanks,knowing our government they will introduce this next month and charge 1000 euro for them!

I've had German plates on the last 2 cars (4 years or so) and i've never had any hassle with them.I have IRL as the country and no hyphens or county name.

Toon--soldier

Neilw wrote: »

There is nothing in the requirements about the actual font required. German font is actually easier to read then standard font. No issue with toll camers or any other equipment.

These plates also pass the nct once there are is IRL, county and hyphens between the year/county/number.

They failed me(just 3 weeks ago) with on the car because of the gap in the 0 had everything else on them IRL, county name in irish etc.

L1011

slimjimmc wrote: »

I'm not a fan of German style plates, I think they're pretentious. However that aside, according to SI 432/1999 so long as the characters are black, 70mm high, 36-50mm wide, stroke width of 10mm and at least 8mm apart they are legal. It mentions nothing else about the font style to be used or that cuts are prohibited. If it's not mentioned in the regulations then it's not against the regulations.

And theres stroke widths of less than 10mm on some characters in FE-Schrift... (when printed at the correct size)

The cut 0 isn't a standard 0, and I'm absolutely sure a judge would agree on that if it was taken to court. That said, the Guards realistically don't seem to care and the NCT doesn't result in court.

Lord Nikon

eoin wrote: »

Any more details on this? I can't find any specific info to say that my plates are illegal:

I love your black kidneys

Voodoomelon

eoin wrote: »

Any more details on this? I can't find any specific info to say that my plates are illegal:

Eoin, where did you get your plates?

I got mine done with www.eireplates.com and i'm not happy with them.

tossy

Voodoomelon wrote: »

Eoin, where did you get your plates?

I got mine done with www.eireplates.com and i'm not happy with them.

Why not? i got my last set done there,can't fault them.

Marlow

Voodoomelon wrote: »

I got mine done with www.eireplates.com and i'm not happy with them.

I got them from eireplates and I didn't have any complaints either. You are missing the dashes though, if I recall correctly. You need to type them in the field, too.

/M

tossy

I purposefully asked for no dashes on mine,looks cleaner and better IMO.

Eoin

Voodoomelon wrote: »

Eoin, where did you get your plates?

I got mine done with www.eireplates.com and i'm not happy with them.

Some place on eBay - I'll see if I can dig out the link.

Voodoomelon

Marlow wrote: »

I got them from eireplates and I didn't have any complaints either. You are missing the dashes though, if I recall correctly. You need to type them in the field, too.

/M

That's what I don't like about them, I incorrectly assumed they'd be included and all the numbers are squashed together. Also, the Lú above the LH looks like its drawn on with a marker.

Eoin

Voodoomelon, I'm 99% sure it was this crowd.

Voodoomelon

Thats great, thanks.

tossy

Voodoomelon wrote: »

That's what I don't like about them, I incorrectly assumed they'd be included and all the numbers are squashed together. Also, the Lú above the LH looks like its drawn on with a marker.

I think maybe when you typed the reg in to the order form you typed it 00LH9092 with no spaces assuming the would put the dashes in,it doesn't work like that.if you want spaces or dashes you have to input them.

Also just my opinion but i think German plates screwed on to the car look crap,it ruins that clean look the press plates give you,get yourself some German plate holders or double sided tape.

Kafer

@ Voodoomelon, whatever way you type the reg in will result in the plates being made that way.

You should contact Eireplates first if you are not happy.

rabbitinlights

I love them, first thing I did to my new 5er.



Got them from Eireplates.

Voodoomelon

Kafer wrote: »

@ Voodoomelon, whatever way you type the reg in will result in the plates being made that way.

You should contact Eireplates first if you are not happy.

All I said was i'm not happy with them, i'm entitled to my own opinion. I also said it was me that made the mistake and was wondering where Eoin got his, thats all.

MarkN

Here's mine, nothing too OTT, never, ever had a guard make a comment about them. Got them from The Wash in Leopardstown.

Sandwich

Tacky I think.

Good in Germany though.

Nothing intrinsically for or against them. Font is fine, only that when used out of their normal situation they just shout 'look at me and my german style plates' - except they're nothing worth looking at in the first place, and so the predominant response will be 'what a pl***er'.

conneem-TT

Sandwich wrote: »

Tacky I think.

Good in Germany though.

Nothing intrinsically for or against them. Font is fine, only that when used out of their normal situation they just shout 'look at me and my german style plates' - except they're nothing worth looking at in the first place, and so the predominant response will be 'what a pl***er'.

I don't see any difference in choosing these plates than to putting any thought into the choice of alloy wheels or colour of your car. They are just something to make it look better or different. So I don't see how it would make anyone a plonker, unless you were just looking for something to use to call them that

tossy

Sandwich wrote: »

Tacky I think.

Good in Germany though.

Nothing intrinsically for or against them. Font is fine, only that when used out of their normal situation they just shout 'look at me and my german style plates' - except they're nothing worth looking at in the first place, and so the predominant response will be 'what a pl***er'.

Very contradictory....

Tacky but fine in Germany??? would the not be tacky in Germany? is it the weather that helps them

Nothing intrinsically against them but when you see them on a car you or 'someones' first thought is pl0nker?

SpannerMonkey

look great on any german car , BUT only on german cars
i have a set on my Bmw 330d

selfbuilder1

I have a set on my Audi. Got compliments about them. Never any trouble with Gardai once everything else is in order.

Sandwich

tossy wrote: »

Very contradictory....

Tacky but fine in Germany??? would the not be tacky in Germany? is it the weather that helps them

Nothing intrinsically against them but when you see them on a car you or 'someones' first thought is pl0nker?

Not contradictory at all.

You are missing (deliberately?) the point : in Germany they look fine because they are the same as everyone elses and do not attract your attention. In Ireland, they do catch your attention, but as 'German style plates' to a greater degree than any (if any at all) aesthetic merit.

Just an opinion. The OP did ask.

Sandwich

conneem-TT wrote: »

I don't see any difference in choosing these plates than to putting any thought into the choice of alloy wheels or colour of your car. They are just something to make it look better or different. So I don't see how it would make anyone a plonker, unless you were just looking for something to use to call them that

The difference here is that the choice is imitating something that the car is not - German. Alloy wheels or colour are a valid aesthetic variant. Similar contradiction for me as putting a GTI badge on a 1.1 Fiesta. Its just aping something it isnt and looking the poorer for it.

jozi

I've a set on my E30. Went with hyphens in between because it's a 94, as far as I know pre 91 (90?) the rules are a little more flexible in how the plates can look. I didn't go for the county bit because it looks to much like an after though on them.

Ordered from eireplates (with discount) arrived within a few days. I made a mistake filling out the form (1 hyphen) and was contacted by trevor if it was deliberate.

Can't faulth them anyway, plates look great, even if they are cleaner than the rest of the car

conneem-TT

Sandwich wrote: »

The difference here is that the choice is imitating something that the car is not - German. Alloy wheels or colour are a valid aesthetic variant. Similar contradiction for me as putting a GTI badge on a 1.1 Fiesta. Its just aping something it isnt and looking the poorer for it.

But the only cars I see them on are German :D:p

tossy

conneem-TT wrote: »

But the only cars I see them on are German :D:p

Plus in Germany every make shape and creed of car has them

The do look good on a 'German' car .but my main reason for fitting them is the don't get tattered and old looking like our fantastic Irish style plates,where dirt gets in between the perspex and the backing plate,and any stone contact with the plate cracks the plastic as a result after 6 months to a year the plates look tatty and let the car down,where as my 'German' plates come up like new every time i was the car.

It's all a matter of taste i suppose.