When I learned that my new Evo X had to be registered in VA (front + rear plate state) instead of PA (rear plate only) because of insurance, I had to figure out a way to mount the front license plate without drilling into the bumper.
With that in mind, I contacted Adam (Evo8dad) about getting the front crash beam tapped for a tow hook mount. The tow hook mounted license plate bracket I used was manufactured for the Nissan GT-R.
Adam took the crash beam over to JM Fabrications, and a tap had to be specially ordered to accommodate the odd M24x3.0 thread & pitch. However, they did a superb job with the crash beam, welding a bung onto the beam directly below the tow hook cover. Fitment is perfect.
Click on the images for a larger photo. I apologize for the crappy iPhone quality images.
The tow hook mount looks absolutely OEM. I will get better photos of the whole deal later today.
Overall, it only cost a little less than two hundred for the crash beam tap + weld. This *includes* the price of the M24x3.0 tap that they had to special order for the job. So the actual price of just welding the bung and tapping it is only slightly more than a hundred dollars. The best part of this is, it can fully support the use of a tow hook for a track day.
I would like to thank Adam for his time spent measuring and re-measuring the license plate bracket bolt and crash beam for perfect fitment, and JM Fabrications for doing a fine job tapping and welding the beam to Adam's measurements.
EDIT: More photos. I was too lazy to mount the license plate bracket to the bolt, so I just held it in place. I won't have the actual VA plates in hand for another few weeks.
