When I purchased my S-Line Q7 here in California, the dealer ordered the SUV with out a front license plate bracket. But the front plate is required and I prefer to have mine installed on the SUV, plus I don't want to give the police a reason to pull me over. So, over the last few weeks while waiting for my license plates to arrive from DMV, I've been brain storming on a way to mount a front license plate. I hit the local Home Depot, Pep Boys, and Orchard Hardware store inquiring on what type of materials I could use. Well, below is what I came up with and I have to say it turned out much better than I could have hoped for. It's very sturdy and does not move thanks to the sturdy form fitting aluminum bracket and black rubber bumpers. I definitely like the placement and looks of this custom bracket I made over the OEM one's shown below.

After investigating where I could mount the plate with out obstructing the front grill (my goal was to retain the look of the grill), I noticed there was an aluminum brace (part of the SUV frame I think) underneath/behind the grill where I could mount the license plate frame. This was perfect for mounting the bracket made out of a different piece of aluminum that I picked up at Home Depot. The aluminum piece was about 36 inches long and I bent it / cut it by hand on my work bench vise-clamp to mold it into the shape to match the mounting section. Below are the various pictures I took along the way...

This mod took me about 3 hours to complete. There were a bunch of plastic pieces under the SUV that I need to remove to access the aluminum piece mentioned above.

Also, next week I'll take some pictures of my SUV and new roof racks and post them.

Thanks...

















































































Sample OEM version of the US version front license plate mount:

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2008 Audi Q7 4.2 Premium
S-Line w/ 21” wheels
Ice silver metallic on black
Pano sunroof
Tow package
Ventureshield

California - Bay Area