Mugen Grille DIY photo install - 56K Caution
09-06-2005, 05:48 AM
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Matell
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Mugen Grille DIY photo install - 56K Caution
Right Mugen Grille install time,
I know this will be an eat poo sandwich to a lot of you out there has it’s simple and common sense. However for exactly that reason there always seems to be an abundance of questions about installing an after market grille. Therefore I hope to answer them here.
I have a Graphite Pearl Euro with paint code NH-658P. Honda Japan didn’t originally release the Euro R in this colour, hence if you have a Graphite Pearl/Carbon Grey Euro/TSX you’ll have to get it painted.
I chose to mask it off myself to delineate between the cross bar that had to be flat black, and the rest of the grille that had to be NH-658P. Here’s the grille with the spacers you need to use to align the clip holes on the grille with the JDM radiator cover and colour coded bonnet trim.
This show’s the “single use” one way washer type clips used to anchor the mesh to the grille. Using long nosed alligator pliers, and a jewellers screwdriver, and a lot of care you can deform them enough to work them off the studs.
$86AUD and a few day’s later here’s the end result
And a close up to show the flat black to body coloured delineation illustrated in the Mugen install instructions.
With the mesh fitted
Now for the install.
I did this while I had the car jacked up and the front wheels off after replacing the front brake pads.
NOTE: There is no need to remove the wheels or jack up the car to do this. Everything can be accomplished by lying on the ground.
(1) Using a flat bladed screwdriver carefully pop up all the clips retaining the OEM radiator trim. Keep them in order as you remove them as all the clips aren’t of the same length. With the radiator trim off I’ve taken a photo of where I plan to install the ram air duct.
(2) Now get on your guts with a 10mm socket and flat bladed screwdriver and remove these three bolts, and the clip.
(3) Remove the 4 clips holding the front underspoiler to the lower engine bay closeout panel.
(4) As per (2)
(5) Use a Phillips head screwdriver to remove the top screw shown here. You may need to remove one or both of the lower screws as well. This is exactly the same on the other side of the car.
(6)Carefully pry out the bumper from the clips starting at the wheel well and working to under the head lights. You’ll find if you ease your hand between the bumper and the car they’ll come away easily.
(7) There’s two little studs that the grille and bumper hangs from, lift the bumper of the studs, and carefully lower it enough to rest on a box, or have a helper hold it for you if you have fog lights.
(8) If you have fogs, reach in and grab the base of the socket. Give it a squeeze and push down and it’ll come apart very easily.
Now find somewhere soft to place the bumper. Here I’ve drawn a simplified flow path of the air for a ram air set-up with fogs. My filters also damn dirty so I had to take it off for a good clean. You can also see the ambient air temp probe, chassis rails, horns air-con condenser, etc. You can’t really see it in this pic, but for all you guys doing an aftermarket HID kit install there’s plenty of room under the headlight itself for the ballast. The OEM ballast is actually attached to the underside of the headlight housing I think. I’m thinking about stiffing the ADR’s and installing one myself. If so that’s where my ballast will be going.
(9) Ok now here’s the reverse of the bumper with the black SAAS mesh I picked up from Autobarn for about $30AUD. I’ve indicated where to trim it. However I marked it up by pushing the mesh up against the inside edge of the lower grille so it was fully conformed.
(10) Next I marked and cut the mesh so I could fold it around the grille
(11)Fold the mesh around the grille opening into a basket
(12) Mark the foglight retainer access holes on the mesh and snip out a few elements of the mesh to form the hole. Pressing it tightly against the bumper grab some electrical cable ties and use them to secure the one folded edge of the mesh to another.
Use more cable ties to secure the basket to the grille by the vertical members immediately under the horizontal member.
(13)Lower grille mesh installed
(14)Grab your shiny new grille and attach the spacers to the cross-member using the supplied screws as illustrated in the Mugen instructions.
(15) Using a flat bladed screw driver unclip the 4 clips (only two shown here) that retain the Honda grille to the bumper. Now just push the grille forwards from the back and it’ll pop straight off.
Two grilles for comparison
(16) Install the new grille the opposite way to how you removed it. Sit it where it should be and push it backwards from the front.
Reinstall the 4 clips.
(17) For the Ram Air duct I picked up a 90degree rectangular stormwater drain elbow, and cut off the front so it was near flush.
I drilled some holes and being the impatient cheapskate I am, used the cut off section to extend the leg of the pipe and secured the two parts together with cable ties, and then just painted it black. (It was white)
(18) I installed the duct right in the corner of the lower grille and used cable ties to secure it to the mesh.
(19)Reinstallation is the reverse of the removal process. The ram air duct fits perfectly through the gap between the bumper and the front of the car. This is already a fairly large gap, for air to be drawn in, now air gets rammed in behind the foglight turning the area where the CAI filter is located into one big positive pressured air box!
(Sorry no photos)
This next photo I hope illustrates the differences between the original radiator cover and the JDM cover.
(20) If you look closely on the JDM cover you’ll see the locating tabs that are used to engage slots on the Euro R Grille. The Mugen instructions direct you to trim off these tabs. There’s also a round plastic washer/shim supplied with the grille. This is to go between the thin shim and the front centre hole on the radiator trim. Unfortunately the JDM’s must have a small clip in this location identical in size to those holding the wheel well trim to the fender. I didn’t have one of these clips spare, only the fat clips I had earlier removed. I carefully had to drill this hole so it would accommodate the bigger clip.
(21) Here are some photos that show the love or hate “gap”. You pretty much have to suck it up, as that’s the way it’s designed and meant to be, hence the spacers. It honestly looks fine when you see it in person.
(22) Removing the chrome trim is simple. Grab the same 10mm socket you used to reinstall the bumper and undo the four lightly tightened nuts you’ll find in the holes at the front of your bonnet.
(23)Grab a small flat bladed screw driver and insert it into the hole I’ve indicated. Pry it forward and the clip holding the trim on will pop straight out.
(24) Carefully line up the hood trims 4 threaded shanks with the holes in the bonnet. Working from the outside in to the centre, push it home. Reinstall the nuts and tighten it up lightly. You don’t want to overtighten it as it’ll pull the trim and make little dimples on the outside.
And here’s the finished product.
Lower Grille mesh and ram air
Hope this helps somebody!
I know this will be an eat poo sandwich to a lot of you out there has it’s simple and common sense. However for exactly that reason there always seems to be an abundance of questions about installing an after market grille. Therefore I hope to answer them here.
I have a Graphite Pearl Euro with paint code NH-658P. Honda Japan didn’t originally release the Euro R in this colour, hence if you have a Graphite Pearl/Carbon Grey Euro/TSX you’ll have to get it painted.
I chose to mask it off myself to delineate between the cross bar that had to be flat black, and the rest of the grille that had to be NH-658P. Here’s the grille with the spacers you need to use to align the clip holes on the grille with the JDM radiator cover and colour coded bonnet trim.
This show’s the “single use” one way washer type clips used to anchor the mesh to the grille. Using long nosed alligator pliers, and a jewellers screwdriver, and a lot of care you can deform them enough to work them off the studs.
$86AUD and a few day’s later here’s the end result
And a close up to show the flat black to body coloured delineation illustrated in the Mugen install instructions.
With the mesh fitted
Now for the install.
I did this while I had the car jacked up and the front wheels off after replacing the front brake pads.
NOTE: There is no need to remove the wheels or jack up the car to do this. Everything can be accomplished by lying on the ground.
(1) Using a flat bladed screwdriver carefully pop up all the clips retaining the OEM radiator trim. Keep them in order as you remove them as all the clips aren’t of the same length. With the radiator trim off I’ve taken a photo of where I plan to install the ram air duct.
(2) Now get on your guts with a 10mm socket and flat bladed screwdriver and remove these three bolts, and the clip.
(3) Remove the 4 clips holding the front underspoiler to the lower engine bay closeout panel.
(4) As per (2)
(5) Use a Phillips head screwdriver to remove the top screw shown here. You may need to remove one or both of the lower screws as well. This is exactly the same on the other side of the car.
(6)Carefully pry out the bumper from the clips starting at the wheel well and working to under the head lights. You’ll find if you ease your hand between the bumper and the car they’ll come away easily.
(7) There’s two little studs that the grille and bumper hangs from, lift the bumper of the studs, and carefully lower it enough to rest on a box, or have a helper hold it for you if you have fog lights.
(8) If you have fogs, reach in and grab the base of the socket. Give it a squeeze and push down and it’ll come apart very easily.
Now find somewhere soft to place the bumper. Here I’ve drawn a simplified flow path of the air for a ram air set-up with fogs. My filters also damn dirty so I had to take it off for a good clean. You can also see the ambient air temp probe, chassis rails, horns air-con condenser, etc. You can’t really see it in this pic, but for all you guys doing an aftermarket HID kit install there’s plenty of room under the headlight itself for the ballast. The OEM ballast is actually attached to the underside of the headlight housing I think. I’m thinking about stiffing the ADR’s and installing one myself. If so that’s where my ballast will be going.
(9) Ok now here’s the reverse of the bumper with the black SAAS mesh I picked up from Autobarn for about $30AUD. I’ve indicated where to trim it. However I marked it up by pushing the mesh up against the inside edge of the lower grille so it was fully conformed.
(10) Next I marked and cut the mesh so I could fold it around the grille
(11)Fold the mesh around the grille opening into a basket
(12) Mark the foglight retainer access holes on the mesh and snip out a few elements of the mesh to form the hole. Pressing it tightly against the bumper grab some electrical cable ties and use them to secure the one folded edge of the mesh to another.
Use more cable ties to secure the basket to the grille by the vertical members immediately under the horizontal member.
(13)Lower grille mesh installed
(14)Grab your shiny new grille and attach the spacers to the cross-member using the supplied screws as illustrated in the Mugen instructions.
(15) Using a flat bladed screw driver unclip the 4 clips (only two shown here) that retain the Honda grille to the bumper. Now just push the grille forwards from the back and it’ll pop straight off.
Two grilles for comparison
(16) Install the new grille the opposite way to how you removed it. Sit it where it should be and push it backwards from the front.
Reinstall the 4 clips.
(17) For the Ram Air duct I picked up a 90degree rectangular stormwater drain elbow, and cut off the front so it was near flush.
I drilled some holes and being the impatient cheapskate I am, used the cut off section to extend the leg of the pipe and secured the two parts together with cable ties, and then just painted it black. (It was white)
(18) I installed the duct right in the corner of the lower grille and used cable ties to secure it to the mesh.
(19)Reinstallation is the reverse of the removal process. The ram air duct fits perfectly through the gap between the bumper and the front of the car. This is already a fairly large gap, for air to be drawn in, now air gets rammed in behind the foglight turning the area where the CAI filter is located into one big positive pressured air box!
(Sorry no photos)
This next photo I hope illustrates the differences between the original radiator cover and the JDM cover.
(20) If you look closely on the JDM cover you’ll see the locating tabs that are used to engage slots on the Euro R Grille. The Mugen instructions direct you to trim off these tabs. There’s also a round plastic washer/shim supplied with the grille. This is to go between the thin shim and the front centre hole on the radiator trim. Unfortunately the JDM’s must have a small clip in this location identical in size to those holding the wheel well trim to the fender. I didn’t have one of these clips spare, only the fat clips I had earlier removed. I carefully had to drill this hole so it would accommodate the bigger clip.
(21) Here are some photos that show the love or hate “gap”. You pretty much have to suck it up, as that’s the way it’s designed and meant to be, hence the spacers. It honestly looks fine when you see it in person.
(22) Removing the chrome trim is simple. Grab the same 10mm socket you used to reinstall the bumper and undo the four lightly tightened nuts you’ll find in the holes at the front of your bonnet.
(23)Grab a small flat bladed screw driver and insert it into the hole I’ve indicated. Pry it forward and the clip holding the trim on will pop straight out.
(24) Carefully line up the hood trims 4 threaded shanks with the holes in the bonnet. Working from the outside in to the centre, push it home. Reinstall the nuts and tighten it up lightly. You don’t want to overtighten it as it’ll pull the trim and make little dimples on the outside.
And here’s the finished product.
Lower Grille mesh and ram air
Hope this helps somebody!
09-06-2005, 06:26 AM
#2
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hmm you know the grills on the bottom.
you know how you put the grill behind right.
but you know any way to do it from the front?
so the grill sticking out you know?
you know how you put the grill behind right.
but you know any way to do it from the front?
so the grill sticking out you know?
09-06-2005, 08:09 AM
#3
Matell
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You could reverse it so the mesh becomes a plug, but I didn't want to do that as IMHO having obvious mesh at the front is ricey. I prefer it to be discrete and functional so you have to look twice to see something different.
Oh and I did this write up for the aussie Euro which we can get a standard version of that doesn't have a sunroof, leather, or HIDs. Hence my talk about people DIY HIDS.
Oh and I did this write up for the aussie Euro which we can get a standard version of that doesn't have a sunroof, leather, or HIDs. Hence my talk about people DIY HIDS.
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09-06-2005, 04:45 PM
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Matell
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Originally Posted by CJams
Looks good! Nice write up. BTW-what kind of lift kit do you have on that TSX?
09-07-2005, 07:54 AM
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Matell
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Mising Image at Step 5
(5) Use a Phillips head screwdriver to remove the top screw shown here. You may need to remove one or both of the lower screws as well. This is exactly the same on the other side of the car.
Self explanatory really
Self explanatory really
09-24-2005, 08:34 PM
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Nice write up and looks good.
Just a note, but after you remove the four nuts on the hood trim, you can also simply slide the trim to one side and it'll disconnect. That will prevent you from snapping the clip (on accident of course), and you can use the same one again with the new trim. Just wanted to leave that as another option.
Just a note, but after you remove the four nuts on the hood trim, you can also simply slide the trim to one side and it'll disconnect. That will prevent you from snapping the clip (on accident of course), and you can use the same one again with the new trim. Just wanted to leave that as another option.
09-25-2005, 03:53 AM
#14
Matell
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Originally Posted by Tsx536
Matell, do you think the ram air helped your performance at all?
Great DIY thread
Great DIY thread
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