So I added 2 new things to the front of my car, the first was a custom grill install, I say it turned out about 7/10 because of my lack of skills




You can clearly see 2 spots on this one where i either cut the mesh too deep or it was a little small and didn't cover it all



The next I did today, im real proud!


Maybe you didn't notice it in that first pic




This is the main spot where it started cracking



I installed my new magna donnelly replacement auto dim mirror and during the process I did all that mess , so now I get to cough up god knows how much money to replace the mirror, i gotta call the insurance and see what the glass deductible is! I was really really furious when I finally saw the crack, oh well its my fault

 

i give that grill a -5 out of 10. that looks HORRIBLE. please put the stock back, or put an 03 grill in.

 

I wanted to add black mesh and take away the wings, since those things were done thats why I gave it a 7 out of 10, sorry you don't like it, I do

 

yeaaaaa.....no.

 

Have any of you gotten your windshields replaced? If so how much was it?

 

I paid around $400 for mine.

 

stock grille please.

if your insurance covers it, the windshield should be free

 

I'd get the 03 SMR grill surround and I'd sand down and paint the silver bars a dark black to match the rest of the grill, that should improve it quite a bit.

 

Yeah, I agree, that would look best. I've done it. IMHO it looks better than mesh.

 

damn bro. not feeling it.

 

er i paid 200 oem from my mechanic

 

What you could do is pick up a insect screen at your local auto store, it's basically a thin plastic mesh net material and put it behind the grille, this will hide most of the inner grille. And loose the A emblem
Here's some shitty cell pics of mine with the screen

 

 

That grill looks like ass!!!

But at least your trying.

 

HA HA well i followed the DIY mesh grill and even bought the exact same stuff, I really wanted to lose the wings and keep the floating A but i really like the 03 idea, i have never even seen one on ebay or the black market, sounds like it would be hard to find, i thought I would get flamed for breaking my own windshield, not the grill, well its staying on for now...but that bug mesh thing sounds pretty good, i got gutter gaurd, what exactly looks so bad about it? The 2 little holes at the bottom or what? If i had never included the 2 close up pics, and you saw what pretty much everyone else saw would you still hate it?

 

Not feeling it.. I would go back stock. I would recommend an 03 grille

 

03 grill surround is pretty easy to get. They sell it for $40 @ online acura dealerships and my local honda dealership wanted $46 for it.

Just paint the wings black and reinstall them, that way you can 'remove them' but still keep everything looking smooth.

 

Keep the '01 grille, but disassemble it and paint the background for the "A" red.



I'm not sure how this would look on anything but an SMR, but I like it.

 

^^^ That looks pretty good, how hard was it to paint the background?

 

 

Not bad. I took the grill out, completely disassembled the whole thing and sanded the centerpiece (220 down to 400), then masked it all off except for the oval. I used dupli color, priming first and then a couple of coats of color. Took a couple of hours.

It's been 6 months and it is chipping a little bit now from road debris, but I'd do it again. The hardest part was finding anyone who carries the SMR spray touchup paint.

 

Where did you find it? I grew up in Portland and am coming back to visit in august, did you grow up there or move there?

 

Baxter's

I moved here from Northern Va in 1992.

 

It doesn't really matter what you do to the grill if you still have a front license plate covering the front pointy edge of the bumper. It is this vertex which defines the whole look of the car from the front. With a front plate covering it, it's like looking at a different car.
If you MUST have a front plate, I suppose what Hemhaw has done by mounting it lower is better. I leave mine off and take my chances. But the car looks infinitely better without a front plate at all.

Hemhaw: Have you thought about not using a chrome frame around the plate, and instead making a subtle bend down the middle of the plate to keep the styling theme going?

 

I did this today to my grill. You can still see the inner grill outline but it's reduced.

 

Actually, I just turned the bracket upside down. This requires longer bolts and some fender washers. Makes a good curb feeler

The stock bracket, in the stock position, tends to wreck the paint on the bumper.

Others have trimmed their front plate to fit in the lower grill opening.

 

My plate holder has been on im sure since the original owner bought it in 01, it has since removed paint down the the plastic of the bumper, so I think taking the plate cover off is a no go, I live in TX but have WA plates now so I wouldn't need to have the front plate on really, but the missing paint looks HORRIBLE!

 

Wow, thats highway robbery. Mine was $210 with a lifetime warranty and they came out to my house to get it done.

 

state farm replaced my rear winshield for FREE. it's some kind of safety policy. it would have cost me around $1000

 

FL has free glass coverage on all full coverage insurance policies. FL state Law.

 

I just got off the phone with my insurance company and someone is coming out tomorrow to my house to do it and its only costing me $100, ill take it!

 

So here they are!





Looks great, very happy with it, can anybody tell me where to order the piece for my grill that goes along the outside? Im not feelin the chrome, I am also going to sand and paint my wings like some of you have suggested

 

Anybody know???

 

I don't think you can just replace the chrome ring, you have to buy an '03 grill. Try www.oemacuraparts.com, everyone says they're good, although I haven't used them.

 

No, you can buy the grill surround. Get it from any of the parts websites. You have to plug in an 03 CL though to get the colors.

 

What parts websites? im sorry but is there a list somewhere I don't know about?