brettallica

I know, I know. The below the belt shot was telling me to clear my heads when you know that I'm dying to do that! ... even though I know you were just messin' around.

darksom1

Oh yeah, I was fucking with you about that! LOL! You caught that huh? LOL! I know you will tho.

brettallica

Just a little refresher...



...and I got the chrome trim tape for the lower grills, which I'll be putting on tomorrow as well.

ttribe

^^The chrome looks sharp Brett...I'm still undecided on the paint, but I definitely like the chrome.

darksom1

The chrome look was an option I considered if I didn't get the go ahead with this mod.

dj pensive

alright i have a ron jon kit and am about to modify the grill into the concept with a floating "A" here's the thing any idea on how to mount the "A" so it's floating other than using zip ties???

darksom1

I'm doing floating A too, but I had the same question. Let me know what you come up with. How were you going to accomplish that with zip ties anyway? Did you mean to secure it to the mesh with zip ties?

I am looking for a look where it sits up off of the mesh. I was thinking that some type of plastic prongs or something had to be added with epoxy to achieve it. What do you guys think? PPLAPW likes the wide-open look. I think that's cool, but for me, I kinda like the A there to give it a little something extra. I might get tired of that after a while. The bar and stuff gives it too much going on. Just the A is what I want. Either that or a cool ass badge just off-center to the right!

dj pensive

i think i might have an idea that could work, lemmie try it and i'll let you know how it works out!

brettallica

I'm going for it.

Here's how she looks now (as of about five minutes ago):



See you in a couple hours (hopefully) with cleared headlights!

darksom1

Times up Brett! (j/k) Hope it's going good over there!

Buda

iTrader: (1)

^-- Nope he had 14 more minutes as of you post. He's almost at 4 hours now. If he would have had it done in 2 hours, I would have been...

brettallica

Haha! I'm almost done with the second one right now. I guess my "couple hours" was taken literally...although I will say it has taken a little longer than I would have guessed. Taking our car apart is HARD!!!

You know you're an AZholic when you're coming and checking in, even when you're in the middle of a project!

darksom1

Oh oh...somebody must've hit a snag! Check on you tomorrow Brett! Hope it went well.

brettallica

I got done about an hour or two ago, but it still took over seven hours. I just got back online after a showering and feeding, as I needed both badly.

One snag I hit was that I put too much silicone on the outside of the housing when I was being overly cautious during the re-sealing -- so much so that you could see the silicone once the headlight was mounted on the car. I then had to take the first one back off the car and remove some of the silcone; I then had to go back and modify the second one as well, which was still off the car fortunately. That whole scenario added a good hour or more to the ordeal.

Other than that it went pretty smoothly. The key for me now is to find a nice turn signal bulb. The chrome capped white ones that I got for this project is kinda dim; I'm guessing it's because of the thick chrome film on it. I'll probably go with a standard clear glass bulb that illuminates white. I will say this, though: the chrome capped once looks totally awesome during the day.

Now I'm doing the thing hoping that the seals last and I don't have to worry about doing the project all over again.

Run N. Gun

Cool. Can't wait to see the pics!

darksom1

I bet that was a pain in the ass! Wy do you want white bulbs? I heard they don't look as good. Plus, you can have the semi-legal look if you get these:

http://www.xenonmods.com/silverbulbs/

Plus they look hella nice! (read I have them )

rockyfeller

iTrader: (6)

Was at the dealer yesterday and saw an RSX done with mesh grilles center and lower. Looked TERRIBLE! Why? They were rusting!! Made the relatively new car looking like junk crap! I highly advise all of us to get the meshes powdercoated or coated with something tough especially if you live in a snowy winter. That front end takes a beating and gets sandblasted. I want to see if I can source maybe a non-cheap looking plastic mesh instead.

What is that gutter mesh that people have been using for the lower grilles made out of? Plastic or aluminum? I think they are not wide enough for application on the center grille anyways. Still at the "Hmmmm" stage with this mod. One of us has to finish this!

brettallica

Those are slick lights. So those are Xenon then? Do they actually illuminate brightly when activated? They look ominously like the ones I got, which are "Xenon," and mine are very dim. Here is the type I got:

http://www.cardomain.com/item/PILXC7443W

I love the way they look when the lights are off, as the chrome really makes it look hot, but the luminosity isn't anything to write home about. Ideally, I'd have a white bulb in there to make the whole front end white and chrome - that's one of the reasons I took out the amber lenses. If you remember, I have done the LED side marker mod, so this is all within the theme.

brettallica

Before (yesterday, same pic as above):



After (a couple minutes ago):





Avatar-worthy pic:


For the time being, I'm gonna leave the chrome strips off the lower grill and see how I like this. Plus it's Easter and I'm not gonna do any work today! I'll probably end up putting the chrome strips on tomorrow anyway

Midnight_TL

nice work...very clean!

PPLAPW

Nice brett...... Now with the lights, I feel your grill is better complemented... Looks good

The only thing I'd change is the white lower grills..... maybe it will look different with the chrome strip...

PPLAPW

I agree with you, my grill's are aluminum but painted. And they like to chip! But I'm going to get them powdercoated soon....

darksom1

And what else? Oh, I know...drop us a tip on the floating A thing! No way Brett adds black lower grille by the way!


Rocky: I ain't on the fence bro! Mine will be done on Wednesday of this week! It should be finished by Friday or Saturday. I will let the guy know about the mesh problems. And I will also be posting plenty of pics of my ride, as I have not done that yet since I've been on AZ!

Brett: I totally agree with PPLAPW!!! Having those done makes that whole front "white-out" look more aesthetic to the eye! Good job! Take a water hose and test them for condensation. Weren't you concerned about that because of the silicone issue? Anyway, I am glad they came out right! Veri nice! (like Borat)

brettallica

Midnight_TL, PPLAPW, and darksom1, Thanks for your comments.

darksom1, I am a little sketch about running water over the headlights just yet, as I want to make sure the glue is completely cured. The $hitty thing is, living basically right next to the ocean, that I am susceptible to fog and moisture all evening until the morning, which basically lengthens the drying process. Humidity + drying glue = longer drying time. The same applies to painting, and believe me I know all about that, having painted the entire interior of my house when we bought it. If all goes well, I won't have to worry any further, but I have a feeling that I'll be worrying about this modification forever. As soon as someone manufactures these headlights with clear corners, I'll be the first one to order a set so as to alleviate/eliminate my worries!

PPLAPW, I used your DIY the most out of any of the others, although I did use them all to a certain extent. For some reason, yours seemed to be the most easily applicable to me. Thanks again.

I think tomorrow (took the day off) I might try to go ahead and put the chrome strips on the lower grills and see what's up with that look. In the future, I foresee an A-spec front bumper, then a repainting of the main grill behind the emblem to match the trim on that new A-spec bumper, which is like a grey of some sort. I think that might look pretty hot. Someone suggested that in another thread, and I think I might run with it. Before that, though, I'm pretty sure I'm gonna get myself some new rims (MRR HR-2 Diamond Cut, 19"). I believe that is a little higher on the priority list.

I know the whole white-out thing isn't everyone's taste, so I appreciate those who at least enjoy it a little bit and are willing to share...and for those who don't like the look so much and have been holding back on bashing it, I appreciate that, too.

rockyfeller

iTrader: (6)

Bret: I think the white/chrome look is really coming together now. With the headlights cleared it goes perfectly with the theme. Maybe you could have tried painting the inner black parts of the headlight white though. (I saw another WDP car on the forum who has done it, I don't remember who..) I think he got flamed a bit for it since he doesn't have a "theme" going and people said it looked out of place, but it would probably look perfect on your white/chrome look. A chrome strip and mono-painted A-spec would look just right.

darksom: Attatching the "A" is going to depend how complicated u want to go.

I mentioned before how the stock grille has the symbol floating and raised on it's own sort of "pod". If your shop is creative to make something like that and attach it to the grille it will look cool. (think of that Mugen pic I posted earlier) The "A" will literally float and stand out. I think it would be really difficult to proportion, angle and finish it off like a factory piece, not to mention expensive if you could even get someone to agree to do it...

Less complicated would be to get a piece of black plastic cut to around the size of the symbol to use as a backing to the embelem then bolt/screw this piece to the grille.

Then there's the poor man's way that I will most probably use.....Glue that sucker on! Just buy some strong strong epoxy/glue, measure/mark and stick it front and center. Because the grille will now be recessed like PPLAPW's I wonder how the symbol will look right or if it will look out of place? I think it will look good regardless of the photoshops we've seen. Another embelem that could be used, if it makes sense to use it, is an A-spec badge. You could experiment to see if it looks better centered or to the corners of the grille maybe?

PPLAPW

You posted just what I was thinking. I temporarily mounted my 'A' and I did not like that it was flush or not floating, did not look good. But I'm looking into it.....

PPLAPW

And don't worry I'll post what I find....

darksom1

Man, this is supposed to go down Wednesday and I still don't have "A" clue...

darksom1

Are aluminum grilles considered to be the better choice for grilles? That's what the guy is using for my mesh grilles. He said something about putting something on the mesh first (treating it), then a few coats of paint, then a couple clear coats and that I should have no problem with chipping. That sound about right to you guys? I will know the names of the paint and treatments on Wednesday. He told me yesterday but I forgot.

Of course, at that time, I will be asking him about the floating A. The bane of our existence! The thorn in our side. Or, basically, the damn thing we can't figure out!

TLRIDA

this is the best so far

brettallica

Your existence will be de-baned once you get that done. Talk about making your car super-sporty; that'll do it for sure. I can't wait to see how this turns out (and I also can't wait for you to "be able to post pics" )

dj pensive

i've been playing around with the floating "A" idea and have been thinking, about maybe cutting the grill i have and almost sealing it to the grill i'm trying to figure something out to have it "POP" up from the grill but so far all attempts have failed when i do figure it out which i will, because i'm not gonna give up until i do i will let you guys know what i finagled!

Buda

iTrader: (1)

On the current grill under the cross bar center, there is a plastic "cup" that holds the A emblem on. Has anyone thought of utilizing that?

rockyfeller

iTrader: (6)

Aluminum will be better than standard mesh anyday. It won't rust....but paint CAN chip off it. I am trying to maybe source some clear very durable coating that can go as a last step for protection. Something thicker than regular clear coat. Like what they use to rock guard the underbody of some cars maybe? I wanted to paint my mudflaps too and this could be something I would want to use there too.

dj pensive

i bought a sheet of billeted alumnium from a machine shop big enough to fit the cut out, the holes in the alumnium are the same stamp as the ron jon inserts on my body kit so it's going to match perfectly. i've thought about going back to the machine shop and seeing it they could make a alumnium or steel form out of the cup and weld it to the billet if it's financially feasable i might opt for that plan of action.

darksom1

Eureka!!!! I think that may be it!!!

Well, that or something like it. If I can get the guy (and dammit I better be able to get him to since I am paying him) to see my vision, ok ours, then I can get this done!

Dj pensive, did you also try this when you got the billeted aluminum? To mount it I mean? Make haste people! They will be cutting my baby tomorrow! We must, I repeat we must have a solution! Can anybody try to photoshop it meantime in between time? Anybody?

A-N-Y-B-O-D-Y?????

darksom1

That's what we are working on!


Hahaha!! Yeah, I am going to go with another site called photobucket! But my ignorance is bliss because I really didn't want to post pics of my baby until after La Grille est Fantastique!!!

Buda

iTrader: (1)

Here's the cup I'm referring to:

PPLAPW

^ That exactly was what I was thinking, I've been looking for mine all day to post a pic!

darksom1, I would see if the guy doing your grill can create something using the 'cup' The other thing you could do is some sort of long screw type thing, I'm not even sure if that would look good....

Is he going to be doing all this in one day?

PPLAPW

darksom1; If you take a close look at the Mugen TL, the floating 'A' appears to be floating as if the 'cup' Buda posted was used. If you use the cup method I would cut off the "ears"/holes on the left and right side. Then possibly screw/glue/epoxy the back of the cup to the grill. Thats just an idea. I would see how creative your guy gets. Print out some pictures of the look your trying to achieve and have him take a look at them...

I wish I could help more.... But if I were you, I'd play around with the cup idea...