KarKraze

I have been working on this combination grille for my Tl for some time now, the idea was to incorporate the Mdx grille into the Tl grille so that i would be able to use all the original mounting locations,the was many complications along the way and it required a lot of patience and to this point almost 100 hours of labour,i should be able to complete this project by tomorrow as it is in the final stages of painting.I know that Nexon made a one of combo grille and i think that it looks awsome,i appreciate your comments positive or negative on my progress at this point,the good thing is if this does not work out as planned i could always go back to my sports grille,here are the pics

I started with this






remenants of both grilles






i have used a combination of epoxy and ss screws to put this together







test fitment on the car





opening at top



i had to make a custom piece to close the top,this piece required a lot of work as it is curved from end to end and rolled at the front,lucky for me i have access to the equipment necessary for this



after the epoxy dried i did a refit and had to use a heat gun to close up the gap between the grille and the hood



today i had the epoxy primer and sealed done,i hope to paint tomorrow and take some final pics,i hope that i have no issues on final fit.

24no7

iTrader: (2)

looking forward to seeing more

TLtrigirl

iTrader: (1)

interesting. in for the final product.

HeartTLs

iTrader: (5)

What DRL are those?

KillerG

someone just put this on a tsx too rofl

defconskylude

looking good man!

KarKraze

Okay,
Thanks

I purchased them from ijdm toy off ebay,mostly for looks and to eliminate the stock yellow, however the high beam output is not good .


Thank you.

KarKraze

I installed the finished grille,the fit is very good however i am somewhat dissapointed with the finish,while the paint is good the prep was'nt,some pin holes showed up and a few hi/low spots,i am not too concerened with this atm because i will see how it stands up to the elements first and the have it repainted,these are the only pictures that i can take because i cannot go beyond the driveway.












this was my winter project and was done just for the fun of it,i prefer to keep busy doing stuff like this.Thanks for looking!!!!!

Treblig

I actually like the look! Very creative. The 2012 black headlights would set the grille off IMO.

types1fan

I think that looks really good, now you have a one of a kind grill.

HeartTLs

iTrader: (5)

The fitment and workmanship looks good but I feel like it emphasizes an already strong feature.

KarKraze

Belive it or not i was thinking the same thing,i may very well do it.

Thanks,i have a few options now,i want to paint the middle piece (with the logo) that was left over in wdp and use it on the sports grille that i have i think that wil look sharp as well.

I hear you,i am one of the few who like the bold look of the original grille so i don't mind,i did try using a white vinyl wrap on the outer structure (the Tl grille) and leaving the Mdx portion in the original gun metal grey but it did'nt seem right,i might try various color combo and see what looks best.

24no7

iTrader: (2)

Wow! that turned out better than i thought
Could you take pictures from better angles? Overall, it looks really good but can you do something like this?

KarKraze

I am not quite sure what you would like me to do,because my car is stored for the winter i can only take pics in the garage or on the driveway,i cannot go on the road for insurance purposes.Help me to understand what you would like to see and i will try,thanks.

Nexson

he means like close up and from behind the grille

KarKraze

Okay,i removed the grille from the car yesterday after i took the pictures that i posted,as i said there are some things that i am not happy with and will try to fix them,here is where i wish i had the skills that you possess.I can take any pics from the back that you guys want and here is a few

close up side






















i hope this helps,let me know if you need anything more,i will keep working on this until i am completely satisfied with it,thanks for your input.

809TL

that looks nice

TiggaMan909

I don't like the gap towards the bottom but aside from that, very nicely done! THIS, is the route acura should have taken!

shadow1

Great work. The grill is still huge though. Also does the MDX grill allow as much airflow as the original TL grill?

Mr Marco

holy cow catcher...Way to Big.

defconskylude

i painted my upper/lower grill gunmetal last night. got rid of the chrome and used metallic silver.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/defcon008/6661755093/http://www.flickr.com/photos/defcon008/6661755093/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/defcon008/, on Flickr

Nexson

stop thread crapping

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

^^^lol! Brian, you crack me up!

defconskylude

lol

KarKraze

Appreciate it,thanks.

.

I was concerned that if i eliminated that gap i would weaken the original grille too much,i also thought it would help with the air flow.


Not sure about air flow,this was also one of the reasons i left the space at the bottom.


Mr Marco you sir are my favourite poster,you always manage to say something funny,i am not sure how you do it but somehow you manage lol.The front end of the Tl always catch a lot of bugs,but a cow........i am not too sure.Maybe if i painted the original Tl grille in wdp and left the Mdx grille in the gun metal it might help minimize the effect over having it in silver,that's why the title say's experimental,i will consider all input and once again thanks to everyone.

defconskylude

maybe black housing headlights and make the middle gun metal to give it contrast

KarKraze

I am already considering the black housing,its seems that the top of your grille is open,is it?

defconskylude

yea its open. its just rubber foam lining from home depot. im thinking of doubling up on it

BLACKURA_NY

iTrader: (6)

it looks good, but very close to the RJ grille.... Might have been able to use the housing from that, to build your fab. RJ grille wasnt' cheap, and is now discontinued.

Steven Bell

iTrader: (2)

KK-very nice work! You should be proud of that grill. It's definitely a "one of a kind".

KarKraze

I also like the RJ grille and if i had bought one would not have mod it,the Tl grille i used was an extra one because i had the midnight grille installed when i purchased the car.I only paid $80 for the Mdx grille so it was a cheap but time consuming project.



One of a kind indeed lol,i kinda think of it as my winter stress buster,spending a few hours when i have the time working in total seclusion is good for me.

defconskylude

ya i was totally surprised this mdx grill cost less than $100. i was expecting to see them above $300 used

FYAH TL

Very creative thinking and job well done on the grill .

KarKraze

FYHA, coming from you that means a lot,with regards to your car i just want to say that you have the sickest looking 4G that i have ever laid eyes on and your ride makes any background look amazing.

drive4show

Bravo Bravo. Dude, your persistence is to be applauded. i have to say every time i saw an 07-09 MDX, i thought why not THAT grill for the TL, instead of the one on there. The one on the MDX had the same basic branding but was MUCH more rugged and attractive.

I am sure you got discouraged, but you were not dissuaded. Well done!!

I think it looks great. You should be on Acura's design team.

10TL

awesome work man! grille came out looking good on the car

KarKraze

Thank you both for the compliments,i am repainting the outer grille in a matte titanium and leaving the Mdx section the original colour,no rush now as the fitment is very good,i just need to refine the finish.

nanos

nice craftsmanship. I would definitely not be able to do something like this. I think it would look better once you paint it. Too much silver right now.

vester1986

i like it a lot, great job!

KarKraze

Thank you,the silver i used was way too shiney lol,i plan on using a matte silver/titainum on the outside and leaving the Mdx section the original colour.

Appreciate the comments,thanks!!!!