My take on 986 bumper grill mesh

[Hogosha]

OK, getting cabin fever here in NY because of the weather, so I decided to give the front bumper mesh grill inserts a go on my facelift bumper. I purchased 2 different gutter guards, one from Home Depot, and one from Lowes. I went with the Home Depot one (Amerimax Premium Hinged Gutter Guard sku# 4982185280). It molds very easily by hand, and I liked the design.

First off, WEAR GLOVES! When you cut, edges are sharp! Try and cut on the edge of the pattern and take your time, I used tin snips, and cleaned the edges with a Dremel afterward. I still need to tweak it a bit, and the final product will be Plasti-Dipped black. Rather than zip-ties, I am going to use stainless safety wire, and possibly a couple of small rivets with washers where not visible.

[ルーカス]

Looks great pal! Make sure you wear a mask while plastidipping and try to be outside, It can be one hell of a drug.

[Hogosha]

Thanks ルーカス! I will post more pics as it progresses!

[KRAM36]

Looking forward to your pics!

[Hogosha]

I have to edit the first post. I used the HOME DEPOT mesh and not the Lowes. I decided the pattern was upside down (in my eyes) so I went and bought another piece. Only $2.27 if you screw up!

[SiDGreat]

Have many of you done this? I live in a very hot climate and am fearful this will restrict the airflow too much. There's a set of these pre-fabed on ebay pretty often.

[Topless]

Originally Posted by Hogosha

OK, getting cabin fever here in NY because of the weather, so I decided to give the front bumper mesh grill inserts a go on my facelift bumper. I purchased 2 different gutter guards, one from Home Depot, and one from Lowes. I went with the Home Depot one (Amerimax Premium Hinged Gutter Guard sku# 4982185280). It molds very easily by hand, and I liked the design.

First off, WEAR GLOVES! When you cut, edges are sharp! Try and cut on the edge of the pattern and take your time, I used tin snips, and cleaned the edges with a Dremel afterward. I still need to tweak it a bit, and the final product will be Plasti-Dipped black. Rather than zip-ties, I am going to use stainless safety wire, and possibly a couple of small rivets with washers where not visible.

Looks good. Another option is to use liquid nails construction adhesive to permanently attach them to your bumper. It is used for roofing materials and holds up very well.

I don't worry about reduced airflow with these much. If you have ever cleaned out your rads and found trash, butts, and about 200 grasshoppers between the AC and rad you know how badly not screening them can reduce airflow.

[edc]

I used black mesh. You can also drill some small holes and use black zip ties. If placed correctly it's all invisible from the front.

[KRAM36]

Hot glue gun would stick it down very well too.

[juiced99ws6]

Originally Posted by SiDGreat

Have many of you done this? I live in a very hot climate and am fearful this will restrict the airflow too much. There's a set of these pre-fabed on ebay pretty often.

I have a set of the Zunsports on my car. pricey but very nice and just snap in. No issues with restriction, car stays nice and cool still.

[grc0456]

I found it a bit tricky to get the bumper skin off the first time doing it, mostly due to the hard to reach screws behind the side marker lights. But I HIGHLY recommend doing this DIY. I decided to purchase the mesh from forum member Matthew, and he was very helpful. Absolutely, if doing this you should remove the intake housing, and partially remove the AC condensers. You may have vacuumed from the front before - thinking you cleaned everything out - but the amount of debris between the AC and radiators was amazing. I'm so glad I did this. As said above, no worries about airflow restriction with the mesh - it can't be worse than what the debris was doing.

Here are a few pics:

[Luv2Box]

Originally Posted by SiDGreat

Have many of you done this? I live in a very hot climate and am fearful this will restrict the airflow too much. There's a set of these pre-fabed on ebay pretty often.

I bought mine from ******************************************** years ago after filling a shoebox full of debris from the radiators and condensers. They were not expensive and use a butterfly on a long screw so they can be mounted from the front and the bumper doesn't have to come off. It makes it easier when they have to be repainted and I've experienced no heating issues.

[londonlad]

Hello, all.

Does anyone know of a kit for this that fits a 986 3.2s and mounts inside the bumper?

I see you all seem to make your own but I’m a lawyer with no garage or skills so that isn’t going to work and the only kit i can find for sale is the zunnsport one which mounts outside the bumper and looks a bit flash.

Many thanks

[Paul]

Deleted redundant info