Okay. Outmotoring's picture-only "how-to" instructions for the grills are... crap. I ordered the Gen1 grills for my 03' S. I'm attempting the lower grill, but the damn thing doesn't even fit. The snap-ins are bigger than the holes they snap into on the bottom, and in the wrong place on the top.

And there's not even any instructions for the upper (larger) grill.

 

I assume you're doing the aero grill?

If so... look on Motoring File - there are great DIY instructions there...

The upper grill will just snap in, while the lower one will need a bit of grinding and modification to make it fit.

MF how to

hope that helps!

 

That is crap. Now I have a car with no grill, and no way to trim down the stuff on the black grills in order to get them on...


edit: I can't even get the larger grill on. I got the chrome and blue plastic off; now I have the black crap that was behind the grill. And I can't get that off, cause I'll just end up braking the piece it's attached to... Cause I can't get the bolts out.

 

I'm sorry- they really should come with a warning label.

If there's anything I can do to help, let me know!

 

Is this what you ordered?

 

Yep, that's what I ordered.

Now I'm reading that I'll have to paint something...? WHAT?!

 

The paint is an optional step, its just for aesthetic reasons
(you can spray paint it and have it look okay )

 

I installed mine without painting anything, those bolts on the upper grill was a pain. I ended up having to pull outwards on the grill while i loosened the crappy nuts. The lower grill was much more of a pain. I plan on replacing the bumper in the future so i really didn't car what i did to it. I marked and notched the bumper so the clips on the aero would fit. then i took a 1/4" off the back side of the end tapering it out so the grill sat flush and nice. I them epoxied that bad boy in place using a 4 minute epoxy. All in all it looks good and it'll never fall off. But, thats what 2 hours of fighting with it will do to you.

 

Yeah, we installed a couple of them in my front yard at last fall's mod party... there were dremel tools humming and when done there were little black pieces of plastic all over my lawn.

Oh yeah - and I had to run a long extension cord and borrow my wife's hot glue gun...

To be fair, it DOES say on Outmotoring's description that modifications are required... though I agree it should be in hot orange and flashing for folks who haven't previously read the DIYs...

 

I read the PDF that was listed above, and I don't see why the bumper has to be taken off...

Also... What do I use to cut the plastic on the new grill? I can't think of anything that can give as smooth an edge as shown in the pictures of the PDF.

 

Where are you located? If within driving distance I would be happy to install them for you since you are having a problem. This is not an easy mod if you don't have the right tools.

 

I live in Boise, Idaho. >.<

 

We use a dremel tool (like attachment for our air gun) to do ours- the edges arent always perfect, but if done correctly, you cant tell if its a little bumpy.

HTH!

 

I'm in Ohio. Sorry! Anyone else out there that can help uRabbit get these installed?

 

Is there any way to do this without taking off the bumper?

edit: Also, what can I use to keep the top grill in-place?

 

Not really... sorry :(

We recommend removal of the bumper for install.

 

The top piece will install correctly and stay in place. Its designed to work with the hood you have.

 

Hmm. The center of it stays really tight in place, but the last two pieces that go into the hole want to come out, and do about half the way of the "screw" that goes in there...

 

Hrmm... That's odd. Is everything lined up correctly?

 

Yep. I'd give you some pictures, but my flash card reader is missing.

edit: added photos

As you can see on the last photo, the little black nipple thing is going thru; it just comes right back up. In the middle photo, if I were to push the grill down, it would slide in perfectly, but not stay in.

I feel like this product was made by a third-party Korean company...

 

Give me a call - I'll have you talk to my expert

586.296.6001

 

my top grille gave me some trouble but i worked it around until it pushed into place...as for the nuts if you can it might be easier to get some more from the mini dealer

 

Injected molded plastic from China actually (no joke).

You may need to fasteners.

I'm closer than Ohio and would be happy to help but you'd have to come to me. I am actually helping a fellow club member with one in the next couple weeks.

It may be worth ordering new fasteners. Those little plastic "screws" are utter crap. You have to use a lot of pressure to thread them of the plastic post so they will stay. As for the lower grill, I ended up doing mine twice. The first time I used a dremel and was not happy with the results at all. The second time I used an exacto (sp)/ hobby knife to cut a groove in the lower grill and then snapped it off for a clean cut with a pair of pliers. I opted to pull the bumper the second time too, it's actually very easy. I then notched the bumper cover to match the tabs that I left on the lower grill and used screws to set the lower grill in flush. I also opted to use 3M detail tape (same as the belt line blackout tape) behind the lower grill versus using paint. I figured the paint would fade and chip with grit over time whereas the tape would hold up better (or so I hope).

You can see pictures on our local club forum here http://www.psmini.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2705 but you'll have to create an account.

 

we have done quite a few of these ..

If your not careful the "nuts" dont hold that great ...you need to be careful when installing.
A trip to the hardware store should come up with some fastners that may hold tighter and allow you to "pull in" the sides ...

The lower needs to be trimmed ... maybe find a local club member that has don this and ... well ... buy him a beer.

I could dremil the lower for you ... but you would still need a bit of mod on the bumper.

It needs to come off for best results

 

Okay so umm... What kinda of "fasteners" am I looking for? I'm sure there's all types of fasteners... And what am I fastening it to? >.<