Hey Guys
It's 4:30am, and I just finished it.

In person, the grille looks a lot better. These pics don't do it justice, but that's just my opinion, or maybe it's late and thta's how my eyes see it.

Took ~ 6hours. Almost done.

Other details later...

 

Gurgen, I can't decide if I like it or not. Sorta like my bumper--some days I really like it and others I'm not so keen on it. At least in the pictures, the silver color appears to be more prominent around the edges, so maybe you should consider painting it black. But I guess black would make what's behind the grill show up more so it's a tradoff.

Here's a comparison of silver versus black:





--Steve

 

I hate to say it, since you put so much time and effort into the project, but the picture makes it look less like a custom grill, and more like a home-made grill. The build-quality and appearance do not stand up to the rest of your car.

'03 G35s 5AT, Garnet Fire/Willow
Staggered 18" SSR GT1/Bridgestone PP S03
Eibach Springs/Sways, Stillen 2-pc BBK
Stillen Intake & SS Cat-Back Dual Exhaust

 

Gurgen, I have to somewhat agree. I think that the issue that might be causing the home made look it the edges of the grill. Because they are rounded going in, it gives the appearance of metal mesh on an outdoor speaker. I would try doing it again, but instead of it sitting on the outside of the plastic trim, I would put it on the inside of it. Does this make sense? or am I losing it?

 

Yeah

You may be right guys. Maybe it was late and I was losing it, but it does look FAR better in person... The curved edges were intentional. I did not have a frame like Zimbo does, so I could not have made just flat, like a screen.

Also, I did forget to mention that i will of course be painting it.... I'm certainly not going to leave it bear like that. Well, I 'll drive around for a couple of days.... and see if it grows on me.

G

<P ID="edit"><FONT class="small"><EM>Edited by gurgenpb on 09/11/04 09:26 AM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

Steve... I do like the black look better.... And I will be putting on the infiniti emblem... that's why I carefully made the very front/middle of the grill flat (you can't see it in the pic).

G

 

Steve, I gotta say, those are a beautiful couple shots of your car, which I had not seen before. What front bumper is that? Your grill treatment is nice, too. (I like that thinly veiled water & methanol injection system.) Sweet.

'03 G35s 5AT, Garnet Fire/Willow
Staggered 18" SSR GT1/Bridgestone PP S03
Eibach Springs/Sways, Stillen 2-pc BBK
Stillen Intake & SS Cat-Back Dual Exhaust

 

Just looked at it again.... pictures look like crap. However, I see what y ouguys are saying about the top of the grille having a curvature that stands out. I can fix that pretty easily, and will do so soon and report back.

G

 

The pictures seem to indicate the grille fabric has waves in it, as if the material needs more tension, or stretch. The shiny, large open weave seems to reveal every imperfection. If you can increase the tension on the fabric, and add a shot of flat black paint, I think that would help. When you're done, the grille ought to look like a black, open-weave visor, with all the fabric held in tension in the same smooth, curved plane. You may have to utilize a stiff[-er] frame around the perimeter to achieve the desired effect. You may have to use a lighter-weight fabric with a smaller weave, too. Good luck with that.

'03 G35s 5AT, Garnet Fire/Willow
Staggered 18" SSR GT1/Bridgestone PP S03
Eibach Springs/Sways, Stillen 2-pc BBK
Stillen Intake & SS Cat-Back Dual Exhaust

 

Sorry bro, but from the pictures I just dont like it. It could look great painted black, and maybe the pictures just make it look weird

<font color=blue>2004 TB 5AT Sedan</font color=blue>

 

Gurgen, im sorry to say because you know i love your car and all of the time, work, effort and of course money but i would only like it if it was painted black!! It looks really cheap IMO and i know exactly what it looks like in person, you know in our lower grilles i put the same mesh and did a custom job. It looked amazing at first but then took away the class of the car and started getting nasty :/ I took them out right away and loved the black again or stock, not a bad job just looks too home made i guess..


Martin
2003.5 BS G35
Nismo Aero/Sport Package
0-60 5.4 - 1/4 Mile 14.16 *GTech* and on 19's!!

 

I totally know what you mean about something looking good in person but not so great in pictures. Sometimes my car takes my breath away--but when I take a photo and look at it I'm underwhelmed. ILLG35's photos look great--I guess you have to know how to take a picture

Bullseye, to answer your question I have the Impul bumper which I bought solely to allow more air into the FMIC. It's the only sedan bumper I was able to get with a big hole in the front. There are other bumpers in Japan (Sportec being a particularly classy one), but I haven't found anyone who sells them in the US.

--Steve

 

Martin... Bullseye... Guys

No prob... thanks for the honest opinions. However, this is still work in progress, I am not going to leave it this cheap looking bare steel for my grille.

Bullseye...

There are some imperfections, given that this is a handmade piece, but the grill is not made out of any kind of fabric. It's the cheap HomeDepot fencing material. I just picked out a good piece, used my grille as a template and went to work.

In fact, I will get it galvanized and painted black. What you are seeing is a half-finished product!

G

 

Ahh glad to hear that, i knew you wouldnt do that to your G and your work haha... I think a shiney gloss black would look amazing, some other guy already made one and i loved it or like the Audi grilles the Kameis!!


Martin
2003.5 BS G35
Nismo Aero/Sport Package
0-60 5.4 - 1/4 Mile 14.16 *GTech* and on 19's!!

 

Gurgen, I was not referring to cloth when I used the term fabric. I was referring, in a more generic sense, to the material you selected for your custom grille. I also use the term "fabric" to describe poultry netting and most woven fence products.

Anyway, sorry about the misunderstanding, but I did not read that the grille in the original photos was work-in-process. I think your "Oh Yeah, my custom Grille is Done" comment may have had something to do with that. When you post pictures and say, "TA-DA!", people are going to assume they are looking at the finished product. Please don't blame us for thinking you screwed-up the install and then proudly posted pictures for the whole world to see! I'd say most of us here were stricken, and had a hard time figuring out how we would let you know... gently. :-)

Now, go get started on Plan B...

'03 G35s 5AT, Garnet Fire/Willow
Staggered 18" SSR GT1/Bridgestone PP S03
Eibach Springs/Sways, Stillen 2-pc BBK
Stillen Intake & SS Cat-Back Dual Exhaust <P ID="edit"><FONT class="small"><EM>Edited by bullseye on 09/11/04 07:22 PM.</EM></FONT></P>