Just curious as to what you boys & girls think about putting a '97 front bumper cover & grill on a '95 SE.

I love the look of the '97 - '99 front end, but can't justify spending the bucks to get the newer model. So, I thought I'd do the next best thing by replacing the front end.

Is it a cheesey thing to do?? Ricey?? Rice with Cheese??

As I said before, just curious as to what everyone's opinion is on the subject.

 

No, Its been done many times. Looks good in my opinion.

 

Yeah I think the '97-99 front end is much hotter than the 95-96 (no offense). I used to have a '95 GLE and I always thought it was kinda uglee compared to the '97-99 and I always wanted one. So finally I wrecked my '95 and got a '97 So definetly swap your front end.

-Jon

 

i always wanted to do this mod. I just never got around to it. Plus i get more compliments now that i have the meshed out grill and bumper.

Ant

 

I did this. I like the 95-96 far more than the 97+ grille. Check it out at www.cardomain.com/id/nealoc187

 

Anthony is right...why spend lots of money on the 97 conversion when you can spend $10 and make a mesh grille yourself? That's what me and Ant did...after all we are twins.

Here's a shot of my front end:





Add a front lip to the mix and you got yourself a bumper setup that looks very different then the ooglie stock one. Although a '97-99 bumper with this exact setup might look a little better, it's gonna cost you!

 

I see nothing special

 

i also like the 95/96 styling (save the steering wheel) much better than the 97+

i dont like the grill on the 97+, the fog lights are ok and i like the 95/96 rear end MUCH more, if only i could red\clear easily...

 

hmmm how do you do it, I mean it looks pretty simple, but my grill on my 99se has these plastice fins deals going across and up and down, putting the wire mesh over it and tieing it in wouldn't look so good... why don't they sell a direct grille replacment with the wire mesh look for 4th gens? or do they? hehe

 

The lip definitely makes an improvement.

 

Craig your still rollin on 17's though... :

j/k bro!

Ant

 

Why not just do the grille? Or maybe even the headlights? Remember, though, the 97-99 healdights look better, but the 95/96s are better.

Whenever reports are mentioned about how bad the 95/95 bumpers are, its the rear bumper that's shown, the front is probably OK. Besides, the front bumpers on the 95/96s are hard to tell different from the 97-99s. The rear end, on the other hand, that's waaaay different.

If I had a 95/96 Max, I would put the newer grille on the front, and update the entire rear end.

DW

 

I know man 18's look soo much better, but they dull off the line performance and most importantly usually cost an arm and a leg for tires. How much do you pay for your tires and what's the treadwear, rating, ect. ?

For my 17x8 Caffeine's I wrap them with Nankang Sport 225/45/17R, good treadwear, and H-rated for speed which is decent. BUT I only pay $88 a peice for them. A year has passed and it's already time for new tires, I can't imagine how short it would be with 18's

 

i am with you on that one DW.

i really like the 95/96 front end. no offense but i have gotten tired of seeing so many 97-99 front ends. seeing the subtle difference on the 95/96 is refreshing, especially with the lip.

but the rear end of the 95/96 is no match for the newer ones. if i was into it i would change the rear and not the front. maybe one day

 

i have a 96SE w/ 97+ front... but i did that when the front got jacked in an accident. IMO, i like it alot... doest look cheezy at all

 

Tread wear is not determined by the size of the rim, just the tread wear rating. Also, since you have 17x8s, why'd you put 225s instead of 235s on your rims?

DW

 

Honestly, I was a complete newbie at the time. This is my first car and at the time I knew nothing about anything. 235's would look wider right? That's precisely the look I was going for too, go figure.

DW, you say it's not the size of the rim rather the treadrating..in the case of an 18" rim in order for it to have as good/better treadlife then a 17" rim, doesn't it have to pack more weight? I bet it's expensive as well..

 

im rollin on 235/40/18 Kumho Ecsta's Z-rated tires. Their tread wear is actually better than some Toyo, BG, Goodyr and other brands i was pricing out. I fugured id go for the better tread life than just a stupid name on the side of my rim. Plus Kumho is a very reputable tire.

As far as performance, i can still hit any turn just as easily as i did on my 17" Monsoons. Those where wrapped with Sumitomo-Z's and they wore down in a yr!! But the only thing i dont like about 18's is the harshness of the ride, that i will say got a lil worse but i can deal with it.

But it all evens out by all the attention i get when driving around on 18's plus i eliminated almost an inch in my wheel well too, so now its a 2finger gap all around. nice and even...

i paid $1600 SHIPPED for rims/tires BTW!

Ant

 

Well, next set, get some 235s

As for the tread rtaing, think about it, take a Kumho ECSTA in 17" and 18" sizes. Both tires will be the same, but the height of the sidewall will be shorter on the 18". That's rthe main reason that 18s are more harsh, the sidewall is shorter. They can share the exact same tread, the horizontal part that touches the ground. Looking at a more extreme difference, compare a 15" to an 18". The sidewall is way higher on the 15", but the tread part, the horizontal part on the bottom, is pretty much the same. If you look at the tire from inside the rim, the tread part is the same thickness, about a 1/4" Usually the 18 is wider, but that's because of plus sizing.


HTH

DW