Thanks for all the positive imput. I've had a couple requests for a how to write up. When I get a little more cought up I'll make one with pics.

Looks wicked! Nicely done... :thumbsup:

Two thumbs up for the "blackened" look... !

body color grill and black out home depot mesh would look nice. :) gj

Without being able to look at my car right now, can someone explain how to remove the grill. I've searched and have the FSM at home, but just wondering if it's easy to take off.

pop your hood and there are clips that snap the grille out...


looks good

It looks sharp in silver, but I'll put a vote in for blacking it out. Go into stealth mode against laser guns and such : )

further info on why cops like shiny cars, fwiw
http://www.radarbusters.com/support/product-tests/4.asp

that looks really good, esp with black paint.

There are three 10mm bolts and 2 clips. One bolt is in front of the hood latch. The other 2 are on either side of the grill. The clips are in either side at the bottom. Squeeze the clips and pull the grill to release them. I highlited the locations in the picture but of course you have to go from behind.

This only applies to the 5.5 gen grill.

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2003-...ofgrill025.jpg

if u wan to darken up the front end might i suggest clearing and blacking out ur head lights???

That's coming next month. Just trying to get the clear lenses. I've already swapped in the black SE tails and debadged the trunk. I even blacked out the trunk lock. Now I just need to do the window trim, grill and headlights.

what about the edges ? did u wrap it around with tape or something ? i read a post a while back saying that the sharp edges will scratch the paint with all the vibration...

They don't really move much. I don't think it should be an issue. At most it might leave a mark where it was touching but it would be covered anyway. If you were really concerned you could put a piece of tape under it and trim it close.

I did scratch the grill up some while making the pieces. That's because I was taking them in and out trimming them to fit and they were too big most of the time. I would recomend puting down some tape if anyone trys to make their own pieces. I wasn't too worried because I'm painting the grill soon anyway.

Not trying to revive an old thread but I've been receiving some PMs asking for a how too. Here's a quick basic how too. If anyone has specific questions feel free to PM.

You can get everything you need at the Home Depot.
The material is called "premium hinged gutter guard". You'll need a good pair of tin snips to cut it. You'll also need a roll of 22 gauge wire (picture hanging department) for mounting.

I made templates from some thin cardboard then cut the mesh from those. Be careful with the mesh because it gets wickedly sharp when you cut it. The pattern on the mesh has a front and back side as well as a top and bottom. I did it with the smooth side facing forward and the round part of the hole pointing down. You'll know what I mean when you see it.

The pieces cinch up against the vertical supports and are held in plade with the 22 gauge wire. I twisted the wire through the mesh at the bottom of the pieces in two places and twisted the wires together around the vertical supports. You only have to wire it by the bottom. To mount the bottom two I drilled small holes on each side of the grill to run the wires through.

If you are going to paint them I would attatch the wires first so they can be painted black as well. If you're going for the silver look I'd still paint the mesh with chrome paint to prevent tarnishing. I would black out the wires either way.

This is all a lot easier with the grill off the car.

I am also selling these pre made with the wires already attached for mounting. They'll come painted black or chrome. I'll also send printed mounting instructions including removal of the grill. I'm charging $45.00 shipped with U.S.P.S. priority mail. I'll throw in the lower section for another $20.00.

I test every one on my car so they'll fit right in with no drama. Just remove the grill, install the pieces and remount the grill. PM me if you're interrested.

not my style

Pshhh, waaay better now :)

yut ive deffently had that for about a year now haha

derrick is now selling the grills on ebay. make that money

Looks great, I might have to do some thing like that

Thanks for the free advertising but you forgot the link.:happyface
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...4867516&rd=1,1

great job man, very original, liked the unpainted better, but might use your idea for my lower grill, how big were the section?

Nice work. I definitely prefer the black version. Very clean.

Oh crap. sorry about putting the link in. My bad. I did the grill also just havent had time to do the lower inserts. I painted mine titanium color to match my sterling mist. Ill get picks of mine up on my site soon.

nice work... i may be off but you did mention painting your window trim, right? try black taping them out. im pretty sure do to time paint never works over chrome. i can be wrong but i can say ive seen first i hand results of people do this and not even a year passes with it looking like crap.

What did you use to mount gutter guard to the maximas grill. I have mine temporarily attached.

http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u.../IMG_07881.jpg

He used some thin wire from what i understand.

Did you make that yourself or did you buy that from derrick2k2se off ebay?

that looks slick andy... you put the stuff completely behind the grill looks like? give us some more input, i'm likin the way your front looks (minus that driver side headlight... haha jk).

front grill
 

Went to home depot by my house and installed it. Have a nice dremel tool for cutting the metal to shape. I would like to give my front end some more character buy installing somefog lights, but that will be a pain since there are no wires for the fog light installed, I guess ill have to wire it my self. And the headlight yea im going to try to work on getting it clear agian any suggestions would be helpful

andy, did you do it from the front or back of the grill? and did you use cardboard to trace out each segment or what? thanks

Well I was going to pull everthing off to do it but figured that would be a pain because if i did not like it i would have to do it all over agian. I pulled the cheap plastic panels off from under the car put the metel mesh behind it to see what I would have to cut to make it fit right. Then I traced it from the front of the grill and drew on the metal with with a black marker. Then if you have a dremel with a cutting wheel it makes it alot easier to shape.

i think it would look better with the nissan emblem off and the mesh behind. anyone know whos max this is below?

http://memimage.cardomain.net/member...1_517_full.jpg

not sure but that is a sweet looking ride. i like the emblem gone and black mesh covering the grill. Anyone know who this is .

Nope but it is a nice looking Maxima. Very Clean

Thanks. I already painted the trim black. I removed it all, sanded it, primed it and painted it satin black. It was a lot of work but it came out really nice and stock looking. I used an etching primer made for chrome. I also blacked out the front grill. There are pics on my car domain page.

I used 22 gauge wire but mine mounts in front and ties in behind. The 02/03 grill is different. It also comes out very easily.

that looks pretty sweet...

Not bad at all! A+ for creativity!

That looks like "Nathan's" car. I'm pretty sure he's here on the org (not sure what his nick is) but he's also a very active member on the torontomaxima.com site.

Im very interested to know how he got his grill to look like that....i like.

Hey guys, RudeDoggy is right, that's my max with the shaved grille. I'm just leaving work right now but I'd be happy to answer questions or provide some info about how I did the grille when I have some free time tonight.

Nathan- Im glad I just seen your car, cuz I was about to order those rims for mine. I dont want to copy yours, I will have to get the mesh axis insted. what offset are those and what width?