chrisaust

Got my new Trenz billet grille in yesterday, finally about 3 weeks after I ordered it, since it was on backorder. Took me all of 15 minutes to install it, and it looks freakin' sweet! Anyways, couple questions for those of you that have them...

1. When you took out the factory grille, there's that separate black plastic piece that rested on top of the grille and the little plastic "plugs" went through that and the grille to secure it. With the Trenz grille, the holes didn't match up the same, so I just left the black plastic piece off. Is that what you guys also had to do? Is there anything wrong with doing it that way?

2. What kind of polish should I use on the grille to keep it looking nice 'n shiny? A chrome polish? Or anything else that you think works well? Mine is the polished aluminum version, without the logo cutout.

3. Any other last tips for keeping the grille looking good?

Thanks guys, I'm out of the bucktooth club!!!!!!!!!!!! And it feels great!

Chris_RI

That black plastic piece does in fact go on, there are two types of plastic caps that you end up with once removing the factory grille. you will not be able to use the caps that were originally installed on that black piece however you will need to use the other remaining caps, 4 total, they are the smaller ones, they will be more flush with the plastic piece once installed. I did notice that 2 of the caps were difficult to get in, I used a hammer to bang them in, worked fine. I wish I had a picture to show you, but Im sure you will figure out what Im talking about. Make sure that if you use the platstic piece, that you have all 4 caps installed because it will rattle if you dont causeing a strange noise at high speeds (i had this problem, because initially i had only 3 caps after losing one when I installed the billet)

Oh yea, I applied a fix to my trenz billet, you may notice that the bottom of the grille does not clamp in, instead it stay in with bobbie pins. Well my grill seemed to move in and out when i pressed on it (ie when washing it) this was because the bobbie pins didnt completley hold it in place. The way I fixed this was to buy 3m thick foam tape, I removed the grille, and lined the bumper with this tape, so when I put the grille back on, the bobbie pins just made it through the holes where they are secured and the foam tape help hold the grille in perfect, and can no longer be pressed in.

Hopefully I am making sense.

Also, to clean the grille, I just wash with my car, and then go over it with windex and a microfiber cloth, looks pretty good when finished. I have had mine installed for a while, its pretty durable, much nicer than the stock crap. However mine doesnt have as good as shine as a new one, maybe I need some polish.

good luck

chrisaust

Thanks Chris_RI, I'll take a look at the double-stick tape, I still have some, same stuff I used for sticking on some pedals.

Also, I'll take a look again with the black plastic piece, it seemed like two of the holes lined up, but like you said the pins were very difficult to push in, and I didnt necessarily want to force them too hard if they arent supposed to go in, but if yours did, I'll try harder!

Mystery

Yeah the piece should go on. Mine was rattling like crazy for a while because i was missing a screw. Unless you enjoy a sound that will drive you crazy i suggest you make sure its on...

Chris_RI

its not exactly double sided tape, is single sided foam, maybe an inch thick, works like a bumper so the grille bottom doesnt push in any further, actually this is prob somehting everyone shoudl do, because my paint got scrathced a little when the grille would move in and out before i applied the tape. fortunaley the scratch is behind the grille(under the tape now).

Also when I removed the stock grille, I have a chip from the stock grille that was covered but is visibile with the trenz :-(

chrisaust

ahhhh i see what you mean with the foam, I'll look for that... arts 'n crafts store, I assume? I havent had the black piece on all day and havent had any rattling at all, but I'll try to get it on sometime soon.

Chris_RI

yea, you may not need the black plastic. not sure what is does anyways, theres a hole in the plastic on the left, no clue what that even does???

got my tape at auto zone 5 bucks

2004 Smoke

I just put mine on last weekend as well. Came pretty quick, even to Canada from US Speed..

Seems like a good product, but time will tell. Here are my beefs about it:

1. The packing wasn't good enough to properly protect the unit. Just a few flimsy pieces of paper around it. It should come in packing peanuts. My box was crushed on one corner, but the unit somehow survived.

2. The instructions suck. They are not accurate (e.g. number of pins, how to take out the old, etc.). Fortunately, it is pretty easy to figure out what to do.

3. It is hard to get all the pins back in.

4. Unlike the pictures on e-Bay the unit now ships with Trenz's own badge on it. This really ticked me off. I wanted a "shaved" look. I haven't had time to take it off, but I imagine a hair dryer and dental floss will get it off.

I believe I saw it posted awhile back, but it is a good idea to put some kind of thin foam tape on the bottom, other wise it will likely scratch the bumper when you are putting it on.

I like Chris' idea - I am going to try that (foam on back).

But it does look good on my Smoked Max. I find it is a head turner because folks don't know what kind of car is coming (Maxs are relatively rare to begin with, debaged it just gets better).

Chris_RI

rememeber foam on bumper, not grille, i wish i took soem pics when i did this, i agrree, the instreuctions are were terrible, it was all the guessing game.

2004 Smoke

Trenz's website sucks as well.....really seems like they don't pay very good attention to detail in some areas of their business.