My thoughts on TRENZ Grill install (including improvements)
07-24-2004, 05:26 AM
#1
Donating Maxima.org Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2004
Posts: 840
TRENZ Grill Installation Tips
After waiting about 5 weeks, i was happy that my TRENZ grille was finally here. I slapped it on the car in about 10 minutes. It looked good at the moment as my relief from the impatience of waiting for this thing for so long had finally disappeared.
It was love at 1st sight.
The next day, i started examing the grille, fit and install more closely and found several things that i wasn't happy with it.
BTW ---- I bought the Matte finished grill. The following may or may not apply to the polished one.
1. The matte finished looked dull as expected. What i didn't expect was that the grill showed a lot of cut marks and imperfections all over it. I looked like they cut is out of a chunk of aluminum with a hack saw.
Fix:
This definitely needed fixing. I went to the autostore and bought 1000 and 2000 grit wet sandpaper. I took the grille off the car. I lightly sanded the complete grille with the 1000 grit paper. This removed the imperfections. I finished it off by sanding the whole grille a second time with the 2000 grit paper which made it very smooth. But the grille was still not shiny at this point. I bought some Mother's Billet Polish and polished the grille to a brilliant shiny finish. Almost looks like chrome.
Please see pics in next post (apparently i'm going over the image by post limit)
Disclaimer: DO NOT DO THE ABOVE TO A POLISHED GRILLE. I read that they have a clear coat on them.
2. The grille did not fit the way i wanted it and wasn't flush with the hood/front of the car. It was sticking out more on the driver's side and was hitting the underside of the hood. The stock plastic rivets that hold the stock grill are easy to pop out and re-use, but they do not provide a secure and tight enough hold for the grille. Or they do not hold tight enough to hold the grill where it will fit perfectly.
Fix: Re-installed grille using nuts and bolts shown below:
This allowed me to position the grille where i wanted it and tighten it down. This baby is in there to stay
3. When you push slightly on the grille (i.e. like when washing your car, etc...) the grille moved towards the back of the car. This created the potential for the grill to scratch good ol' SilverBelle's paint on the bumper
. This is inherent in the way the grill is made and clipped on the the front of the car.
I bought 4 flat metal strips and used small stainless steel nuts and bolts (1/4") and fastened them to the grille's mounting tab in front of the mounting bracket. I test fit the grill into the position that i wanted it to sit and made a line where the strips should be fastened.
Grille does not move backwards anymore and is very solid in its perfect position. The possiblity of grille scratching my paint has been eliminated.
4. Install was easy but you need arms the size of Olive Oil's (from Popeye) to get the last driver's side hairpin clip settled into the mounting tab hole. The hairpin clips are used to secure the grill to the stock mounting brackets. I started inserting pins from the passenger side towards the dirvers' side. I highly recommend that anyone start from the dirver's side and work your way towards the passenger side for a more comfortable install and less loss of blood....ouch !
5. It is difficult to remove the NISSAN hamburger logo from the stock grille. To do it again, i would just buy another logo from the dealer and save myself the aggravation.
That about it for now. I hope this is helpful for someone out there comtemplating a new grille. Let me know if you have any questions.
BTW... the grille looks hot and i've already received a lot of compliment from people in parking lots or passerbys.
And also i saved myslef about 75$ considering USD$ to CDN$ conversion by buying the matte grille and polishing it myself.
Bob
It was love at 1st sight.
The next day, i started examing the grille, fit and install more closely and found several things that i wasn't happy with it.
BTW ---- I bought the Matte finished grill. The following may or may not apply to the polished one.
1. The matte finished looked dull as expected. What i didn't expect was that the grill showed a lot of cut marks and imperfections all over it. I looked like they cut is out of a chunk of aluminum with a hack saw.
Fix:
This definitely needed fixing. I went to the autostore and bought 1000 and 2000 grit wet sandpaper. I took the grille off the car. I lightly sanded the complete grille with the 1000 grit paper. This removed the imperfections. I finished it off by sanding the whole grille a second time with the 2000 grit paper which made it very smooth. But the grille was still not shiny at this point. I bought some Mother's Billet Polish and polished the grille to a brilliant shiny finish. Almost looks like chrome.
Please see pics in next post (apparently i'm going over the image by post limit)
Disclaimer: DO NOT DO THE ABOVE TO A POLISHED GRILLE. I read that they have a clear coat on them.
2. The grille did not fit the way i wanted it and wasn't flush with the hood/front of the car. It was sticking out more on the driver's side and was hitting the underside of the hood. The stock plastic rivets that hold the stock grill are easy to pop out and re-use, but they do not provide a secure and tight enough hold for the grille. Or they do not hold tight enough to hold the grill where it will fit perfectly.
Fix: Re-installed grille using nuts and bolts shown below:
This allowed me to position the grille where i wanted it and tighten it down. This baby is in there to stay
3. When you push slightly on the grille (i.e. like when washing your car, etc...) the grille moved towards the back of the car. This created the potential for the grill to scratch good ol' SilverBelle's paint on the bumper
. This is inherent in the way the grill is made and clipped on the the front of the car. I bought 4 flat metal strips and used small stainless steel nuts and bolts (1/4") and fastened them to the grille's mounting tab in front of the mounting bracket. I test fit the grill into the position that i wanted it to sit and made a line where the strips should be fastened.
Grille does not move backwards anymore and is very solid in its perfect position. The possiblity of grille scratching my paint has been eliminated.
4. Install was easy but you need arms the size of Olive Oil's (from Popeye) to get the last driver's side hairpin clip settled into the mounting tab hole. The hairpin clips are used to secure the grill to the stock mounting brackets. I started inserting pins from the passenger side towards the dirvers' side. I highly recommend that anyone start from the dirver's side and work your way towards the passenger side for a more comfortable install and less loss of blood....ouch !
5. It is difficult to remove the NISSAN hamburger logo from the stock grille. To do it again, i would just buy another logo from the dealer and save myself the aggravation.
That about it for now. I hope this is helpful for someone out there comtemplating a new grille. Let me know if you have any questions.
BTW... the grille looks hot and i've already received a lot of compliment from people in parking lots or passerbys.
And also i saved myslef about 75$ considering USD$ to CDN$ conversion by buying the matte grille and polishing it myself.
Bob
07-24-2004, 01:36 PM
#4
Donating Maxima.org Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2004
Posts: 840
Originally Posted by lobewiper
Nice job! I hope your wife doesn't know how handy you are...
Bob
07-24-2004, 04:45 PM
#6
Donating Maxima.org Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2004
Posts: 840
Originally Posted by CanadianMoFo
I don'tthink the polished grill has a clear coat on it. I've got the polished version and it doesn't seem to have it. I use a Mothers polish on it as well to keep it bright and shiney.
CM.
CM.
Bob
07-25-2004, 08:18 AM
#10
2004 Smoke
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Posts: 205
Bob -
Just took some pics of my Trenz Grill...
http://www.cardomain.com/id/2004_smoke
What do you think of my new plates? :>)
Just took some pics of my Trenz Grill...
http://www.cardomain.com/id/2004_smoke
What do you think of my new plates? :>)
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