I have had this idea of making a rear mesh valance in the bumper between the mufflers. This idea was spawned from my desire to "lighten" the look of the bulky Maxima rear. My idea was to cut an opening in the bumper and then to fasten a mesh grill in that opening. I have Street front upper and lower grills so I wanted to be consistent with that material. I went to Stillen and picked up a Street Scene grill meant for an Eclipse because it was the right size (about 27"x5") and it cost $35.

I removed the bumper and trimmed the grill about 1" extra and then formed it to the exact contour of the bumper. I bolted the grill to the bottom of the bumper and I used double sided tape for the sides and top. I was going to trim the edges with black doorguard, but instead I sanded the edges to a nice finish.

Here is a pic of the grill unpainted:



YES, THE GRILL AND BOLTS WILL GET PAINTED but I wanted you guys to see it unpainted so its easier to see. We all know how hard it is to take pics of black cars.

LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!

wow... how you cut your bumper so straight and smooth? would look better if the corners were rounded off. good job nonetheless!

holy crap. that looks sooooooo sick. awsome job deus.

Looks real good.
Must be nice to live that close to Stillen. Lol

Thanks guys. I can always round things off some. Can someone photoshop the changes?

I painted the grill. It looks even better! Lemme try to get pics of the bumper off the car for ya.

Deus, that looks hot.. Great Job. It really adds a whole new look to the previously bulky rear...

Good job, once again! This looks awesome and it wasn't overkill which it could have easily looked like- Fantastic job. Any hints as to what installation thread I will see you creating tomorrow when I drop in? lol

Thats pretty tight Deus..A+ on originality and install. Dont think i'll be cutting my bumper, but i love what you've done for sure!!

loooks great...

ps. please don't paint the grill red ahah

That came out great!
Excellent craftmanship.

Looks tight as always Deus. Dig the mod as usual. FYI, your SCCA pic is my desktop at the dealership

DeusExMaxima,

How did you do the cut ?

Nice, at first I didn't think you pull it off, but that actually looks good.

Looks good man,i was actually thinking about getting rid of the 2000 for an 05 or something similiar

Flows with your car. Nice Work.

Excellent outcome Deus!

that looks great, it follows the bodyline of the trunk opening nicely. I think if you minus the wing or replace it with the new 6th gen wing it would look sick. Thats just my opinion, its your car....good job on the mesh idea tho....props to you

great job dude!!!

wow that looks sick and it flows with ur car perfectly

what color are u thinkin of paintin the mesh? imo i think it looks good as is

Wow! It looks awesome! I woud leave the mesh like it is and not paint it

Pics of the mesh primed and then paitned gloss black:



You will notice that the lower part has puckered some. To solve that, I just need to add a couple of 1/4" bolts and it should be nice and flush.

I used a dremel tool to make the cut in the bumper. I think I measured 10 times before I made the cut. I drew where I wanted to cut, and made sure it was symmetrical. Then I cut it my hand with the dremel. I sanded it with a sanding block using 60 grit to get a smooth line, and then 100 grit to smooth the surface. Forming the grill to shape took LOTS of time. I wanted it to fit with straining the bolts or double sided tape. I then bolts it to the bottom of the bumper using 1/4" bolts, nuts and washers all painted black. For the sides and top I used double sided tape.

Im pleased with the outcome. I am wondering if this might help gas mileage sicne it allows air to flow past the bumper instead of being trapped in the bumper in the "parachute effect"

PS I just realized after reading a post above that the lines are the same angle as the trunk. woohoo!!!

dude- please tell me that you were joking about the 'gas mileage' thought

http://www.mustangevolution.com/forum/t10971-2/
read post number 56 in the above link

Im not sure if he is an expert, but apparently Im not the only one that thinks there MAY be a gas mileage benefit to airing out the bumper.

http://forums.evolutionm.net/showthread.php?p=4522272
read post #32

http://www.honda-tech.com/zerothread...ostid=31110381
http://www.honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=2214780
http://www.gassavers.org/showthread.php?t=6480
http://www.newcelica.org/forums/show...7&page=1&pp=50

. . . plus many many more websites

No offense, but it's as dumb as quoting wiki.
I doubt you'll see any changes to your MPG

It's almost like the misconception that pick up trunk beds create a lot of drag and its better to have your tailgate down.

Probably true due to the fact that it may have an effect only at ultra high speeds.

What do you think of this idea?


red LED with two small diffuser fins. I have all the materials

Not the least bit necessary.

I guess you wouldnt like this idea then:

haha SLOW DOWN! Looks great the way it is man! But I have to say I liked the silver mesh MUCH better. Overall great though.

I didnt go with silver because it didnt match the front grills which are also black. Its certainly much more noticable in silver. If I had a chrome theme going, then it would match.

copy cat....LOL you know I love what you do dues, keep at it, its lookin good


its hard to see but I have a LED light bar under the rear bumper

Id like to see a better pic of that!!

at night it really glows, I'll take some tomorrow when I get a moment to

Maybe you can paint DUES on the mesh in red !!!!

Very clean Deus! I also liked the silver. The puckered affect caught me also. But you've corrected that. I would do the red just yet. I think I would be afraid of red and black overload. But I am timid, ask me if I would have cut up my bumper? Heck, ask me if I had the personals to do anything remotely exotic to my car as you have to yours?

I agree with the above poster, "Any hints as to what will come next so when I come in here tomorrow, I'll head straight for your thread?"

I am only sorry I didn't get to see this girl in person that August. Stupid Grapevine.

looking really good buddy

Thanks everyone. Swee, nice to hear from you and see that ur still on the boards here. Yes, it would have been nice to get together, but you know how that pesky Grapevine is. I probably wont do any red in the back grill except maybe the red LED brake light and possibly two smallish diffuser fins, much like the GTR Prototype shown here:


I have given hints as to what will come next and its gonna be big. It wont be tomorrow, but its comin'

damn that looks tight, this is a mod i might do

Looking good mark...nice work !