This is my second time typing this as my computer has randomly shut down twice.
So I'll come back later and be a bit more detailed and hopefully make everything more clear.

I know there are a couple threads out there on a similar topic, but I wanted to share my experience with the GD3 model and I'm sure this set up is different from what others may have done. Just sharing not everyone has to like everything.

This is the mesh material I ordered from McMaster Carr



Part Number#
9314T36

POLYETHYLENE PLASTIC MESH, NOMINAL .68" OPENING SIZE, 48" WIDTH, 2' LENGTH

I ordered 2 feet which is more than you need, but I wanted extra in case I made a mistake. My mom also asked if I would add the grille material to her Taffeta white base.

You won't need that many tools. I recommend something to kneel on however.
A ratchet with a 10mm socket takes off all the license plate bolts. Mine had 2 on the plate, and 3 on the plastic mounting holder. There may be up to four of each on some cars. It is necessary to take the plate off, as there is a bolt holding the frame to the front bumper cover.



Aside from the 10mm socket, I used a side cutters to snip the plastic polyethylene to the correct dimensions. I didn't write it down, but I remember it being around 34" on top, 33" on the bottom (the fog lights cause the area to taper inwards) and about 4.5" of height. Use a tape measure to make sure you cut accurately.



Here is a picture with the license plate holder removed and a clear space to measure your mesh. It may be important to note, if you plan on reinstalling the license holder, you will need to cut a slot in the mesh so that you can clearly remount it.



This is a more clear picture of the under mounting for the license plate holder, and the fact I really need to clean....



This is the hole in bumper cover where the hidden license plate frame is connected.



This shows the taper I was talking about earlier with the fog light housing.



I actually ended cutting my mesh larger, so that I could test fit it and have material to chop off and get a good shape for on the edges. I noticed partway through the install that the material had not been cut straight, this is more noticeable in a later picture.



As you can see I wanted an even number of diamonds so that the grille wouldn't look lopsided.



This is a test fit of the mesh before I cut holes for the license plate holder to be remounted. All the trimming on the sides was done with the mesh in place to make sure I didn't cut off too much material.




I got a little excited and skimped on taking any good pictures of the mounting. Which was all done using thin black zip ties. I just wrapped them around the middle of the plastic support that ran horizontally from fog light to foglight. I used maybe 6 of them. 2 right by the fog lights, 2 by where the license plate holder supports came through, and 2 in between those spots.



Just a shot with everything back in place and ready to go.




Sorry for not taking more pictures of the mounting, it was pretty straight forward, and maybe some people plan on doing it differently.

Any questions of comments feel free to post.

 

looks good

 

that actually looks nice! good job dude!

 

Nice job. On my to-do list...

 

I was expecting some ugly chrome grill when I saw the topic. But this is totally not what I expected. Looks good!

 

Thanks, heck no...I know the crap you are referring to and it's major rice. It seems like it's a filler for any person who get's a body kit and wants to fill the gaps. I like the plastic cross hatched grill look....mazda seems to do it to everything these days stock, and i wish honda/acura would follow.

It's completely sensible...the condenser is exposed and if you drive on the highway you're going to pick up rocks, stones, and other debris.

Someday I plan to actually sculpt up a molding buck for the grill and vacuform it in ABS. I make a lot of stormtrooper armor and movie props on the side, but wanted to dabble more in automotive applications as well.

If I can't find a good Fit gauge pod I'll eventually form myself one.

 

I like that your lower grill actually matches the upper one in design, only difference being the opening sizes. How much did the mesh cost? Also, I'm assuming that this would be no different on a non-fog light bumper.

 

that looks good

 

looks sporty.

 

I might try this in the next few weeks.

 

nice trick sir.. it will protect you your radiator grille for sure

 

that looks pretty slick. seems easy enough I might try it as well. It'll go on my to mod list.

 

Looks really good, my only suggestion would be to pull the bumper cover and mount it from behind, just my opinion. I think I'd rather see the supports with the mesh behind. This may be an upcoming project for me...

 

I think it looks really nice. Its subtle, and effective at blocking projectiles! Good mod on a budget. I'm thinking about doing this.

 

gd3vbp, I felt the same as you. I prefered the look of the mesh mounted from behind, but having it mounted this way does create a minor problem. I've found that mine tends to catch leaves, plastic bags, etc. I have since noticed that Nascar teams have the mesh mounted flush with the bodywork. Maybe for this reason, and for other reasons as well, like aerodynamics...IDK. I snapped an example of this at a local supermarket display a while back:



If you are still interested in mounting it from behind, here is a post on how I mounted mine:
https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/fit-...tml#post687017

-macbuddy-

BTW-CombatBaby, I really like the looks of your A/C protection solution! Looks almost as if it came from the factory like that..Nice!

 

It does look great but I doubt plastic mesh would stop anything more than a stick.

 

I kind of agree. I want to do this same mod on my NHBP GD3 with a metal mesh instead. I'm surprised how nice it looks mounted on the front like that.

 

thans a lot mate!!!!!!!!!!!!!