After a 150 mile trip I checked the radiator fins as the air dam is huge and has holes that bisquits could fit through. After laying on the ground and looking into this gaping hole i found a lot of bent fins and whole butterflies and dragon flies flate against the a/c fins...NOT GOOD! I went up to ace hardware and got a ceiling tile light guard(24 in by 48 in). Lots of 1/2 in squares. The white was $15 or the chrome was $34. I bought the white and a can of Duplicolor black spray paint for plastic.

I am going to paint it black and try to paint a red (RS) in the middle to match the RS on the back and the red rotors/drum. Being a grid pattern should help. Hopefully this will protect my cooling system better.

Anyone else with this problem?? Did yours come with a rock grate/screen??
Can I use my GMAIL Picasso account to load pics?? SORRY, new to forums...THUNDER

 

I added a custom piece of perforated aluminum behind mine for this very reason. I had a big rock put a hole in my radiator on my 95 civic and I've been paranoid of it happening again on my GD3

 

I'm interested in seeing photos if possible! thanks!

 

Ask and you shall receive. I just went outside to take some close ups for you. And please excuse my very dirty car haha

 

A lot of people are thinking alike. Too bad Honda wasn't thinking when they designed our lower grill. Here are two more cures for rocks killing the a/c condenser:

https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/fit-...ondensers.html

 

Thanks for bringing this to my attention. While I was upgrading my horns I noticed that there was a whole lot of wide open space for stuff to get through down there, and it did not really dawn on me at the time that important parts would be subject to impact from more than the bugs and leaves I saw there (at 500 miles of ownership). Tomorrow I will be upgrading the horns on my wife's base model, and then I'm going to put some protection in on hers and on my Sport.

I've got some ideas on inexpensive protection using "gutter guard" type material. I've got some metal, some plastic, and saw some sold by the roll really cheap. If it works I'll post the outcome here.

Thanks Thunder... you have just saved some people some trouble with their A/C condensers and etc.

 

my avenger has an even bigger opening even lower to the ground, i haven't done anything and she still runs like a champ....








If only she'd break 20 mpg, and not need to be repaired every couple months

 

I was gonna do the gutter guard, but decided to perforated aluminum.

 

Where'd you get the perforated aluminum? It looks good and strong. Where would I be able to get some?

Thanks.

 

I stole it from the fab shop at work, but I think any place that deals in steel should be able to get it for you.

 

When you lift the hood up, how do you remove the black guard to secure the aluminum down? Does it just snap off, or is it connected in some way i don't see?

 

You have to use a knife or sharp tool to pull up the center sections on those button snaps. Once you get those pulled out, it is easy.

On reinstall, make sure you are mating the plastic parts together by pressing from underneath (you can get your hand under it) before pressing the button snap home.

 

Sweet thanks, I'm thinking about doing a quick install soon and add a grill guard.

 

I found during my horn and rock guard install (see my post about the "twins") that the black shroud comes off easiest by using a small screwdriver on the center button of the pop 'ems, particularly in the area where there are lines on each side. Get the screwdriver in there and lift up, and then you can pull up the center and pull the whole pop 'em thing out. When putting the black shroud back, make sure the front lip and the grille mate well by making sure the grill slips into the notch of the leading edge of the shroud. Or else the shroud is too high and you can't get the pop 'ems in right. If they're in right, the center button should pop back down with little effort. If it's tough to do, it's because the pieces are not aligned right.

Hope this helps.

Eric

 

Thanks that does help. I definitely want to take the precautions of making this car last a long time

 

I finally had a dry spell after the wife got home to put in the rock grate. We have had 11 in of rain over the last 4 days. We had a couple of aluminum gutter grates 6x36 in. left over from a gutter project. A couple of snips here and ther and 8 zip ties and on my Black Sport it lloks like I have an intercooler., HELPS BREAK UP ALL THAT BLACK UP FRONT..Sweeeet were from the lips of my great wife. I washed all the bugs from the rad and all is good...THUNDER

 

Glad to hear Thunder!!!

 

This is probably a silly question. How did you actually attach the gutter guard behind the bumper? I checked it out and I don't see many places to tie it down. Is it possible to get photos? I'm not very familiar with cars and any help would be appreciated! thanks!

 

Just a question...may be stupid...but does any extra grille in front decrease airflow a little?

 

https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/fit-...iy-photos.html