EOI - BJ/SP20 - Autoexe "style" front grill

[wheeler33]

Hey guys,

I've just been trying to find some local ones, but I've found some "replica" autoexe "style" front grills.

I wasn't really keen on paying $400 for authentic at the moment and we could probably get a discount if we bought more, would anyone be interested?

Sports Mesh Grill - possibly $100 > $ 110 (http://www.ioffer.com/i/mazda-protege-5-mp3-01-02-03-sport-mesh-grill-grille-74175101)

http://members.shaw.ca/c-mod/items/protege01grill.jpg

Carbon Grill - possibly $150+ (http://www.ioffer.com/i/mazda-protege-5-mp3-01-02-03-carbon-fiber-grill-grille-72494436)

http://cdn3.ioffer.com/img/item/724/944/36/caj61oI3fmTf261.jpg

i'll inquire soon and hopefully might get some numbers. I probably won't order until end of month/start of next. Unless... someone knows where we can get some from Aus?

[so fresh]

im in for the one on the top!!
if anyone else is keen. fingers crossed

[Ice88]

Im interested :)

[chicaboo]

Heads up: BJ 1.8 and SP20 grills are not the same shape! :eek:

So which do they fit? :confused:

[Ice88]

Im assuming thats cause of the front bar yesh?

EDIT: According to description it fits MP3 e.t.c but not ES DX e.t.c

[wheeler33]

Description
Mazda Protege MP3 01-02 Sedan.
MazdaSpeed Protege 03 Sedan.
Mazda Protege5 02-03 Wagon.
(Not Mazda Protege 01-03 Sedan, DX, LX, and ES.)
AutoExe style front bumper upper sport grille.

[Orion]

Description
Mazda Protege MP3 01-02 Sedan.
MazdaSpeed Protege 03 Sedan.
Mazda Protege5 02-03 Wagon.
(Not Mazda Protege 01-03 Sedan, DX, LX, and ES.)
AutoExe style front bumper upper sport grille.

That means SP20 shape ;)

[marcs_sp20]

The same seller is on Ebay.com ;) and it looks to be cheaper going ebay rather then that other site :eek:

CF:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/JDM-Mazda-Protege-5-MP3-01-03-Carbon-Fiber-Grill-Grille-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQfitsZModelQ3aProtegeQQitemZ1404 10759388QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccess ories#ht_3326wt_752

Fibreglass:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/JDM-Mazda-Protege-5-MP3-01-02-03-Mesh-Grill-Grille-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQfitsZModelQ3aProtegeQQitemZ1404 08905928QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccess ories#ht_3644wt_752

[wheeler33]

it is on Ebay ay, that might be good, only thing the postage is jacked. On ioffer i can bargin with him & postage is usually included in the price. I'll see what i can do. I've already emailed the guy. But either way we'll get the cheapest price.

[marcs_sp20]

relook at the links you posted, postage aint included, its displayed underneath the price - $45...

[wheeler33]

Yeah i know what you mean, iOffer is slightly different (they usually include postage even though they say they don't, its a bit confusing) i've shopped on both and with ioffer you can haggle it down where as the eBay is some what set in stone.

If you look @ CF version on iOffer you got a person who's picked one up for

" Counter Offer Dec 1, 2009 1:13 AM
Price: $150.00 (AU$167.25) (Shipping costs included in offer) Total: $150.00 (AU$167.25) "

when in ebay it was:

"AU $133.29 + AU $49.99" = 183

it does also say "best offer"

its the same guy, so he can obviously do the same price regardless of which way we would buy. Both payments would be by paypal and covered.

[chicaboo]

Im assuming thats cause of the front bar yesh?

EDIT: According to description it fits MP3 e.t.c but not ES DX e.t.c

It will only fit the SP20 here in AUS. The ES and DX over there are different again. :eek:

[Ice88]

Yeah i realised. Shame :(

[70NYD]

the fibreglass one on ebay is 115 with postage (127AUD) vs the 134 that it is on iOffer
the carbon one on ebay is 165 with postage (182AUD) vs the 190 that is on iOffer
all in all same **** :)
you can haggle them down on ebay if your gona GB
for starters the price for shipping on ebay is 45 for the 1st item and 35 per item there off

[wheeler33]

Spoke to Marc & he gave some advice that its obviously not up to Autoexe standard, but i'm thinking of giving it a go. Not too sure what i'd prefer more carbon fiber or the just coloured one. I like the CF but not sure...

[mynameisdaniel]

The fiberglass one you're looking at is the exact one I got, It fits alright, not perfect but no one's faulted it yet :D there should be some pics in my worklog somewhere.

[wheeler33]

Okay yeah i'm going to buy one next month, so i'll contact anyone who is interested then. if anyone is still interested please make note here.

[Lachlan]

let me know the price when you work it all out!

[wheeler33]

Will do, i'm looking at next couple of weeks. I'l PM you & announce it here.

[trent188]

100% keen on a carbon fiber one!

[wheeler33]

I'm going to get a sample grill down first and be prob getting the rest mid sept. let you guys know how it goes.

[wheeler33]

Hey guys,



Sports Mesh Grill - possibly $100 > $ 110 (http://www.ioffer.com/i/mazda-protege-5-mp3-01-02-03-sport-mesh-grill-grille-74175101)

http://members.shaw.ca/c-mod/items/protege01grill.jpg



bought 1 pce sports mesh & will let you guys know how it goes, will get more once i know the quality. I didn't want to buy like 5 and have the quality and fit wrong. ended up $110US so roughly $127AUS inc postage.

[smurfy]

let us know how it goes :) keen on getting on too.

[wheeler33]

Will do, i'll put up some photos as soon as i get em. I'll have to decide if i want to get it painted car colour or black.

[marcs_sp20]

looks tacky unpainted, I mean look at the one Mat had on his last year at skidpan day..

http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm43/marcs_sp20/skid%20nov%2009/IMG_0349.jpg

I may also have something in the works that sits over the top of the grille, not giving away too much at the moment ;)

[wheeler33]

Yeah 100% painting it, it just looks dull without it and i'm actually swinging to painting it car colour based from that shot marc. I'll have to wait until i can replace the rear bumper or get it patched up not sure what to do for the best result.

Ooh some magic in the works ay, exciting stuff marc!

[trent188]

can you get carbon fiber ones as well ?

[Clean_Cookie]

you can probably paint it to look like carbon fibre... what us rc car guys do with our bodies is get those grippy squares (used for opening lids etc) and use that as a template to get the "weave" pattern. id imagine something similar could be done on a bit like that?

like this but on a bigger scale :p
http://www.briansmodelcars.com/tutorials/tutorial/52

[wheeler33]

can you get carbon fiber ones as well ?

Yeah they got the CF one up there, i just bought the pure black one for now, thought i'd keep it clean and consistent either paint it black or 20P blue.

Its about 1.5 weeks off arrival so i'll let you guys know as soon as it comes in.

[wheeler33]

Okay guys' the grill came in today. As I don't know what the Autoexe is like (in the physical) its hard to compare the builds, i guess Marc can help out with. Packing was great, all done in bubble wrap and enclosed in newspaper + a box.

Down to the detail, I wasn't sure what to expect as I've never handled a grill before but from the feel it was light weight (obviously because of the materials). It wasn't flimsy, build seemed pretty sturdy, the only part that raised concerned, was the mesh. Basically from looks was fine, strength wise you could bend it by pushing on it and probably snap it off the clips if you push really hard (but reminded myself this is a cosmetic mod, was constructed for looks)[oh i guess if you hit a bird it would go clean through :P] Comparing it to stock the mesh on stock = 100x stronger but i guess this mod is for show. It seemed to be connected okay and don't expect any problems. Overall I didn't mind the way it was built as long as it looked straight, would hold together, not rattle, fit nice and make my ride 10 times better looking.

Build: Fairly sturdy, mesh would only be the weak point (not the strongest, but does the job). Attached by clips molded into the fiberglass. But nothing to worry about

Looks: From the front it looks symmetrical no exterior bumps showing. on the inside obviously you have the fiberglass workings and clips.

Overall: I'd say if you don't want to spend $400++ on an original and you just want to give your car a different face its worth trying. But if your looking for a show car finish, perfect and build to match go for the Autoexe.

Me personally i'll have to see it on the car and i'll add a description to describe how well it fits the contours.

but here are some photos:

http://img830.imageshack.us/img830/9048/img8373a.jpg

http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/5518/img8374q.jpg

http://img94.imageshack.us/img94/7025/img8375c.jpg
sorry about the grease marks :P was eating chicken

Let me know what you guys think, particular i'd like to hear what marc has to say comparing to his autoexe and his replica he had.

Cheers guys.

[wheeler33]

I also wanna compare...

Black:
http://img191.imageshack.us/img191/8312/grill2q.jpg

VS

Blue:
http://www.boomplustoys.net/images/autoexe/Autoexe%20Front%20Lip%20for%20P5.JPG

[mynameisdaniel]

Same as i've got, if you look at the blue picture you posted that's a better version, it fits the bottom corners better than the one you have will.
The black grille looks alright on that car because it matches the headlights (still not as good as blue), but i reckon if you have chrome headlights painted is going to look a lot better than black.
I had black for ages and from a distance it looks like you have a hole in the front of your car... :P

[wheeler33]

haha they used the proper Autoexe photos for it. Yeah hopefully the fit ain't too bad. Otherwise i'll just whack the stock back on if its that bad. Was going to drill the holes in, put it on and go from there, picture it and try and get an idea with my rims and they way my car is.

[marcs_sp20]

OK, where to start :p

difference between AutoExe & knockoff grilles are how it sits against the front of the bumper. the AutoExe sits about half an inch from the edge of the bottom of the bumper (where the bottom of the grille sits) whereas the knockoffs sit flush

the Product seems to be of from those photos, in the first photo it looks to be twisted (just as Mad Mats was) but I think this may be due to the angle of the photo ;)

I still reckon paint it blue :D

[mynameisdaniel]

OK, where to start :p

difference between AutoExe & knockoff grilles are how it sits against the front of the bumper. the AutoExe sits about half an inch from the edge of the bottom of the bumper (where the bottom of the grille sits) whereas the knockoffs sit flush


Mine sits back from the front about half an inch too, might be slightly different eBay ones that sit flush :D also that twist won't affect the fitment once you bolt it down at the corners :P but the Autoexe looks like it has much squarer edges compared to the knock offs? :(

You might also want to find some way to hold the bottom of the grille down when it's in. there's only those two flimsy tabs holding it in place which didn't seem enough to me :)

[wheeler33]

Removing stock grill: Okay so i figured the 2 screws holding up the grill were fine, but then we have these one way clip things. How did you guys get that off with out snapping them? Cause i'll want them back when / if i need to put stock back.

Cheers!

[marcs_sp20]

lift from the bottom, as there is 3 tabs holding the bottom of the grille down on the bumper, but be careful ;)

[wheeler33]

Haha done, was struggling thought i was doing it wrong but yeah got the clips and it all came out.

Drilled the holes and it wasn't as flush like you guys said, so i had to do some different measures on each side to even it out. I think it looks fine, not a tight fit around the edges, but i tried to make it look as symmetrical as possible even with the gaps.

[wheeler33]

what it looks like :) from iphone, and it was getting late and wanted to sleep! so i quickly took a photo.

http://webmail.optuszoo.com.au/view.html?part=2&mailbox=INBOX&actionID=14&uid=1652

[trent188]

photo not working ???

[wheeler33]

sorry about that kiddo's http://img521.imageshack.us/img521/1497/libpic0.jpg i remember reading that someone had to mod it a bit to keep it pivoted up. i'm trying to think of ideas / ways how. otherwise i like it, i will change it when i get sick of it and then vis versa.

[smurfy]

looks good :)
dont mind it in black, i think cause of your number plate and wheels.

[wheeler33]

Yeah i think it works black, i like the look. looks better when i just waxed my car :)

[trent188]

is that painted black or it that the black colour it came in ?

[mkid]

just the normal black it came in
all body parts you buy from manufactures come in that colour
you would struggle to find a place that sold parts already painted that wasnt a wreckers or came off another car

[wheeler33]

the final product i sprayed matte black with clear coat, so it kinda resembles the trim. its pretty rough compared to what a panel beater would do, but it was DIY and i don't mind how it turned out, just need to polish it a bit more :) but the original i think was primed black

[trent188]

so are we ordering ? just got my bonnet sprayed back so keen for a grill :)

[so fresh]

i agree still keen on the group buy

[wheeler33]

Hey guys, sorry for very late reply, been bogged down with a lot of ****.

Well mine looks pretty okay, just depends on what kind of quality you want. If i took more time to spray and better skills it would have turned out perfect. But because it was my first DIY job, i was pretty thrilled.

Okay I'll give you guys a hand with ordering some; I'm not sure if i should order them to my address and then post them again or see if the seller can post them individually. Basically i'll leave this open for 2 weeks and leave your name on a list and i'll make the inquiries.

Interested:
1.
2.
....

kkgo! it would be roughly the same price, if not cheaper due to the exchange rate!

[trent188]

want one but cant decide between carbon and normal :(

[smurfy]

how much more is the carbon one ?

[wheeler33]

want one but cant decide between carbon and normal :(

Hmm well my advice, because most of your car is already black trim, black will fit much nicer. But if you want the CF look then go for it, you could always CF your mirror panels to match :) I'm not too sure on the quaility of the CF one either. My black looks okay.

how much more is the carbon one ?

They are basically the same price so the price may have varied due to the exchange rate but it was like 120-126$ inc postage it was.





... you'll prob be able to see it on sunday trent, from far it looks good, but when you go to detail, my paint job coulda been better. but i'm okay with it.

[trent188]

so keen to see it on sunday :D

[mkid]

i want to see it as well
trent you could get the black one sprayed carbon fibre if your not happy with black

[trent188]

wouldent it be the other way around ?
where can u get stuff sprayed carbon fibre cos my cluster surround is and i want to get some other stuff done :D

[wheeler33]

wouldent it be the other way around ?
where can u get stuff sprayed carbon fibre cos my cluster surround is and i want to get some other stuff done :D

That would be pretty awesome. I'd consider doing some too :P

[Rupewrecht]

There's plenty of companies that do it, such as http://www.mad-coatings.com/

[mkid]

that ralliart lancer that came on the last cruise had a carbon fibre paint job on the bonnet and most of the interior plastic

[wheeler33]

Awesome, try and find one in NSW trent :D

[marcs_sp20]

that ralliart lancer that came on the last cruise had a carbon fibre paint job on the bonnet and most of the interior plastic

was it vinyl'd or actually coated?

If I were buying one, I'd get a CF one, too much screwing round, otherwise its not too hard to vinyl one, just need the patience ;)

[mkid]

it was painted lol
i will try to find a pic

[mkid]

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y187/noomz/Robertson%20Pie%20Shop/robertson0159.jpg
here it is