By chance does anyone know of a source for stainless steel mesh in small quantities? I will be making grilles for the oil coolers and A/C condenser. I bought a pre-cut stainless grille for my current vehicle and for me this is the best material for the job. I am looking for something with about 1/2 inch spacing or slightly more, for good airflow, and a decent wire size for rigidity.

Having a surprisingly hard time locating the material online in less than industrial amounts. Anyone know of a good source, or a likely type of business that might stock such material and make it available to the public?

 

http://www.pegasusautoracing.com/
Download page 43.

Vince

 

Home Depot has wire mesh/cloth

 

Thanks for the lead!

Their largest size is a #4 mesh (4 wires per inch) and I am hoping to find a #2 (2 wires per inch) for somewhat less air restriction. But this is the closest I've found so far and the % open area is actually not too much less (66%)

 

Thanks. This may serve temporary duty, but I'm hoping to use stainless steel mesh and avoid any issues of corrosion or of paint or other coatings on the mesh that degrade over time. I've got a stainless mesh grille on my Miata and it's really the perfect material for this application.

Watch, I say this and then I'll end up painting the dang thing :D

 

Nubo,

This looks like a great solution. I held off on this when folks here were talking about a plastic solution. Do you have a template that you are using to cut the proper size? If so, it would be cool if you could share this to make it easier for those who wish follow in your foot steps!

 

www.mcmastercarr.com

 

I'll post the process.

Still probably have another 2 months before the car arrives, so I don't have a template yet; will have to take off the bumper :D

 

Nubo -

I ordered my aluminum mesh from an eBay vendor: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...tem=2439376863 . Received it last week, nice solid stuff, about the #2 mesh size you're describing. Comes in aluminum finish, so you'd have to paint it.

I ordered two large pieces, 18 inches by 5 feet each, as I plan to make a custom grille and oil cooler covers, and wanted to have plenty of the stuff to play with. It's cheap, so why not? Depending on when you tackle your project, I may be done with mine (if we have some warm weather!) and if I have any left over you're welcome to it. PM me for more info, or to discuss.

 

Omicron,
That grid size looks pretty small. Are you concerned about air restriction?

 

Thanks again for the responses; I've located a source that sells in reasonable quantity and has a variety of mesh and wire sizes.

http://www.twpinc.com/twp/jsp/product.jsp?type=14

Now I will agonize on whether to get the 1/4" mesh or the 1/2". The smaller size is almost certain to block anything capable of doing damage. The larger size probably. On the other hand, airflow will be better with the larger mesh and I certainly don't want to be depriving the oil coolers. I am thinking for this project I will follow the dictum: "First, do no harm". I think I'll stick with the 1/2", probably the .047 wire size.

On the other hand I notice they also produce some fancier mesh styles in copper/brass/bronze. Making the grilles out of bronze mesh and then letting them develop a green patina could look fantastic on the yellow 8. The material looks somewhat more difficult towork with though (not welded).

 

Not in the slightest. Now that I've got the mesh and have seen it "in person" I can say for sure it'll flow as well as, or better than, the stock grille. And no worries on blocking the oil coolers either. If I get around to it, I'll take a pic to show you all.

 

Thanks. Are you going to replace the radiator grille as well as the oil coolers and A/C opening?

Have you measured the A/C opening? The co. I'm looking at has a minimum order of 12 square feet. The rolls are 4-feet wide, so a 4X3 section would satsify the minimum purchase. I'm just not sure if the A/C hole is greater than 4 feet across and I don't want to splice. So maybe I need a 4X5 piece?

 

I think people are making too much of the 'air restriction' thing...

If you look up the restriction of the meshes people are using, they are absolutely minimal...

(Have you ever taken off the air filter, and seen the mesh that protects the air flow sensor? Now that IS tight!)

Two wires per inch versus four wires per inch? You would have to be travelling at the speed of sound before you could detect a flow difference.....

Don't forget that the oil coolers themselves have about 90% metal / 10% tiny air passages - if your mesh lets thru more than that, your coolers will still receive 100% of their maximum flow...

Ease up guys, this is NOT rocket science!

S

 

I plan to put mesh (a) over both of the oil cooler openings, (b) replace the main "nose" grille in the center, and (c) the opening below the bumper and above the lower chin spoiler. I don't have exact measurements, but I can tell you they are roughly 4x10 inches for each oil cooler opening, 30 x 14 inches for the main grille opening, and 4 x 36 inches for the opening below the bumper and above the lower chin spoiler. All these dimensions allow for some excess so I can fold and mount the mesh from the inside of the bumper. I figure I could have made one of these 18 inch by 5 foot pieces work for all of it, but got some extra so if I screw something up, I can begin again.

 

Guys,

I have been purchasing it from a local Australian supplier, but they have 1 meter minimum purchase quantity.

Or could get them made up already:

https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...threadid=15204

The material I use is grade 304 stainless steel woven wire mesh. The aperature size is 5mm (<1/4"), and the wire diameter is 1mm. The grills are powder coated in black.



I did this out of necessity, as a rock punctured my A/C condensor. $800 to replace at "mates rates".

I have already shipped some of these to the US. Ask "texagi95" and "my10ae" how they feel about the grill kits I sent them.

Cheers,
Hymee.

 

Thanks Hymee - yours was one of the first posts I read in this forum, and I realized Mazda had done it again;P -- they did the same with the Miata. Like someone said, maybe they don't have rocks in Japan? When I heard about your condenser I definitely resolved to put in a grille if I got the car. By the way, how is your condenser repair holding up?

Yours is a very nice looking installation. If I didn't need an excuse to tinker myself I'd probably buy one from you

 

Saw these on eBay for the 350z.. It would be cool if someone made it for the 8

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...tem=2444898504

 

Nubo,

Yes - there is a hell of a lot of satisfaction in doing stuff like this yourself.

The "repair" held up, although after a week I inspected it and there was a slight sign of leakage (oil residue around repair). Although it was still working, I opted to put the new one in. I haven't sent my claim to Mazda yet .

Good luck with your grill!

Cheers,
Hymee.

 

So long as this is a place to put one's opinions -

The Billet Grille would be OK if it:[list=1][*]Didn't look so Ricey.[*]Let some more air in. It looks like it would be 70% blocked or more [/list=1]

The RX-8 has a look about it I don't like to spoil too much. Strakes are about it for me. But you could also put a piece of cheese grater on the main grille, both oil coolers, and across the lower back bumper to complete the rice dish. Hehehe.

Cheers,
Hymee