Best Tool to Gut Front Grill?
09-01-2010, 09:51 AM
#27
I've done it twice...once the hard way with a dremel...and it looks like crap..cause you cant do it careful enough not to have it show from the front a bit 
And once the easier way...with an angle grinder...you just take off a thin layer at a time from the rear...until you grind through...and then you carefully trim up the flash with a razor knife. It took about 10% of the time and worked better. You have to be careful that you don't over heat the plastic..in fact..I used a water hose to keep the plastic cool...(bit risky from a shock point of view..use a GFI plug)
Hope this helped
And once the easier way...with an angle grinder...you just take off a thin layer at a time from the rear...until you grind through...and then you carefully trim up the flash with a razor knife. It took about 10% of the time and worked better. You have to be careful that you don't over heat the plastic..in fact..I used a water hose to keep the plastic cool...(bit risky from a shock point of view..use a GFI plug)
Hope this helped
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Orion432 (09-25-2022)
09-01-2010, 09:54 AM
#28
^Actually I'll agree with this in regards to the grill only, because it's too thick for the dremel and a grinder will allow a bigger cutting wheel to be used to get the job done much more efficiently.
That being said, the universal application of the dremel is much more handy I find using it for 85% of the mods requiring material removal on this car.
That being said, the universal application of the dremel is much more handy I find using it for 85% of the mods requiring material removal on this car.
09-03-2010, 10:25 AM
#29
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I've done it twice...once the hard way with a dremel...and it looks like crap..cause you cant do it careful enough not to have it show from the front a bit
And once the easier way...with an angle grinder...you just take off a thin layer at a time from the rear...until you grind through...and then you carefully trim up the flash with a razor knife. It took about 10% of the time and worked better. You have to be careful that you don't over heat the plastic..in fact..I used a water hose to keep the plastic cool...(bit risky from a shock point of view..use a GFI plug)
Hope this helped
And once the easier way...with an angle grinder...you just take off a thin layer at a time from the rear...until you grind through...and then you carefully trim up the flash with a razor knife. It took about 10% of the time and worked better. You have to be careful that you don't over heat the plastic..in fact..I used a water hose to keep the plastic cool...(bit risky from a shock point of view..use a GFI plug)
Hope this helped
09-04-2010, 05:43 PM
#30
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I've done it twice...once the hard way with a dremel...and it looks like crap..cause you cant do it careful enough not to have it show from the front a bit
And once the easier way...with an angle grinder...you just take off a thin layer at a time from the rear...until you grind through...and then you carefully trim up the flash with a razor knife. It took about 10% of the time and worked better. You have to be careful that you don't over heat the plastic..in fact..I used a water hose to keep the plastic cool...(bit risky from a shock point of view..use a GFI plug)
Hope this helped
And once the easier way...with an angle grinder...you just take off a thin layer at a time from the rear...until you grind through...and then you carefully trim up the flash with a razor knife. It took about 10% of the time and worked better. You have to be careful that you don't over heat the plastic..in fact..I used a water hose to keep the plastic cool...(bit risky from a shock point of view..use a GFI plug)
Hope this helped
Thank You
09-04-2010, 05:58 PM
#31
I've done it twice...once the hard way with a dremel...and it looks like crap..cause you cant do it careful enough not to have it show from the front a bit
And once the easier way...with an angle grinder...you just take off a thin layer at a time from the rear...until you grind through...and then you carefully trim up the flash with a razor knife. It took about 10% of the time and worked better. You have to be careful that you don't over heat the plastic..in fact..I used a water hose to keep the plastic cool...(bit risky from a shock point of view..use a GFI plug)
Hope this helped
And once the easier way...with an angle grinder...you just take off a thin layer at a time from the rear...until you grind through...and then you carefully trim up the flash with a razor knife. It took about 10% of the time and worked better. You have to be careful that you don't over heat the plastic..in fact..I used a water hose to keep the plastic cool...(bit risky from a shock point of view..use a GFI plug)
Hope this helped
09-05-2010, 12:03 PM
#32
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09-06-2010, 02:09 PM
#35
You guys do realize that plate is there to direct airflow to the proper places. That's why that black piece is on the mazdaspeed bumper as well. To much air and it will create turbulence, no air moves,your engine overheats and god takes away your abilities to procreate.
09-06-2010, 02:12 PM
#36
Yes but the MS front bumper is alot bigger than the OEM front bumper and allows airflow where the OEM does not. That black stripe on the MS is alot smaller than the massive plate thats blocking airflow on the OEM , im fairly postitive Mazda didnt put the plate there to direct airflow for the OEM bumper, but so the license plate can stay connected and so the grill is sturdy with it on...
09-06-2010, 03:17 PM
#40
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/53757607@N08/4964588179/
thats why there needs to be more open spaces in the grill, its blocking alot of airflow to the air duct
thats why there needs to be more open spaces in the grill, its blocking alot of airflow to the air duct
09-06-2010, 10:44 PM
#42
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I want to cut out all the small holes in the grill that aren't actually holes to increase airflow and make the front look a little better, as I hate the filled in faux holes. What's the best tool for this? I was thinking of just drilling them out, but now I feel like a Dremel might be perfect, but I've never used one.
Any suggestions?
Any suggestions?
make sure to paint the foam black to match. this DOES NOT improve airflow. at least not to the radiator.... this mod is a complete waste of time if you have no other plans to direct those holes you just opened for air to flow to.
edit: do NOT remove the screws where your license plate bracket would go to. you'll need that sometime...
09-06-2010, 11:01 PM
#43
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yes, but i would just skip the drill bit. use a heat gun, decently sized knife, and a lot of patience. the knife just sinks in as you heat it from the back end.
make sure to paint the foam black to match. this DOES NOT improve airflow. at least not to the radiator.... this mod is a complete waste of time if you have no other plans to direct those holes you just opened for air to flow to.
edit: do NOT remove the screws where your license plate bracket would go to. you'll need that sometime...
make sure to paint the foam black to match. this DOES NOT improve airflow. at least not to the radiator.... this mod is a complete waste of time if you have no other plans to direct those holes you just opened for air to flow to.
edit: do NOT remove the screws where your license plate bracket would go to. you'll need that sometime...
It's like the oil cooler mod. Oil temps dropped by like 20% by drilling out the restrictive outlet holes in the wheel well. If air is traveling through more efficiently, then that means drag and turbulence is reduced as well.
Idk. If anything it'll look good. If I could do it nicely. I hear horror stories of how poorly this mod turns out sometimes.
What screws are you talking about? My bracket is only screwed into the thick black bar at the top.
09-07-2010, 12:11 AM
#44
I love how people say this mod doesnt work without Data to prove it... someone please throw out some data please and then we will debate whether it works or not... Im not saying it does or doesnt, im just saying please back your anwser with data...
09-07-2010, 10:50 AM
#45
Vtak just kicked in yo!!
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So Im going to take a stab in the dark and say that drilling holes through a dummy grill that has foam and plastic pieces behind it is going to produce little to no results....at all
09-07-2010, 08:11 PM
#46
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im not thinking its gonna reduce any temps.....my thoughts on this is.... the middle of my air duct is right behind the closed off portion of the grill....so i want to cut them out and get more air going into the duct...
09-08-2010, 09:17 AM
#47
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Well I have a ram air duct (like deedub) in my front bumper guiding air straight to my intake and my IAT's are still 15+ over ambient and barely dropped at all; and I have a tube guiding air straight to it.
So Im going to take a stab in the dark and say that drilling holes through a dummy grill that has foam and plastic pieces behind it is going to produce little to no results....at all
So Im going to take a stab in the dark and say that drilling holes through a dummy grill that has foam and plastic pieces behind it is going to produce little to no results....at all
Below that top bit though, there is nothing. Behind the dummy grill is a straight shot to the radiator. Plus, if I were to ever get a REVi duct, or if I were someone who already has one, this mod would be even more functional, as half the duct is literally blocked by faux holes.
09-08-2010, 09:19 AM
#48
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Oh, and as far as data goes, lets ask all the race teams that take out the grill entirely on their S2 race cars. Gutting the stock grill is basically like taking it out, but with a factory-esque look still present.
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