Has anyone ever replaced their painted hood vents (grilles) with stainless ones? If so, did they look out of place? Any suggestions besides ebay where to find them? I wanted to spread the touch of chrome around my car without making it look 'getto' ......I was the one with the painted side moldings that backfired and looked horrid, so I want to be extra careful this next time around......Thanks!

 

Personally they are not to my taste........But I have fitted them many times.......If I was point out a couple of probs with them, even though the OE in theory cant be much better, but they do seem to let alot more rain water into the engine bay as well as sunlight.

The biggest issue is the sunlight bleaches the air box and other plastic items to a light(ish) gray and you are forever using 'back to black' to make them look good

 

Check some of the pictures in my profile. I painted my R louvres a metallic color that comes very close to matching the color of the Detroit wheels. I was going to go with the SS, but was also worried it would be a bit too flashy, but I needed to do something since my louvres were faded bad.

I am really happy with the outcome, it is distinctive, but not overly in your face that ss could be. If you're interested, I could look and let you know what colors I mixed, just PM me.

 

I took a bit of a different route. I thought the original design was lacking something so I added a mesh insert behind the factory louvers. I purchased a sheet of SS wire mesh on eBay and cut them to fit. IMHO $25 is not a bad investment for the subtle detail it adds.

 

Nice. I think the SS replacements are too flashy; however what you did is pretty classy and I like it...probably helps keep leaves out too.

 

Yes guys, once again you all have valid points. I do like that S/S underneath approach. That continues to be my main concern, too flashy, or just enough is what I need to decide. I don't want to make another 'side molding' type $$ mistake.

 

Marc
I like that look also, Jaguar should have done that with the louvers, it would tie it all in with the grill. Great Idea! Thanks
Doug
2001 XKR Silverstone

 

MarcB--that looks like a classy subtle touch. How do you get that mesh to stay in place--what do you attach it to and how?


Thanks,

Doug

 

Doug (RCSign): That's what I thought too, it always looked unfinished to me.
Doug (SeismicGuy): I cut the mesh a little over sized so when I installed them into the vent I used needle nose pliers to bend each cut wire which essentially pressure fit the material. - Originally I was going to use split rubber tubing around the expose edges but after test fitting the mesh it seemed unnecessary. See photos - (Please no comments about my hood insulation, it is next on my list to replace)






For added security I took a single piece of wire from the mesh and made retaining pins that cross the entire vent width wise. I drilled small holes in a place where the crossing wires would not be visible from the exterior and inserted the retaining pin through both holes and bent each end. Two pins per vent just in case.



The heavy gauge mesh was key here as it is very rigid and I have no rattles at all.

 

Thanks Marc. The use of the safety restraint wires is excellent. Do you happen to have the link of who sells these types of pieces of mesh?


Thanks,

Doug

 

If anyone is interested I can make up these hood louvre grilles up, I have done it quite a few times before.

I use exactly the same mesh as the main grille, but I use a 1/8 metal surround and welded all the way around, then electro polished, if anybody fancies some let me know, I have plenty of material in stock.

I have also done it for the vents by the windscreen wipers but for these I use a much finer mesh.

 

Unfortunately no, I do not know a vendor; I got lucky on eBay and found some material similar to the grill but it is a bit larger gauge wire.

I have had these in for quite a while and if I knew Paragon made these that is the route I'd take - and still may for a more finished look. This wasn't the easiest thing to do for numerous reasons, one of which being the fact that I had to do all the cutting with a power tool. It may be easier for some but it was my first experience using a die grinder

 

I still have some laying around I will take a pic

 

Great & thanks XKRacer!

 

Hey, XKR Racer; to clarify... if you mean you did made an insert to go underneath the louvers just like MarcB's then yes I'm interested in a set...if affordably priced of course.

 

Yes Steve, that is it exactly. Below is a pic of one I had laying around, underneath it is a 2005/6 lower front bumper mesh grille just to show you what it would look like once polished.




I fitted this one to an XKR I have in the shop at the moment, fitting is very simple, no need to remove the louvre, literally takes less than 2 minutes, 4 retaining clips are supplied which fit onto the vent holding the grille inplace, this also means it is easy to remove for cleaning purposes.

 

XKRacer--Maybe you could work out a group purchase on these? The only thing I would prefer is the way the mesh is oriented in MarcB's installation (look at his pics).

Doug

 

That is why I still had that particular grille hanging around, I did not like the way the grille looked, I prefer the grilles 'squares' points to be 90 degrees to the horizontal of the louvres.

 

I'd be interested for my 2000. How much for a pair?

 

XKRacer, you have started something good here. I will keep watching to see if you will/would make these in mass for everyone interested. Cheers!