Chrome Mesh Grille

[Silver Amputee]

Does anyone have one or know who makes them

[HeliCFI]

I have not heard of any, with the way the huge Mazda emblem cuts into the lower bumper it will be had to pull of a nice aftermarket grill.

[Silver Amputee]

I have not heard of any, with the way the huge Mazda emblem cuts into the lower bumper it will be had to pull of a nice aftermarket grill.

true

[Silver Amputee]

nobody seen any

[CX9Zoom]

Here is the link to the billet grill:
http://www.wooddashexperts.com/customer/home.php?cat=9156

It says that the installation time is 2 hours. However, on the manufacture’s website it says that it only takes 30 minutes. I am really debating whether to get one or not.

[Silver Amputee]

just wish it was mesh

[Bruz]

I saw a mesh grille on a silver GT the other day and it looked fantastic. It would be great if Mazda offered this as an accessory (or even as part of the stock vehicle on the GT).

[l-miwa]

Here is the link to the billet grill:
http://www.wooddashexperts.com/customer/home.php?cat=9156


And here are the installation instructions for it...

[wakblak]

I saw a mesh grille on a silver GT the other day and it looked fantastic. It would be great if Mazda offered this as an accessory (or even as part of the stock vehicle on the GT).

Was it the top and bottom pieces or the top only?

[kosh2258]

Here is the link to the billet grill:
http://www.wooddashexperts.com/customer/home.php?cat=9156

It says that the installation time is 2 hours. However, on the manufacture’s website it says that it only takes 30 minutes. I am really debating whether to get one or not.

If anyone is considering these, check out Jegs.com first. They have them for considerably less than the price at wooddashexperts.com. You'll need to search by the part numbers, 608412 and 608413, to find them. Wooddashexperts.com guarantee's to price match so you can either get it from Jegs.com or use their prices to get a lower price from Wooddashexperts.

Ted

[l-miwa]

Since these bolt over top of the factory grill, it seems that you can install these on a CX-9 without any disassembly. I tried over the weekend and I can reach the back side of the upper grill by reaching up through the middle opening.

My only concern now is the esthetics of installing the billet grill over top of the factory grill. Not sure how tacky that will look. First there's the black plastic grill and then there will be the billet grill mounting brackets behind that. Has anyone ever seen one of these in person - on any vehicle, not necessarily a CX-9?

WoodDashExperts allows returns, but with a 20% restocking fee plus shipping.

[tek3spd]

delete

[CX9Zoom]

This is how the grill looks on CX-7:
http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?t=123684212

And here is the cheapest place to get it:
http://www.buyautotruckaccessories.com/product.cfm/cf-bin/pn.precision-ez-billet-grille/

[Bruz]

Was it the top and bottom pieces or the top only?

Just the top.

[l-miwa]

How would these hold up to a Chicago winter with lots of salt? Any corrosion issues? Anybody had them for a couple years?

[l-miwa]

OK, I ordered them - upper and lower $233.90 total (free shipping) from www.buyautotruckaccessories.com

As soon as I get them installed, I'll post pictures and installation notes!

[l-miwa]

Just heard that they are on backorder from the manufacturer for at least two weeks. Seems that Precision hasn't actually shipped any to distributors yet, they're just collecting preorders!

I'll post updates as I hear more.

[kosh2258]

Just heard that they are on backorder from the manufacturer for at least two weeks. Seems that Precision hasn't actually shipped any to distributors yet, they're just collecting preorders!

I'll post updates as I hear more.

The billet grills are now shipping. I just got my shipping notice from buyautotruckaccessories.com.

Ted

[l-miwa]

Yup! Got my shippin notice as well. Should be here next week. But of course I'll be out of town. Will post pictures as soon as I get a chance to install them.

[kosh2258]

I received my shipment yesterday.

Unfortunately, the box with the bumper grille kit broke open during shipping and the mounting hardware kit fell out and was lost. I called Precision Grille's tech support number and they're shipping me out a replace hardware kit no questions asked - a definite positive vote for their customer service.

I was able to install the upper grille kit last night. It looks really good in person - like it was factory OEM - and is a definite improvement.
You really don't see the black grill underneath once the billet pieces are in place. There appears to be no issues with air flow restriction either. The openings in the billet grille are plenty wide so as not to hinder air movement.

The mounting is pretty simple; 3 studs per grill, flat brackets, and self locking nuts. IF your arms are small enough, long enough, and you're coordinated enough to work blind you can install the upper grilles by reaching through the bumper opening immediately underneath the grille. But for me it was a snug fit and I'm not a big person.

There is no way I can see to put the top bumper grille in without undoing the front bumper cover as the instructions state. The underlying bumper reinforcement member interferes with access from behind or below.
Fortunately, I have the service manual so I have a diagram as to how to undo the bumper cover fasteners, and there are plenty of them to undo. It's not as simple as the installation instructions would lead you to believe. This is probably an hour job to install the lower grilles if you're comfortable with assembling and disassembling things. It will take longer to undo and redo the bumper cover fasteners than to actually mount the grills.

The other thing is that the install hardware is pretty generic stuff. The studs are really long and barely clear some of the underlying framework (what they call the core mount). So once I have everything mounted in place I'm going to take my Dremel tool with a metal cutoff wheel and trim the studs down to the correct length just to avoid any collateral damage if the bumper gets lightly taged and flexes some.

Overall, I'd recommend these kits to anyone who has some basics mechanical skills and is looking to improve the front end appearance of their 9 for a reasonable price.

I'll take pictures when I get into the full scale R&R on this. By my count there are 15 fasteners to remove to get the bumper cover loose.

Ted

[clarko]

Cant wait to see to the pics Ted. Now hurry up mate!:rolleyes:

[DJPRO]

Ebay is selling two different sets.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2008-08-MAZDA-CX-9-CX9-CHROME-BILLET-GRILLE-GRILL-SeS_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ33645QQihZ013QQitem Z230252544021QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/07-08-09-MAZDA-CX9-CX-9-TRYP-FINE-MESH-GRILLE_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ33645QQihZ011QQi temZ320251228338QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

-dee

[kosh2258]

Cant wait to see to the pics Ted. Now hurry up mate!:rolleyes:

I have to get the darned thing away from my wife long enough to finish installing everything! :D

Ted

[l-miwa]

Got mine installed today!

As kosh2258 stated, the upper grills CAN be installed without removing the front clip, but it's REALLY hard on the arms. I started that way and then also realized there's no way to do the middle grill without removing the front end anyway. Got out the service manual and removed all the fasteners. Once off, installing the grills was easy. About 3 hours start to finish.

Since I don't like using any non-stainless steel nuts and bolts on a car, I went to the hardware store and got 12 2" stainless screws, 12 stainless washers, and 12 stainless nylock nuts. Cost me an extra $12.00. I put the nuts on backwards all the way onto the screws, then the washers, then the brackets and then used Loctite to hold the screws into the grills. I then snugged the nuts down to tighten up the brackets. Hopefully that way everything will stay tight and nothing will rattle loose.

[wakblak]

Looks great miwa!
How easy was it to get to all the fasteners off?

[l-miwa]

How easy was it to get to all the fasteners off?

I have the service manual which clearly states which fasteners need to be removed. Only the two in the wheel wells were any kind of challenge. The others just unscrew or pop up and remove.

The service manual assumes that the fenders have already been removed, so I removed the fender fastener in the wheel well just to make it a little easier to tuck the bumper edge under the fender.

All in all, a very straightforward job.

If anyone needs a scan of the relevant page from the manual, just let me know and I'll scan and post it.

[kosh2258]

I have the service manual which clearly states which fasteners need to be removed. Only the two in the wheel wells were any kind of challenge. The others just unscrew or pop up and remove.

The service manual assumes that the fenders have already been removed, so I removed the fender fastener in the wheel well just to make it a little easier to tuck the bumper edge under the fender.

All in all, a very straightforward job.

If anyone needs a scan of the relevant page from the manual, just let me know and I'll scan and post it.


I'm still waiting on my replacement brackets for the bumper grills to arrive.

I was working on this last weekend and all the fasteners came out easily EXCEPT for the two that hold the upper edge of the bumper cover in the wheel opening. I'm sure these are the two you mean - have a cross for phillips screwdriver in the center. I stopped trying to remove them because I didn't want to break something. How were you able to extract them? Nothing I tried seemed to work.

I like your idea about substituting SS hardware.

[l-miwa]

Yes, those are the two that were a pain. I finally just put two flat blade screwdrivers under each and popped them out! I figured worst case, if they broke (they didn't), I could get new ones for a buck or two from the dealer. After removing them, I saw that the center shaft has ridges, but I don't think they are actually threads. I certainly couldn't get it to come out by unscrewing it. When I was ready to reinstall everything, I just pushed the center out, inserted the fastener into the hole, and pushed the center back in. Seems to be working fine!

[kosh2258]

Yes, those are the two that were a pain. I finally just put two flat blade screwdrivers under each and popped them out! I figured worst case, if they broke (they didn't), I could get new ones for a buck or two from the dealer. After removing them, I saw that the center shaft has ridges, but I don't think they are actually threads. I certainly couldn't get it to come out by unscrewing it. When I was ready to reinstall everything, I just pushed the center out, inserted the fastener into the hole, and pushed the center back in. Seems to be working fine!

Those sound like blind rivets where the assumption is you have access behind them to push on the center pin to release it. That's weird since I see that the overfender trim and fender liner have fasteners that pop up the center if you turn them.

Speaking of the overfender trim, I'm not sure what the manual is saying by "remove the clip". The diagram indicates the retaining clips are some sort of friction spring clip and they should release by simply pulling straight back on the trim once the 3 pop fasteners are removed. The trim on mine seems pretty reluctantant to release when I try pulling on it.

What was your experience?

[l-miwa]

I didn't remove the fenders or overfender trim. You're probably right - if I had, then getting to the back of the center pin would probably have been possible.

I did remove one of the pop up fasteners on the overfender trim to make it easier to get the wheel well portion of the bumper to slide back under it. Still not easy, but better than removing yet another piece of bodywork.

[kosh2258]

I didn't remove the fenders or overfender trim. You're probably right - if I had, then getting to the back of the center pin would probably have been possible.

I did remove one of the pop up fasteners on the overfender trim to make it easier to get the wheel well portion of the bumper to slide back under it. Still not easy, but better than removing yet another piece of bodywork.

That bit of info helps. I'm with you, the less removed the better.

[jasonrushton]

I have the service manual which clearly states which fasteners need to be removed.
...
If anyone needs a scan of the relevant page from the manual, just let me know and I'll scan and post it.

I have ordered the billet grille from www.buyautotruckaccessories.com and will be need to know which fastners to remove. Please post the front bumper removal procedure from the service manual. Thanks in advance.

[l-miwa]

Here's the relevant page from the service manual.

The manual does assume that the fenders have been removed, so there is a little more to it once the bolts have been removed. You will need to use a little bit of force to unclip the bumper from the front fenders. They are just some kind of snap connnectors, so if you grab the inside of the wheel well and slowly but firmly pull outward, they will unsnap. I think there are three on each side.

[kosh2258]

Here's the relevant page from the service manual.

The manual does assume that the fenders have been removed, so there is a little more to it once the bolts have been removed. You will need to use a little bit of force to unclip the bumper from the front fenders. They are just some kind of snap connnectors, so if you grab the inside of the wheel well and slowly but firmly pull outward, they will unsnap. I think there are three on each side.

I finished installing my kit last night (sorry, no pictures as promised. I simply didn't have the time to spare to do it).

There are two additional screws on each side that the diagram doesn't show. They are at the bottom edge of the inner fender liners. Cock the front wheels to one side or the other to allow you to get a screwdriver on them. Also, don't forget to reach up behind the bumper and disconnect the fog light wires from the bulbs, if you have fog lights.

I'd strongly suggest you leave the two large screws on the top side in place until after you've removed all the other fasteners and gotten the sides of the cover released. That will prevent the whole works from just falling off the vehicle (no, that didn't happen to me but the manual warns about it so I thought it was the best way to prevent it).

The whole cover flexes pretty easily when it's off the vehicle so take it easy.

Reattaching the cover isn't much of a challenge. If you look at the topside near each headlight there is a sort of a plastic spear on the cover that lines up with a hole in the support structure. When you go to reattach the cover if you line those spears up with the holes the whole cover slides easily into place. Just line up the top side fastener holes, put the two large screws back in and then reclip the sides into the sliders and the rest just falls into place with some playing with the inner fender liners to get them tucked under the cover. There is a bit of manipulation to get the lipped edge of the gray trim under the overfender trim. Patience is rewarded.

I had pre-staged all the fasteners (using the same stainless steel screws and nylock nut approach i-miwa did - good idea and thanks for it) the night before so it only took me about 2 hours start to finish to do the actual remove, install, replace.

Ted

[oroboy]

How's it goin' everyone, I also purchased a grill, but I got the chrome mesh version. Installed it today, took me about 2.5 - 3 hours to install because it didn't come with instructions, so I had figure out on my own where to install certain brackets and what not. Bolted right over existing honeycomb stock grill. It looks pretty nice, I'll post pics later.

[Bruz]

How's it goin' everyone, I also purchased a grill, but I got the chrome mesh version. Installed it today, took me about 2.5 - 3 hours to install because it didn't come with instructions, so I had figure out on my own where to install certain brackets and what not. Bolted right over existing honeycomb stock grill. It looks pretty nice, I'll post pics later.

I look forward to seeing the pics. Where did you find/purchase it?

[oroboy]

I found it on ebay about 2 weeks ago. I think someone posted a link to it in this thread a few posts back. I'm not sure, but it looks like they may have had only 1 for sale (for now), and I got that one. It doesn't show how much they have/had in stock.

I'll post pictures this weekend.

[oroboy]

Here's the pictures of the chrome mesh grill I installed a week ago that I bought from eBay. Sorry 'bout the picture quality, but I took the pictures with my cell phone camera. I think it looks okay, I prefer mesh over billet grills.

http://img504.imageshack.us/img504/9494/grill1sn2.jpg

http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/7443/grill2zv5.jpg

http://img504.imageshack.us/img504/4863/grill3lv5.jpg

[Bruz]

Thanks for the pics.

[CX9 SportOwner]

Dont post photos that are linked to a sign up con

[oroboy]

Thanks for the pics.

No prob.

[cxgreat]

Where can that mesh upper be found? I looked on ebay but none are around. Could you share the seller name so I could contact them? Thanks

[HogHillbilly]

I like this mesh Grill.............All 4 pieces for $290

http://www.wooddashexperts.com/customer/product.php?productid=67454&cat=9156&page=1

[Spawn (Tim.B)]

Thats the one I have installed on my CX-9.

http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s10/Spawn300Z/CX-9/IMG_0117.jpg

http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s10/Spawn300Z/CX-9/IMG_0119.jpg

[wakblak]

Nice!

[nj_jamaican]

these look great. As much as I would like to do this myself, based on all the descriptions and comments, I just do not have the time to commit to a 3-5 hour job. Maybe over the summer I will try it on a saturday.

thanks for the information though.

[benben01]

http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s10/Spawn300Z/CX-9/IMG_0119.jpg

What size rims and tires are you running? I was thinking of doing a set of Volk Progressives or MEs in 20x10.5 with 295/40 ST/II