I've been thinking for the past few days about my drive up to the DC area to Inline PRO and all the bugs and crap that were destroyed on my front bumper/windshield, then I thought about how driving it back home to FL would mess up the FMIC from the same type of road debris/bugs...scares me.

So with that thought, does anyone have any non-ghetto ideas for a FMIC grill/protector? I saw the grillcraft one and was wondering if anyone is using this on their S2k and could post some pics. Yes, I know grillcraft shows an s2k bumper with it on, but I want to see the whole car with it, and in a color besides white. Also, looking on the other side of things, if you turbo guys have experience w/ your fmic and highway driving and think that a grille isn't worth it, let me know your thoughts on that as well.

I know that some protection is better than none at all, but I do respect the 'fine lines' of my car (even stock) and don't want to put some cheap piece of crap on there that just destroys the whole look. Any good suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

The only two grills that I've seen in person (that actually looked decent) were the Grillcraft and the Coastal Metals grilles. The Coastal Metals grill was the more popular one back in the day here at S2KI, probably because they used to be a site sponsor.

Both were constructed very well, and held up fine against bugs and debris. As a matter of fact, my friend has one of the Coastal Metal grilles on his 350Z, and it still looks as good as new (bought in 2003). Another friend has the Grillcraft on his Civic, and it held up just as good.

 

Thanks, it's a Garret(sp) core and is supposedly pretty sturdy. I didn't encounter any rock chips on the way up, just bugs and crap...which seems to be pretty standard here in FL...so I'm starting to think a grille is overkill. Maybe I'm wrong, I'm waiting for the turbo'd guys to chime in on their experiences with their FMICs.

 

I've seen some people use window screen material to protect their FMIC. You really can't notice it until your up close to it and it does a good job of protecting the FMIC from bugs and rock chips.

 

has anyone had any issues with debris hitting their fmic and causing decrease in performance? or is it purely a cosmetic thing?

 

I have had the Coastal Metal set up for many years with no problems.

 

I was worried about protecting my FMIC as well and so fabbed up my own grill... check it out I just posted a thread on it...

https://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=492463

 

I made my own, and its fairly simple. Here are some pictures:

 

where did you buy that mesh?

 

Hardware store. You can also find it on line at auto supply stores.