According to their eBay ad, their front grill is made of "Thick gage steel"...

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by walkabt
[B]Axcilla, as a courtesy to a site sponsor so they can improve their own product, I will let you know what I learn about the "cheap" grilles.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by walkabt
[B]Axcilla, as a courtesy to a site sponsor so they can improve their own product, I will let you know what I learn about the "cheap" grilles.

 

I have the cheapo ebay grill. Mine attached by 2 very thin screws in the front no zip ties. The fit is not perfect but no one has ever noticed the difference. As for heat. I've never had a problem last summer. I now have the Mugen thermostat, thermoswitch, rad cap, and ECU so I doubt I would ever notice a difference. The thing is so easy to install and take off that I wouldn't give it a second thought. Considering all the bugs and road debris that accumulates in there $35 is not a big deal.

 

Mine installed with screws, not zip ties. I purchased the faux sides as well which also were screwed-in, not taped. The quality of my set-up is very good and I've purchased grilles in the past (for previous) vehicles that cost upwards of $200 and the quality of my current S2K set-up is every bit as good as those more expensive offerings. My fit is about as perfect as I would expect and have not seen one aspect of its attachment that has affected my performance in any measurable way. The product is made of carbon steel, not billet aluminum Ax, so I'm not sure where you are getting that info from and also, there were no zip ties used for my install so again, that is a bit misleading. Zip ties are for other applications, not the S2000 offering. You keep using the word "cheap" as if to knock a competitor but I prefer, "less expensive." You have no idea what their manufacturing costs to sales ratios are and if they are pounding out #'s on eBAY, perhaps they can afford to sell them closer to their cost. If this product had a buy it now price of $145, would it then somehow, magically become a legit product? FWIW, I also don't have that massive front license plate assembly blocking my front end so whatever adverse flow conditions that are created by a grille (of any make) are negated by the amount of additional cooling area I have from losing the plate assembly. It would seem to me THAT would cause more of an adverse affect than a grille, which also happens (as you know) to protect an incredibly vulnerable area. My .02 is the pros FAR outweigh the cons, which incidently I haven't experienced yet other than parting $35 from my wallet.


As you can see, having the plate assembly on there takes away a fair amount of flow. To date, nothing more than 3 bars. I read the statistics you offer and feel that when all is said and done, it's sort of like the difference between .005% harmonic distortion and .00375%. I highly doubt what minute flow advantage one grille has over another is going to make a performance difference that wouldn't be negated by buying one less gallon of gas (6.2-lbs) or a bottle of Redline Water Wetter (highly recommended...been using it for years). Besides, in my neck of the woods, we'll see 95 degree ambient temps (your test temps I believe) maybe one day a year so perhaps my findings apply only to northern geographical areas. I wouldn't want to speculate on what owners will experience who might live in Houston, Phoenix, etc.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Russ
[B]Mine installed with screws, not zip ties.

 

Axcilla, just so I can make a comparison as best I can. Please PM me or post how you tested the temperatures and airflow and what equipment you used. I want to be as fair as possible. I can even put one of your grilles that another member bought on my car the same day I test the Grille-Tech model.

We're sure to have a 95 degree day here in the next few weeks or at least by May - so as soon as I get the grille I can start the testing. Anything beyond May and we go into the 100s.

 

The eBay Grille-Tech grills are made of powder coated carbon steel, the holes are 5/32" on a 3/16" stagger. The ones I got install with ties for the main grill, the side grills screw in.