Front grill idea

[DucatiCraig]

I wanted to do a front grill, but didn't want to go down the stucco mesh road. I looked at custom grills, but ended up going a different route.

I went down to a local metal shop that specializes in metal piercing and looked through their offcut bin. I found some 1/8" pierced aluminum (for only $10!), and used it for the front grill. I was concerned about a reduction in cooling, but the car doesn't seem to run any hotter (running a ctsc to boot).

I also used some of the leftover material at the engine compartment vent, and rather than completely block off the airflow, the mesh sits vertically, leaving a big gap for airflow in front of it, but still looking like it is covering the opening.

I've attached a couple pics


- Craig

 

[Big_D]

Now you need some Dali stone shields for the A/C Condensor openings.:smile:

I opted for black.

 

[nsxtcy85]

I would still be worried about cooling problems.....

 

[goldNSX]

Now you need some Dali stone shields for the A/C Condensor openings.:smile:

I opted for black.

Or you'd better to the same route and DIY, much cheaper. Did something recently too. :wink:

 

[nsxtcy85]

Or you'd better to the same route and DIY, much cheaper. Did something recently too. :wink:

Where did you find that stuff?

 

[goldNSX]

Where did you find that stuff?

Like Craig in the DIY-shop next to my door. $20 for everything.

 

[NSXclear]

I'm not sure where you are located, but if you can locate a metal supply shop, you will find a lot of various metals and patterns. I got my honeycomb grill for my side vents at Industrial Metal Suppply (IMS) here in san diego. I think they have serveral locations throughout the country.

I went with the honeycomb on the side vent because everyone had the same diamond pattern. I wanted something different.

 

[menappi]

why not use 'gutter guard', it's only a few bucks.

 

[Sparkman]

How did you guys attach the mesh metal to the car?

 

[PhiAlpha44]

I really like the rear grill.

 

[lowellhigh79]

Perforated aluminum comes only in circle perforations. The actual area lost to the metal can be as high as 40%! The octagonal pattern (steel) yields the lowest amount of area lost- I believe it is around 15%. The square wire, which is not perforated sheet metal is still the best for least amount of area lost, which is why racers tend to use them. I have the octagonal mesh pattern over all inlets.

Pics in a similar thread: http://www.nsxprime.com/forums/showthread.php?t=75445


Regards,

Danny

 

[DucatiCraig]

PhiAlpha -

Thanks, I personally think it turned out well. Subtle, but classy.


Yes, I agree that there are several alternatives that are less restrictive airflow wise, but nothing flows quite as well as not putting any grill in the first place.

If you look at the ratio of surface area that is holes vs. surrounding metal, I don't doubt that as much as 40% of the previously unrestricted area is now blocked by aluminum.

I think the whole point of putting a grill in is 90% cosmetic anyhow (yeah, it also prevents you from having to straighten out your fins after getting pelted by road debris).

I was suprised by the fact that after putting the grill in, the motor didn't seem to run significantly hotter (yes, I'm basing that off of the stock temp gauge, which isn't necessarily a precision instrument:tongue.

Of course the "right" thing to do is to leave it stock, but I'm happy with the trade off I have made between style and cooling air velocity.

Perhaps there is a margin of diminishing returns when it comes to airflow across the fins above which the radiator is unable to shed heat regardless of the incoming air velocity. I don't know. All I know is that my temp gauge reads the same, and the front of my car looks nicer.:biggrin:


- Craig

 

[goldNSX]

Airflow/cooling issues: I've done the mod some weeks ago and couldn't test it extensively. For the radiator I've only done the lower half, for the A/C radiators I had the fog lights in before, now removed and put in the grill. I'll take them out as soon as the compressor is working too much. There have been a overheating tendacy reported on the track with the SOS radiator shield as I recall correctly. But again as far as you don't SC/Turbo your car the NSX cooling system has quite a good reserve capacity. I only climbed a hill once last week and had no cooling issues at all, the gauge stayed where it usually was.