[Euro] Mugen Grille DIY in Photos. CAUTION 56k users

[Matell]

Mods, I've posted this here initially but I imagine you'll shift it to the Articles section.

Right Mugen Grille install time,

I know this will be an eat poo sandwich to a lot of you out there has it’s simple and common sense. However for exactly that reason there always seems to be an abundance of questions about installing an after market grille. Therefore I hope to answer them here.

I have a Graphite Pearl Euro with paint code NH-658P. Honda Japan didn’t originally release the Euro R in this colour, hence if you have a Graphite Pearl/Carbon Grey Euro/TSX you’ll have to get it painted.

I chose to mask it off myself to delineate between the cross bar that had to be flat black, and the rest of the grille that had to be NH-658P. Here’s the grille with the spacers you need to use to align the clip holes on the grille with the JDM radiator cover and colour coded bonnet trim.



This show’s the “single use” one way washer type clips used to anchor the mesh to the grille. Using long nosed alligator pliers, and a jewellers screwdriver, and a lot of care you can deform them enough to work them off the studs.



$86AUD and a few day’s later here’s the end result




And a close up to show the flat black to body coloured delineation illustrated in the Mugen install instructions.





With the mesh fitted

[Matell]

Now for the install.

I did this while I had the car jacked up and the front wheels off after replacing the front brake pads.

NOTE: There is no need to remove the wheels or jack up the car to do this. Everything can be accomplished by lying on the ground.





(1) Using a flat bladed screwdriver carefully pop up all the clips retaining the OEM radiator trim. Keep them in order as you remove them as all the clips aren’t of the same length. With the radiator trim off I’ve taken a photo of where I plan to install the ram air duct.





(2) Now get on your guts with a 10mm socket and flat bladed screwdriver and remove these three bolts, and the clip.





(3) Remove the 4 clips holding the front underspoiler to the lower engine bay closeout panel.





(4) As per (2)



(5) Use a Phillips head screwdriver to remove the top screw shown here. You may need to remove one or both of the lower screws as well. This is exactly the same on the other side of the car.



(6)Carefully pry out the bumper from the clips starting at the wheel well and working to under the head lights. You’ll find if you ease your hand between the bumper and the car they’ll come away easily.





(7) There’s two little studs that the grille and bumper hangs from, lift the bumper of the studs, and carefully lower it enough to rest on a box, or have a helper hold it for you if you have fog lights.





(8) If you have fogs, reach in and grab the base of the socket. Give it a squeeze and push down and it’ll come apart very easily.

[Matell]

Now find somewhere soft to place the bumper. Here I’ve drawn a simplified flow path of the air for a ram air set-up with fogs. My filters also damn dirty so I had to take it off for a good clean. You can also see the ambient air temp probe, chassis rails, horns air-con condenser, etc. You can’t really see it in this pic, but for all you guys doing an aftermarket HID kit install there’s plenty of room under the headlight itself for the ballast. The OEM ballast is actually attached to the underside of the headlight housing I think. I’m thinking about stiffing the ADR’s and installing one myself. If so that’s where my ballast will be going.





(9) Ok now here’s the reverse of the bumper with the black SAAS mesh I picked up from Autobarn for about $30AUD. I’ve indicated where to trim it. However I marked it up by pushing the mesh up against the inside edge of the lower grille so it was fully conformed.





(10) Next I marked and cut the mesh so I could fold it around the grille





(11)Fold the mesh around the grille opening into a basket





(12) Mark the foglight retainer access holes on the mesh and snip out a few elements of the mesh to form the hole. Pressing it tightly against the bumper grab some electrical cable ties and use them to secure the one folded edge of the mesh to another.

Use more cable ties to secure the basket to the grille by the vertical members immediately under the horizontal member.





(13)Lower grille mesh installed





(14)Grab your shiny new grille and attach the spacers to the cross-member using the supplied screws as illustrated in the Mugen instructions.







(15) Using a flat bladed screw driver unclip the 4 clips (only two shown here) that retain the Honda grille to the bumper. Now just push the grille forwards from the back and it’ll pop straight off.



Two grilles for comparison





(16) Install the new grille the opposite way to how you removed it. Sit it where it should be and push it backwards from the front.

Reinstall the 4 clips.







(17) For the Ram Air duct I picked up a 90degree rectangular stormwater drain elbow, and cut off the front so it was near flush.

I drilled some holes and being the impatient cheapskate I am, used the cut off section to extend the leg of the pipe and secured the two parts together with cable ties, and then just painted it black. (It was white)





(18) I installed the duct right in the corner of the lower grille and used cable ties to secure it to the mesh.

[Matell]

(19)Reinstallation is the reverse of the removal process. The ram air duct fits perfectly through the gap between the bumper and the front of the car. This is already a fairly large gap, for air to be drawn in, now air gets rammed in behind the foglight turning the area where the CAI filter is located into one big positive pressured air box!

(Sorry no photos)



This next photo I hope illustrates the differences between the original radiator cover and the JDM cover.





(20) If you look closely on the JDM cover you’ll see the locating tabs that are used to engage slots on the Euro R Grille. The Mugen instructions direct you to trim off these tabs. There’s also a round plastic washer/shim supplied with the grille. This is to go between the thin shim and the front centre hole on the radiator trim. Unfortunately the JDM’s must have a small clip in this location identical in size to those holding the wheel well trim to the fender. I didn’t have one of these clips spare, only the fat clips I had earlier removed. I carefully had to drill this hole so it would accommodate the bigger clip.





(21) Here are some photos that show the love or hate “gap”. You pretty much have to suck it up, as that’s the way it’s designed and meant to be, hence the spacers. It honestly looks fine when you see it in person.









(22) Removing the chrome trim is simple. Grab the same 10mm socket you used to reinstall the bumper and undo the four lightly tightened nuts you’ll find in the holes at the front of your bonnet.







(23)Grab a small flat bladed screw driver and insert it into the hole I’ve indicated. Pry it forward and the clip holding the trim on will pop straight out.





(24) Carefully line up the hood trims 4 threaded shanks with the holes in the bonnet. Working from the outside in to the centre, push it home. Reinstall the nuts and tighten it up lightly. You don’t want to overtighten it as it’ll pull the trim and make little dimples on the outside.





And here’s the finished product.





Lower Grille mesh and ram air









Hope this helps somebody!

[yfin]

One of the finest step by step reviews I have seen on this site. Well done and thanks for the effort in pointing out all the screws, etc.

[Zdster]

As I said in the other thread, looks great and a nice job.


How long did it take you all up? Seems like it must have taken you a while to finish it all so nicely.

[SSML]

after seeing another of ur step by step DIY write up... I must say.. most detailed and thorough instructions ever...

[Chris_F]

Matell... truely the master of the right-up. Heaps of people here and overseas are gonna make good use of your instructions .

Damn i want body coloured hood trims too - where abouts did you get yours from matell?

[Matell]

As I said in the other thread, looks great and a nice job.


How long did it take you all up? Seems like it must have taken you a while to finish it all so nicely.

Thanks.

I took it nice and slow and made it my Sunday project, It took me several hours. Had I not been stopping to take photo's it could probably be done in about 45mins max if you were just installing the grille and nothing else. It's very simple, just a lot of little things to do.

Chris, I got the hood trim from Boom Plus Toys in Vancouver along with the grille and JDM radiator cover.

[stephen8512]

excellent write up matt! top stuff

just a query. how did u pay boom plus toys? via paypal? money order? how long did it take for it to arrive here?
and the JDM radiator cover, dont we already get that from factory?

[[stealth]]

such a comprehensive writeup with EXCELLENT results... well done!

[Matell]

excellent write up matt! top stuff

just a query. how did u pay boom plus toys? via paypal? money order? how long did it take for it to arrive here?
and the JDM radiator cover, dont we already get that from factory?

I paid them via PayPal, and it took about 4months I think maybe longer.....Everything was caught up in a truckers strike they had in Vancouver and for about 2.5 months nothing moved off the docks.

No if you have a look the first photo in the last part of the DIY you'll see clear differences between the Honda Euro R cover, and the one we get.