I don't want to say it is a dud but I do agree with danimal as far as if it was just the metal grille that you replaced I would be on the list but a complete surround that requires painting and maybe some fab is more than I personally want to do. Having said that I am very interested to see it installed. Mod away guys it makes our car's interesting.

 

The only problem with a complete metal grill is that it would have no strength. Look at any care with a grill like this the XJR, the Bentley, all of them have a pretty substantial surround. So I don't understand from a practical standpoint how all of you thought it would just be mesh with no surround. Not only would it look cheap but probably wouldn't last a week.

 

Will everyone PLEASE just concede this thread to MAYAman? You are not allowed to make any comment or express any opinion without being berated by him, so this will be the only way to stop it from escalating any further than it already has.

 

What about my last response made you get your panties in a bunch? Also, like I said anybody bagging on it without seeing a finished product is going on speculation.

What about this bothers you? So you would back an opinion based on speculation rather than facts or a finished product? Makes perfect sense.

 

But it could have a metal surround like the bentley has and then it would require no painting which is going to cost me proably as much as the additional metal would cost over the fiberglas that they have in the latest version. But the biggest positive is that it wouldn't look like a pontiac GTO which is what the latest version makes the car look like. I know they are talking about moving the mesh forward, but that would only make it look like a Pontiac Solstice(ugh).

I don't understand where Tino got the idea to make that big fiberglas surround from but I think it was poorly conceived. I think everyone that signed up thought it was going to look like the photoshop pic that he had in the first thread. I think the estimate was $350 or so but now with proably $150-200 in painting costs the thing is over $500.

I might pay that to get a bentley type grille, but not to make the car look like a pontiac. Maybe in germany Tino doesn't see very many Pontiacs and he thought the V shaped separator in the grille followed the lines of the raised V in the center of the hood. Unfortunately he didn't realize that made it look like a Pontiac GTO. He should have given use a sketch and taken a poll.

 

Yes, maybe a polished metal surround but it would have to be quite substantial or risk of bending or deforming. I've done a couple of photoshops so I'm still optomistic. We'll see.

 

Grill300dual.jpg
E&G manufactures several grills for the Chrysler 300. This is more what we had in mind when this all started, only with a center rib to match the Crossfire styling. The prototype of Tinos design is much different.
I Like Tinos design too, although I would prefer a heavy mesh and surround similar to that in the photo. The point made with the inset mesh looking all wrong with the Chrysler wing on the hood is a very valid concern with me too. I think it will look all wrong and too similar to the Pontiac styling. The last thing I want to be accused of is being a Solstice or GTO wannabe. The finished photos will tell the story.
With the new 2007 Chrysler Sebring coming out with the current Crossfire front end, I'll have to change my Grill to something different .
So... I'll keep an open mind.
This is the BEST Forum... PEACE!

 

i personally think the ctd grill should have chrome plating (like oem) on the surrounding area... this will eliminate the additional cost & headaches of any painting.



can fiberglass be chromed?? it sure can... called... chemical metalizing...

http://amazines.com/Automotive/artic...lass%2Cbumpers

http://www.snschrome.com/process.htm

 

None of the great sports car grills we have seen, and aspire to, are chicken wire flapping in the wind. I always expected that the grill would have substantial framing, just like the Chrysler 300 option. With the much larger opening for the 300, the factory version is handsome and substantial. I never thought the XF would have no surround. I expected something practical but subtle. When they made the Bentley wannabe 300 grill, They didn't make it look like framed hamster cage.

 

Here's a picture of the new MTM Bentley tuner -- as you can see, the grille is flush and has a supporting metal surround.

 

I personally prefer a mesh grill w/o a center rib, like a CTS-V. Nevertheless, it's getting closer and closer till we see a picture of the grill on a car...I can't wait! Hope everything is going well.

 

Anyone remember this pic? How did it morph so far from this? Perhaps the surround needed to be a little more stout, but this is what Tino first sent as a Photoshop concept.

 

I remember very well. It is what I signed up for. If we don't get it or something very similar I won't be on the list of buyers. No GTO grille for me.

 

SRT SIX/Buckeye, thanks for posting that for reference. I was looking at the most recent photo sent by Tino and it looks like they picked up the center strut form/design from the lower grill section and extended it upwards.

I agree that the current design is nothing like this previously presented photo, but i'm still interested in seeing it on the car before I make a judgment.

MAXXM, thanks too for that bentley shot! Just for accuracy...the Bentley grill you showed is not exactly flush. There's a slight inset (increasing from top to bottom) with a small rounded surround, which is very classy and gives the front end a little visual interest, even with this modest depth. I've seen some really poor copies for the 300M...they are flush and look like cheap imitations.

Here's a closer shot of a Bentley grill that shows this. As Rob says below, I think this is what most of us were looking for in the current effort.

 

it looks like they're designing a Mugen-type grill, instead of a mesh grill. those are big with the civic crowd... yuck. the grille on the bentley continental is what most of us were expecting (what I was expecting anyway).

 

I sure hope Tino is reading this.

 

Now this is what I'm talkin about!
Mesh Grill-1.jpg Click on me!!!
OH YEAH!

 

ok, where did that come from? don't keep us in suspense.

 

that's a one-off grill done for a SEMA show (IIRC) a year or two ago. NOT available for purchase; never went into production --

https://www.crossfireforum.org/forum/showthread.php?t=6595

 

Is there a place to buy the mesh shown above? If I could get that, I could build the rest.