One of the things I didn't like about the front fascia of my 2G Talon was how "unfinished" it looked. The big gapping hole in the front seemed like it was missing something. I had several people ask me, "Did you take something off the front of your car?". I decided that something needed to be done...

The solution? A front mesh grille! So I did some web surfing and found a company called GrillCraft. "Perfect!", I thought to myself. That is until I discovered that they didn't make a grille for the 2G Talon and had no plans to ever produce one. Scratch that idea. :-(

Then one day at a local autocross competition I met a fellow 2G DSMer and noticed that he had a mesh grille on his car. After chatting with him, I soon discovered how simple & inexpensive it is to create your own custom mesh grille. Here's how it's done:

Supplies:
1) Galvanized "Gutter Guard" found at your local hardware / home improvement store.
2) Several black nylon zip ties.
3) Pair of tin snips.
4) Measuring tape

Instructions:
I found that the "Gutter Guard" was already the perfect width, but wasn't quite long enough to cover all three openings in my front fascia. (The gutter guard actually comes in a package of four approx. 4' long strips). So I took one strip and cut it in half. Then I zip tied the two halves to each end of a full-length strip to make an approx. 6' long strip. After that, I slipped one end of the mesh strip into the center fascia opening, slid it over to one side as far as I could, then proceeded to slip the other end of the mesh strip into the center fascia opening. Then I centered the mesh strip so that all of the all three openings in my front fascia were covered.

At this point, you'll find that the mesh will pretty much stay in place on its own as it's wedged between the fascia and plastic molding around the radiator (you'll see what I mean when you do it). To make sure your new mesh grille doesn't shift any, use some zip ties to secure it in place.

What did I zip tie the mesh to? Well, I used mounting brackets of my aftermarket fog lights to secure the top of the mesh. On the bottom center fascia opening you'll find that there are couple of fastening points for the lower air dam. I wrapped some zip ties around those as well. Basically you can use anything that a zip tie will fit around. The zip ties are not there to support the mesh grille, but only to immobilize it.

Total cost was about $15 Cdn. And you'll have enough gutter guard leftover to do a second car, so if you want you can split the $15 with another DSMer and make it a $7.50 mod. Much better than the $100+ US that GrillCraft charges for their grille kits.

I've had my custom Gutter Guard grille on my car for about 2 years now and it's holding up very well. There's no sign of rust (despite Canadian winters), and it has never loosened or fallen out of place. I have never noticed any increase in engine temperature from having the grille installed. If anything, it helps by protecting the radiator and oil cooler from bugs and road debris. All in all it's a very simple and inexpensive mod.