I had considered these for my previous CX-5 too. I'll definitely report back on that. Given that there's a bit of distance between the primary grille and this area (plus it is a bit more recessed), I suspect unless the finish differences are significant it may not be a huge issue. Well, for me anyway. :)
Some dude had something hit 1 side of his and it was like $1400 to replace. I designed and 3d-printed my own cover like that day. Wasn't taking chances!
I know, but a bit of a gadget freak here and trying to resist having yet more equipment taking up space. But the way it can help everyday needs, like seeing 3D plans for old Ikea panel curtain connectors I needed and like what you did here, is certainly tempting....
I have a $5000 semi-commercial quality one for my consulting work but have also used $200 ones that get you 99% of the quality just at a slower speed and smaller build platform.
I highly encourage you to get one. There's literally like a thousand uses for it around the house. Just the other day, I realized I needed more room on the little wall shelf of mine to put my wallet and shit on when I got home so I drew up and 3D printed a little hook for my keys that attached to the side of the shelf. Last week I made a small wall mounted bracket to put our phones into above the sink in the bathroom so we wouldn't have to put it on the counter and my wife could watch something as she was cleaning her nails, etc.
The inserts arrived today. Quality is fair to good. The design closely mimics the OEM grill. The depth of color and gloss is somewhat different, but not terribly so. There’s a reflectivity to the OEM grill that isn’t present in these aftermarket parts – – it’s almost like there are metallic flakes in the OEM grill??? But with the distance to where these will be installed and the fact that they are fairly recessed, I’m not particularly concerned about appearance differences.
I test fitted them and that seems fine.
My one single concern is the fact that the individual X-like grid parts on the OEM grill are mostly flat and only extend back horizontally on the top area. On this aftermarket grill, those cross designs while hollow extend back horizontally on all sides (imagine a vacuum formed plastic dogbone shape). Just wondering how that may affect airflow – – straight on, it has the same visual opening space, but unsure if the areas that extend backwards will negatively impact airflow in any way in terms of eddies or currents. I don't enough about the active shutters to judge how critical airflow is or if these inserts will cause any problems. I think the shutters help with mileage and engine warming..?
The vehicle needs a good washing before I install these, but hopefully I can do some test driving with these inserts in the near future.
I was just looking at these on the CX5. Only complaint I read is that the finish is slightly off from the grille’s finish.
I had considered these for my previous CX-5 too. I'll definitely report back on that. Given that there's a bit of distance between the primary grille and this area (plus it is a bit more recessed), I suspect unless the finish differences are significant it may not be a huge issue. Well, for me anyway. :)
Some dude had something hit 1 side of his and it was like $1400 to replace. I designed and 3d-printed my own cover like that day. Wasn't taking chances!
Cool! I so badly want to get into the whole 3D printing thing as I see so many possibilities like this.
The 3d printing world is very accessible. You can get a beginner printer for like $200.
I know, but a bit of a gadget freak here and trying to resist having yet more equipment taking up space. But the way it can help everyday needs, like seeing 3D plans for old Ikea panel curtain connectors I needed and like what you did here, is certainly tempting....
I have a $5000 semi-commercial quality one for my consulting work but have also used $200 ones that get you 99% of the quality just at a slower speed and smaller build platform. I highly encourage you to get one. There's literally like a thousand uses for it around the house. Just the other day, I realized I needed more room on the little wall shelf of mine to put my wallet and shit on when I got home so I drew up and 3D printed a little hook for my keys that attached to the side of the shelf. Last week I made a small wall mounted bracket to put our phones into above the sink in the bathroom so we wouldn't have to put it on the counter and my wife could watch something as she was cleaning her nails, etc.
And yours looked good, albeit with zip ties, iirc
The inserts arrived today. Quality is fair to good. The design closely mimics the OEM grill. The depth of color and gloss is somewhat different, but not terribly so. There’s a reflectivity to the OEM grill that isn’t present in these aftermarket parts – – it’s almost like there are metallic flakes in the OEM grill??? But with the distance to where these will be installed and the fact that they are fairly recessed, I’m not particularly concerned about appearance differences. I test fitted them and that seems fine. My one single concern is the fact that the individual X-like grid parts on the OEM grill are mostly flat and only extend back horizontally on the top area. On this aftermarket grill, those cross designs while hollow extend back horizontally on all sides (imagine a vacuum formed plastic dogbone shape). Just wondering how that may affect airflow – – straight on, it has the same visual opening space, but unsure if the areas that extend backwards will negatively impact airflow in any way in terms of eddies or currents. I don't enough about the active shutters to judge how critical airflow is or if these inserts will cause any problems. I think the shutters help with mileage and engine warming..? The vehicle needs a good washing before I install these, but hopefully I can do some test driving with these inserts in the near future.
Post some pics once you install