Custom Mesh Grille Project

[Blk2015GT]

FWIW, the kit they're selling is for the precut mesh AND the grilles.

Edit: Maybe not. I think I misread on their site.

Nope $199 is just the mesh and glue.

Full replacements are $475.

Getting into ripoff territory.

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[RouteAbel]

So any idea why the factor grill came partially filled in? Is there any negative effect by opening up the whole grill with mesh?

 

[Project Whitemare]

Nope $199 is just the mesh and glue.

Full replacements are $475.

Getting into ripoff territory.

Have you seen or held the SWAT mesh? It's not a rip off.

People like you drive me bat shit crazy.

If you can't afford it, you can't afford it. It doesn't make the product a rip off.

Why do you think they offer multiple options for grille mesh. So people like you can afford to get the cheaply made one, and complain about how the quality mesh is a rip off?

:headbonk:

 

[Blk2015GT]

Have you seen or held the SWAT mesh? It's not a rip off.

People like you drive me bat shit crazy.

If you can't afford it, you can't afford it. It doesn't make the product a rip off.

Why do you think they offer multiple options for grille mesh. So people like you can afford to get the cheaply made one, and complain about how the quality mesh is a rip off?

:headbonk:

so this mesh cost itself is $100 more than the smaller mesh just because for the same size piece of material (both steel or powdercoated black respectively)? You honestly believe that?

And the sheet is $150 but the kit is $199? $50 to put slight bends in it and tin snip it to ship with 2 $3 bottles of glue? So they're marking up the material already, probably $50 or more, and then marking up the labor for 5 minutes of labor to snip the pattern too another $44?

And yes, $475 for homemade grills is a ripoff. They glue it on like a home arts and crafts project, not professionally attached like RTR or others who charge LESS for completely scratch designed and molded for their grills. Were your $469 RTR grills glues on the back with super glue? Im sure at that price point they were professionally made.

And it has nothing to do with money. I could buy a base GT in cash with the regular balance in checking account, which is a small fraction of savings, investments and retirement; at the old age of 35 years old. Smart people with money dont arbitrarily spend it without asking questions about the value in what they spend their money on.

I also think Racemesh is asinine priced; nothing personal to this company.

I call it how I see it and free to express my opinion on the perceived value. For that money I would just buy RTR grills personally.

 

[clean92lx]

And the sheet is $150 but the kit is $199? $50 to put slight bends in it and tin snip it to ship with 2 $3 bottles of glue? So they're marking up the material already, probably $50 or more, and then marking up the labor for 5 minutes of labor to snip the pattern too another $44?

So you're complaining that they're making $44 profit on something that will save the customer at least 30 minutes to an hour worth of work PLUS the price of tools and cutting bits if you don't already have them? Believe it or not, I'm willing to bet they started the company to make money, not to get everyone nice looking mesh grilles at cost, out of the goodness of their hearts

 

[Project Whitemare]

Unless you have seen the mesh in person, you have no grounds to determine the value of the product.

The SWAT mesh is NOT the same material as the cheaper mesh.

You couldn't bend the SWAT mesh around the grill surround if you wanted to.

It's considerably stronger and much more robust.

You have no idea what the differences in the mesh are, clearly.

I'd like to see you make a set of grilles with the SWAT mesh and tell me what they should sell for.

Until then, without actually seeing/holding/owning the SWAT mesh, you shouldn't denounce its price point.

It's a higher priced material, and with good reason.

Just ask anyone who has made their own, bought one of my Strongarm Grilles, or the Racemesh Grilles.

There are cheaper alternatives made with much cheaper components.

 

[Project Whitemare]

Oh yeah, the SWAT mesh will laugh at your tin snips! Hahaha.

 

[CompO5.sl0w]

Unless you have seen the mesh in person, you have no grounds to determine the value of the product.

The SWAT mesh is NOT the same material as the cheaper mesh.

You couldn't bend the SWAT mesh around the grill surround if you wanted to.

It's considerably stronger and much more robust.

You have no idea what the differences in the mesh are, clearly.

I'd like to see you make a set of grilles with the SWAT mesh and tell me what they should sell for.

Until then, without actually seeing/holding/owning the SWAT mesh, you shouldn't denounce its price point.

It's a higher priced material, and with good reason.

Just ask anyone who has made their own, bought one of my Strongarm Grilles, or the Racemesh Grilles.

There are cheaper alternatives made with much cheaper components.

Oh yeah, the SWAT mesh will laugh at your tin snips! Hahaha.

Agreed. The SWAT mesh is literally no joke. This is some thick steel with almost no possible way to bend and form it over the grille. With tin snips, you'd be there for hours lol. We used an angle grinder with a metal cutting wheel. Tried a Dremel but ate the wheel in less than 20 seconds.

Like Whitemare said, there are cheaper alternative mesh out there, but they won't come close to the quality of the SWAT.

 

[CompO5.sl0w]

Has anyone with ACC replaced the bottom grille w/mesh. I don't wanna replace the top grill w/mesh but leave the bottom grill stock. Any suggestions

I haven't seen anyone do a swap with this mesh, but have seen some with grille deletes. I've seen people have a lot of issues with ACC when it's not covered with some sort of plastic. I'm not sure how it would act being behind a steel mesh.

 

[knightvision]

Agreed. The SWAT mesh is literally no joke. This is some thick steel with almost no possible way to bend and form it over the grille. With tin snips, you'd be there for hours lol. We used an angle grinder with a metal cutting wheel. Tried a Dremel but ate the wheel in less than 20 seconds.

Like Whitemare said, there are cheaper alternative mesh out there, but they won't come close to the quality of the SWAT.

You WON'T cut it with tin snips unless you got a hulk arm... It's just that thick of material.

 

[DarkSubRosa]

$200 is far from a ripoff for this mesh. I can't wait to get mine in.

 

[customcargrills]

Hi all, this is Matt @ customcargrills. I've read the forums off and on for a while to see opinions on our mesh kits and I appreciate the support.

With this new SWAT mesh kit, I've tried to incorporate what I thought was a good mix of price vs style vs ease of use that I could for the members here. I'm open to suggestions on how to make the kit better or more cost effective if anyone has some ideas to share.
--------------------------
I get a lot of calls and emails about both Perf Hex and the SWAT mesh kits and the #1 misconception is that both of those materials can be handled, cut, bent, and installed the same way. In all of those aspects these two materials are about as polar opposites as it comes.

Perf Hex kits:
- Made from 14 gauge aluminum (about 1/16" thick). Retail uncut sheet cost, in black, is $55.
- Cut on our CNC plasma cutter using the design I made.
- The material is light enough to be bent on our brake press.
- Installation is direct to the back of the factory part. Changing out for a different style would be difficult.

SWAT Woven kits:
- Made from 16 gauge stainless flat wire (about 1/8" thick where the wires overlap). Retail uncut sheet cost, in black, is $145.
- Not cut using out CNC cutter. Instead, parts of these are cut using a large throatless shear and other areas with an angle grinder.
- The material is unable, with our machinery, to be bent in the same manner as the aluminum mesh.
- Installation is indirect, and will allow for a change of mesh if needed later, though can be installed directly to the oem pieces as the OP did.
--------------------------
In both cases there's essentially 3 options:

100% DIY: Buy the mesh (from me it would be $55-145 + shipping), and do the whole thing yourself. You'll save a couple dollars over the pre-cut pieces, but you'll be into it for a fair bit of time to do the cutting.

Partial DIY: Buy the pre-cut pieces, which will be ready to go right out of the box for use with your factory parts that you've gutted.
- In the case of the Perf Hex version, we're charging $30 to make 6 precise cuts on our machine, sand 22 edges and make 22 bends. If you can't find the adhesive for this locally it's +$15 from us.
- The SWAT Woven, we're charging $45 to make 2 non-machine cuts AND including (100) mounting bases, (100) ties, and a bottle of the adhesive (Ground shipping orders only). The mounting bases, ties, and adhesive make up about $20 of that premade part vs. uncut sheet cost difference. The cutting of the mesh accounts for about $25 of the total price and of that $25 cutting cost some is going towards replacement blades.

Full Replacement Set: Price on this ($360-475) may seem high at first. When you factor in the cost of the OEM pieces (we pay about $120 a set), along with the mesh kit and adhesive then it's really not out of this world given the time we have into the whole process to delivery the finished product. Some people don't have either the time or skill to make the modification themselves and that's where this comes in.
--------------------------
If the full replacement price is unjustifiable, I understand, I get it. That's where the partial DIY kit comes into play, and if you can't justify that price then you're more than welcome to make your own using our raw materials (or someone else's).

At its core, I'm trying to make these as accessible as I can and I feel that we've been doing a good job at that. As I said near the start, I'm open to suggestions on how to make the kit better or more cost effective if anyone has some ideas to share.

@CompO5.sl0w , great write-up! I like your install, it's very nice. Big props and respect for making the thread with as much detail as you did, it's been very helpful for many members I think.

 

[davejonnes]

Looks great! Any chance you guys would be planning on selling these? lol

 

[plc268]

Hi all, this is Matt @ customcargrills. I've read the forums off and on for a while to see opinions on our mesh kits and I appreciate the support.

With this new SWAT mesh kit, I've tried to incorporate what I thought was a good mix of price vs style vs ease of use that I could for the members here. I'm open to suggestions on how to make the kit better or more cost effective if anyone has some ideas to share.
--------------------------
I get a lot of calls and emails about both Perf Hex and the SWAT mesh kits and the #1 misconception is that both of those materials can be handled, cut, bent, and installed the same way. In all of those aspects these two materials are about as polar opposites as it comes.

Perf Hex kits:
- Made from 14 gauge aluminum (about 1/16" thick). Retail uncut sheet cost, in black, is $55.
- Cut on our CNC plasma cutter using the design I made.
- The material is light enough to be bent on our brake press.
- Installation is direct to the back of the factory part. Changing out for a different style would be difficult.

SWAT Woven kits:
- Made from 16 gauge stainless flat wire (about 1/8" thick where the wires overlap). Retail uncut sheet cost, in black, is $145.
- Not cut using out CNC cutter. Instead, parts of these are cut using a large throatless shear and other areas with an angle grinder.
- The material is unable, with our machinery, to be bent in the same manner as the aluminum mesh.
- Installation is indirect, and will allow for a change of mesh if needed later, though can be installed directly to the oem pieces as the OP did.
--------------------------
In both cases there's essentially 3 options:

100% DIY: Buy the mesh (from me it would be $55-145 + shipping), and do the whole thing yourself. You'll save a couple dollars over the pre-cut pieces, but you'll be into it for a fair bit of time to do the cutting.

Partial DIY: Buy the pre-cut pieces, which will be ready to go right out of the box for use with your factory parts that you've gutted.
- In the case of the Perf Hex version, we're charging $30 to make 6 precise cuts on our machine, sand 22 edges and make 22 bends. If you can't find the adhesive for this locally it's +$15 from us.
- The SWAT Woven, we're charging $45 to make 2 non-machine cuts AND including (100) mounting bases, (100) ties, and a bottle of the adhesive (Ground shipping orders only). The mounting bases, ties, and adhesive make up about $20 of that premade part vs. uncut sheet cost difference. The cutting of the mesh accounts for about $25 of the total price and of that $25 cutting cost some is going towards replacement blades.

Full Replacement Set: Price on this ($360-475) may seem high at first. When you factor in the cost of the OEM pieces (we pay about $120 a set), along with the mesh kit and adhesive then it's really not out of this world given the time we have into the whole process to delivery the finished product. Some people don't have either the time or skill to make the modification themselves and that's where this comes in.
--------------------------
If the full replacement price is unjustifiable, I understand, I get it. That's where the partial DIY kit comes into play, and if you can't justify that price then you're more than welcome to make your own using our raw materials (or someone else's).

At its core, I'm trying to make these as accessible as I can and I feel that we've been doing a good job at that. As I said near the start, I'm open to suggestions on how to make the kit better or more cost effective if anyone has some ideas to share.

@CompO5.sl0w , great write-up! I like your install, it's very nice. Big props and respect for making the thread with as much detail as you did, it's been very helpful for many members I think.

Hey thanks for the detailed write up.

At the end of the day, some people will complain to complain. And they forget that you have a family to feed and your time is worth something as well. Par for the course for car forums.

 

[CompO5.sl0w]

Hi all, this is Matt @ customcargrills. I've read the forums off and on for a while to see opinions on our mesh kits and I appreciate the support.

With this new SWAT mesh kit, I've tried to incorporate what I thought was a good mix of price vs style vs ease of use that I could for the members here. I'm open to suggestions on how to make the kit better or more cost effective if anyone has some ideas to share.
--------------------------
I get a lot of calls and emails about both Perf Hex and the SWAT mesh kits and the #1 misconception is that both of those materials can be handled, cut, bent, and installed the same way. In all of those aspects these two materials are about as polar opposites as it comes.

Perf Hex kits:
- Made from 14 gauge aluminum (about 1/16" thick). Retail uncut sheet cost, in black, is $55.
- Cut on our CNC plasma cutter using the design I made.
- The material is light enough to be bent on our brake press.
- Installation is direct to the back of the factory part. Changing out for a different style would be difficult.

SWAT Woven kits:
- Made from 16 gauge stainless flat wire (about 1/8" thick where the wires overlap). Retail uncut sheet cost, in black, is $145.
- Not cut using out CNC cutter. Instead, parts of these are cut using a large throatless shear and other areas with an angle grinder.
- The material is unable, with our machinery, to be bent in the same manner as the aluminum mesh.
- Installation is indirect, and will allow for a change of mesh if needed later, though can be installed directly to the oem pieces as the OP did.
--------------------------
In both cases there's essentially 3 options:

100% DIY: Buy the mesh (from me it would be $55-145 + shipping), and do the whole thing yourself. You'll save a couple dollars over the pre-cut pieces, but you'll be into it for a fair bit of time to do the cutting.

Partial DIY: Buy the pre-cut pieces, which will be ready to go right out of the box for use with your factory parts that you've gutted.
- In the case of the Perf Hex version, we're charging $30 to make 6 precise cuts on our machine, sand 22 edges and make 22 bends. If you can't find the adhesive for this locally it's +$15 from us.
- The SWAT Woven, we're charging $45 to make 2 non-machine cuts AND including (100) mounting bases, (100) ties, and a bottle of the adhesive (Ground shipping orders only). The mounting bases, ties, and adhesive make up about $20 of that premade part vs. uncut sheet cost difference. The cutting of the mesh accounts for about $25 of the total price and of that $25 cutting cost some is going towards replacement blades.

Full Replacement Set: Price on this ($360-475) may seem high at first. When you factor in the cost of the OEM pieces (we pay about $120 a set), along with the mesh kit and adhesive then it's really not out of this world given the time we have into the whole process to delivery the finished product. Some people don't have either the time or skill to make the modification themselves and that's where this comes in.
--------------------------
If the full replacement price is unjustifiable, I understand, I get it. That's where the partial DIY kit comes into play, and if you can't justify that price then you're more than welcome to make your own using our raw materials (or someone else's).

At its core, I'm trying to make these as accessible as I can and I feel that we've been doing a good job at that. As I said near the start, I'm open to suggestions on how to make the kit better or more cost effective if anyone has some ideas to share.

@CompO5.sl0w , great write-up! I like your install, it's very nice. Big props and respect for making the thread with as much detail as you did, it's been very helpful for many members I think.

Hey Matt! Thanks for chiming in here. I think the price for the full replacement is definitely competitively priced. It's great that you offer the options for those who either can't/don't want to tackle a DIY project.

One idea to maybe lighten the cost a bit for both parties may be doing a Core charge on the OEM grilles? Maybe charge them full price until you receive the OEM Grilles and inspect them, then refund the money? Just an idea.

Thanks Matt!:cheers:

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