IS-F Style Grille for '06-'08 from Option Racing (ebay)- Part 2, Installed!
05-09-11, 06:28 PM
#49
I just installed this grille last weekend. The DIYs on here were pretty good, though I had a little trouble getting the grille insert out of the grille surround. I was fully prepared to take out the grille surround along with the insert (even though I was only replacing the insert), however I couldn't figure out how to get the surround out with it, so I ended up just carefully sliding the insert out the top without removing the surround.
I had trouble with two small steps in the grille removal process. The first was removing the odd clips that held the top of the grille in place:
To remove those two clips, you slide a flat-head screwdriver right in where the red arrows are, in the slot between the head and the base of the clip. Pry upward and the clip will pop up and then be easily removed. Lexus has so many different styles of clips (and all are fragile), I just didn't know exactly how to remove these without breaking them.
The other thing was loosening the grille insert from the grille surround/bumper. If you're standing over the front of the car and looking down at the grille, you'll see roughly this view:
The clip circled in red is the same on the other side of the grille. All the DIY threads I was reading gave slightly different descriptions of how to slide these clips out of the surround, but most said something akin to "push" on them. Well as you can see from this picture:
..which was taken from the other side, there's actually a tab on the underside of the clip (underside meaning side that faces down and away from you if you're looking at the grille while it's installed) that needs to be guided over and out of the slot in the surround. So you actually need to slightly pull up (or toward you, when you're standing over the grille) on this tab while simultaneously pushing the grille/tab down and out the front of the surround.
Otherwise, things were fairly smooth. I re-used the emblem from my OEM grille and to remove it, I used a hairdryer to heat it up then used a flat wide putty knife (plastic, do NOT use metal of any form) to slide in between the emblem and the base, then just pried up and around the rest of the emblem. You'll need to use quite a bit of force to slide the putty knife underneath at the first point, but after that it's a piece of cake. As long as you're using a plastic putty knife, there shouldn't be any concern over breaking it.
I reattached the emblem to the new grille using the above-linked Scotch indoor/outdoor mounting tape. I had to use scissors to cut the tape into many tiny pieces that would fit on the back of the emblem without sticking out, which was a pain. I ended up not using much if any tape on the upper half of the emblem, because the tape is a bit thick and creates a bit of a gap between the emblem and the grille, and this gap is most visible from the top.
Here are the before and after pictures:
Overall I'm very happy with it, though I agree with the above posters that it could use something to offset it from just a black plastic color; something like the silverish gray tint of the front of the F-Sport grille, for example. Especially on my black car, where it tends to blend in a bit.
Despite this, I much prefer it to the stock grille. I found the vertical slat style stock grille to be out of place and incongruous with the rest of the car's design. The vertical slats don't really match the design or styling of any other part of the car. This grille much better matches the upper and lower grille inserts, and therefore I believe actually looks more OEM.
I'm thoroughly confused at what's going on with this grille on eBay. No one seller sells the grille for longer than what seems like a few weeks, then a different seller or multiple sellers begin selling it. What's likely happening is a Chinese plant is manufacturing these and selling them to companies in the US who are then reselling them on eBay; I for example bought mine from a company in California who'd bought the part from China. The prices also vary, anywhere from $100-200. If you want this grille, go to eBay and search "IS-F style grille" and multiple listings will come up. When I just did it, I found 3 different sellers, one selling at $110, one at $135, and one at $200. I can guarantee each of these grilles is exactly the same as the others (judging from pictures and descriptions from people who have purchased them at all different prices) so just buy the least expensive (in this case, $110). Mine was from an entirely different seller (who's not selling on eBay currently) for $120 with free shipping.
I had trouble with two small steps in the grille removal process. The first was removing the odd clips that held the top of the grille in place:
To remove those two clips, you slide a flat-head screwdriver right in where the red arrows are, in the slot between the head and the base of the clip. Pry upward and the clip will pop up and then be easily removed. Lexus has so many different styles of clips (and all are fragile), I just didn't know exactly how to remove these without breaking them.
The other thing was loosening the grille insert from the grille surround/bumper. If you're standing over the front of the car and looking down at the grille, you'll see roughly this view:
The clip circled in red is the same on the other side of the grille. All the DIY threads I was reading gave slightly different descriptions of how to slide these clips out of the surround, but most said something akin to "push" on them. Well as you can see from this picture:
..which was taken from the other side, there's actually a tab on the underside of the clip (underside meaning side that faces down and away from you if you're looking at the grille while it's installed) that needs to be guided over and out of the slot in the surround. So you actually need to slightly pull up (or toward you, when you're standing over the grille) on this tab while simultaneously pushing the grille/tab down and out the front of the surround.
Otherwise, things were fairly smooth. I re-used the emblem from my OEM grille and to remove it, I used a hairdryer to heat it up then used a flat wide putty knife (plastic, do NOT use metal of any form) to slide in between the emblem and the base, then just pried up and around the rest of the emblem. You'll need to use quite a bit of force to slide the putty knife underneath at the first point, but after that it's a piece of cake. As long as you're using a plastic putty knife, there shouldn't be any concern over breaking it.
I reattached the emblem to the new grille using the above-linked Scotch indoor/outdoor mounting tape. I had to use scissors to cut the tape into many tiny pieces that would fit on the back of the emblem without sticking out, which was a pain. I ended up not using much if any tape on the upper half of the emblem, because the tape is a bit thick and creates a bit of a gap between the emblem and the grille, and this gap is most visible from the top.
Here are the before and after pictures:
Overall I'm very happy with it, though I agree with the above posters that it could use something to offset it from just a black plastic color; something like the silverish gray tint of the front of the F-Sport grille, for example. Especially on my black car, where it tends to blend in a bit.
Despite this, I much prefer it to the stock grille. I found the vertical slat style stock grille to be out of place and incongruous with the rest of the car's design. The vertical slats don't really match the design or styling of any other part of the car. This grille much better matches the upper and lower grille inserts, and therefore I believe actually looks more OEM.
I'm thoroughly confused at what's going on with this grille on eBay. No one seller sells the grille for longer than what seems like a few weeks, then a different seller or multiple sellers begin selling it. What's likely happening is a Chinese plant is manufacturing these and selling them to companies in the US who are then reselling them on eBay; I for example bought mine from a company in California who'd bought the part from China. The prices also vary, anywhere from $100-200. If you want this grille, go to eBay and search "IS-F style grille" and multiple listings will come up. When I just did it, I found 3 different sellers, one selling at $110, one at $135, and one at $200. I can guarantee each of these grilles is exactly the same as the others (judging from pictures and descriptions from people who have purchased them at all different prices) so just buy the least expensive (in this case, $110). Mine was from an entirely different seller (who's not selling on eBay currently) for $120 with free shipping.
05-23-11, 07:06 PM
#52
Lexus Test Driver
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Picked this up on my way home.
*excuse the photo quality, I was excited to test out a new phone app
Hopefully after finals this week I'll be able to try this out on the grille (if weather permits)!
*excuse the photo quality, I was excited to test out a new phone app
Hopefully after finals this week I'll be able to try this out on the grille (if weather permits)!
05-24-11, 09:31 AM
#56
^ Nice, what color is that?
I installed this grille over the weekend and can confirm the fitment is spot on.
Although it doesn't match the lower grille perfectly, it's a dramatic improvement over stock IMO. Now I just need to decide if I want to paint it (gunmetal if I do) and if I should go chrome or black chrome for the emblem.
I installed this grille over the weekend and can confirm the fitment is spot on.
Although it doesn't match the lower grille perfectly, it's a dramatic improvement over stock IMO. Now I just need to decide if I want to paint it (gunmetal if I do) and if I should go chrome or black chrome for the emblem.
05-24-11, 09:43 AM
#57
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^ Nice, what color is that?
I installed this grille over the weekend and can confirm the fitment is spot on. Although it doesn't match the lower grille perfectly, it's a dramatic improvement over stock IMO. Now I just need to decide if I want to paint it (gunmetal if I do) and if I should go chrome or black chrome for the emblem.
I installed this grille over the weekend and can confirm the fitment is spot on.
Although it doesn't match the lower grille perfectly, it's a dramatic improvement over stock IMO. Now I just need to decide if I want to paint it (gunmetal if I do) and if I should go chrome or black chrome for the emblem. ? Are you going to try the CF inserts for the front emblem to match the ones on your trunk?
