front bumper grill mesh inserts

Dear Friends: I purchased mesh grill inserts (Perf. Products) for my stock front bumper on my 2000 996. That was the easy part. How do I install them ? It looks like removing the entire bumper, incl. headlights is quite a project. And while I am at it I was considering a headlight upgrade . Any ideas ? Thank You for any comments, Gregor ex 1980 911SC ex 1990 964 present 2000 996

No instructions or anything came with them? That's odd. I would assume that you would need to remove the front bumper to install them from behind.

One other thing, I am not sure you will get really anybody to respond since this isn't a very popular mod b/c of it's air restriction properties in front of the rads. Not a good thing to restrict airflow.

I can tell you that on an 03, taking the front bumper off is not that hard...

Is there a particular reason you want to increase the engine temperature on an engine that already runs hot? The design of the bumper and radiators (2 or 3) is ineffective as it is. Installing the grills will definately increae the engine temp. A buddy of mine put them on his 2001 (and he had the 3rd radiator), and he quickly took them off when engine temps reached 225F and above driving around town. You should be concentrating on ways to cool the engine rather than adding a non functional bling bling.

I have an 04 GT3. I ordered the Cup screens from Carnewal. I am not sure how the PP ones are, but the Cup ones are designed to "snap in". I did have to remove my front bumper to do this, but nothing else. I know our bumpers are different, but I don't think the proceedure itself would vary much. I removed the front bumper Removed a plastic "trim piece" on the inside of the bumper. It unsnaps... then snapped in the Cup screens. Reinstalled bumper. Fairly easy. I knocked it out in 1 hour total. If you can post a link to pics of what you bought, I can compare it to what I have and see if the install is similar. Tim

I have stainless steel 1/4 inch mesh on my GT2 bumper and they protect my 3rd radiator and keep the bugs off as well as look great. You do need to remove the bumper and use a heavy adhesive product that is called panel bond by 3M. Don't worry about the air restriction. The plastic mesh from the factory on my Turbo bumper that comes with the C4S was much more restrictive and I have no overheating problems in 110 temps with the air on. I had to cut the mesh with an air cut off wheel. Will

Will. You have a 3.6, correct. That's a much cooler running engine. The 3.4 engine would be running at temps in excess of 220F in 110 temps while driving around town. Hook up your scanner and look at the actual engine temp on a hot day. I think you'll be surprised at how hot even the 3.6 runs.

The temp gauge just barely goes over 180. I would like to get a scanner to try out a water spray for the intercooler 3rd radiator. Have you ever considered that? I think nitrous or CO2 would be impractical. I used to use ice water from a hand sprayer on hot autocross days between runs with my old 240Z and the temp needle would drop precipitously. It would be fun to try on a dyno. Will

I have the grill inserts from Cargraphics (which were installed by the previous owner) and I have no problem with my temp... btw, I have a 3.4

Based on the normal indication of the 996 temp gauge. when the needle is touching the 180 line, the coolant temp is about 185. When it gets between the 8 and the 0 in 180, you are at 200+. When the needle is covering the right side of the 0, you are between 215 and 220F.

If you don't mind driving your car with engine temps above 215F, then I guess you don't have a problem and you are more interested in bling than you are performance. Get the engine temp down below 200 and you'll see some nice performance improvements. The engine is designed to run bewteen 190 - 196 degrees. They don't because of the design, but why would you further impede the cooling efficiency? I just got back from a 1 hour drive around town in 97F hot sun and my temp never got above 196F. I then turned off my cooling mods and jumped right up to 219F. You do have a cooling problem but just do not know it.

who said it's about bling anyway. it's about protecting the rads. do you ever go on the track? maybe not because you would understand that this is the perfect reason why one should install mesh. look at RSRs and you see plenty of mesh. tight mesh at that too! i go to the track and you wouldn't believe the amount of crap thrown up and onto the front bumper as evidenced by the chips on it. it is even worse down low where the ducts are.

I realize there is a lot of crap on some tracks, and there is no doubt that the mesh will protect the radiators from getting hit. However, you have traded performance (powerwise) for protection. If you are determined to keep the mesh on, you should find other ways to reduce engine temps, such as running radiator fans at high speed and running your engine lid fan. You'll find that your coolant temp will drop by more than 5%, even in the hardest of driving.

maybe a "looser" mesh pattern would be the best bet. i still want to do your engine compartment hack. here's a question though. at higher speeds will the radiator fans actually play a part in cooling? is the volume of air passing thru the ducts actually more than the fan can produce? say at 30-60mph that's a lot more air being pushed thru than a fan can generate. isn't it?

All the test's that I have done prove that running the fans on high at any speed under 70 will cool the engine more than if the fans were done running. It is not until you get above 70 that the air flow is enough to cool more than the fans. So for tracking, it is a perfect mod. Even at high speeds over 100, running the fans does not in anyway restrict the air passing by the radiators. Engine lid fan further helps in maintaining lower engine temps.

I bought my grille inserts from an outfit in Chicago. Don't know how yours attaches and I'm confirming that you do have to take the front bumper cover off. My temp moved just a fraction above 180. IOW I can see the edge of the mark now where the needle was dead on before. That shouldn't be a problem. And no bling either. Mine is on for protection as well. Stainless and solid as a rock!

We're talking about the 3.4 engine and not the 3.6.

Whoa.. easy man, I was just saying my temp is normal with the grill inserts, that's all. The inserts were installed by the previous owner and if I had the time OR the garage to do so (i live in Manhattan), I would take them out simply just because I don't like the way it looks. I did not know it affected the temperature until reading this thread. But it's good to know. However, I've been driving around in 90+ degree weather and my temp is always on the 8. I may not be as well-informed as you are on this topic, but I believe that is somewhat normal, no? thanks for the info though, but pls don't assume I'm all about bling than performance, ok?

Sorry for the "bling" thing, but I'm in and provocative mood today and jst wanted to heat things up. As far as the temp when you're running around town....I would check the coolant temp with a scanner to see what you truely are running in 90 degree temps driving around town. Without the air (driving 30 minutes or longer) you should see a temp of 205 or so. With the air on, it will be closer to 215F.

Here are the Cup grills on my car. I am not happy with the fitment at all. I removed the plastic piece behing the bumper...the one that also holds the temp sensor. I could not see any other way to get these mounted. They do not clip in securely as you can see. WTF did I do wrong? Or is this just as "good as it gets"? If so, they are coming off and i will do some custom ones myself..SHeez.

no worries I'll be sure to check the coolant temp with a scanner next time. And after reading this, I'm going to be taking out the grill inserts. If anyone wants Cargraphic grills, PM me.

I hear what you are saying, but would such a mod really restrict that much? I was sort of interested in getting these but now I'm not so sure.

Jim - when you get your clear bra, you can just have them cover the openings in your bumper, too. Then you won't need the screens!

Clear bra...only on Demi and Jenna!

Tim you are in rare form tonight!!!!!!!!!!! Man we really gotta have drinks soon, get your tail out to Vegas soon. Oh yeah, and convince Jim to come. Maybe he will drive and I will have the clear bra installed on his car overnight while he is sleeping!

I'll be sure to have the Glock mod installed in my trunk first!

Blanks of course?

OUCH! this is why i should use mesh. just a few days after having the third radiator installed and it gets dinged by a rock! i wasn't even on the track, UGGHHH!