Cutting / opening up existing fake vents on front bumper?

[blackie X]

little update for you all on my Top1Motor experience. i worked with John through the whole process and indeed my vents did ship 2 weeks from paying my invoice. i will update with pictures when they arrive........

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[metal_driver]

When I purchased the USR driver side mounted oil cooler I also purchased the GRP (fog light) vented mesh grill from Evasive. They appear to have created a press to cut out the diamonds as its extremely clean. To open up additional diamonds for cooling on both sides, I tried a dremel and a box cutter. I can tell you that a box cutter is the way to go as it is much cleaner.

 

[blackie X]

got my vents today from Top1, 2 weeks from invoice payment and they are here.

 

[MoTeC R]

Open OEM low front shot

We are currently able to do away with front plates so I ordered this in case the legislation fights and wins front plates to come back.

If not I may remove the front plate completely once it’s not up in the air any longer.

 

[teemohnay]

After reading this entire thread I've decided to cut all 4 of my OEM meshs with a box cutter. Curious how people got such clean cuts? Especially in the harder to reach areas near the fog light itself. Are you cutting from the front or the back? And how do you cut the smaller spots without damaging the areas around it? Ill post photos of my work. Im super OCD so Im confident I can get this done cleanly (one way or another).

 

[siwelnosaj]

After reading this entire thread I've decided to cut all 4 of my OEM meshs with a box cutter. Curious how people got such clean cuts? Especially in the harder to reach areas near the fog light itself. Are you cutting from the front or the back? And how do you cut the smaller spots without damaging the areas around it? Ill post photos of my work. Im super OCD so Im confident I can get this done cleanly (one way or another).

For me I tried to first cut everything from the front. In some of those really tight areas I had to get creative and cut from all angles.

Even on the basic middle ones I ended up having to clean things up from the back side.

 

[metal_driver]

I cut from the front. I would run the blade along an inside edge of the diamond with successive cuts (usually three to four) until it actually cut through one edge. I would then repeat the process for the other three inside edges of the diamond before popping the piece out. I tried to hold the blade as close to parallel as possible to the raised honeycomb edging for a cleaner looking cut. Be careful not to try to nick the raised edges especially in the corners.
For the smaller diamonds I reverted from a box cutter to a pointed exact knife. Just takes more cuts and patience to cut all the way through to the back.

 

[Acrbling]

After reading this entire thread I've decided to cut all 4 of my OEM meshs with a box cutter. Curious how people got such clean cuts? Especially in the harder to reach areas near the fog light itself. Are you cutting from the front or the back? And how do you cut the smaller spots without damaging the areas around it? Ill post photos of my work. Im super OCD so Im confident I can get this done cleanly (one way or another).

Whatever you do, make sure to heat up the plastic with a heat gun or hair dryer. It will be significantly easier to cut.

 

[MoTeC R]

Or PM siwelnosaj if you want to pay him for amazingly professional results. Worth every cent, cost was more than buying the 2020 fake vent set to swap at the dealer, but looks so much better than the 2020's or any other options you could consider other than doing it yourself to perfection. My hugest complaint about all the Civic line is gone----- Fake Bumper vents. Just one annoying thing Honda does to keep costs down. They could incorporate a real vent themselves but would cost more to get the look I've wanted since the 1st time I laid eyes on the car.

 

[coopermidnight]

2 weeks from invoice payment and they are here.

I wonder whether that's a fluke or they've improved. There's a pretty healthy amount of negative testimonies about that company.

 

[blackie X]

I wonder whether that's a fluke or they've improved. There's a pretty healthy amount of negative testimonies about that company.

the guy i worked with was spot on any time i emailed him about my vents, was a great process. it seems they have done away with shipping any BIG items and will only ship the small items they produce.

 

[MoTeC R]

the guy i worked with was spot on any time i emailed him about my vents, was a great process. it seems they have done away with shipping any BIG items and will only ship the small items they produce.

Before I did the custom OEM vents I emailed with absolutely no reply, glad I asked before I ordered. Especially glad since the OEM customized are the absolute best option out there for removal of fake vents. Those with honda sensing could use the 17-19 custom mounts as the honda sensing sensors are on there but the bigger question is was the sensor moved from the original location of the waffle? The sensors spots as well as my tow hook location are under the Mugen fronts but it prevents too much drag and looks nice as well. I can remove the front bumper vents with ease to attach the tow hook anytime. Takes literally a couple seconds and one trim tool to make it super fast.

 

[blackie X]

Before I did the custom OEM vents I emailed with absolutely no reply, glad I asked before I ordered. Especially glad since the OEM customized are the absolute best option out there for removal of fake vents. Those with honda sensing could use the 17-19 custom mounts as the honda sensing sensors are on there but the bigger question is was the sensor moved from the original location of the waffle? The sensors spots as well as my tow hook location are under the Mugen fronts but it prevents too much drag and looks nice as well. I can remove the front bumper vents with ease to attach the tow hook anytime. Takes literally a couple seconds and one trim tool to make it super fast.

yea man i would have preferred to just buy an aftermarket version of the stock ones already pre cut, but i am happy with the top1motor vents they look nice and do exactly what i was hoping for.

 

[rflkptr]

Took the dive on this. Turned out pretty well. Thanks to @OP for the thread.

Used
-heat gun
-#11 x-acto blades with pen
-belt sander for back side (finishing)
-black spray paint (after cutting, for both the vents and the crash bar behind)

Prep
-removed front vents
-painter's tape over the piano black

 

[shadow]

A hot knife may help. Here are a couple of videos to DIY one.

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