[Kamakiri]

Despite my Mad Ram/Pay Pal experience I did receive my Cloud Rider grills today. Installation was quick - maybe 15 minutes max.

They were a little lighter guage than I was expecting but I guess that's OK. They do look nice - mine are black, no heater block hole and no front license plate. Black doesn't jump out at you like the bright finish - I'm sure many people won't even notice since they blend right in on our NBP machine.

Since I have no front plate holder I think they need to add two more retaining clips on the bottom of the lower grill. There are four on top and just two on the bottom toward the lower corners and the middle section doesn't draw in evenly without the extra clips. I wonder if the version made for a front plate holder would be different? It's a subtle thing and you have to look at it critically to notice. Anyone else noticed this?

I drive in South Florida so I will be interested in the heat issue. I'm personally not that concerned. If I really cared about heat I wouldn't have bought a black E! (Or live in South Florida! 8))

K

 

[Johnny99]

Are these installed from the back of the grill? If so, what has to be removed for access?

 

[Kamakiri]

All installation is from the front. Very simple - only takes a few minutes. This does leaver several small, knurled knobs visible on the front. Nothing permanent mind you - uses simple clips and such so no holes or other alterations to the vehicle required.

K

 

[Don Chico Brewing Co.]

[quote:719e38741d="Kamakiri"]

I drive in South Florida so I will be interested in the heat issue. I'm personally not that concerned. If I really cared about heat I wouldn't have bought a black E! (Or live in South Florida! 8))

K[/quote:719e38741d]

Please let us know if there is any evidence of a heat problem. I would really like to get the protection that the lower grill seems to provide, but the heat here in South Texas makes me think twice about restricting the airflow. Thanks!

 

[jayharley]

[quote:5c799d3ef3="Don Chico Brewing Co."]
Please let us know if there is any evidence of a heat problem. I would really like to get the protection that the lower grill seems to provide, but the heat here in South Texas makes me think twice about restricting the airflow. Thanks![/quote:5c799d3ef3]

Check some of the other posts about the Cloud Rider products. There has been much discussion about air flow. Many people, including myself, were orginally concerned. However so far no one has reported any heating problem at all. So far, according to Cloud Rider, they have never had one complaint about any overheating (and they have sold more than 700,000 grill guards overall).

I have one on my E. It has been over 90 degrees and still the water temp guage has not come near to half way. There was a very very very slight increase in the guage temp after installation, but it was next to nothing.

The E owner's manual states that normal water guage temp is about 50%. So far my car has never reached that point, even with the Cloud Rider.

 

[element-j]

I'm curious - if these grilles are easily installed from the outside, are they easily removed by thieves?

thanks

e-j

 

[jayharley]

[quote:0d1d653fdf="element-j"]I'm curious - if these grilles are easily installed from the outside, are they easily removed by thieves?

thanks

e-j[/quote:0d1d653fdf]

Sure. I guess so. I never thought of this.

 

[spacemen3]

please post how much you paid for it.....and a pic would be nice

 

[Slowhand]

I added some threadlock just to keep people from being able to remove or loosen by hand.

 

[Kamakiri]

My experience with cars and overheating over the years usually involved being stuck in traffic or sitting at a long light on a hot day. Restricting air flow by installing a grille guard is not going to be much of a factor in that situation.

It's been pretty hot down here - most days in the 90s. No discernable effect from the Cloud Rider. But I never expected there would be any. (He takes a deep breath and proceeds to write the following :wink: ) The temp guage is showing the temp of the coolant. The coolant can easily do its job with or without a Cloud Rider grille. There is still a cooling fan keeping air flowing over the coils of the radiator and radiator cooling is not dependent solely on the flow of air through the front grille. A large part of the radiator is blocked on the front side by the air conditioning condensor (on AC equipped vehicles) so its questionable just how much heat transfer is dependent upon natural air flow from the front grille anyway. Maybe a better questions is to ask if the Cloud Rider product is hurting AC efficiency? And yet I suspect the answer is "no" to that question as well.

As for price and pictures - seems like the best deal now is to buy direct from Cloud Rider. Pictures have been posted on other threads.

We all love our cars and want what's best for them. If I ever detect any real negative impact from this product I'll post it. My only concerns at this point are aesthetic - I'm not totally in love with the design and execution of the product and one of these days it may come off and show up in the "Trading Post" section of this forum. 8)

K