Opinions Please!

[carsandguitars5]

Attached are a few pics of my ride. I'm looking for new ideas for the exterior. I painted the top grill piece red to match my engine accents, calipers, and interior, all of which i havent finished yet. I was thinking about maybe painting it white, or some red vinyl on the hood? I dont know. Any ideas are welcome!!

 

[Johndg]

If you paint it white, thats like having a jdm grille. I would suggest painting it. It stands out too much, causes your eyes to focus too much on the grille. I say make a homemade grill insert.(from the how-to section) or a billet insert or a DG fiberglass grille.

 

[mountjonas]

Paint it white, or get a different grill. The red looks a bit odd, like it came off another car.

 

[Robot Romeo]

If you paint it white, thats like having a jdm grille. I would suggest painting it. It stands out too much, causes your eyes to focus too much on the grille. I say make a homemade grill insert.(from the how-to section) or a billet insert or a DG fiberglass grille.

i'd have to agree. the red kinda sorta looks a little ricey.

 

[TeknoPunk]

I think you should remove that red piece.. I am sure it looks good when the hood is up but when it is down it looks way out of place...

I say change the whole grille completely with a nice custom one get rid of all that plastic a grille changes the fron end so much.

 

[CChris704]

yeah red looks like you stole it from a red car or something... looks cheap. but anyways, i vote DGM lip and grill for exterior.

 

[nautical2086]

not a fan too much of how thats red, but if i were you, id get a CF hood, and paint the sides white so the CF part blends in with the grille.

 

[nautical2086]

like that but with CF and white of course and matching CF eyelids.

 

[carsandguitars5]

Thanks for all the opinions guys. I painted it red because I was going to do more to the car. The red is different. I dont really like the carbon fiber look. I think THAT is ricey.

 

[nautical2086]

so go with simple black.

 

[nautical2086]

darken your headlight housing too,

 

[UnNaturalinc]

Make that red part white... It doesn't make much sense to have that part red. Stuff like that should match it's surroundings.

Carbon fiber is ricey? Tell that to NASA, Formula 1, NHRA, etc. There's nothing ricey about a material that's lighter than aluminum and stronger than steel. That is what it's main use is for. Used on motorcycles, bicycles, ski poles, helmets, racecar body panels, space shuttle, intake systems, etc. I'm sure there's a million things most people don't know about also. Carbon fiber can be used for less functional things like as an appearance upgrade, but that does not fall into the definition of "rice" (the term made popular by: www.riceboy.com). Part of style and design is to keep a common theme and match things together. If you've got a carbon fiber hood and trunk, it only makes sense to have other misc. pieces that may not be functional in the intended carbon fiber use, but they are functional in a style sense.

There's also fiberglass grills that can be painted to match the car. However, there's only so many things you can do to these cars. There is a limited, but large number of parts available for these cars. I like the DG lip (AutoExe replica) myself. I removed the stock MSP lip for the DG one and put P5 foglights in.

 

[mooS mooS]

Keep the red

go for the Japanese rising sun flag theme

<a><img src=http://www.a1flags.com.au/ProductImages/JA~RS.gif></a>

 

[carsandguitars5]

Woah, I'm sure NASA, Formula 1, and the NHRA all use carbon fiber for the right reasons, as do a lot of people who have it I'm sure. All I was saying that <u>in my opinion</u> carbon fiber looks ricey. It doesnt look bad in some applications, but not on my car. I just don't like the way it looks. Simple as that. I'm not one to call everything that's different "ricey", I just state my opinion. So no more lectures, please. I just need some help with the exterior of my car.


The Rising Sun Flag would be cool as I've always admired Japanese culture, but I'm not Japanese, so it just wouldn't be right.

 

[Reffoxel]

Hmm, you could do a rising sun flag on the roof, ie kinda like the union jack on the Mini's. Other than that, remove the roof rails and replace with the rain chanel inserts. Makes for a cleaner look. Could go for a monochrome look too by painting windshield wipers and b-piller outer trim white and maybe even the window frame trim and wheels. Remove the side door guard/trim (it's just stuck on with double sided tape). Shave the corner amber lights off. Like the others said do a custom grill either the Autoexe style or just mesh or even the billet grilles on protege5online.com which you could leave shiny or paint black.

Just some ideas. Don't know your tastes.

 

[UnNaturalinc]

Keep the red

go for the Japanese rising sun flag theme

<a><img src=http://www.a1flags.com.au/ProductImages/JA~RS.gif></a>

I told my coworker to do that on his car (white EVO). I'd do that just for fun if my car was white.... as am I, so I probably wouldn't keep it there for long. heh

 

[carsandguitars5]

Thanks for all the ideas guys. Im leaving the roof rack on because I snowboard in the winter and thats going to be a great accesory. I'm planning on shaving off the amber turn signal lights too once I get the money to get all my body work done at the same time. I was thinking maybe some red vinyl on the hood to match, but I dont know if I'd like that. Keep em comin!

 

[joka1]

paint the grill white (red part)or get a fiberglass auto exe style grill and paint that white, paint the mazda emblem white. add a lip and get clear sidemarkers and your front is set imo.

 

[Captain KRM P5]

not a fan, personally

 

[jurgs01]

not a fan, personally

Agreed. It's like having a HUGE zit on your nose. It sticks out so much that you can't see your face (car) past the zit (grill). That's just my opinion. If you like it that's all that matters.