Black Grille and No Boards

[josh220]

Last night I switched out my chrome grille with a color keyed black grille. It looks much better IMO. Then this morning, I decided to finally take the step and ripped off my running boards. I wasn't sure how it would look, but after driving around all day, I think I am going to like it much better. It compliments my cornfed lift very nicely.

 

[RonMAIDEN]

Oh yeah,the subtle change actually really stands out and looks very nice.

 

[Iron Clad Lou]

yea buddy, no boards is the way to go!

 

[slisdexia]

ya know, if you don't like it, you could just give it to me, I won't judge :bigok:

 

[ImOnAPlain51]

That looks good...I might have to take my running boards off now.

 

[Falls]

Looks much better IMO .

 

[BlairB]

looks really good man, I am glad to see you finally got rid of the boards

...now lets hope your gf is not too pissed about losing her step

 

[josh220]

looks really good man, I am glad to see you finally got rid of the boards

...now lets hope your gf is not too pissed about losing her step

When I picked her up today she stared blankly where the step used to be, then gave me a very pissed off glare. She knew it was coming though, so she'll get over it.

Thanks for all of the feedback guys, glad you like it. :bigok:

 

[seh750]

Looks nice! I have a question about the color-keyed grille. Is it a painted part or is it somehow color impregnated all the way through?

I'm just wondering how likely it is to collect rock chips. I have the 3M clear shield on all the other front-facing surfaces so it would look odd if just the grille collected rock chips.

Thanks for any info!

 

[josh220]

Re: Re: Black Grille and No Boards

Looks nice! I have a question about the color-keyed grille. Is it a painted part or is it somehow color impregnated all the way through?

I'm just wondering how likely it is to collect rock chips. I have the 3M clear shield on all the other front-facing surfaces so it would look odd if just the grille collected rock chips.

Thanks for any info!

I'm not sure, but it's the same grille that comes stock on SR5 and Limited models, so I would think it is capable of being chipped, just as the rest of your truck is..... However, for me, I think the benefits outweigh the cons. Yes you can get rock chips, but with a good coat of wax, most of them can probably be buffed out unless they are very big. Also, now that it's color keyed, there's not as much bling, and the grille matches the area above the rear lift gate handle. Besides, I just hated how the smoked chrome ALWAYS looks dirty, no matter what you do to it.

 

[DarkKnight1]

Were you able to simply order the new front from the dealer ?? If so, did they do the replacement of did you do it yourself ??

Thanks.

 

[josh220]

Were you able to simply order the new front from the dealer ?? If so, did they do the replacement of did you do it yourself ??

Thanks.

I called the dealership and they quoted me around $280 for the grille, so I asked around, and found a member on here who lives about 3 miles from me who had a spare grille. It was brand new in the box and he gave it to me for $120. I installed it myself in about 5 minutes as soon as I got home.

The grille is only held on by a bunch of 10mm bolts. I want to say there were 8-10 of them.

 

[Uneek]

Re: Re: Black Grille and No Boards

Looks nice! I have a question about the color-keyed grille. Is it a painted part or is it somehow color impregnated all the way through?

I'm just wondering how likely it is to collect rock chips. I have the 3M clear shield on all the other front-facing surfaces so it would look odd if just the grille collected rock chips.

Thanks for any info!

The plastic where the color is similar to the exterior color. It's light gray on my silver grille.

 

[04 sc V8]

Looks good! IMO those are the 2 best mods you've done so far. Don't get me wrong I really like the lift, tires etc. But for the time and money spent on the grill and pulling off the granny boards, I think it really makes your T4R look bad @$$!

 

[bonds44]

looks good guys i like it!!!!!

 

[josh220]

Thanks. I am wondering if I should debadge the truck, and paint the Toyota emblems on the front/rear to black. Then all that's left is black rims and it will be totally murdered out.

I am having my windows tinted darker today at 1p.m. so it should look good. Right now I have 5% on the very back window, and 20% all around. I am having them put 5% on the rear side windows, and put a 5% strip on the top of the windshield. I'll leave the 2 front windows at 20% for now, until I get the balls to play with my luck a little more.

 

[dingo]

It's your truck, Josh. I think it looks great so far. If you want to murder it out full black, go for it. De-badging will only make it look cleaner than it already is. As far as the rims go though, after that you would still have the headlamp bezels and the top graphite tube racks to paint.

 

[gorbonzobeans]

I love the look of the black grill, but i was wondering if now without the running boards does it expose some of the underside of the car? From the side angle shots there seems to be some bar that the running boards were covering up. Thanks

 

[Wolf]

hooya for no boards and color keyed grill- mine is on the way. Was gonna paint it but I did that a few years ago with a GMC and rocks eventually chipped away at the enamel/lacquer and revealed the sneaky chrome bits.

If anyone needs boards to go back to stock mine are up on ebay! :biggrin2:

 

[josh220]

I love the look of the black grill, but i was wondering if now without the running boards does it expose some of the underside of the car? From the side angle shots there seems to be some bar that the running boards were covering up. Thanks

Yes you can see the undercarriage a bit without the boards, but it still looks much better. I'd rather have it tougher looking and reveal some under-body parts, than having the granny boards on my lifted truck. :bigok:

Here's a comparison for you. Granny boards vs. no granny boards. Btw, you can't see the under-body unless you are standing far back.