I started my own thread so someone on the forum that may be on the fence about a specific seller can see what they should expect to receive. This is not an installation guide. You can easily find videos on youtube, which is what I did so I didn't break any "hidden clips". Luckily, on this install there aren't any.
Overall, I'm really happy with the purchase. It could have been better, yes, but for what I paid vs what I was planning to spend for the OEM version, I'll keep my money for other mods in the future. I'd rate it at an overall 7/10 for quality and fit but 10/10 for value.
I originally wanted to get in on the group buy but missed out. I wanted something that had photos of the gap, etc and it seemed that was a really good fit. Either way, I don't have that, and now have this eBay one.
eBay had the extra 15% off coupon and I bought mine on 12/15 for $133.45. As of today, 12/31, the same seller (happydreamer666) is now offering it for $149 without any promo and no longer ships to Alaska or Hawaii (I live in Hawaii so maybe he lost money because they didn't catch that in time). Anyways.. they shipped a few days after I bought it via international express and I received it earlier this afternoon on 12/31. I went straight to work to put it on. I had to start the new year off right.
Here are the photos of it installed.
This is what I received.
The grille is pretty good. 8/10. You'll have to clean it up a bit with a razor to cut off any of the plastic from the mold.
I also had to cut 2 tabs off of the bottom of it. My original has 4 tabs and the new had 6. I circled them in RED and pointed an arrow. The inner 2 needed to be cut off so it would fit. Very easily done with some gardening shears. They were already outside and I was too lazy to find my other snips in my tool shed. There are also slight imperfections in the grille itself that you can't cut off. I didn't at least. Doesn't bother me because it's hidden.
This is the color of the letters. Doesn't match anything else on my 2017 OR.
I don't know anyone with a PRO so I can't really compare. They're gunmetal/anthracite. They are foam taped from the inside and have two nubs on each one. I lined them up very gingerly so I could still move them around. I basically touched it against the black plastic so it would stay and I could stand back to check alignment. I didn't press them down until I was satisfied with the layout. I spent about 10-15 minutes on this so I wouldn't have regrets later.
This particular one has grooves at the top so you can align it with the bumper. It helped. It also had more double sided tape than the toyota one. One thing to note, I couldn't rip all the backing off my top left side. I had followed the toyota install guide and only took a portion off and taped it to the top. You're supposed to pull the top backing off after you've put it into place and already secured the front and bottom. It's half done on the left side but is held down really well still. Guess we'll see how it holds up. I'll replace all of the tape if need be later down the line. You can see installation videos all over youtube.
These are photos of the gap. I can't compare it to anything but I'm OK with it. It could be better but it's about a 1/4" or less. It also doesn't sit perfectly flush but it isn't noticeable unless you really get in there and look hard for it.
Fully installed gaps:
I'm really picky normally but none of this actually bothers me. There is a gap but there is also a bigger gap from the bottom valence on the trail/OR. It wasn't a lot of work to get it to fit properly. I haven't heard of anyone else having to cut tabs on their grille but it was easy.
If you don't have one and wanted one, now you have more info on the eBay one. I'm glad I bought it. I can't stop going outside to look at it.
Overall, I'm really happy with the purchase. It could have been better, yes, but for what I paid vs what I was planning to spend for the OEM version, I'll keep my money for other mods in the future. I'd rate it at an overall 7/10 for quality and fit but 10/10 for value.
I originally wanted to get in on the group buy but missed out. I wanted something that had photos of the gap, etc and it seemed that was a really good fit. Either way, I don't have that, and now have this eBay one.
eBay had the extra 15% off coupon and I bought mine on 12/15 for $133.45. As of today, 12/31, the same seller (happydreamer666) is now offering it for $149 without any promo and no longer ships to Alaska or Hawaii (I live in Hawaii so maybe he lost money because they didn't catch that in time). Anyways.. they shipped a few days after I bought it via international express and I received it earlier this afternoon on 12/31. I went straight to work to put it on. I had to start the new year off right.
Here are the photos of it installed.
This is what I received.
The grille is pretty good. 8/10. You'll have to clean it up a bit with a razor to cut off any of the plastic from the mold.
I also had to cut 2 tabs off of the bottom of it. My original has 4 tabs and the new had 6. I circled them in RED and pointed an arrow. The inner 2 needed to be cut off so it would fit. Very easily done with some gardening shears. They were already outside and I was too lazy to find my other snips in my tool shed. There are also slight imperfections in the grille itself that you can't cut off. I didn't at least. Doesn't bother me because it's hidden.
This is the color of the letters. Doesn't match anything else on my 2017 OR.
I don't know anyone with a PRO so I can't really compare. They're gunmetal/anthracite. They are foam taped from the inside and have two nubs on each one. I lined them up very gingerly so I could still move them around. I basically touched it against the black plastic so it would stay and I could stand back to check alignment. I didn't press them down until I was satisfied with the layout. I spent about 10-15 minutes on this so I wouldn't have regrets later.
This particular one has grooves at the top so you can align it with the bumper. It helped. It also had more double sided tape than the toyota one. One thing to note, I couldn't rip all the backing off my top left side. I had followed the toyota install guide and only took a portion off and taped it to the top. You're supposed to pull the top backing off after you've put it into place and already secured the front and bottom. It's half done on the left side but is held down really well still. Guess we'll see how it holds up. I'll replace all of the tape if need be later down the line. You can see installation videos all over youtube.
These are photos of the gap. I can't compare it to anything but I'm OK with it. It could be better but it's about a 1/4" or less. It also doesn't sit perfectly flush but it isn't noticeable unless you really get in there and look hard for it.
Fully installed gaps:
I'm really picky normally but none of this actually bothers me. There is a gap but there is also a bigger gap from the bottom valence on the trail/OR. It wasn't a lot of work to get it to fit properly. I haven't heard of anyone else having to cut tabs on their grille but it was easy.
If you don't have one and wanted one, now you have more info on the eBay one. I'm glad I bought it. I can't stop going outside to look at it.
