The Chinese Special TRD Grille... on the cheap!

[Aurora85]

Why wouldn’t it be compatible?

which link did you order through? The cartrim group deal? Thanks

 

[Aurora85]

Mine turned out well, small gaps on the side but that seems to be the norm for OEM and others. Getting the old grille out was a bit tough since the tabs were difficult to pop near the headlights but not too bad. Take your time with the lettering, it is easy to put on slightly crooked.

Looks great! I think I'm going to try to use painters tape to help get the letters level. You did a great job

 

[Ohio5thGen]

which link did you order through? The cartrim group deal? Thanks

I used the cartrimhome link. I got order confirmation the next day with shipping info and a tracking number the day after that.

I track it today and it was accepted to a facility somewhere in China and is in transit. We’ll see what happens.

 

[Aurora85]

I have the OEM TRD PRO grille and installed it a couple of weeks ago. A friend picked up the cheap Chinese replica and brought it over for me to install. I have also seen the TSO grille in person. Here is my feedback.

- Chinese grille is a bit wavier from the mold. In the sunlight, you can tell it's not as smooth as OEM.
- The letters look better than the TSO letters. The edges are softer than the OEM letters and seem to be slightly smaller than the OEM letters. Color is a good match, maybe a little darker than OEM.
- The gaps are better than TSO. The gap is slightly bigger than the OEM gap but not really noticeable if you do a good job splitting the gaps on each side.
- The stick-on letters were easy. Just lightly stick them, step back, make slight adjustments and you're good to go.
- The upper honey cone grill piece is perfect to the OEM one. Color, shape, and mounting holes were perfect.
- There has seemed to be some fading issues from the TSO grille so I painted the Chinese grille with SEM Trim Black which replicates the finish of the OEM pro grille perfect and won't fade.

Here are some pictures of the OEM vs the Chinese. In the pictures, you'd never know. I own the OEM version and I'll argue my money was well spent on the superior quality parts, haha. Seriously though, this kit is much better than TSO and so cheap!

OEM

China

You be the judge. Spend your money how you wish

How many coats of the SEM paint did you use? Easy to apply? I like the idea of this but afraid I'd blotch it up or get runs on it.

 

[jeroweezy]

Mine from eBay arrived. I didn't stick the letters on yet just placed them to see how it looks. For those wondering letters are curved to confirm to the garnish. Not sure why one of the "O" has a different tape.

 

[dot_tom]

How many coats of the SEM paint did you use? Easy to apply? I like the idea of this but afraid I'd blotch it up or get runs on it.

If it is your first time, try spraying something else to test it out. If it's cold out, it'll run. I did 3 or 4 lights coats. I did get a slight run in the top due to cold/moisture in the air but I was able to wet sand it out and spray two more coats over it. Careful, the paint will scratch easily if not dry all the way before mounting the piece.

 

[pheelmeh]

Does anyone know if TSO has lowered their pricing on their grill kits since the rise of the China grills? I'm sure a small percentage of people are going to opt for the TSO to er on the side of caution, but their sales have to have tanked pretty bad since these popped up.

 

[Dillusion]

Does anyone know if TSO has lowered their pricing on their grill kits since the rise of the China grills? I'm sure a small percentage of people are going to opt for the TSO to er on the side of caution, but their sales have to have tanked pretty bad since these popped up.

TSO PRO 5TH GEN 4RUNNER GRILLE COVER with UPPER GRILLE - TRAIL STANDARD OFFROAD

Doesn't look like it.

 

[HurricanePDX]

Ordered mine on eBay 12/26 and received on 1/2, going to install Sunday as my first official “mod” I had a hard time justifying the cost of the ORM so I was stoked when this came around.

Question to those who’ve installed... Did you install the plastic shroud first and then the letters? Or the letters first? Seems like it could be easier to do the letters once the shroud is firmly in place but wanted to hear others experience.

 

[mailbox]

Ordered mine on eBay 12/26 and received on 1/2, going to install Sunday as my first official “mod” I had a hard time justifying the cost of the ORM so I was stoked when this came around.

Question to those who’ve installed... Did you install the plastic shroud first and then the letters? Or the letters first? Seems like it could be easier to do the letters once the shroud is firmly in place but wanted to hear others experience.

Letters first. While the garnish was off, I put a straight edge to the top of the letters and pushed them down in the detents. Stuck on the first T and then used a straight edge on the top to place the last A and then from there lined everything up

 

[jeroweezy]

can someone post a close up of the letters where it meets with the garnish(side view) thx!

 

[Dillusion]

While we are asking for pics.

Anyone not put the lettering on a fill in the holes? I was thinking of leaving the the lettering off mine and wrapping it.

 

[jeroweezy]

YouTube


Normal play? Or am I being ocd

 

[YellowSnow]

YouTube


Normal play? Or am I being ocd

Looks fine..is it warm out? Did you use the included double sided tape?

 

[jeroweezy]

Yes I did. This hasn't been mounted. Still inside my house lol

 

[mc813]

Question to those who’ve installed... Did you install the plastic shroud first and then the letters? Or the letters first? Seems like it could be easier to do the letters once the shroud is firmly in place but wanted to hear others experience.

I put my letters on before installing; used painters tape to align everything.

While we are asking for pics.

Anyone not put the lettering on a fill in the holes? I was thinking of leaving the the lettering off mine and wrapping it.

The indents for the letters aren't all that deep. I'd imagine if you did a wrap it would skip over them without conforming (but I could be wrong).

YouTube


Normal play? Or am I being ocd

Looks similar to what mine did/do.

 

[jeroweezy]

I put my letters on before installing; used painters tape to align everything.



The indents for the letters aren't all that deep. I'd imagine if you did a wrap it would skip over them without conforming (but I could be wrong).



Looks similar to what mine did/do.

ok cool just my ocd then haha thanks

 

[darrensan]

Fitment looks great actually

 

[Dillusion]

The indents for the letters aren't all that deep. I'd imagine if you did a wrap it would skip over them without conforming (but I could be wrong).

I'm not worried about the indents. I was planning on filling them before I wrap. I'm just more concerned how it looks like out TOYOTA on the front.

 

[pheelmeh]

Looks fine..is it warm out? Did you use the included double sided tape?

I'm OCD - i added gorilla glue before adhering the letters, doesnt budge one bit.