Mesh In Front Of Intercooler

[moobaque]

Hey all,

Am in the process of modifying my series 1 m-spec front bar to have a much bigger opening as well as to fit around a newly installed intercooler.

What im looking to do is put some mesh in the hole to try and protect the intercooler from stones but not to kill to much air flow.. (have already searched about places for this mesh and i think im on top of it)

My most pressing issue in this project is how people have neatly attached the mesh into the front bars. Pics would be the ultimate but any response would be much appreciated

thanks!

Camden

[Al]

Don't think i have pics of the inside of the bar and my mechanic is closed till Monday. If i remember i'll pop past there and take a few pics, as the front bar is currently off the car.

Any way this is what i done.

- Measure up the hole and cut the mesh about 2" bigger all round

- Using blocks of wood and a rubber mallet, i folded the lower edge

- Then placed the mesh on the bar and measured the top fold

- once again used the wood blocks and mallet to fold mesh.

- placed the mesh on the bar, central to the hole, cut the excess mesh along the top and bottom folds, on either side of the hole.

- measured one side and used the mallet and block to fold the first side

- placed the mesh on the bar, measured the other side and folded.

- placed mesh on bar and folded down the excess taps, along the top and bottom, over the sides. used small cable ties on the lower corners to keep tabs folder in tightly

- You will also need to trim some of the mesh to fit round the indicator supports

- Along the top, the bar has 3 tabs, i drilled a hole in each, to fit a LARGE pop-rivit. The rivit goes through the plastic tab, then the mesh and finally a LARGE washer (with a hole the size of the rivit) or a thin metal plate with corresponding holes.

- Finally i used about 3/4 of a tube of sicaflex all round the mesh to hold it to the bar. Work the sicaflex into the mesh with a thin piece of wood or plastic.

- Let dry for 24hrs.

The sicaflex (black) is very strong and will have no problem supporting the mesh. I ran into a possum at about 30 km/h, the possum must have bounced off the mesh, as the mesh was "torn" half way along the bottom and side folds. I was glad the mesh did it's job and protected the fmic, as the cooler was not touched .

PS: During the folding of the mesh i am pretty sure i also used a piece of wood on top and two G-clamps, to get sharp/clean folds

Hope that helps, here are a few pics.

[adam-__-]

I bought my mesh from supercheap and it's a pretty good size. Anyway, I attached the mesh to my reinforcement bar. It's squeezed in between the cooler and reo-bar. Everything is just cable tied up. Looks pretty good. I'll try and get a photo for you when I get the chance.

The mesh has actually been doing its job as well. No stone chips yet! *** touch wood ***

[noone]

Aproximatly how much gap between the cooler and the mesh?

Would of thought a bit of gap would be required to protect in the case of possums etc hitting?

[Al]

  noone said:

Aproximatly how much gap between the cooler and the mesh?

Would of thought a bit of gap would be required to protect in the case of possums etc hitting?

On my 33 i probably have about 15-20mm

[adam-__-]

Mines right against my cooler. Only because my cooler is right against my reinforcement bar and the mesh is in between them two.

My mesh is only there to protect my cooler from small stones, not possums. haha

[trism]

if you hit a possum, it will fcuk stuff up no matter how far the mesh is from the cooler...

[noone]

hit a small roo and his head left a nice side profile in my cooler

think I will have to mesh the newy, my cooler just fits behind the reo bar though just

When I finally took the bar off to start with the new cooler install the damage was much more evident

no leaks but bent the lower mounts, non-genuine ones

and cracked hell outa the under engine plastic tray thingo

new cooler uses stock mounts though just gotta find some?

[Bliksem]

My setup is very similar to Al's except i've used cable ties and stainless woven mesh I pinched from work. In approx 3 years of driving, Hitting occasional birds etc not a hint of damage to the cooler.... I would recommend stainless woven mesh over the conventional crap available from supercheap /a.barn as it's much stronger and will not tear/deform. Try any large engineering business to source it.

[Spunky Munky]

I personallly think the cooler should not be meshed up - looks tougher this way, but everyone to their own...

If you do go mesh, get the smaller - tighter-together ones that are in black... looks tough as...

[Al]

  trism said:

if you hit a possum, it will fcuk stuff up no matter how far the mesh is from the cooler...

Yet another know-it-all

Read my previous post

[Al]

  Spunky Munky said:

I personallly think the cooler should not be meshed up - looks tougher this way, but everyone to their own...

If you do go mesh, get the smaller - tighter-together ones that are in black... looks tough as...

So that you'll restrict air-flow to the core?

Some people want to do things for practical reasons, not just to rice it up

[moobaque]

  Al said:

So that you'll restrict air-flow to the core?

Some people want to do things for practical reasons, not just to rice it up

Like Al said, i am wanting to do this for practical reasons. I would agree a bare cooler does look mean. But i want to protect my $1000 investment without killing to much airflow.

[33_skyline]

I have mesh infront of mine aswell

I just did as they have said prevously with the sickaflex or liquid nails.

I actually put the mesh around the wrong way so it looks complety see through.

it is a small mesh and it it is the otherway you wouldn't see throw it as easy.

If you notice the mesh below my indicators is the right way around and you can just

see the cooler piping.

[adam-__-]

  33_skyline said:

I have mesh infront of mine aswell

I just did as they have said prevously with the sickaflex or liquid nails.

I actually put the mesh around the wrong way so it looks complety see through.

it is a small mesh and it it is the otherway you wouldn't see throw it as easy.

If you notice the mesh below my indicators is the right way around and you can just

see the cooler piping.

I never knew there was a right and wrong way to a mesh. I only realised that there was a top and bottom, but not front and back.

My mesh looks completely see through. Only at some angles the mesh seems to cover the cooler. I'm gonna check if I can turn it around and see a difference.

[Nick033]

  Al said:

Don't think i have pics of the inside of the bar and my mechanic is closed till Monday. If i remember i'll pop past there and take a few pics, as the front bar is currently off the car.

Any way this is what i done.

- Measure up the hole and cut the mesh about 2" bigger all round

- Using blocks of wood and a rubber mallet, i folded the lower edge

- Then placed the mesh on the bar and measured the top fold

- once again used the wood blocks and mallet to fold mesh.

- placed the mesh on the bar, central to the hole, cut the excess mesh along the top and bottom folds, on either side of the hole.

- measured one side and used the mallet and block to fold the first side

- placed the mesh on the bar, measured the other side and folded.

- placed mesh on bar and folded down the excess taps, along the top and bottom, over the sides. used small cable ties on the lower corners to keep tabs folder in tightly

- You will also need to trim some of the mesh to fit round the indicator supports

- Along the top, the bar has 3 tabs, i drilled a hole in each, to fit a LARGE pop-rivit. The rivit goes through the plastic tab, then the mesh and finally a LARGE washer (with a hole the size of the rivit) or a thin metal plate with corresponding holes.

- Finally i used about 3/4 of a tube of sicaflex all round the mesh to hold it to the bar. Work the sicaflex into the mesh with a thin piece of wood or plastic.

- Let dry for 24hrs.

The sicaflex (black) is very strong and will have no problem supporting the mesh. I ran into a possum at about 30 km/h, the possum must have bounced off the mesh, as the mesh was "torn" half way along the bottom and side folds. I was glad the mesh did it's job and protected the fmic, as the cooler was not touched .

PS: During the folding of the mesh i am pretty sure i also used a piece of wood on top and two G-clamps, to get sharp/clean folds

Hope that helps, here are a few pics.

mate that look awesome, nice and cleanly done

[75coupe]

I used stainless steel black mesh sourced from a security screen place.

You will need something decent to cut it. I used a cutting disc on an angle grinder to cut out the four corners so I had flaps to fold.

I then measured it up to get 90 degree folds in all four sides (i use the bending machine at work, no way will you bend that stuff by hand will definitely need a bench mounted vice at least but proper press is best) so that it fit snuggly around the back of the opening of the inside of the bumper, it fit so snug it only needed a cable tie top and bottom, nothing gonna get though it its on there dam tight with no flex what so ever.

In fact it fit so snug it needed the half box like structure I ended up with after the folds stretched out a little to fit perfectly, and it slid on with a little force.

Ended up with 15mm gap between core and mesh, used the exsiting holes (on series 2 front bar) top and bottom for ties...

I was rather impressed... mesh cost like $30 you will barley dent that stuff with a hammer full force... and its black...

That supercheap mesh is complete crap...

Edited January 12, 2008 by 75coupe

[Al]

  Nick033 said:

mate that look awesome, nice and cleanly done

Thanks mate