Excellent fit. I bought the matte black to try and match the rest of the trim and it looks factory installed.
Removing the OE chrome grill "nuts" was a bit of a pain, so I elected to just snap the plastic threads off rather than attempt to remove them. I wouldn't plan on keeping the OE grill as the plastic threads and stamped nuts are practically destroyed no matter how gentle you are.
The upper grill snaps in and use the same fasteners as the OE. The new stamped nuts can be a bit annoying, just seat the nut on the ball of your thumb and turn. Once the nut cuts into the plastic use a nut-driver to snug up--don't over tighten.
The lower grill just snaps in. I cleaned and plasti coted the bumper black, as you can see the bumper color behind the new grill--my car is red so it really stood out.
This grill makes the car look so much better and more up to date. I really like it.
*plasti-cote is your new best friend*
John
Oumotoring has been of great help and technical advise on upgrading my R53 S.
Went through a step by step approach with Aaron installing a pulley, DDM air filter, Miltek Exhaust, Koni Shocks, …..
The MINI became much more fun to drive and stayed a practical daily driver for us.
Thank you Out motoring.
Jay Frem
Jay Frem
This is the place to shop for mini cooper parts. Bought a plain r53 mini cooper and have been building it up every since. Any time i need a maintenance part or performance parts this is the first place to visit. Am very impressed with the black jcw grill!