USP Lower Center Grille: Problem Solved! MK6 GTI Goodies

[EURO_DOLL]

As some of you may already know, I just completed my USP front conversion a couple of days ago. I have the OEM Mesh USP Fog grilles and I purchased the eBay mesh grille from Waterfest this year which matches the fogs. My biggest issue was the lower center grille. There has been a ton of success with the LLTek RS4 mesh, and while that was my original plan, I didn't have the time to order it and wait for it to be shipped. I tried the Home Depot route and bought some expanded metal mesh which matched perfectly mesh size wise, but they didn't have long enough sheets to cover the entire opening width wise. Rather than piecing it together, I searched around at so many stores for larger sheets of metal mesh but had no success.

After pulling in the boy's driveway yesterday, I looked at his Dad's MK6 VW GTI and realized that his lower center grille had the same exact mesh pattern as my USP Fog griles, and after measuring the size of the opening on his car vs. my USP front, it was large enough to be trimmed down to fit in my USP bumper. Obviously I couldn't take his, so I got in touch with my boy that works at the VW dealership and within an hour I was on my way down there picking it up. In total it cost me $70 (which is damn good compared to the $120 for the same exact mesh pattern front LLTek.)

I'm going to be finishing modifying my lower center grille frame to fit my USP, and I am then going to be trimming my newly purchase MK6 GTI grille to fit inside it. The 'bend/ slant' the GTI grille has is basically identical to the bend required for our grilles. For comparison, here are a couple of photos of my USP front vs. the GTI Lower Center grille shape and bend.

Being that tomorrow's my last day off from school this week, I'm going to be completing this then and I'll take photos along the process with how it was done. I know some of you have been back and forth talking with me about our 'options' for our USP's, so I figured I'd share this!

Stay posted .. But in the meantime, pics for comparison!


^ This is going to need to be trimmed a bit more width wise than it will need to be length wise




^^ And this is *about* how much is going to be trimmed to make it fit. (Dimensions obviously not 100% spot on here).


PS: (Chances are, this is going to be a semi-long write up depending on how much is going to have to be cut and done. So if you can't deal with my longer posts, this is your fair warning!! )

[texasboy21]

Interesting..

[vhstejskal]

Subscribed for updates... Could be another option for the USP front converts...

[moyenecorniche]

subscribed for better ideas....

[a4darkness]

All about write-ups, especially for grills. Stellar work.

[A4Dit]

I recommend making a template of the existing opening so that you cut it just enough. Invest in a dremel and tin snips if you don't have them as they come in handy with cutting through thin metal/plastic. I've made a couple of mesh grilles for my Oettinger bumper and these tools really helped.

[MNAudi101]

should be fun to see, I used the same stuff that looks like the fog light grilles. it fits perfectly and has a OEM look to it with the rubber bolder I put around it

[evo_ski]

Excellent idea, interested in how that will turn out.

[victimdumper]

also interested in final results, i get a discount at a vw dealer around here (not an audi dealer though )
seeing as im about to do a usp front too, im curious how much i can snag this grill for if all works out

[Matt Devo]

nice! Got a link / part # for the GTI honeycomb grille?

[Johnny1.8T]

marry me?


.... too soon? okay ill back off . interested in the final results though!!

[EURO_DOLL]

Thanks guys! Will keep you all posted for sure..

The part number that I found for the lower center MK6 GTI grille is: 5K0853677C9B9 -- but they do sell these things on eBay.

Link to one of the cheaper prices I've come across online for this grille: CLICK .. But I would definitely try the dealership first! There have been some things I've come across online where it's been more expensive than the dealership prices.

And here's some more photos of the MK6 grille up against my new upper center mesh grille (which matches the fog grilles exact as well.)

[EURO_DOLL]

marry me?


.... too soon? okay ill back off . interested in the final results though!!

hahahhaa. I do!

[MNAudi101]

Where did you get your upper. I found one but I am not sure the quality

[EURO_DOLL]

Where did you get your upper. I found one but I am not sure the quality

I actually got mine from Waterfest this year for I believe $50? Granted, the OEM grille could be far more solid, but this one definitely works and will probably hold up for a LONG time (especially when one of the only other options aside from this, and a flimsier looking "RS4 badgeless grille" from LLTek was to fabricate it yourself.). I actually had my eye on this grille since I got my first B6 2.5 years ago, and that was on eBay. I think the price was $80 there.. I know there are a couple of guys on here running the same exact grille.

The frame doesn't separate from the center like an OEM one does, but I wasn't worried about that. That'll be going on my car tomorrow as well. I'll let you know how it goes!

[MNAudi101]

Okay thank you very much

[n7plus1]

hmmmmm

[evo_ski]

That matches perfectly, should look quite good I think.

[a4darkness]

I concur sir.

[ECS Tuning-Audi]

This is pretty cool. I've always thought the B6 would look good with RS4 style mesh grilles. We have the genuine VW MK6 lower available HERE. And I'm currently checking into if we can source them from an aftermarket company for an even better price!

Cheers!

Jason

[Matt Devo]

any reason the MK5 lower center honeycomb grille wouldn't work? seems like it should be large enough to trim down

[EURO_DOLL]

any reason the MK5 lower center honeycomb grille wouldn't work? seems like it should be large enough to trim down

Well my fiancé drives an mkv GTI and his dad drives an mkvi GTI, so I was able to compare them side by side vs my USP front, and the actual depth of the mkv GTI is a bit larger than the mkvi one. While you could probably get that to work, the slant/ bend in the front of the mkvi is closer to the bend in our car.. I'll take a picture of my fiances mkv GTI next to the mkvi grille I bought along with my USP front so you can see what I'm talking about. In the process of making the grille now :)

I'm also going to measurements of his mkv when I get home. For some reason I don't think the height of his is large enough to fit our USP


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[a4darkness]

Queen of Grilles.

[EURO_DOLL]

Queen of Grilles.

LOL Yes! I finally found the solution to my USP non-matching, OCD grille issues. Started everything today and it's actually working out perfectly.

any reason the MK5 lower center honeycomb grille wouldn't work? seems like it should be large enough to trim down

And like I promised, I parked the boy's MKV GTI next to my B6 USP in my driveway and his lower grille wouldn't work. It's not long enough length-wise. Plus, the one thing that moved me more toward the MKVI GTI grille was also the outer trim that comes on it. The top portion of the MKVI grille has a frame that I'm going to try to modify to fit the USP opening. The top part of that grille also has 4 tabs with small slits in the middle of each tab which I'm going to try to use to keep the grille on.

Here are some photos of his MKV GTI next to mine. You can sort of see the horizontal dimensions of his lower vs. mine would be a bit harder to work with. MKVI gives you much more space to work with length wise AND height wise, as well as provides you with a bend extremely similar to our front. Second picture was taken through a screen, hence the strange quality LOL. You get the idea though!





Started the cutting today! Post photos tomorrow, and I'll hopefully have a write-up by the time I'm done

[claudiovagkraft]

Excellent find! Off to the dealership I go...

[69clark]

Any updates yet?

[jcg05c]

I love all the hard work and research you are doing for this. BUT seems overkill for something so minor.

[EURO_DOLL]

Any updates yet?

Planning on finishing it off today :) Had a full day at school yesterday. It's actually working a million times better than I even anticipated. Taking pics as I go along :) I'll post some up a little later once I have something worth showing ;)

I love all the hard work and research you are doing for this. BUT seems overkill for something so minor.

In other's eyes, maybe so.. But if it means the difference between having something that matches the rest of the car 100% vs something that doesn't necessarily flow, I'll gladly put in many hours of work and research to make it work.

This is actually one of the cheaper and simpler options. One of my biggest pet peeves is the non-matching USP grilles, and that's why I've taken this project on.


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[boy412]

I love all the hard work and research you are doing for this. BUT seems overkill for something so minor.

Not minor at all. Once this is finished it should be obvious that all the work and research was well worth it.

Nice idea using the MK VI mesh! I wish I had thought of that. I'll definitely use that as a backup plan in case I end up f'ing up my LLTEK mesh.

Your car is way cooler than his.

[Abuck35]

Good idea¡

[Y3SPB6A4]

Your fiance has mad guts to have a pink grill accent instead of the red on the MKV.

[EURO_DOLL]

Your fiance has mad guts to have a pink grill accent instead of the red on the MKV.

LOL that's not pink by any means! It IS red. The pink from my car may have reflected on it somehow, or it could be my crappy camera.


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[aroderick56]

interesting, cant wait to see results

[EURO_DOLL]

Not minor at all. Once this is finished it should be obvious that all the work and research was well worth it.

Nice idea using the MK VI mesh! I wish I had thought of that. I'll definitely use that as a backup plan in case I end up f'ing up my LLTEK mesh.



Your car is way cooler than his.

Thanks a bunch!

Don't tell him that though He's always in competition with me LOL


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[Y3SPB6A4]

Oh damn i looked closer, its red Love the USP and the GTI!

[Matt Devo]

And here's some more photos of the MK6 grille up against my new upper center mesh grille (which matches the fog grilles exact as well.)

actually, the hexagon shape on the MK6 grille is taller/narrower than the ebay upper grille or the OEM fog grilles. But it's pretty close.

I had the chance to line up a USP lower frame with a MK5 lower grille, and while the curvature is the same, the MK5 grille is about 1.5" too short. But you could always lengthen it slightly by reusing some of the extra material that you cut off the height, which is what I might do given that the MK5 grilles are $35 shipped on ebay vs $90 for the MK6

[69clark]

Any new pics yet?

[EURO_DOLL]

actually, the hexagon shape on the MK6 grille is taller/narrower than the ebay upper grille or the OEM fog grilles. But it's pretty close.

I had the chance to line up a USP lower frame with a MK5 lower grille, and while the curvature is the same, the MK5 grille is about 1.5" too short. But you could always lengthen it slightly by reusing some of the extra material that you cut off the height, which is what I might do given that the MK5 grilles are $35 shipped on ebay vs $90 for the MK6

That could always be done, but given that I had the opportunity to get an MKVI grille for a decent price vs. waiting for the LLTek Mesh in the mail, I went for it. And what's off mostly in the design is the depth of the actual honeycomb shapes. Comparing the USP fog griles and the eBay upper grille to the expanded mesh most people use, I'd say it's a damn good match! A 2010 VW GTI's grille obviously won't be identical in pattern to a 2002-2005 Audi A4's..

And yes, you could always take some off of the height and expand in on the sides, but if mine require a ton of piecing together work of that sort, I probably would have just gone the expanded mesh direction. I went the MKVI direction because of the extra width and height this way I'm not trying to puzzle together an intricate design. But if you end up doing it with the MKV let us know how it goes!

Any new pics yet?

Yesss I'm making progress! School started back up this week and I'm swamped with Anatomy & Physiology work. Right now the only photos I have actually uploaded onto my computer are just of the trimmings on the right and left side. Nothing too interesting.. I need to have this done by Monday before class starts up again, so I'm gonna be going at it full force tomorrow.

Thanks for baring with me I promise this thread isn't gonna be one of those that get all hyped up and then just disappear without a finished product. LOL

[Matt Devo]

That could always be done, but given that I had the opportunity to get an MKVI grille for a decent price vs. waiting for the LLTek Mesh in the mail, I went for it. And what's off mostly in the design is the depth of the actual honeycomb shapes. Comparing the USP fog griles and the eBay upper grille to the expanded mesh most people use, I'd say it's a damn good match! A 2010 VW GTI's grille obviously won't be identical in pattern to a 2002-2005 Audi A4's..

And yes, you could always take some off of the height and expand in on the sides, but if mine require a ton of piecing together work of that sort, I probably would have just gone the expanded mesh direction. I went the MKVI direction because of the extra width and height this way I'm not trying to puzzle together an intricate design. But if you end up doing it with the MKV let us know how it goes!

whatever happened to ordering from ebay.de? I was going to go the MKV route, but I just discovered that the USP lower grille frame I bought a few months back is actually an S4 grille frame, so I'm back to square one there =/

[EURO_DOLL]

whatever happened to ordering from ebay.de? I was going to go the MKV route, but I just discovered that the USP lower grille frame I bought a few months back is actually an S4 grille frame, so I'm back to square one there =/

Oh man that sucks!

I was planning on ordering that stuff I found in Germany from eBay, but it's the same type of thing as ordering something from lltek and having to wait for shipping. I was just running out of time and my boy from the VW dealership had an MKVI grille in stock :)


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