I wanted to take a moment to do a quick write up for those who are looking to swap out their factory grill with an RS3 style honeycomb grill.
I heard stories about people installing aftermarket RS3 style grills and had issues with the parking sensors giving false readings. This is a design flaw in the aftermarket grill and is due to the parking sensor mount point not being flush with the outer part of the grill. Aside from functionality, aesthetics was another area of concern. Many of the grills I looked at had the Quattro sign and or had a split grill shelf design at the bottom which I personally didn’t like. I also wanted the grill to be all black, including the emblems to simulate the black optics package I currently have on my S3.
After doing much research, I ultimately went with this one from German Car Accessories:
https://german-car-accessories.com/c...33761485422729
You can get this grill for approximately the same price as you would on Ebay. What I liked about German Car Accessories is that they operate out of the US, speak English very well and have a direct line into the manufactures in China. Their shipping is also much faster. I asked several questions during the decision-making process and they answered them all very quickly and honestly. I received the grill from China in 5 days and got a tracking number one day after ordering!
They also have pretty much have every flavor you could want of this grill and many other grills, plus they have a large selection of other grills for BMW and other Audi models. Please check them out and no I am not getting paid to say this!
Now, let’s talk about the grill. It was packaged very well. The grill it self is a beautiful glossy black and comes with a matching glossy Black Audi ring emblem.
One thing to note. The Audi ring emblem had two extra tabs that I needed to cut otherwise it wouldn’t fit in the grill. See pic. Not a big deal.
They also give you an RS3 emblem or you can request an S3 emblem that mounts up to the honeycomb grill but its not a real emblem and its size is completely off. I would not recommend you use that if you plan on putting an S3 emblem on the grill. I used a genuine Audi S3 emblem that I painted Black and then I took a Dremel tool, ground the back of it down so it was flat. Use painters’ tape to tape the front and outer portion of the emblem so it doesn’t get messed up. I then I mounted 8-32 x ¾ inch long, flat head Stainless Steel screws, held them in place on the back of them emblem and submerged them in a Epoxy. Envision a pool of epoxy that the screws were submerged in. I used JB Weld Original slow drying Epoxy (24 hours). Do not use fast drying as it wont hold well. MAKE SURE you apply even amounts of each tube and then mix them vigorously until it turns a dark gray color. Mix them for about 1 min. If you don’t do this, the epoxy will never be strong enough to hold the screws on. Also, before doing this, take some sand paper and sand the flat heads of the screws and back of emblem to rough it up a bit so the Epoxy can stick to the plastic. Make sure screws are in place and don’t touch them once they are set in place! After 5 hours you can look to make sure they are still in place. After 24 hours, the epoxy should get rock hard. You now can handle them. I mounted my emblem to the grill. I made a plastic backing to hold the grill in place and use 2 nylon lock nuts on the back of the screws. You can actually take the plastic protector you get when the grill is shipped. You can cut it with a scissor. I would double it up as its pretty thin. Please take great care when tightening the screws. Hold the screws from the base with a pair of pliers so you when you’re are tightening the lock nuts, they don’t pull the head of the screw away from the Epoxy.
You can spray some Black Plastidip on the crash bar to hide that hideous metal bar going across but my stock black optics grill had a black cover that hides it nicely so I didnt need to spray it.
I also added a universal license plate mount and silicon license plate holder from amazon. See below:
Aujen Silicone License Plate Frame 2 PCS for US Standard Car, 100% Street Legal License Plate Frame, Rattle-Proof and Easy Installation License Plate Holder (Black)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Trunknets Inc Universal Front Bumper License Plate Bracket + 6 Unique Screws and Wrench Kit
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I love the look of the grill but I do have 2 complaints from this grill being perfect. The plastic itself plastic seems more on the flimsy side. I did speak to someone else who owns one for 2 years now and he said the grill has held up just fine. Second, this grill has mounting points for a European license plate. For guys in North American you will see those mounting points exposed on the grill. I covered the middle one with the license plate cover but there are two still on the left and right. I guess you could grind them off but I didn’t want to take a chance of messing up the grill. In all actuality they don’t look bad.
Bottomline, I am glad I purchased the grill and it looks great on my car.
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