Radiator & condenser coil protection screen

[Wynter]

Bought this from dollarama at the gardening section..

Made by Plastic, would this be good enough?
Attachment 2276

I had ordered that in metal but it didn't come in. Only store that had it was Oakville and I wasn't driving all that way. I bought 3 feet from Home Hardware of mesh wire.

I looked at what you have, but don't think the plastic is strong enough at a 'good' speed to stop a stone, and I fear the plastic may melt with the heat of summer or just the engine. If anyone else here can help answer that question, that would be great.

I went with everyone here and they all used metal. I even looked a 'screen' and the guy in Home Depot said, at high speeds, screen mesh (like window screen, but metal) was not strong enough to stop a stone. Myself, I'd not use plastic.

[micra2080]

Noted.. so.. metal, i will take a trip to reno depot .

[Wynter]

And I'm off to look at cheap camera's!

[AlphaMicra]

Mine's plastic...well, more specifically, some sort of a plastic-vinyl polymer that's flexible. It comes rolled up. So far, no breakage from stones, though my front license plate cover has big chips in it. I would think that the metal or rigid plastic type of mesh would tend to break apart from stone chips, if my license plate cover is any indication, so probably better to have something that will give and flex upon impact. Also, no fear of melting; it's outside of the engine bay and there's no way the condenser coil could generate that kind of heat unless it was actually on fire.

[AlphaMicra]

Bought this from dollarama at the gardening section..

Made by Plastic, would this be good enough?
Attachment 2276

That's the stuff I used. Been holding up fine for over 70,000 highway kilometers; better than the license plate cover on the front!

[AlphaMicra]

Sorry for the triple post, but I haven't been here in a while and got a little excited.

So I went out to find the worst part of my condenser coil to photograph. The top part is absolutely perfect; I now wonder if a protection screen is even needed.

I looked along the bottom for the worst part, and then photographed it:



As you can see, some smaller debris has managed to pass through and has caused some minor bending of the fins. This is after over 72,000 kilometers, and I've already replaced the license plate cover once, and the second one has a nasty "Bullet hole" stone chip.

I probably should run some water through the condenser coil with my hose to flush out the tiny stones and debris that did manage to embed itself, but by and large, I think it's done its job admirably well. No signs of melting, and the mesh is holding up well.

[Wynter]

I wish I knew this before, that is so much more flexible and would be easier to install. I really didn't think that material would hold up. So, do I bother finishing the bottom with metal, or get that which I saw at the dollar store also. UGH!

[micra2080]

I am going to attempt this with the upper grill tonight when everyone is asleep. Wish me good luck.

Will be doing it with the plastic mesh i bought from Dollarama for 2$.
If the plastic mesh holds up like Alpha says, that will save the trouble of painting and no risk of rust.
But i still think the holes on these plastic mesh are still too big, i think i will do double layers.

[Howie]

After removing mine, I highly reccomend everyone to do this. The condensor coil in our cars is very, very weak. Made out of aluminum I figure and the fins are extremely thin- think pop can thin.

Even looking at the rad behind it, its not really built super-tough either. Likely a part of how the car behaves in an impact or some technical jazz. Or of course, to do it as cheap as possible.

[Wynter]

As soon as I saw mention of this, it was my #1 priority pending weather. I agree Howie, after seeing a few bent fins on mine at the 2 month mark, it's a good investment. I still have the lower grill to do, and would love to drive it on ramps to do that part.

micra2080, Great idea to double it. I thought of that when I saw that product, and had I known it was used here, I'd have gone with that instead. Would be great if you could have it criss-cross each other to make the openings smaller. I think you could cut one piece and fold it as you weave it through since it's pliable (bendable), and unroll it as the rest is pulled over to the drivers side. Much easier than mesh wire in pieces.

Good luck, post pics when done!