Black grilles on Imola Red (gloss or matte)?

[Terry]

Hi Folks,

Sorry to beat a dead horse here, but I'm thinking of freshening up the look of my 03' ZHP Imola Red sedan and am strongly considering getting black grilles. I know of the BMW Performance grilles which are gloss black, but how does matte black look? I thought the latter might clash with your gloss shadowline window trim. Any thoughts? I'm sure a number of you have had to make this decision already. Your advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks guys,

-T

[danewilson77]

Get the performance. I have matte.

Though I like the matte...the performance looks better imho.

[JupiterBMW]

I had the matte on my car when I bought it, but to me they always looked faded/dirty. I repainted them gloss black and much happier with the look.

That being said, Devlin has the matte black on his Imola sedan and they do look very good. I still prefer the gloss.

Good luck.

[nike001]

I have the matte and it kinda dies down in color if you accidentally hit it with wax or something. I plan on getting the glossy ones soon.

I prefer Imola cars with the chrome grilles. I think the chrome contrast look is much better than the black contrast. But that's me..

[328ioc]

Boom.....Matte FTW

6458

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

[cakM3]

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/12/04/patyqu7u.jpg

BMW Performance "Glossy" black grills

FTW :thumbsup

[Hermes]

I agree with Charlie

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c288/jhermes/ZHP%20Photos/P1040068.jpg

[johnrando]

I'm not totally qualified to judge as I don't have the red, but I really like the gloss. I have gloss on mine.

[Hornung418]

BMW Performance Grilles.

From a GS3, this was sent.

[JupiterBMW]

JP, have any close ups of the colored stripes on your grilles? I've always entertained doing the 3 motorsport stripes on mine, in that same area you did...

[JKO_ZHP]

I don't have imola but I've had the seen the matte look on an imola coupe and it jut didn't look right.....appears faded or dirty but that's just me.
There was this one imola that had the piano (gloss) black ones with custom red/black roundels and it was :drool
I don't like imola but that 330 Ci was niiice.

[imola red zhp]

Matte FTW!!!!
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7143/6542281423_9bcddd5250.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/18128055@N03/6542281423/)
IMG_1337 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/18128055@N03/6542281423/) by da94450 (http://www.flickr.com/people/18128055@N03/), on Flickr

[CERF04ZHP]

I always think the gloss goes better with the shadowline... But at the same time, the matte would go well with the lower grille to keep things consistent up front. Win/win.

Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk 2

[Crickett]

I've been debating this, too. The gloss Performance grilles do match the shadowline trim well, but on sedans the matte black body trim is what (I think) needs to be matched as it's more often in the same field of view as the grilles. (This is, of course, having never seen gloss grilles in person.)

[328ioc]

I've been debating this, too. The gloss Performance grilles do match the shadowline trim well, but on sedans the matte black body trim is what (I think) needs to be matched as it's more often in the same field of view as the grilles. (This is, of course, having never seen gloss grilles in person.)

This is why I went with matte.

Matches the trim fairly well.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

[danewilson77]

JP, have any close ups of the colored stripes on your grilles? I've always entertained doing the 3 motorsport stripes on mine, in that same area you did...

I used to have on my car as well. Bra FTW!!!!

I will see if I can drum up some close ups as well.

http://i1015.photobucket.com/albums/af278/nicee46/Imola%20Bimmer/DSC05359.jpg

EDIT:
http://i1015.photobucket.com/albums/af278/nicee46/Imola%20Bimmer/DSC05053.jpg

http://i1015.photobucket.com/albums/af278/nicee46/Imola%20Bimmer/ecopy.jpg

http://i1015.photobucket.com/albums/af278/nicee46/Imola%20Bimmer/DSC05063-1.jpg

[imola red zhp]

I used to have on my car as well. Bra FTW!!!!

I will see if I can drum up some close ups as well.

http://i1015.photobucket.com/albums/af278/nicee46/Imola%20Bimmer/DSC05359.jpg


Does anyone still use a BRA? I have one upper and lower....I don't use it though

[danewilson77]

Does anyone still use a BRA? I have one upper and lower....I don't use it though

I still have mine. I think it might be ok for long hauls.

Sorry for the de-rail Terry. I think it's clear that a majority of us prefer the Perf Grills.....even those of us who have had matte.

[johnrando]

There you have it Terry. BTW, good to see you on, hope things are going well.

'Does Dane Wilson's car wear a bra?" :rofl

I use mine for long hauls on the interstate.

[danewilson77]

There you have it Terry. BTW, good to see you on, hope things are going well.

'Does Dane Wilson's car wear a bra?" :rofl

I use mine for long hauls on the interstate.

Pics or bullshit.

[BRGcoopahS]

I'd say go gloss black. I also happen to be a big fan of painting the outer grille the body color. This especially looks good on imola red and blue.

IMO:
Matte-E36
Gloss-E46

[Go Horns!]

I have Kkoalty gloss grills and love them. The car should have come with black gloss from the factory. But I also think it should have come with an S54.

[Mike V]

Does anyone still use a BRA? I have one upper and lower....I don't use it though

I quit using them in 1989, like most everyone else. :) My ZHP had the Clear Bra on it.

It also had the matte Khoalty grills and I liked how they looked.

[Vas]

I have bought my zhp and the previous owner had installed matte black grills. However to me they look faded for some reason so I was planning on getting gloss black grills.

Now the question is should I get BMW performance grills or the ones from khoalty?

[johnrando]

Pics or bullshit.

thar she blows on the garage floor, just for you DW! :)

http://i1214.photobucket.com/albums/cc481/johnrando/2012-12-03103814-1.jpg

[Terry]

LOL John & Dane. Well played, Mr. Rando. Glad to be back btw.

Thanks for the responses, everybody. Really appreciate the insight. I suppose the 'ultimate' would be a SATIN finish grille :)

I'm going to have our local dealer drop off a couple of the Performance Grilles so i can touch/feel/see. The problem is, once something becomes tangible I will just buy it, haha. Here's another thought on matte, if you've neglected the bumper trim strips (considering you've got a sedan), then the matte grills will match better. However, if you're on top of them (ie, using back to black, black wow, etc.) then the Performance black gloss grilles may be the better option. So from the standpoint of building motivation to detail the car more often, the BMW Perf gloss grilles may be the way to go, haha.

-Terry

[GSEN820]

Go with Gloss Black.....The gloss is already the trim around your windows.....Matte wont match up well other than color....Matte great on M3's as it matches window trim

[johnrando]

Another blast from the past. Hey Gary!

[zhp43867]

If you have black splitters get the matte.

I actually prefer chrome grills on most colors now- but I think the gloss will look better on Imola if you're set on black.

[Crickett]

Here's another thought on matte, if you've neglected the bumper trim strips (considering you've got a sedan), then the matte grills will match better. However, if you're on top of them (ie, using back to black, black wow, etc.) then the Performance black gloss grilles may be the better option. So from the standpoint of building motivation to detail the car more often, the BMW Perf gloss grilles may be the way to go, haha.

Good point, but I think most guys here don't need any more OCD detailing motivation!! :rofl

[az3579]

If you have black splitters get the matte.

I actually prefer chrome grills on most colors now- but I think the gloss will look better on Imola if you're set on black.


There are some cars that the chrome works well on. Yours, for example; the exterior color contrasts well with the chrome grille.
On a red car, however... no.

[danewilson77]

thar she blows on the garage floor, just for you DW! :)

http://i1214.photobucket.com/albums/cc481/johnrando/2012-12-03103814-1.jpg

I was wanting to see it on the whip...but I'm satisfied.

Sent from Williamsburg, VA USA

[johnrando]

Thought that might be the case. Next roadie I'll take a pic. It might be a while.

[danewilson77]

Thought that might be the case. Next roadie I'll take a pic. It might be a while.

Ok. On the edge of my seat...and I'm holding my breath.

Sent from Williamsburg, VA USA

[johnrando]

lol!

[BavarianZHP]

I'm fairly picky. At first I thought I preferred black grills (gloss) on all of the ZHP's, but the stock chrome look is starting to grow on me:

Silver grey: Chrome
TiAg: Black
Imola: Black
Orient Blue: Chrome
Mystic Blue: Black
Graphite Grey: Chrome

... I think I prefer chrome on the darker/deeper colors mostly.

[Stu]

Gloss. Matches the gloss shadowline theme we have on our cars.

[Hermes]

JP, have any close ups of the colored stripes on your grilles? I've always entertained doing the 3 motorsport stripes on mine, in that same area you did...

These were actually made from rolls of electric tape I had in my garage, I personally would never pay for the ones they sell on the internet. Took off my grills, disassembled the two pieces, measured width/length of each stripe needed, cut with a box cutter, taped on... but the tape I used was old and didn't stick long. I will eventually go buy some new tape but I don't care at the moment and there are more pressing car issues at hand when you have 3 old BMW's to deal with.

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c288/jhermes/f354db02.jpg

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c288/jhermes/4159054f.jpg


I always think the gloss goes better with the shadowline... But at the same time, the matte would go well with the lower grille to keep things consistent up front. Win/win.

Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk 2

Channing, to deal with that I also painted my lower grill gloss (I got tired of the faded plastic look). It needs to be pulled and repainted as there have been many rocks/other street crap that have hit it since I last painted them.

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c288/jhermes/zhp%20projects/IMG_1165.jpg


one last thing, if you wanna go all out and match up all your trim:

shadowline trunk badges (not sure p/n's)
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c288/jhermes/zhp%20projects/IMG_1530.jpg

shadowline exhaust tips (from a E53 4.4i - p/n 18107500498)
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c288/jhermes/zhp%20projects/32e9349e.jpg

[bimmeryota]

My vote is to go gloss! They match well with the other gloss black you have.

[JupiterBMW]

These were actually made from rolls of electric tape I had in my garage, I personally would never pay for the ones they sell on the internet. Took off my grills, disassembled the two pieces, measured width/length of each stripe needed, cut with a box cutter, taped on... but the tape I used was old and didn't stick long. I will eventually go buy some new tape but I don't care at the moment and there are more pressing car issues at hand when you have 3 old BMW's to deal with.

JP, Thanks so much for the pics. I didn't realize it was tape... But either way, still looks great. If I do that, I'd do one grille stripe of each color, and I'd do the Motorsport colors, blue, navy and red. But I really like all the looks.

[Hermes]

no worries but FYI - Motorsport colors are blue, purple, and red

[Torxuvin]

FWIW I have matte and like them

[danewilson77]

no worries but FYI - Motorsport colors are blue, purple, and red

Correct. And I installed the Germany specific colors.

Sent from Williamsburg, VA USA

[cakM3]

Looks good Dane :thumbsup

[danewilson77]

Looks good Dane :thumbsup

Thanks. I just noticed an odd splash pattern on underside of my hood. Yay!

http://i1015.photobucket.com/albums/af278/nicee46/Maintenance%20and%20Misc/IMAG2009.jpg

http://i1015.photobucket.com/albums/af278/nicee46/Maintenance%20and%20Misc/IMAG2010.jpg

Sent from Williamsburg, VA USA

[cakM3]

better than the seagull poop that you had splattered.......your Imola ZHP is still the reference standard my friend :thumbsup