alright so yall might laugh but i bought a replacement grille on ebay that looks like the SI grille. the descripiton said it would fit a 96-00 honda civic so i got it and when i put it on it fit but i had to give it a nudge or two to make it fit good. a week later i looked at it and its warped on one side and it looks terrible. so i was wondering if anyone knows of a good place to get an aftermarket grille for a 96-98 honda civic coupe that fits perfectly and looks like the SI one. thanks
finding a grille for a 96-98 civic coupe
- Thread starter d16racer88
- Start date
Mine came from Nopi and its just as gay as the ebay one..
just do a D.I.Y on your stock one. guaranteed fit ftw 
x2just do a D.I.Y on your stock one. guaranteed fit ftw
oem oem
oem does look nice. thats when it aint faded and missin the chrome emblem (like mine). thks for the info and hopefully ill be able to get a good one soon
All '96-'98 Civic coupe and hatch grilles in the US are the same ('96 are one piece while the others are not though).
So if you want another stock one, they should be cheap enough to find online or in a local junkyard. If the black fins inside are faded, you can use black Kiwi shoe dye to make it look new. The emblem or the locking tabs can be purchased from Honda for pretty cheap.
The DIY grilles look bad and often fall apart.
The grille that looks like the '99-'00 Si grille but fits your car perfectly would be the '97-'98 Civic Type R grille.
So if you want another stock one, they should be cheap enough to find online or in a local junkyard. If the black fins inside are faded, you can use black Kiwi shoe dye to make it look new. The emblem or the locking tabs can be purchased from Honda for pretty cheap.
The DIY grilles look bad and often fall apart.
The grille that looks like the '99-'00 Si grille but fits your car perfectly would be the '97-'98 Civic Type R grille.
yep, just attempt to fix it b4 you buy another one and have that one laying around for years. I painted my own side skirts and they came out super good.
Sand 400grit
primer, sand again 600
paint
paint, sand 600
clear
clear, sand 1500
sand 2000
polish w/ compound
then glaze
wax, and ur done!
Sand 400grit
primer, sand again 600
paint
paint, sand 600
clear
clear, sand 1500
sand 2000
polish w/ compound
then glaze
wax, and ur done!
DIY grill for the win. cost me a total of $22.00 with paint. took me a couple hours, but it fits perfect, and the trim ring is already paint matched to my car 
. it was super easy. like a 2/10 difficulty range. hardest part was definately cutting the grill with my dremel kit. only complaint i had was i used a flat black spray paint instead of a glossy black so it looks a lil faded.
. it was super easy. like a 2/10 difficulty range. hardest part was definately cutting the grill with my dremel kit. only complaint i had was i used a flat black spray paint instead of a glossy black so it looks a lil faded.alright im gonna give this DIY a shot tomorrow. whats the best type of grille material to use?
Probably something you'll find at Lowe's or Home Depot.
Keep note of where there is a local junkyard that would sell you a stock grille for cheap.
Oh, and DIY grilles make it easy to pop your hood too.
Keep note of where there is a local junkyard that would sell you a stock grille for cheap.
Oh, and DIY grilles make it easy to pop your hood too.
Not by a long shot.
You have Home Depot plastic or metal mesh hot glued into place on a stock shell OR you have a single piece of reinforced hard plastic that has a shield over the hood latch.
I've seen the DIYs fall apart from exposure to the elements. I can't say the same for the stock grilles and there's a whole lot more of those around.
All the build quality on the stock shells is the same. The DIYs obviously aren't always the same build quality and are often lacking in said quality. I'm going to have to side with Honda's engineering over some random owner's first time project.
actually, i got the DIY off THIS site.
http://www.clubcivic.com/board/showthread.php?t=57767&highlight=DIY+grill
http://www.clubcivic.com/board/showthread.php?t=57767&highlight=DIY+grill
okay so i did the DIY so dont complain to me bout doin it. lol. personally i think it looks pretty good especially cause this is without me painting it yet. i was really lazy and kinda put it on real quick cause i was gettin hungry. i would put up pics but why aint it lettin me? someone help this poor little noob put some pics up. lol
So?
Just because it's posted on this site doesn't mean all the members agree with it or would do it.
I'm not sure why you're having trouble posting photos.
Host the image.
Post the image url with IMG tags before and after it.
Something similar to this:
[ I M G ] http://www.image-url.jpg [ / I M G ]