I bought the $ 79.95 guards that are the same as the $299,99 Paragon guards. When I went to install them I was really unhappy with the way they went in ( required removal of the center cross bar and were pressed hard against the back of the grill unless I bent them which I did not want to do). I bought a set of scrape armor through GM so I could use my credits. This brought the cost down by $100.00. So much happier, fit like a glove and much easier install, no center bar removal.

 

Agreed; $400 is crazy.
The expensive ones have some type of smooth borders on the edges. That would make it easier to install.
Some have fancy brackets that bolt on.

The lower cost ones have sharp edges that catch on the radiators when installing.
That being said; I bought cheap on Ebay for < $100 for 4. They are held on with small cable ties.
You can trim the cable tie ends and push them back to hide them.

You only have to install them once. Take your time, no problem.
Put mine on the first day I had my car. One year later, I have never seen high water temps.

 

All screens have some blockage. Blockage is going to be proportional to the "open area" of the mesh, and also the thickness of the material. Percent open area is the ratio of open surface area to the total surface area. It not the same as percent flow blocked by any means - but it is related to it. So, smaller open area, or thicker material will reduce flow more than larger open area or thinner material. The two CCG mentioned by JerryU and many others in post 2 have both proven to be satisfactory in street use - owners (including me) report no observable difference in operating temperatures. While the grills do reduce air flow, the cooling systems has considerable excess capacity and it can easily accommodate the slight reduction in air flow.

I measured the reduction in airflow for the 0.25 dimension CCG material and reported it in this thread. Post 1 was a simple test of the screen only. Post 13 was a test of the actual reduction in air flow through a radiator when the screen is placed in front of it. The result was 9% reduction. The open area of that mesh is 0.77. This was all done well before the Scrape Armor product was even available - so that time there was no "approved" mesh.

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...let-cover.html

I think that the larger CCG mesh, 0.45in, is the same as the Scrape Armor mesh - and I think the thickness is comparable. If we assume that is a "gold standard" for meshes, at 0.81, the the smaller CCG mesh is( (0.81-0.77)/0.81)*100%= 4.9% reduction in open area (not air flow, but open area). Based on my measurements, which show that air flow reduction is less than the open area would suggest, I would say that the reduction in open area between the two mesh sizes will be negligible for street use.

As most know, even with the Scrape Armor screens, the manual recommends their removal for track use above 90 deg ambient.

Bottom line - I think either of the CCG meshes is fine. The scrape armor mesh is fine. I would have concern about selecting a mesh that does not specifiy the open area, and also would have concerns with thicker material, such as molded plastic, even if the mesh size looks the same. I am well aware that many have used the thicker plastic mesh and reported no issues.

 

Did you install the grill mesh without taking the bumper off? If so, how easy was it and what do you do?

 

No bumper removal for Stingray. See post 27 - apparently E-Ray and Z06 require bumper removal according to that post. Here is a video for scrape armor.


Others would be a little different but all of them mounted behind the original grill will require removal of the front "undertray" as it is called in the video.

I made mine from CCG material and mounted in front of the inlet. There used to be a product sold like that. I don't see that one any more - and I did not care for it because it involved using double sided tape. Mine attach with custom designed fastening system. I posted the link a couple of posts up above. Mine are not for everyone.

 

Mine have no bolts, just cable ties.
Like the video above, just jack up the car and take the splitter off and guide the screen thru the opening.
The sharp edges may catch, it will fit, just take your time.

I had both of the installed in less than half an hour.

 

The GM Scrape Armor guard only requires bumper removal on the C8 Z06 and E-Ray. It installs about like I and many others installed CCG mesh who have been in the business selling mesh protectors over 10 Years. Can buy a 48" X 16" sheet for ~$60. Or precut for the two outer open areas (all that Scrap Armor covers) for just a bit more.

This is a detailed PDF with many pics, some by member who shows how he used the one sheet to make the two outer mesh covers, the two inner to get 100% protection AND two for the rear fender scoops. . Unlike video's I shows some tricks I and others used to have no wire ties show etc.
This is a very detailed How To DIY PDF:
http://netwelding.com/CF_Splitter.pdf