Grille Tech Install Review

[pktwatch]

? ? ? I found Grille-Tech online and have not seen anyone in this club install one on their Avalanche. ?I decided to do a review of their grille. I contacted Chris at ?Grill-Tech and had my Grille in about three days!

? ? The Grill-Tech comes in two styles, the Diamond and the Race Grille. I chose the Race Grill because our Avalanches already have a "Diamond" pattern to them and I wanted it to look different after the install. Their grilles are made of tough carbon steel, powder coated for maximum durability in all driving conditions. The high-density rubber "U" gasket around the edge gives the grille a finished look while protecting your Avalanche's finish upon installation.
? ? Upon opening the Priority Mail package I found the Grille, a package of black tie tabs and the instruction sheet. The grill was heaver than I expected and had a "spring" feel to it. It was NOT your cheap chicken wire! It had a nice black powder coat finish and that nice finished edge all around.
? ?After taking a good look at the front of my Avalanche I knew I would need to take the stock grille off to get this one installed. I thought it might be a big job, but after reading the instructions HERE about removing the factory grille, it was a breeze! Just be careful, I lost one of my top retaining clips and will need to get to the dealer to replace it.

Factory grill is gone! Where do you think it is?

I decided that the picnic table on my front porch was the perfect place to install the Grille-Tech inserts!

? ?The install could not have been eaiser! My son worked on the inside of the grille and I worked on the outside. I would place the Grille-Tech inserts in position and he would slide one end of the tie tab through the grille to me, I would slide it back and then he snugged it down. The whole process including removing the stock grille and installing the Grille-Tech inserts and replacing the whole assembly took only a few minutes.

This is a picture of the bland gray stock grille.

Here is the Grille-Tech installed. Now you don't think it made much difference do you? Just watch what happens....

....when I close the hood! After the light can not get behind it, it looks much darker!

Here is a picture of my son coming up the drive after we installed the Grille-Tech grille.

I am very happy with the new look! It has a "Carbon Fiber"
look, with the small round holes. You can visit their website at Grille-Tech.com to read about their grille inserts. I feel this fills a void between the high priced billet grilles and the real cheap wire grilles and gives the Avalanche a NEW and powerful look!

Butch

 

[endeavorc]

A few questions:

Does it interfere with the hood deflector?
How easy is it to open the hood afterwards?
What is the quality like, is the black just painted over the metal or is it an anodized black aluminum or powder coated steel?
I see that you said the edges are nice, but is there any type od material to protect the paint?

I think it looks real nice

 

[JJsnowking]

Just be careful, I lost one of my top retaining clips and will need to get to the dealer to replace it.

Z66 Butch you can get replacement retaining clips at you local Lowes. They are in the hardware section in the bins marked "hard to find"

Josh

 

[pktwatch]

A few questions:

Does it interfere with the hood deflector?

NO, It is a very close fit with a hood deflector just make sure to fasten the tie downs so the the Grille-Tech is tight and can not move up.
How easy is it to open the hood afterwards?

Yes it does not interfere with the hood latch at all.

What is the quality like, is the black just painted over the metal or is it an anodized black aluminum or powder coated steel?

It is a powder coated carbon steel, like I said, it kind of has a spring to it, like it would be hard to bend.

I see that you said the edges are nice, but is there any type od material to protect the paint?

Yes, it has a metal band with a cloth like layer over the top of that, maybe it is plastic, but it looks nice.

I think it looks real nice

THANKS!! I like it.

Butch

 

[pktwatch]

Here is a direct link to the Grille-Tech Avalanche webpage.

Grill-Tech Avalanche Grille

And here are a few pictures of the grilles that they sell for the Avalanche.

Butch

 

[avalanchemike]

I installed the diamond silver grill and it really adds to the look-mine is similar to the one pictured on their siteonly I have TNF edition. Easy to put on and looks great.

 

[bonesaw]

Butch,

I like the look of these (and the price!!), I'm thinking about getting the silver race style for mine.

Have you noticed any problems with the zip-ties at all?

 

[JETMECH]

Butch I wish I had known you were interrested in the Grille-Tech inserts, I would have shown you mine at the MOD GTG. I purchased the black race inserts and I'm real happy with them. I did not remove my grille to do the installation. I just removed the top cover off the radiator and was able to reach down and install the ty wraps. I like how they put the trim piece around the edge so as not to damage the paint. Not only does this look good in my opinion but it really keeps the bugs from getting into the radiator. Enough airflow so as not to raise the operating temp but sure does a great job of keeping those critters out of the radiator. I would recommend this product. I'm real satisfied with it.

 

[JETMECH]

Here is picture of my install

 

[JETMECH]

Here is another.

 

[Flyer7717]

I also installed the black race grill from Grill Tech. It was very simple and causes no interference with anything. I did not see the need to remove the stock grill to install and it only took about 20 minutes for the whole deal.