Hey, everybody.
I'm Justin with americanmuscle.com, here with my top picks in the grille category, for all
2015 and newer Mustangs.
Now, the purpose of this video is to give you my top three options on this site, ranging
from mild to wild, based off of personal experience along with factoring in some customer feedback
and customer popularity as well.
Now, guys, keep in mind these are just three of many different options available on this
site, any of which would make an excellent addition to that new S550 Mustang.
But before we go any further, I just wanna remind you, subscribe to our YouTube channel
for more of these top picks or best of videos, in addition to more great Mustang content.
Now, grilles are one of those areas in the Mustang world that gives owners a huge spectrum
of styles to choose from, depending on your taste, and it can really set the entire tone
of the car from an appearance standpoint.
Perhaps you're the less-is-more fan and would like to keep things simple, maybe you like
the look of the billet grilles, or maybe you want to get wild and incorporate some sort
of lighting into your grille.
Whatever the case, there is definitely an option out there for you and your ride.
In this video, I do plan on focusing in on the upper grille for a majority of the video,
but all three of my selections do also offer a corresponding lower, that we'll also throw
up on the table for you guys as well.
Now, granted, adding that lower will certain add to the price, but it's also going to add
to the appearance as well, completing the look and really transforming the car in the
process.
And that's why we're here again today, guys.
We're gonna run down these three options for you starting right now with my mild option.
The first grille we're starting out with here is my choice for a mild grille for the S550,
and for that, I went with the Modern Billet 3-Window Black Mesh Grille.
Now, at first glance, you guys can see this thing really isn't all that different from
that factory GT grille.
You still have the basic, three-window design, and you're still getting a little bit of that
honeycomb vibe, thanks to the black mesh here included with the Modern Billet option.
But in my opinion, deleting that pony makes this thing much cleaner and gives the car
a more aggressive appearance, especially on those EcoBoost and V6 cars, who, let's face
it, have a rather bland grille from the factory.
Both the Upper and Lower Grille option here from Modern Billet are complete replacements.
They're not overlays, and that's something all three grille options I'm gonna give you
guys in this video will have in common.
Now, as far as construction, well, you're looking at a quality 304-grade stainless throughout
here, which is then finished off in this matte black powder coat, helping to increase the
durability over the years, of course.
But also, it's gonna help it blend in better with some of the black plastic found on the
front of the S550.
Another great thing about the Modern Billet Upper and Lower Grille combo is the price.
You're looking at just south of $200 here for the upper, right around $150 for the lower,
making this the most affordable combination here on my list.
As far as the installation is concerned, well, there will be the smallest amount of drilling
needed for both the Upper and Lower Grille option, but honestly, guys, it's really not
all that bad.
So I'm going with a strong one out of three wrenches on my overall scale of difficulty
and about an hour or so from start to finish to get these guys in place.
So in closing, I think the Modern Billet's a great choice for the owners out there who
wanna step into an after-market grille, but maybe not break too much from that factory
design.
The same can't be said for my next grille, the MMD V-Series, which is my choice for the
medium option in regards to styling impact.
Now, ever since the crew at MMD released their V-Series parts, the response has been absolutely
through the roof.
From the grilles we have here, the spoilers, the side scoops, and even the side exhaust
system, the team at MMD have really made their mark with the next generation Mustang, and
as a result, these grilles are one of the most popular in the category.
So as you can see, the V-Series Grille takes a completely different approach to grille
design over the factory option.
As you can see, we're still holding onto that three-window design, but that's about it.
The middle section here features these four horizontal bars, while the ends do feature
these two openings here, and, in my opinion, there's really nothing quite like it in the
category from a design standpoint.
And, when installed, it really does change up the look of the front end of the car dramatically
when compared to the factory grille.
Now, the lower option does feature a similar design as that upper, of course, featuring
the horizontal-bar design for the center section and the two openings here on the end, and
when together, they really do complement each other very well.
Construction-wise, you're looking at a durable, injection-molded plastic, and fit and finish
is easily on par with a factory part.
In fact, the installation is like a factory part with no drilling whatsoever, making for
a simple one out of three wrenches on the difficulty meter and about 30 minutes to an
hour, depending on your expertise.
Pricing-wise, you are gonna be spending a little bit more money here with the MMD option
compared to the Modern Billet option, but still not that bad overall.
In fact, you're looking at right around $250 for the upper, right about $200 here for the
lower, making this a great way to change up the face of that S550 Mustang completely for
south of $500.
And that leads us to our third and final grille for this video, my selection for the wild
grille options in regards to overall styling impact.
And for that, I went with the RTR Grille with the LED Accents.
Now, ever since Vaughn unveiled its 2015 RTR at our 2015 American Muscle Mustang Show,
people have been lining up around the block to get their hands on this for their own ride,
and as a result, you're looking at the most popular grille on our site currently and by
a pretty wide margin.
Now, in addition to being a fan favorite here on this site, I also selected the RTR option
because it does incorporate some sort of lighting into the l grille, adding to that wild appearance
overall.
Now, sure, you're gonna find some imitators in the after-market, but Vaughn and RTR were
the originators of the diffused LED lighting for the 2015 grille, making it one of the
most unique in the process.
Now, it was the goal of Vaughn and RTR to create a grille that would immediately distinguish
an RTR on the street or coming up from behind you in the rear view mirror, and it's safe
to say they nailed it with their diffused LED grille lighting.
But let's break this thing down from a construction standpoint, and at its core, you're looking
at a thermal-injection-molded plastic.
It does still hang onto that three-window design, as you can see, and the center section
here features a material that's not quite honeycomb, but it's also not mesh either.
It's very unique, and it's something that I really do enjoy about this grille.
But let's focus in on the highlight of the RTR grille package, at least in my opinion,
and that, of course, is the integrated LED lighting.
Now, these guys actually follow the shape really well of the two openings here on the
outside, and are gonna be completely plug-and-play, thanks to the included harness.
They will actually tap into the factory headlight harness and daytime running light harness,
more specifically, so every time you fire up your Mustang, the LEDs will also turn on.
I do wanna point out that RTR does offer their upper grille here without the signature lighting,
and as you might imagine, it will definitely save you some money in the long run.
And just so you know, the lights are available separately, so if you did wanna add them to
that upper grille down the road, you totally could.
Now, just like my other grille selections in this video, RTR does offer a corresponding
lower grille, and as you can see, it matches the upper rather well.
Similar kind of design going on with the three-window design and the same kind of material for the
center section, and just like my other grilles in this video, the RTR option will be a complete
replacement and not an overlay.
And as I just kinda mentioned, guys, adding the diffused LED lighting to the upper grille
will certainly add to that final price tag.
In fact, you're looking at right around the mid-$500 price point for the RTR Upper Grille
with the LED Lighting and right around $200 bucks here for the corresponding Lower.
On the topic of installation, the RTR grille will be a very easy installation, thanks to
the factory-like design and those integrated LEDs being completely plug-and-play.
So I am gonna go one out of three wrenches on the difficulty meter here and maybe an
hour from start to finish, depending on your level of expertise.
One thing all three grilles in this video will share in common is that the front bumper
will need to be removed in order to remove that factory grille and install the new after-market
option.
But don't let this scare you away, because it's a very easy and straightforward task
that can be done with some basic hand tools, including a socket set and a flat-head screwdriver.
Well, guys, that's gonna wrap us up for my top picks in the grille category for all 2015
and newer Mustangs.
As is the case with any of these top pick videos, these are just three of many different
options on this site, and just because I didn't pick the one you had your eye on doesn't make
it a bad choice.
This is all personal preference after all, guys.
Instead, my goal with this video was to give you the top three most popular choices that
I felt best embodied that mild, medium, and wild styling impact, based off of customer
feedback as well.
And speaking of customer feedback, we wanna hear from you.
Drop us a comment while you're watching this video.
Let us know what you think of these top pick videos, and maybe let us know what your favorite
grille is for the S550 Mustang.
I'm Justin.
Thanks for watching.
And for all things Mustang, keep it right here at americanmuscle.com.