I really liked the new fender vents on the JL. Jeep claims the vent is to reducer hood flutter. But that also means it reduces heat via the air being exhausted to cause that effect. I actually debated about sharing this because flack from the traditionalist on Jeep appearances but I know this will not please everyone so I will go ahead and share.
So I went looking for something similar for my Jeep. Of course with the JL recessed grill it was not going to be the same. I searched and searched for something that would work and look good. Finally order a set of grills that I felt would work out great. After I got them I changed them from carbon fiber/chrome appearance to textured black and red. I have red accents throughout my Anvil Jeep so that seemed natural. I bought an air nibbler to cut the hole into the fender. Being a retired tech ed teacher I have used nibblers during the 8 years that I taught metal shop. The nibbler does not distort sheet metal like almost every other tool you might use to cut the hole. The sheet metal on the JK is so thin that just drilling the access hole for the nibbler distorted a large area but luckily totally inside my cutout.
So next I had to decide where to put the vent. I tried two locations and bounce the positions off some friends. I preferred the higher of the two since I did not have a vent shaped like the JL. So I marked off my location and went past the no turning back point by drilling the hole. The nibbler worked awesome and the hole was open in a couple minutes. I filed the final hole and painted the exposed edges. I covered the entire back with 3M VHB (Very High Bond) foam tape. I applied the grill to the body and it stuck like crazy. That is great adhesive tape. I repeated the other side and I had side vents. above the vent location is a recessed area of the fender that worked out great for ventilation and in front of the vent is the back of the black fender inner fender so it also creates a good air flow. So after the install and driving it a few miles I can tell that it is working even better than I hoped. The sheet metal in front of the vent is very warm to the touch and not very warm to the touch behind it. Anyway I like the appearance and the additional venting of the heat. This in conjunction with the Hard Rock hood vents that I also open up underneath should be an asset for the Jeep.
Let know what you think. Good or bad. Like I said I know it is not a modification for everyone.
So I went looking for something similar for my Jeep. Of course with the JL recessed grill it was not going to be the same. I searched and searched for something that would work and look good. Finally order a set of grills that I felt would work out great. After I got them I changed them from carbon fiber/chrome appearance to textured black and red. I have red accents throughout my Anvil Jeep so that seemed natural. I bought an air nibbler to cut the hole into the fender. Being a retired tech ed teacher I have used nibblers during the 8 years that I taught metal shop. The nibbler does not distort sheet metal like almost every other tool you might use to cut the hole. The sheet metal on the JK is so thin that just drilling the access hole for the nibbler distorted a large area but luckily totally inside my cutout.
So next I had to decide where to put the vent. I tried two locations and bounce the positions off some friends. I preferred the higher of the two since I did not have a vent shaped like the JL. So I marked off my location and went past the no turning back point by drilling the hole. The nibbler worked awesome and the hole was open in a couple minutes. I filed the final hole and painted the exposed edges. I covered the entire back with 3M VHB (Very High Bond) foam tape. I applied the grill to the body and it stuck like crazy. That is great adhesive tape. I repeated the other side and I had side vents. above the vent location is a recessed area of the fender that worked out great for ventilation and in front of the vent is the back of the black fender inner fender so it also creates a good air flow. So after the install and driving it a few miles I can tell that it is working even better than I hoped. The sheet metal in front of the vent is very warm to the touch and not very warm to the touch behind it. Anyway I like the appearance and the additional venting of the heat. This in conjunction with the Hard Rock hood vents that I also open up underneath should be an asset for the Jeep.
Let know what you think. Good or bad. Like I said I know it is not a modification for everyone.
