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Chevy Malibu Front Grills, Malibu Mesh Grills, Aftermarket Grilles, Replacement Grills at TunersDepot
Chevy Malibu Front Grills (whether they be replacements of overlays) are the most common exterior appearance upgrade that Malibu owners will do. That’s because compared to other exterior appearance upgrades like body kits and spoilers, replacing a Malibu’s grille is usually quick, painless, and doesn’t require painting. Also, the simple upgrade usually leaves the vehicle with a completely different look.
Our line of Chevy Malibu Front Grills carry thru 1997, 1998, 1999 or 97, 98, 99 models.
97-99 Malibu Front Grills
Malibu Front Grills: What do they do?
The Front Hood Grill on your Chevy Malibu is not just for looks. The grill allows for ventilation into the front part of your Malibu to allow for better cooling for your radiator and engine bay. If your Malibu had no grill, you would suffocate your engine bay and significantly raise the amount of heat in your engine’s environment, leading to decreased performance. The factory Chevy grille is there to let air in while keeping larger debris out to prevent damage to the relatively fragile radiator.
While most Aftermarket Chevy Malibu Replacement Grills can increase performance a bit by allowing even more airflow, they are not generally considered a high performance upgrade. Basically it’s just a looks thing. Change the look of the grill and your entire front end is transformed into a different vehicle, setting it apart from the thousands of other Malibus out on the road.
Types of Chevy Malibu Front Grilles
While there are plenty of companies out there that make grills for Chevy Malibus, they generally can fall within a few categories of fitment and look.
Replacement Type Malibu Front Grills
Replacement Malibu Grills are the most common type of grill and require you to completely remove the Chevy grille from your Malibu. These types of grills can be the hardest type to install since they require undoing several tabs and/or screws, and then fitting the new grill in. They usually have the advantage of being more securely attached and having more of a stock flush look to them.
In some very rare occasions where the stock grill is physically a part of the rest of the bumper, you may have to make modifications by cutting out a proper install area. You could usually tell by looking at your stock grill whether cutting would be required or not (if the grill is not a separate independent piece, then you probably need to cut). While such grills exist, we try not to carry cutting type grills due to the amount of labor and permanent modification involved.
Malibu Front Grill Overlay
For a small amount of vehicles, grill overlays are available. In this case, you would leave your stock Malibu alone, and the grill overlay would fit over the existing grill. The grille overlay would then snap in or have hidden screws to attach somewhere around the edge of the stock grill. The overwhelming majority of overlay type grills are billet type.
Usually, installing a Malibu Grille overlay is simple, but due to the nature of the grill, it may sit out further than your stock Chevy Grill, which may or may not look right depending on your tastes. Also, if it is a snap on type (which is also pretty rare), it might pop off in the event of a hard collision... which would probably be the least of your worries if your Malibu hit something that hard.
Chevy Malibu Front Mesh Grills, Malibu Mesh Grills
Mesh Malibu Grills are the second most popular type of grill. The prototypical mesh consists of a crisscrossed metal design, the thinnest of which might resemble chicken wire. Designs can also include the honeycomb type mesh seen on larger speaker grills, or even plastic materials.
Malibu Mesh Front Grilles typically have an outer shell made of painted or flat black ABS plastic. Installation for mesh grills USUALLY requires moving the original grill and then replacing the whole thing with the new mesh grill. Color wise, the mesh is usually either black or the natural metal color (typically chrome, stainless steel, or aluminum).
Most people do not paint the mesh itself, but will instead paint the outer shell. This is easily accomplished on mesh grills with removable mesh (typically, the thinner type of mesh grills), which allows for removal of the mesh by unscrewing a few phillips screws that hold them in.
Protection wise, larger holed mesh offers less protection from larger debris, but make up for it by offering the best ventilation possible short of driving your Chevy Malibu with no grill. Thinner mesh grills look nice on light or bright colored vehicles as they tend to detract attention from the grill area to the rest of the car. Thicker mesh grills with a heavy chrome look would work best for larger and darker vehicles.
Chevy Malibu Front Mesh Grilles are the favorite of the sport compact, drift, and drag racing enthusiasts.
