I've owned my 350z for less than a week, and on a long highway drive a cursed little rock smacked my A/C condenser hard enough to puncture it

That little rock incurred ~$500 in repair costs and I'm really curious why there wasn't a simple mesh guard already there to prevent that damage.

Has anyone made their own? I did a search in the forums and didn't find anything.

I don't want to be able to see the mesh, just want to have it in place to protect the condenser.

Thoughts?

 

I assume you are talking about the slits in the front OEM grille? Yes they make aluminum inserts that replace the stock "grille", you could use a different bumper, or make a mesh guard and paint it black then stick it behind the stock guard. All kinds of possibilities. If you don't want to see it, I would just go buy some steel or aluminum mesh from lowes, cut to fit, paint it matte black so nobody can tell, and attach it behind the main grille with fabricated mount point......or use zip ties. Your call there.

 

https://www.octanemotorsports.com/06...t-p-10790.html

 

Home depot has really nice mesh sheeting that you can cut out and screw into your bumper. That's what I have and it works like a charm. Part or plasti dip it black and it looks great.

 

That's really a freak accident. I've been driving for 42 years and never had that happen.

 

It happened to my Tio while driving to Vegas. Stuck with No AC while there and the whole way home lol

 

Well I did make something the other day, it's just small wire that I folded over itself to make the holes smaller. Slipped right in front of the AC condenser and doesn't move. Only 8 bucks!

Crappy pic, but shows it:

 

Seems very unnecessary and will definitely decrease airflow. One layer would be sufficient for the very very rare occurrence.