Aftermarket grille?

[Spamslurpee]

I'm not a fan of aftermarket grills in general. I'd probably just pony up for the OEM one personally.

 

[Beck Jacob]

The OEM Raptor grille can fit however it would require custom trimming and repainting of the trim piece that sits below the grille and above the bumper. I’ve attached a picture for reference of what I mean and a picture of what the modification end result is. The OEM Raptor grille bottom is flush with the bottom of the headlights all the way across. Clone grilles work without any modifications. A lot of “doesn’t fit Tremor” is because the Tremor hood profile is flat above the grille so most people just say it won’t work even though it seems to be irrelevant based on people swapping grilles on BAP Platinums (same hood)

Thanks! I have seen where a couple people have trimmed the raptor grille itself versus trimming the plastic trim piece that sits above the bumper. In truth, I would prefer NOT to spend $1100 on something and then hack it up with an oscillating tool, or have to hack up my stock trim piece. The one thing I think a lot of these retailers who say the aftermarket grilles won't fit the Tremor are also not taking into account that the Tremor hood (much like the Raptor hood) actually extends out beyond where the headlights meet the grille, and there is a good 1/4-3/8" gap that exists between the hood and the stock grille. Most of the aftermarket grilles I've seen slope back toward the engine at the top, so my thought (hope) is that there is enough gap, and the hood extends out for enough to clear it. We'll see. If anything I'll hack up the $200 aftermarket one if I have to. Pics below are an OEM Raptor grille that was trimmed.

 

[jjones1642]

Is that the tailgate Tremor badge? And, how did you attach it? I'm in between buying an actual OEM Raptor grille and trimming it to fit, or getting a knock-off, but every single retailer I talk to tells me the grille won't fit the Tremor, despite me seeing dozens of examples to the contrary. I found a knock off for $200 so I ordered it just to see for myself. If it doesn't fit I will likely end up shelling out the $1100 for the OEM grille.

Yep. It’s tailgate badge. I took zip tie mounts and glued them to the back of the badge.

 

[Beck Jacob]

Yep. It’s tailgate badge. I took zip tie mounts and glued them to the back of the badge.

Nice. Am I correct in my assumption about the grille sloping back toward the engine providing enough clearance for the Tremor hood? If I remember right, you said you did not have to make any modifications to either the grille or your truck to install the aftermarket one you bought. I feel like it might be worth the $40 to buy another washer assembly and cap since I've heard a bunch of people say that part can be a PITA.

 

[jjones1642]

Nice. Am I correct in my assumption about the grille sloping back toward the engine providing enough clearance for the Tremor hood? If I remember right, you said you did not have to make any modifications to either the grille or your truck to install the aftermarket one you bought. I feel like it might be worth the $40 to buy another washer assembly and cap since I've heard a bunch of people say that part can be a PITA.

That’s right. No modifications. I don’t remember the washer being a pita. Seems like it was a couple of screws and that’s it.

 

[Beck Jacob]

That’s right. No modifications. I don’t remember the washer being a pita. Seems like it was a couple of screws and that’s it.

I've read it's more the cover than the actual washer itself. Might just order the cover in case I damage mine. In all honesty, I never use that stupid washer and wouldn't miss it if it was gone.

 

[Beck Jacob]

Here is my grille.View attachment 27324

One other question. Where did you source the letter outlines? Every place I look says they won't fit aftermarket grilles.

 

[Beck Jacob]

The OEM Raptor grille can fit however it would require custom trimming and repainting of the trim piece that sits below the grille and above the bumper. I’ve attached a picture for reference of what I mean and a picture of what the modification end result is. The OEM Raptor grille bottom is flush with the bottom of the headlights all the way across. Clone grilles work without any modifications. A lot of “doesn’t fit Tremor” is because the Tremor hood profile is flat above the grille so most people just say it won’t work even though it seems to be irrelevant based on people swapping grilles on BAP Platinums (same hood)

I wonder if the 24-25 Tremor valance/trim would work since the new Tremor grilles are flush with the bottom of the headlight all the way across?

 

[ApolloChurchill]

I wonder if the 24-25 Tremor valance/trim would work since the new Tremor grilles are flush with the bottom of the headlight all the way across? View attachment 44232

No I don’t think so. There’s still a little bit of a rise in the Raptor near the headlight. But maybe better chances.

 

[Beck Jacob]

No I don’t think so. There’s still a little bit of a rise in the Raptor near the headlight. But maybe better chances.

Found a used Raptor OEM grille on ebay for $550 so I may pull the trigger on it and just chop it up.

 

[ApolloChurchill]

Found a used Raptor OEM grille on ebay for $550 so I may pull the trigger on it and just chop it up.

Excited to see this. I’ve contemplated it for a while myself

 

[Beck Jacob]

Excited to see this. I’ve contemplated it for a while myself

I posted a couple pictures of someone else who has done it, but looked like they cut off way more than necessary. Thankfully I still have the OEM grille to use to mark up the Raptor grille.

 

[Beck Jacob]

UPDATE. A couple months ago I went with an aftermarket 21-23 Raptor grille and it installed easily and worked perfectly. I then bought an OEM grille for a steal off ebay to see about modifying it and replacing the aftermarket grille since the OEM Raptor grille is way beefier. After a bunch of measuring and looking into exactly how much material I would have to remove from the OEM Raptor grille I decided to not do that. (So, if anyone is looking for an OEM 21-23 Raptor grille, PM me). Instead I found a 24-25 aftermarket Raptor grille that is designed to fit the 21-23, the only problem being I couldn't find one with the camera and washer mount. Did a little more late night ebay surfing and found the cheapest aftermarket 21-23 Raptor style grille I could locate that came with the camera/washer mount ($77 new on ebay). I bought that $77 grille with the sole intention of cutting out the camera mount and grafting it onto the 24-25 grille. Couple little zips with the oscillating tool, some permatex, and a little bit of plastic welding and I have a 24-25 Raptor style grille on my 23, with the camera and the washer. The graft looks ugly as all get out from the back, but from the front it looks good enough for government work. When I bought the OEM 21-23 Raptor grille off ebay I also found the OEM grille lights and the OEM connector harness. Since I ended up not doing anything with the OEM grille, I swapped the cheap grille lights and harness that came with the 24-25 grille with the OEM lights and connector harness. After all that and swapping out to Raptor headlights, all the amber LEDs match and look like they belong. For all the Tremor purists who are getting ready to crucify me in the comments, two things. First, I don't care. You're perfectly entitled to your opinion, just like I'm perfectly entitled to modify my vehicle in whatever way I choose. Second, I like many things about my Tremor, the color, the towing capability, the 402A package, and especially the price considering I bought it used with 7k miles on it for less than the cost of a new Hyundai Elantra. With that said, it was a far better financial decision to spend $1350 on some OEM Raptor adaptive LED headlights, $180 on some OEM Raptor grille lights and connector harness, $349 on a 2024-2025 Raptor style grille, $77 on a donor grille for the camera mount, $160 on two Starkey headlight adapter harnesses, $40 for a couple of diodes for the headlight swap, $30 on consumables like wiring and pins and other things I needed to modify the Starkey harnesses, than it would be to trade in my Tremor and take on an additional debt load of $25-$35k. And when it's all said and done and I sell the original aftermarket Raptor grille, the OEM headlights, and the OEM Raptor grille, I will have a net spend of around $450 to completely transform the front end of my truck. So, feel free to roast me as you like, but I will kindly refer you to the above point #1.

 

[Beck Jacob]

With that rant out of the way, if anyone is interested in an aftermarket 21-23 Raptor style grille, with the Starkey harness for the adaptive LED headlights, an extra set of FORD letters, extra set of standard amber LED lights with harness, and some FORD vinyl letter outlines that are about as close to Tremor orange as I could find, let me know. I'll be posting in the classifieds.