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And since you asked, I replaced the GTS with a 488 Spider. I must say that I miss my GTS terribly. While the 488 is great in many ways, the GTS would better suit my needs living here in the Philippines. With the traffic and road conditions in Manila, the 488 can only be used in weekends and holidays. The GTS being a GT car is more practical around the streets where I live. Here's a couple of pics:
And since you asked, I replaced the GTS with a 488 Spider. I must say that I miss my GTS terribly. While the 488 is great in many ways, the GTS would better suit my needs living here in the Philippines. With the traffic and road conditions in Manila, the 488 can only be used in weekends and holidays. The GTS being a GT car is more practical around the streets where I live. Here's a couple of pics:
Nice upgrade! I dailied my 458 Spider but can't imagine doing that in Manila. The traffic was nuts when I visited.
And since you asked, I replaced the GTS with a 488 Spider. I must say that I miss my GTS terribly. While the 488 is great in many ways, the GTS would better suit my needs living here in the Philippines. With the traffic and road conditions in Manila, the 488 can only be used in weekends and holidays. The GTS being a GT car is more practical around the streets where I live. Here's a couple of pics:
Gorgeous 488!
I do agree, the GTS has turned out to be a pretty useful daily driver
Here's how my GTS looked like when the wings were vinyl-wrapped. Easy to peel it off if you're not happy with it. But I do think it looks better with the wings blacked out and the star still in chrome.
Wow this is nice! Amazing job on that grill piece.
Both my wings and star are vinyl wrapped black, the AMG is left chrome. I MUCH prefer it this way, and they didn't have to remove either to do it. I also replaced the blue MB badge on the front with the black and silver one.
Both my wings and star are vinyl wrapped black, the AMG is left chrome. I MUCH prefer it this way, and they didn't have to remove either to do it. I also replaced the blue MB badge on the front with the black and silver one.
It just pops off. I just put painters tape all around it, then used a plastic trim removal tool and worked around the edges. New one just easily popped into place.
It just pops off. I just put painters tape all around it, then used a plastic trim removal tool and worked around the edges. New one just easily popped into place.
I just purchased an entirely new front grill in black (from the night package). I will still need to get the chrome 'slats' painted, (as even on the factory night pack),they are chrome. I also purchased the normal star and star housing (I have the distronic solid star, and don't personally like the looks vs. the traditional star, and it will function the same regardless.) anyway, having the fresh new parts out and on the floor in front of me, it appears as if the whole section around the grill will need to be removed. There are around 50 little tabs all around the center bar itself. So getting it out will be the hard part, re-installing it after the fact will be super easy and require no tools.. just pop it in. If anybody would like to see detailed pics of these pieces for reference, just let me know and I'll post them before sending the slats/star out to the painter!
whats the part number on the center piece that you bought in black ?
Alright, folks. Since my front radiator piece (wings) was a bit damaged, I decided to go ahead and try to remove it myself. I hope the information below is helpful.
Mercedes Logo - It wasn't budging at all and I was putting significant pressure on it while turning counterclockwise
Chrome Trim/Slats - I do not recommend you take these off without removing the wings (aka Air Flow Serration) as they are secured tightly and the material is very strong. If you attempt to use a plastic removal tool, you will most likely end up damaging the airflow serration.
Here's what I learned (I have a 2016 AMG GTS)
1. That front piece (aka wings, radiator grill thing, whatever you want to call it), in the Mercedes Electronic Parts Catalog (ECP), is known as the "Air Flow Serration". The part number is A 190 884 00 58 9982. That is the number for the part in Iridium Silver. The part number for the piece that comes with the night package (black) is A 190 884 01 58 9040.
2. If you want to learn about what Mercedes part numbers mean, check out this website https://epc.startekinfo.com/epc/part_number_guide.jsp
3. My chrome trim piece was broken, so I had to buy a new one. It is known in the Mercedes EPC as "Ornamental Trim". If you are sitting in the driver's seat, the part number for the left one is A 190 885 05 21, the right one is A 190 885 06 21.
4. If you want to buy these pieces, just Google the part number to find the cheapest one. I bought the night package wings (Air Flow Serration). I found mine at Walmart (from a shop called AutoPartsRunner) for $90.
5. I'm pretty sure the "AMG" logo that's attached to the Air Flow Serration does not come with the piece, as it has a different part number. I guess I'll have to learn how to remove the rivets and "re-rivet" it to the new piece.
Removal
After toying with these parts a bit, I learned that the easiest way to go about this is by removing the entire Air Flow Serration piece. I started by pressing into the top of the round centerpiece (on the outer edges) and pulling outwards. Using this method I was able to unhook one of the clips. Following that, using a plastic trim removal tool (I bought a set on Amazon for $12) you can unhook the rest of the clips. Go slowly, but you will have to use some force. It does not come off easily. The most difficult part is removing it from the two clips on the two outer/end edges. The good part is that you can always replace it for $100. Mine was broken and needed replacing anyway, so I didn't really care. The clips do seem sturdy and are not easy to break.
Once I had the Air Flow Serration out, I was able to understand how the star is held in place. See the picture below. There are two clips that stop if from spinning counter-clockwise and need to be pushed down for it to come out. After doing it for the first time, the star should come out more easily. The chrome slats (ornamental trim pieces) are a pain in the *** to take off, at least mine were securely fastened and took significant effort with a couple of plastic trim removal tools to loosen up.
The night package black piece came in today! I wrapped the chrome pieces with Avery Dennison Gloss Black film. Quite frankly, the best film I have tried so far and it was quite easy to work with. Had to chisel out the rivets on the AMG logo piece. Used a hammer and a flathead screwdriver for that. Wasn't too hard. The rivets specs were 1/8 Small. All in all, the process took about 1 1/2 hrs. I'm ecstatic with how it came out as I feel that it truly matches the wheel color and adds a more aggressive accent to the front.
07-10-2018, 07:51 AM
