Unboxing OEM TRD Pro grille VS Tacovinyl

Alright so I’m sure alot of people on this forum were not sure if the price of OEM is worth it compared to aftermarket. I decided to bite the bullet and buy both and return whichever I choose not to install.

OEM on bottom and TacoVinyl on top

OEM is exactly what you would expect as far as quality of material and packaging. It also has more of a gloss and nice finish.

Tacovinyl is actually impressive quality for the price. It’s virtually the same minus small re designs on the corners and bolt holes. This does come in a complete flat black compared to OEM. Also took almost two weeks for shipping compared to 2 days from Toyota.

My Verdict - if you have a car off the show room floor. Go OEM - it’s going to have a better finish to match your paint. You also know it’s going to fit as it should. This is going to be my choice for my 23 OR.

If my 4R was used with say 100k on it or taken a few hits from trails I would go aftermarket. I can’t speak for fitment as I won’t be installing it but the quality seems there. If you also just don’t have the budget for OEM this seems like a nice cheaper alternative.

 

Thanks for the unboxing pix and thoughts.

My mind has wandered though, and is curious what vehicle that Enkei RPF1 wheel is attached to?

 

that would be a 99 civic si I built about 16 years ago when I was 18. I can’t seem to let it go and get rid of it lol.

 

Thanks for the comparisons. It looks like the oem grille has more reinforcing ridges built in.

I hope you don't run in to a bunch of restocking fees vendors like to charge for returns.

 

most likely that will happen but for the sake of the community being able to see the difference I’ll take the hit.

 

Thanks for the comparison post. It’s very useful.

 

I purchased an aftermarket TRD Pro grill from Cartrimhome. Out of the box, it appears fine.

The first thing I noticed when installing it is that the curvature of the black piece that has the TOYOTA letters (sorry, it’s late and I can’t think of the name of the piece) is not exactly right and it leaves too much of a gap when installed. It looks o.k. from a few feet away but I still know. I have seen others with OEM Pro grills that look better.

Second, the finish on the TOYOTA letters has not held up well. I have had it about a year and the finish is starting to fade on the letters.

I think I want to bite the bullet and just buy the OEM Pro grill. It’s more money (obviously) but I plan on keeping the truck (especially after seeing renderings of the 6th gen) so that makes it worth it (to me).