DerrickW

Howdy, y'all. I've been off the forum for some time now (about 3 or 4 months) due mostly to some odd tech glitch that prevented me from being able to post. Was a very weird deal but I seem to have it sorted now. In that time of absence I've added a j-pipe to my 2007 Type-S 6-speed & well, since questions about j-pipes, intakes, performance & sound are about 50% of the threads on here & about 90% of newbie questions - figured I'd toss in my $.02.

I purchased an XLR8 V2 from Excelerate Performance in October. I found Excelerate very easy to work with, very responsive. Shipped directly from their facility in Connecticut, arrived promptly, exactly as described. Can't ask for much more than that. For install I took it to a locally-owned muffler shop that I previously used to cut out the mid-muffler. They did it for a crisp Ben Franklin, no questions asked, I rolled out in about an hour.

The design & weight of the stock unit is such a bad joke I won't even go into it. The XLR8 fit quite well, slid right on with no forcing or 'jimmy'ing' necessary, lined right up. The hanger bracket wasn't a 100% fit, more like about 94. Which is still pretty damn good. The pipe itself is a thing of beauty. Quality build, very light. Totally satisfied with the purchase.

As for performance....VERY noticeable. All of the guys on here who tell newbs "Do it. Get a j-pipe, you'll never be sorry" are right. Butt dyno change is immediate. The car jumps up into the meat of the rev range much quicker & pulls harder from idle all the way to redline. Don't know what the tech specifics are off hand but there's no question its stronger at all points of the rev range.
In terms of sound - nothing adverse at all. None of the dreaded 'rasp.' The manufacturer & forum reports are that j-pipe doesn't affect sound & I'd have to say that's mostly true, with this caveat: I'd already removed that ridiculous mid-muffler & even more ridiculous intake resonator. These two moves made a BIG difference in sound pre-jpipe. Made the exhaust note a little louder, deeper, more growly. Now I'd say the j-pipe has just given me a little bit 'more' of what I already had. Sounds very nice. I'd recommend any & everybody do those two DIY mods, then save your pennies (if that's a concern) & make a j-pipe your next move.

*HAVE TO GIVE A SHOUT OUT TO MR. HEELTOE* That guy was a patient, wealth of information and help. He gets customer care. He returned all my emails & private messages within a matter of hours and we talked live on the phone several times too. Superior client care is becoming more & more rare in our society, sadly. Heeltoe is a guy who gets it. I will be supporting him in the future.

*

So now that I've been bitten by the bug & am falling more in love with my car everytime I drive it, I'm thinking about 2 things.
#1 - lightweight pulley. Performance improvement real or imagined?
#2 - Cold air intake. As mentioned, I've killed the resonator & gone with the poor man's CAI, which functionally probably yields about as much power gain as a true aftermarket unit. But I'm addicted to the growl and wondering if I significantly up the "mean" factor by dropping in a manufactured CAI?

Oh, and I managed to bend a wheel on a pothole. Grrrr. May need a replacement OEM 17-inch gunmetal gray one. Any good places to shop?

MyGuti

thanks for writing that review. Im sure it will help a lot of ppl on the fence about purchasing this......even has me contemplating it for the future.
Will be a minute as the US dollar hurts us Canadians at the moment!

Ryan L21

iTrader: (1)

Great write up. I am also in the same boat as you. Deciding whether to go with a cai or not. Also have the same setup as you. (Atlp J-pipe with xlr8 "non res" catback). Noticed the same as you. Worth the money imo. Woke the car up.

ExcelerateRep

Glad to hear we have another satisfied owner of a XLR8 Jpipe!

The XLR8 light weight pulley is definitely another way to keep the gains coming. Its a risk free, direct OEM replacement that offers 5-10hp, with no additional mods required. I'll include a link below so you can have a look: PUL-J32/35 - XLR8 Aluminum Pulleys - Excelerate's Honda & Acura Store - Japanese Performance Specialist

Many people think the OEM airbox is fine, but they're designed with economy and noise reduction in mind; oriented at the average customer, rather then the performance based customer. The horsepower gains often times aren't much from a cold air intake, but increasing air flow with cold(er) air means the air is more densely packed. The engine then adds more gas for the extra air, and you end up with some extra power. Personally, AEM makes my favorite intakes on the market. The quality is always nice and they come with everything down to an instruction booklet and a license plate frame. Those can be seen here: AEM Cold Air Intake - Excelerate's Honda & Acura Store - Japanese Performance Specialist

A K&N drop in filter is a great way to get a bit more out of the factory air box if you want to utilize what you have. We have those in stock too!

Happy modding!

DerrickW

Stop spending my money!!! Different write ups put the pulley at about 7 lbs. lighter than the OEM stocker, is that right? I get that good news sells but 5-10hp seems a bit ....optimistic. Are there any dyno test to back that claim up? I would've expected something more in the 3-5hp range which, frankly, for under $200 seems like a decent deal. I get the physics behind aftermarket air induction units, I'm a newb but not THAT much of a newb. Poor-man's CAI (intake resonator removed & converted into a snorkel) is probably delivering about as much dense air as an aftermarket unit, but you're right about OEM being engineered for quiet. I've read once or twice that Type-S owners may have had problems with fitment of the AEM and our fog lights. Know anything about it?

ExcelerateRep

They are significantly lighter then your OEM pulley (by about 7lbs), and that's why it seems like such an "optimistic" number. It is possible that on certain setups, with all the proper supporting parts, you may gain 10hp.

On average I would expect about 5hp of gains out of the full size crank pulley. Unfortunately we don't have dyno numbers for these pulleys, and 5-10 is the number that was given to us by the manufacturer.

Customers have done a before and after dyno run, and we have seen 8-10hp and 20ft/lbs out of an underdrive pulley, and 5-7hp with 15ft/lbs out of the full size pulley since they aren't running accessories any slower. Here we can see gains of 9hp and 20tq from an underdrive pulley: Installed: Unorthodox Racing - Crank Underdrive Pulley - Drive Accord Honda Forums and additional number talk can be seen here: https://acurazine.com/forums/1g-tsx-...y-dyno-665749/

I have heard both ends about the AEM intake, customers who have successfully installed it, and others who have run into issues. If you're worried about a fitment issue, AEM has a V2 intake that is technically for the Honda Accord, but fits all 3.2 and 3.5 versions of the TL, without any fog light issues. You can see those here: 24-6110C - AEM V2 Intake - Excelerate's Honda & Acura Store - Japanese Performance Specialist

Scottwax

Adding an AEM v2 to my car and relocating the IAT to the bung on the intake tube made my car noticeably peppier especially after sitting at a long light in the summer. I also have an Accord though, and the stock intake design isn't as good as the TL.

CgyTypeS

From one fellow Canadian to another, I feel your hurt!

DerrickW

This I find entirely perplexing. All the intakes are the same. All of the cars/engine bays are the same. Any idea why some would have fitment issues but then others not? Makes no sense.

1black_seven

iTrader: (2)

Because the manufacturer does not take into account the 07-08 TL's have fog lights in the bumper, in the exact spot that CAI filter was supposed to rest.

sockr1

iTrader: (5)

the aem v2 will rest against the fog lights in a TL with fog lights. some people cut off a 1" or 2" portion of the tip of the intake to bring it away from the fog lights, but me and many others just leave it as is. it slightly dents the filter but it doesn't effect performance at all

DerrickW

Got that. But that would mean the fitment issue is common to ALL 07/08s with fog/bumper. So I guess this was my misinterpret. Its not that some Type-S's have a problem and others don't, ...the fitment issue will be common to all Type-S owners..., its that some TL's don't have fogs and others do. *light bulb*

DomGSR-T

iTrader: (1)

Really? mine was fine but I did not use the rubber thing that bolts to the frame of the car...

ExcelerateRep

It's exactly like you said, it's not that the fitment issue is only with some TL's; but that some have the fog lights, and some don't.

Additionally, some people may run into the problem and adjust accordingly (trimming, removing lights, whatever the fix may be), while others are more apt to try and get something that's more direct fit.

Sorry for the mix up!

DerrickW

So, man, I keep running from confused to understanding and back to confused. So in other words, ALL TL Type-S's will have the fitment issue with the AEM V2 because all Type-S's have fog lights. Correct?

DomGSR-T

iTrader: (1)

with basic logic and handy skill you will make it fit easy...

DerrickW

This is a good post, Dom. I'm clearly over-analyzing this. thx

Us3rname84

Thanks this helps me out a lot I'm one of those newbies. This answered a lot of the questions iv had running around in my head about the exhaust.

RyZEN

Derrick,

Not sure if you have to have emissions but if you do would your exhaust setup pass?

Thanks

MrHeeltoe

iTrader: (1)

To toss in our thoughts...Heeltoe has not completely validated this fitment issue. Intakes have a degree of adjustment to them. Having installed more than a few of these intakes ourselves, Heeltoe does not find there to be a consistent, or actual, fitment concern on ANY 04-08 TL models. Buy with confidence! https://www.heeltoeauto.com/product.php?productid=62616

Danza

interested as well

sockr1

iTrader: (5)

easily, yes.

Danza

all I could think was if an inspection station did a visual inspection. With an OBD2 car, figure the scan is no problem.

sockr1

iTrader: (5)

^ depends on shop. Some will catch in visual some won't.

Hacura

Careful if your in CA, smogs here for 3G's rely heavily on visual inspections.