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One owner babied (67k mi) then traded to Audi for an A8. Car runs quiet, no shifting problems (except the SC check valve), and the condition inside/out is excellent.
Oh and look what I found on my front doorstep today
What I'm currently mulling over:
TB and WP maintenance in the next 10-20k mi
255/40/17 BFGoodrich g-Force Comp-2 A/S UHP tires
Full set of 20 black wheel locks
15/20mm f/b hubcentric wheel spacers
1-2" drop springs that retain ride quality
04-06 A-spec front lip
USB/Aux line-in
Jesse amp swap
A little about me- I like food. I also like modding on the clean/simple side of things.
Here was my '08 FG1 that I was pretty much done with (is that possible?)
Last edited by Steven Bell; 02-28-2017 at 08:02 PM.
Reason: Merged Posts
welcome to the best forum on the internet...
great start...
I almost picked up a clean, one owner anthracite 6MT for dirt cheap but the timing ended up being wrong.
Now you make me wish I had.
welcome and glad to see the purchase went through!!
regarding your upcoming mods list:
1-2" drop springs that retain ride quality --> why not order the tein street advance z coilovers which only drop 1.2" (at min) and give you a much better performance ride? right now endlessrpm has free shipping too i believe
04-06 A-spec front lip --> get this asap, they are discontinued and are going fast
USB/Aux line-in --> isimple seems to be pretty popular (i had this for a while) but see if there are newer bluetooth options now as well
Jesse amp swap --> our vendor endlessrpm has a deal right now where when you buy a modified amp you can get free new tweeters as well...jump on it!
welcome and glad to see the purchase went through!!
regarding your upcoming mods list:
1-2" drop springs that retain ride quality --> why not order the tein street advance z coilovers which only drop 1.2" (at min) and give you a much better performance ride? right now endlessrpm has free shipping too i believe
04-06 A-spec front lip --> get this asap, they are discontinued and are going fast
USB/Aux line-in --> isimple seems to be pretty popular (i had this for a while) but see if there are newer bluetooth options now as well
Jesse amp swap --> our vendor endlessrpm has a deal right now where when you buy a modified amp you can get free new tweeters as well...jump on it!
I didn't mean to write springs- meant coils or adjustable dampening and ideally rated springs f/b. And after my short bit of research, I'm leaning towards the Teins you've suggested with an EDFC module. I had no idea there was such a thing as EDFC!!! I think maybe I saw it and just wasn't interested in comfort or something I don't know, but good God do I feel out of the loop. Granted my '08 Civic build on BC N+ was 7 years ago, I still can't believe it. With that said, I feel like this may be a stupid question: How useful or worthwhile has the EDFC installation been for you guys? If I do go EDFC, I want to mount it like KB1Spec did here:
As for the Jesse amp, where do I go for information on the endlessrpm deal? I looked on their subforum but didn't see anything. Do I PM them?
I didn't mean to write springs- meant coils or adjustable dampening and ideally rated springs f/b. And after my short bit of research, I'm leaning towards the Teins you've suggested with an EDFC module. I had no idea there was such a thing as EDFC!!! I think maybe I saw it and just wasn't interested in comfort or something I don't know, but good God do I feel out of the loop. Granted my '08 Civic build on BC N+ was 7 years ago, I still can't believe it. With that said, I feel like this may be a stupid question: How useful or worthwhile has the EDFC installation been for you guys? If I do go EDFC, I want to mount it like KB1Spec did here:
As for the Jesse amp, where do I go for information on the endlessrpm deal? I looked on their subforum but didn't see anything. Do I PM them?
guess you haven't seen my DIY and review thread on the new EDFC hahah. i was one of the first to install it on a TL! the one you pictured is cheaper but way old school compared to what's available now. it's one of my favorite mods and i change my stiffness all the time.
guess you haven't seen my DIY and review thread on the new EDFC hahah. i was one of the first to install it on a TL! the one you pictured is cheaper but way old school compared to what's available now. it's one of my favorite mods and i change my stiffness all the time.
for endlessrpm, go to his website and send him an email or call him. there's basically a sentence you write in the comments when you place your order.
I did see your post and that will likely be what I use to DIY the installation. I'm just not sure continual auto-adjusting is something I want with the active version. Have you had both EDFCs? Is there a general consensus on when you would want either/or? I feel like I would want to have manual control over when and what settings are active. Although I did see you mention that you could manually adjust on the active unit as well, right? Why would you want active auto-adjusting though? If I'm headed to work, I'm going plush. If I'm on a road trip, I'll probably going to deviate between plush and aggressive for corners, etc. And I'm sure there will be a time and place for medium or another mode that I'm not aware of yet.
I did see your post and that will likely be what I use to DIY the installation. I'm just not sure continual auto-adjusting is something I want with the active version. Have you had both EDFCs? Is there a general consensus on when you would want either/or? I feel like I would want to have manual control over when and what settings are active. Although I did see you mention that you could manually adjust on the active unit as well, right? Why would you want active auto-adjusting though? If I'm headed to work, I'm going plush. If I'm on a road trip, I'll probably going to deviate between plush and aggressive for corners, etc. And I'm sure there will be a time and place for medium or another mode that I'm not aware of yet.
so i bounce back and forth between auto and manual. i ran auto for a long time, for the last 6 months i've been on manual.
manual: current setup. i have a stiff setting (2 front, 4 rear) and a soft setting (4/6 or 5/7 or 6/8), when i'm by myself i put on the stiff setting and with my wife i put on the soft setting. values do not change at all when i drive and this provide a very consistent feel throughout an entire drive. you may want it super soft driving slow and then when you go highway speeds it stiffens up so you aren't "floating" at high speeds
auto, part i: past setup (actually thought about going back to this recently). this is nice because you can be plush and soft when driving at low speeds and as you increase your speed, the stiffness increases as well, providing stability. so the ride changes based on speed.
auto, part ii: the other half of this auto feature is that it changes based on acceleration. for example, if you slam the brakes the front changes differently from the rear (front gets stiffer than rear) and you get a more balanced stop feel (in other words you don't nose dive). going the other way, if you take off all of a sudden the rear will go stiffer than the front and you won't get that "lift off" feeling when you accelerate hard.
basically the auto provides a more stable, planted feel in all scenarios. another bonus is that you have many, many options to tweak. you can change each stiffness setting for each g force and each setting for what speed it changes at. you can customize so much with this system. there's an even newer version than the one i bought that includes side to side changes as well (probably not necessary for a non-track car haha). i bounce back between auto and manual and like the ability to do whatever i feel i want. the other upside on the wireless version is that the install is much easier than the full wired one.
Well, I had not divulged the news at the time, but the day prior to picking up the TL, my now-previous daily driver (DD) was stolen from my house and it's still MIA x5 days
Before buying the Acura, I was really struggling between selling the '96 Honda EJ6 hatchback or changing out spring rates and dampening to improve ride quality (the Function & Form Type 1 coilovers on there were uncomfortable) because of my recent achievement of a new entry-level job in my career field that is unfortunately a 120 mi roundtrip x4 days weekly. My main hangups on selling were budget (current school debt is massive) and the likelihood of the 6G Civic being stolen due to the nature of the ignition system and how common they are. In the end, I chose right by deciding to sell the Honda, but unfortunately I did not get rid of it in time.
This is actually the 2nd time it has been stolen. It was stolen once in Texas where it was recovered and by some miracle the thief is still paying me restitution for the damages (burned-out clutch, garbage tires, swapped body panels, impound fees, etc). But this time, and granted it has only been 5 days, I feel like I'm SOL (no comprehensive). The car was apparently sighted by a guy who sold me some Integra leather seats last year (I posted STOLEN ads on CL, FB, and Reddit) 4 days ago in NE Portland around a neighborhood I've since patrolled many many times and plan to many more times. Suffice it to say, it looks like I'm out roughly $3-4k now as I don't think it was a bum driving it till empty (a common thing in the NW- thieves steal cars until they run out of gas and then dump them anywhere with needles, poop, etc.), which I'm still pretty frustrated and upset about. I'm thinking now it's gonna be stripped for parts and dumped somewhere in the weeks to come.
I'm starting to feel a little better about the whole thing though. I guess losing $3-4k in the grand scheme of things/life isn't that bad, but I still wrestle between feeling OK because now my DD is way more comfortable and fun, and then feeling sad/angry/violent towards people who would take such vital pieces of property from those who already don't have much. I wouldn't wish these sort of feelings and financial burdens on anyone.
Anyways, enough of that. I'll post more if I find anything out.
That sucks to hear. Stolen twice... If it is found untouched, fingers crossed, I would sell it that day you get it back. Hope you have better luck with the TL!
The Civic was found a few days ago and is now sitting in a tow yard almost completely stripped.
Notice under the hood the missing battery, intake, timing belt (what the fuck), windshield wipers/arms, and a few other important parts you can't see that were randomly picked over on the car. Additionally, the alarm system, both door panels, glove box, head unit, ignition, custom fabric headliner, center console, front leather seats, Avid 19 wheels with new UHP tires, and other various interior parts were taken as well. I went into the tow yard expecting the worse and minus them removing the catalytic converter (<1 year old), distributor/alternator, spark plugs, and short shifter, it's pretty much what I was expecting. To save myself from walking down a dark path (I've been patrolling every night armed to the teeth), I'm calling this a wash and letting it go. I had considered reviving it (I have the OEM seats, intake, etc) to sell for a fraction of what I was originally intending to get, but I've decided otherwise. It would need to sit in my driveway in disarray for weeks to months while I sourced the missing parts to sell it for anything worthwhile or would require a lot of time to completely part out. That's just not something I'm willing to do at this point with the amount of parts they removed and the amount of time and work that would be involved in executing either option.
In it's current condition, the car looks like it has been sitting at a pick and pull for a few months. Not much left of value except for a used high mileage coilover suspension, tail lights, leaky D16, and catalytic converter. At this point, with this ordeal dragging on for almost 2 weeks, I'm surprisingly mildly okay about the whole situation despite losing literally the whole car. This is now a firmly closed chapter in my life. RIP. With that said, I plan to make others more aware of the local situation in a positive and preventative light vs. aggression and anger. I'm not sure how I'm going to tackle that objective, but I'm working on it. Even though we all drive relatively safer cars comparatively, you should think about adding 1-2 more layers of security on your car, like a killswitch. I'm working on a few ways I can render my TL completely useless without the user being aware of the remotes.
The good news? Oh yea, there's actually and definitely good news. In the same day, I met with Marcus from HeelToe Automotive.
More to come on that later though
Originally Posted by BreezyTL
That sucks to hear. Stolen twice... If it is found untouched, fingers crossed, I would sell it that day you get it back. Hope you have better luck with the TL!
Man that has to make you want to cry. I hate thieves! I'm glad I never had to go through that with my 99 EX. I always had some Honda guys really looking at it every time I met some friends out at the local strip to hangout. I always thought I would walk out to no car in the driveway one morning... Car looks clean for the most part. Would make a fun drag car. You should try selling it to make a little money back. Honda's go fast, I doubt you will have it long!
Because of a minor misunderstanding with an online order, I found out Marcus from Heeltoe lived fairly close to me in Portland. So I decided to take a trip out to his place for a quick amp upgrade/swap.
The install was quick minus the amp's single upper mount bolt which in the end was removed by Marcus
So what's the verdict? Jesse's 04-06 Signature Series (https://www.heeltoeauto.com/audio-sy...jes.test1.html) amp is a great upgrade for those looking to push a little more out of their current system in terms of power, clarity, and refinement- or if you just don't want to wire-up new dedicated power and/or components like me (quite yet). I opted against new tweeters because I haven't found the stock ones to be of any deficit. With that said, I consider myself to be semi-audiophile primarily in the realm of headphones and vintage loudspeakers. I've bought, sold, traded, borrowed, auditioned, and reviewed my fair share of audio products from a number of varied manufacturers (Stax, Marantz, Audeze, AKG, Pioneer, ADS, Hertz, Westone), so I was excited to hookup and check this amp out. The sound signature is lean- by that I mean it tightens up bass (less boom, more commanding), widens the soundstage a bit as a result, and adds a lot of perceived clarity in the form of sparkle which can be interpreted as hot (treble) if you're sensitive to highs. At some point during my audio journey, I realized that I prefer smoother sound signatures that exhibit less fatiguing highs. A smooth sound is not what this package delivers. It's also not what most people want though. Luckily for me, that wasn't too much for concern as all I needed to do was EQ my treble down to -5. But again, a lot of people enjoy sparkly highs hence why so many people on this forum say upgrade the tweeters. I can't really comment on the mids since I've mostly been listening to instrumentals lately. Plus I haven't really had enough time with the new and old system to be able to effectively A/B compare and describe the differences.
Overall I'm happy with the new sound and wouldn't hesitate again to buy this amp for a quick and easy audio upgrade. I'm constantly cranking this thing!
Also, while I was at Heeltoe, Marcus got the itch to do a little upgrade on his own ride.
Shifts like mechanical goodness! Very notchy and satisfying.
Unfortunately for my wallet but fortunately for my car's handling and stance, I came across this stack of boxes in his inventory.
It's not what I went there for, but it's something I eventually left with. It was on my todo list anyways. And my thinking was springs would likely kill my 70k old shocks, so that would be a waste of time and money.
No EDFC yet, but I'm psyched to install these weather-permitting
The next day, these were delivered to my house.
And these...
Over the weekend I decided to get to work
Comptech Short Shifter (https://www.heeltoeauto.com/comptech...d-560-021.html) install a success! Verdict? Absolutely worth it. Throw is minimized which this product fully achieves in spades. For anyone hesitant to rip up their center console, the scariest part was removing the 2 long silver trim pieces that felt like they were going to snap the whole time and the hardest part was removing the bushing on the base of the shifter. Other then that this job takes as long as the DIY specifies, and that's 2 hours. So allot for that much time and then some if you feel like braving your car's underworkings.
Verdict? This mod is mandatory for the 6MT. If you have to skimp anywhere in your budget/modding path, it should not be here under any circumstances. The short shifter was nice, but the Acura TL 6MT already shortens up the throw vs older Japanese cars that feel like you have to almost slam it from 1st to 2nd and 2nd to 3rd in order to get quick shifts. That's not the case with the stock TL 6MT. These bushings on the other hand make shifts feel very intentional and gratifying. It tightens everything up and leaves little room for searching. Would I recommend a heavier shift knob and a short shifter along with it? Sure, but don't feel like you need all of them in order to do one. And if you do one, make it this one!!
Now where were we? Fitment.
So as some of you know, my last DD was stolen, stripped, and left to rot by thieves. I wish things could have been different, but that's just how the cards have been dealt to me. So seeing as how I don't have a garage and the specific area I currently live is riddled with cowardly thieves, I'm likely sticking with the OEM wheels vs aftermarket in attempts to make my car less noticeable. If I do end up upgrading wheels, they will likely be G37 stockies.
The quality of these spacers are outstanding. The fitment, feel, and finish, are worth the price. On my previous 8th gen Civic, I had a set of Ichiba v2 spacers installed with RSX Type-S wheels and while they were impressive, these spacers are even moreso (didn't think that would be possible). I'm not sure I'd opt for cheaper spacers, but I can't deny that it would be tempting and likely okay in terms of build, quality, and safety. In the mean time, I'm gonna give a big nope to cheap spacers and happily run with my H&R hubcentric spacers.
Install wasn't too difficult as I've done this once before and safely driven on spacers for thousands of spirited miles.
For anyone remotely interested in spacers, you can't rush the install or else you need to factor in a destroyed fender well as the least of your potential worries. After removing your wheel, both the wheel's mounting surface and the rotor's mating surface need to be sanded with a fine sandpaper to remove the impurities/rust and non-uniform surface. After sanding all around the OEM studs and the hub's lip, you need to clean off any remaining contaminants that have just been removed from the sanding process. Next add anti-seize to only the hub ring area that touches the spacer's inner hubcentric ring. This is for when in the future you or anyone else decides to remove the spacer it doesn't get stuck. What you do NOT want to add anti-seize to are the studs or the flat underside of the spacer. Having these points "wet" will alter and ultimately distort how many ft pounds of torque you finish the bolts with. Once you've prepped, cleaned, and added anti-seize, loosely put on the spacer. Next, thread down all 5 included bolts by hand. This next step is likely the most crucial step- tighten down the bolts in an even and continuous star pattern with only a socket and extension. Obviously this will only tighten down the spacer so far. Then tighten down the bolts again in a star pattern with a 3/8 ratchet, and here you want to give them all a good and even/gradual (key) go. Finish the spacer bolts off with proper torque wrench technique @80ft/lbs and ensure all bolts are to their specified level to confirm the spacer is fully and evenly seated on the wheel hub. Then all you do is re-mount the wheel and torque down the lug nuts. Easier said than done, but not really all that hard.
I plan to check the wheel spacer bolts within the next few days.
Originally Posted by BreezyTL
Man that has to make you want to cry. I hate thieves! I'm glad I never had to go through that with my 99 EX. I always had some Honda guys really looking at it every time I met some friends out at the local strip to hangout. I always thought I would walk out to no car in the driveway one morning... Car looks clean for the most part. Would make a fun drag car. You should try selling it to make a little money back. Honda's go fast, I doubt you will have it long!
Yea man, this experience has been torturous. I want to gut these kids, but their level is corrupt and weak. I'm not being brought down there. As for the car, sadly, I'm done with it. I don't want a scar and reminder sitting around my place for months while I part out or sort out ways I can make a few bucks off of it. The car was really a lot of fun while it lasted. If any of you have ever driven a slow car to it's FULL potential you'll know what I'm talking about. For as slow as that thing was, I could take it to town, but I'm done with 90's 4-lug Honda/Acura for now. At least until I own a garage, and even then it's gonna be AP1/AP2.
great updates, nice to see you knock out some of those key mods!! which leds did you end up replacing and did you get any shots of the "after" changes with them? haha that last bolt for the amp is such a pain!! i swear i still have bruising from doing that a few times
interested to see where you set your height at with those tein coilovers, i think you made a great choice going with them! the spacers really improve the look of the stock wheels and combined with the coilvovers it will be sitting pretty.
Congrats, man...
it's great to see someone with the drive and vision to keep tinkering on this car. Takes me back about 5 years...
I really enjoyed reading your post and the pictures you took the time to share. Keep on keepin on!
Wow that was a ride from start to finish, but I'm glad you're turning your focus to the TL now and letting the unfortunate circumstances of your other car go. Congratulations on your purchase and best of luck to you in the modding process!
I'm so sorry to see what happened to the Civic People suck.
They do. Our money is always under attack 24/7. Shouldn't be that way, but life
Originally Posted by Steven Bell
Wow, busy guy!
Haha, I was working on it all weekend. The weather in Portland was amazing! It's back to nothing but rain now
Originally Posted by sockr1
great updates, nice to see you knock out some of those key mods!! which leds did you end up replacing and did you get any shots of the "after" changes with them? haha that last bolt for the amp is such a pain!! i swear i still have bruising from doing that a few times
interested to see where you set your height at with those tein coilovers, i think you made a great choice going with them! the spacers really improve the look of the stock wheels and combined with the coilvovers it will be sitting pretty.
No before/after shots for the LEDs. I just plugged them in for the win
Bulbs I replaced include: lower front door panel (light up the ground when the door is open- gf approved), reverse (they're better, but just OK), rear blinkers (waiting on flasher relay module), and trunk (waaay better). I don't care for sterile LED color temps, so none of my interior bulbs will be replaced. I prefer a softer less neutral natural color vs the clinical look that 4.3/5k-8k+ often give. I don't want to open a door and feel outed/exposed or like I'm on a surgical table.
You definitely piqued my interest in the coilovers with your DIY and feedback. I still wasn't overly set on going straight to coils, but after reading almost unanimous contentment with the ride quality and adjustability, I was sold. But even then it wasn't an easy sell with all the financial hits I've been taking lately. I stood around staring at the Tein boxes in the Heeltoe garage for a while lol. Marcus was probably like omg. What really won me over were the few reports of ride quality almost matching OEM minus a little more tautness in comfort but as a result more responsiveness in handling and Marcus explaining that the SAZ have longer travel vs more track-oriented suspensions. The base 6MT handles surprisingly well for its size, but there's a lot left to be desire under WOT.
Originally Posted by Fatfrii
such an amazing find. Its the right car, color, tranny, has NAV, and super low miles. I really envy you.
I thought so too. Tbh, I got lucky and just remained determined. I probably had every single possible road block thrown at me when trying to secure and buy this car. It didn't feel like it was meant to be, that's for sure. Even my gf was like are you sure you want to keep pursuing this? My thinking was, if I work hard at getting it and it ends up being great, then it would have been worth it. If I work hard at getting it and it ends up being plagued with issues, then it would have not been worth it. So the effort was really a tossup. It was either going to be worth it or it wasn't. There's no 2 ways about it. That's life for ya. Always a trip.
Originally Posted by rockstar143
Congrats, man...
it's great to see someone with the drive and vision to keep tinkering on this car. Takes me back about 5 years...
I really enjoyed reading your post and the pictures you took the time to share. Keep on keepin on!
I'm glad I could share it with people who appreciate the finer things. I will
Originally Posted by Lie-Low
Wow that was a ride from start to finish, but I'm glad you're turning your focus to the TL now and letting the unfortunate circumstances of your other car go. Congratulations on your purchase and best of luck to you in the modding process!
Yea, I have to let it go. It's not fun to hold onto what happened. And to know that any self-created resentment or anger towards the situation isn't really felt by the thieves makes it really fruitless. I'm just bringing myself down. Those tools are already on a low level, and not the good low stance level either. My main gripe is that they're continually bringing others down.
Type-S rear side markers and keyhole delete installed last week.
I've installed a few coilover suspensions on other cars before installing this on the TL. Fronts weren't so bad, but the rears were a PAIN!!! Thank God the height adjustment on these is so easy. Luckily, I didn't need to readjust any of the shocks (!) after my first measurement though. It's not perfect, but it's pretty spot on if I say so myself. The red arrows below point to the nearest bolts that I removed in addition to the 2 bolts on the bracket connected to the endlink when installing the rears.
Can't say that I'd ever want to do a coilover install on this car again
Verdict? Well, the stance is great. Handling? Not sure yet. Comfort? Too soon to say. What I was looking for probably doesn't exist- OEM ride quality with better handling and the height I currently have it set to. Maybe Tein H-Tech (my first thought) could have achieved that minus handling, but I'm happy with the SAZ so far. Plus I'll probably go lower as time goes on. I'm thinking around 1/2" lower all around if that doesn't end up requiring fender work.
It does look great, nice work! The coils and spacers on the stock wheels makes such a difference.
I agree with you on the coilover install, I've done it twice now on the TL and it sucked both times. It probably didn't help my cause that all of my rear bolts were rusted and seized to hell, it was so frustrating. I ended up having to replace all the endlinks on the rear they were so bad.
I also hear what you're saying regarding the H-techs. I had the S-techs and they looked and rode great combined with the stock struts. But I got a nagging itch to want to go a little lower and it never went away. Plus when I got new wheels, I knew I was going to have to get coilovers anyways to help make the wheels fit better. But overall, I'm very happy I upgraded to the Tein SA coils.
Just got my alignment done with Firestone's lifetime deal. I called ahead to see how they dealt with lowered cars and was told they (that loc) had the lowest rack the company uses. So it was a breeze! Wanted to share this picture to show how on point this guy was though. I wasn't even hovering around to watch (ran errands). How awesome is that? Don't see that often.
It does look great, nice work! The coils and spacers on the stock wheels makes such a difference.
I agree with you on the coilover install, I've done it twice now on the TL and it sucked both times. It probably didn't help my cause that all of my rear bolts were rusted and seized to hell, it was so frustrating. I ended up having to replace all the endlinks on the rear they were so bad.
I also hear what you're saying regarding the H-techs. I had the S-techs and they looked and rode great combined with the stock struts. But I got a nagging itch to want to go a little lower and it never went away. Plus when I got new wheels, I knew I was going to have to get coilovers anyways to help make the wheels fit better. But overall, I'm very happy I upgraded to the Tein SA coils.
I was thinking I'd have to use pb blaster, but a small breaker bar and a lithium impact gun made that part easy for me. No rust ftw. I always have that itch too. "Go lower, it'll look better!" But then you start handling badly and pulling out into intersection sideways when there's dips lol.
Originally Posted by sockr1
looks great man! the spacers really change up the look on a lowered car. let us know what you end up with dampening level wise!
7/9 clicks back still. Wanted to go back to 8/10, but I think I'm gonna stick it out for a while longer. Thanks for all your input so far.
Originally Posted by truonghthe
so looks like you gonna need camber kit for front and rear.
Originally Posted by rockstar143
with toe in check, i'd leave it natural camber.
Yea, I'm gonna stick with natural camber for now. I don't mind a little camber. When it gets closer to 3 in back I'll make a change.
Went with Stage III exhaust- specifically the quieter 18" Dynomax 24235 resonator (vs the 12" 24215 or 24234 models). The car isn't as loud as I would want, but I'm thankful since most of my driving is on the highway (zero drone). Would I ever want to go with a 12" resonator? Maybe, but if the sound bleeds into the cabin at highway speeds to any degree, I would have it changed ASAP. Plus I'm not really sure what future performance mods I may go with that could change my exhaust tone. For now it works and it's nice. The sound is really smooth, subtle, refined, and with a little bite.
Next up, I replaced the 70k mile / 13+ year old OEM engine torque damper. I have to say, jacking the car up high enough at home (a lift would make this install cake) and properly adjusting the ETD was a pain in the ass. I'm not even sure I adjusted the bottom portion of the damper correctly still. Can anyone chime in if they know? On the 2nd image of this post > https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-p.../#post11799996, it shows how the ETD should be adjusted, but that didn't help much. I just tried to make sure there was ample threading (greater than 50%) going into the ETD body. The section labeled "1" is roughly 60-70% threaded inside and "2" is closer to 75% threaded inside. The bolt on the very bottom under "2" is tightened all the way and at the very top under the cotter pin area where the NRG canister connects to the cap it's tightened all the way as well.
Verdict? I've only gone on one drive, but my thoughts are generally positive. When starting the car, you don't feel the engine move at all. When shifting through the first few gears, the engine has little to no movement as well. Which is nice, but now the steering wheel has a slight vibration that I'm not sure I'm okay with. Granted this is a performance mod, my hands should not take up the slack as it feels like I'm driving a Civic now. Albeit better feeling, I'm not sure this part will stay on my car very long. I may try replacing the 2 internal red bushings with the softer black ones first, or maybe I'll just get used to it. Either way, this thing is going to take some getting used to.
Finally got around to replacing the tired rusted lug nuts that have been on the car since late 2003. I was thinking of going with black OEM NSX/S2K lug nuts, but I didn't want to pay to play. Instead, I went with cheap generic black Ceco lug nuts of similar length (radius seating) with 4 wheel locks included. Their internal threading actually goes deeper than OEM, so I'm happy about that. The quality is also pretty good.
When I removed the backseat bench during my coilover install last week, I noticed the passenger seat underside was soaked, but I couldn't determine where the water was coming from. A few forum searches pulled up a lot of info, but I wanted to be sure where it was coming from. So I left the backseat bench out all week to see if I could catch any of the water making it's way in and sure enough, after some rain, both sides had water accumulation (mostly passenger side). I'm still not really sure how to fix it yet, but I'll get around to it eventually.
nice progress! post a video of the exhaust sound now and pics of the lug nuts installed!
good luck dealing with the water issue, hopefully its an easy fix
I think I've adjusted the ETD where it should be now. Referencing a few more install images from the forum, I figured out I probably had the wrong part tightened down. The 2 red arrows now indicate where the parts should be tightened (ideally with Loctite [blue]) seeing as how they both have a black wavy washer-type ring to help secure the two contacting parts better. Now the steering wheel vibration feels a lot better. It's still there, but it's way less than before (don't remember what OEM feels like anymore). Enough to where I don't feel like I need to replace the red internal bushings with the softer black ones now. I'm happy with it, so far!
Originally Posted by MyGuti
nice progress! post a video of the exhaust sound now and pics of the lug nuts installed!
good luck dealing with the water issue, hopefully its an easy fix
I tried doing a sound clip and video of the exhaust note, but my phone does a REALLY bad job of capturing the sound. So I won't be very helpful there.
Here's a picture of the new lugs though. They're very stealthy and subtly clean up the overall look. I did the same thing on my 8G ASM Civic and it was a winner combo.
Great updates, man...love what you've done...
I don't know why people like that quad look on the base opening...personally, the oem exhaust tips being so unique was one of the first things that made me fall in love with the 3G.
Also, I can't help but think you won't feel steering wheel shake from the engine damper...it just dampens it's not stiff...even the rigid motor mounts don't do that...did you get relief now that you adjusted it properly?
Great updates, man...love what you've done...
I don't know why people like that quad look on the base opening...personally, the oem exhaust tips being so unique was one of the first things that made me fall in love with the 3G.
Also, I can't help but think you won't feel steering wheel shake from the engine damper...it just dampens it's not stiff...even the rigid motor mounts don't do that...did you get relief now that you adjusted it properly?
Thanks!
I like the OEM exhaust tips, but I feel the right quad design on a 3G TL imo are sexy (plus it makes the car just a little more aggressive vs refined) with a rear lip. Which I plan on getting. My quad purchase in all honesty was an impulse buy after I bought the Dynomax resonator. I figured I'd knock both out, but I jumped the gun. The quads will only go on once I've put the rear lip on, which I haven't bought yet lol. Reason being, as you probably already know, is with the stock bumper the OEM exhaust sits nicely (if not a little recessed), but with the rear lip the OEM tips are way too recessed. So essentially I've somewhat forced myself to buy the rear lip now. Or I have to sell the quads.
I'd love to hear what other people say about he ETD affecting wheel shake because with my current setup it's very much there. I don't remember how OEM feels, but after driving to work this morning (60 mi), I can without a doubt say the ETD is coming off my car or I'm going to swap the internal bushings for the softer black set. The adjustments I made yesterday helped, but on the entire drive to work my steering wheel had a slight vibration that I normally associate with less comfortable more economical cars. Gone was the kicked back feel that I've grown to love when I set cruise control and barely touch the wheel. So I don't know- in all the reports and write-ups I read on the ETD no one mentioned this issue. I can't be the only one who has this happening on their car or has noticed it happening. From my casual inspections of my car's mounts/bushings, it seems that everything is in tact and does not need to be replaced. Even the OEM ETD that I removed was still good to go.
i really like your wheel set up. what is the spacer size you are using? do you experience any rubbing? im lowered now on Tein SA with no spacers and looks kind of weird but i have no rubbing at all.
02-28-2017, 06:24 PM
I think maybe I saw it and just wasn't interested in comfort or something I don't know, but good God do I feel out of the loop. Granted my '08 Civic build on BC N+ was 7 years ago, I still can't believe it. With that said, I feel like this may be a stupid question: How useful or worthwhile has the EDFC installation been for you guys? If I do go EDFC, I want to mount it like KB1Spec did here:
People suck.
