Booyakashaben

Whats up Acura fam!

Sold my 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee last week and very happy to say I bought the 2012 Acura TL SH-AWD Tech.

Originally I was looking for something in the luxury sedan range, had my heart set on an Audi...until I test drove an Acura TL (thanks for the push in the right direction dad). Fell in love immediately from the power, acceleration, comfort, quietness in the cabin, control in turns, braking..such a world of difference from my giant sluggish Jeep. Easily the best most fun car I have ever had.

Did some research and found this forum so glad to be here hopefully I can learn from you guys! It only has about 48k miles , one owner, just getting broken in!

Looking for just some quick general advice on wheels. Im a newbie and my tires are a 245 45 18. So I'm looking at getting 18" wheels so I can keep the tires. Can someone explain spacers and how they work on these Acuras? Could I get a 19 or 20 inch wheel and keep the tire or does that reduce the whitewall?

Secondly has anyone use the plasti dip from dipyourcar.com to do the grill and the chrome? Just looking for reviews on this car specifically.

First I am blacking out the front and back chrome (except the acura symbol) any opinions on the chrome around the windows? Getting those tinted this week as well. Next paycheck I guess would be wheels. Eventually Ill move into the performance. Any advice for a first time performance upgrade under $1000?

Thanks everyone. If anyone is in the Denver area and would like to do a meet up PM me!

Lie-Low

Hey welcome to Acurazine! I like your ride and your plans for your first upgrades sound good, except for the implementation. I can only speak on my own behalf, but I would never recommend using PlastiDip for any part of the car (wheels, trim, body). It may seem like a cheap option but it will certainly look cheap, and will get scrapped off before you know it. You can get your accents, badges, grille, and trims taken off and either painted, wrapped, or hydro-dipped easily. It won't cost much more for that approach and your results will be much much better than a Plasti-Dip option.

You can definitely get 19" and even 20" wheels as long as they match the layout for the TL specs, but you will need new tires to correspond with the wheel size.

You're looking for upgrades under $1,000 but it depends on what part of the car you want to upgrade. I think that buying aftermarket wheels would do a lot to change the look of the car for you. I would then follow that with a window tint. If you're looking for performance upgrades, then a Cold Air Intake and an upgraded Jpipe from either ATLP, XLR8, or RV6 will give you decent gains for the price.

Best of luck to you, we're all happy to help you figure out how to mod this beautiful car so don't hesitate to ask more questions