TeamAcura

Hey AZ members, I been active for a couple of months and finally decided to formally introduce myself and what better way than to make a progress thread of my whip.

So her name is Bella. I picked her up on March 16th from Acura of Peabody. I originally owned an 09 SH-AWD but it got really boring driving an AT and started looking for a 6MT but used. I ended up getting new instead because I got a great deal on it that fit my budget. Plus I never owned new. It's everything I wanted; AWD, 6MT, white exterior and the tech pack. I only put around 1500 miles on her since but loving the driving experience so far.

I've done a couple mods to her since:
-SMD LED tail lights
-2500K Yellow DRLs
-Tint
-Tein SS Coilvers

Me the day I picked her up at the dealer and a couple snaps before I drove her off the lot. First ever new car and what a great feeling!

The cockpit...by far the best looking IMO. And the tint.

The Teins and the drop...

The install was relatively easy I thought. I had my friend help me (he did most of the work LOL). The hardest to do was actually the front believe it or not LOL. And also removing the OEM struts out. Taking off the back seats was a little hard but once I figured out that you have to push down on the seat to release the bottom clips and it took both of us to remove the back seat to unhook. It took use 3.5 hours total and we took our time. Could of had it done in 2 hours probably if not for going back and forth to Advance Auto Parts.

gaTorSXtasy

Car looks awesome! Very sexy in white

LawnPro

Oooohhhh Bella riding low!

Congrats on your new TL - that white is so sharp!

KarKraze

Looking good !!

Vidol642

Nothing better than a clean new car. Enjoy bella

types1fan

Car looks sweet, great way to start modding.

Kenstlshawd

iTrader: (2)

Very nice drop. Some rims will set that off nicely.

Zelaya

iTrader: (1)

^^ Agreed but you're heading to the right direction.

TeamAcura

LOL yea she like to go low. Thanks!

Thanks man!

Loving every minute of it.

Thank you sir!

Thanks, I thought it was lil low but after driving it for a few days, it's not that bad. I'm holding off on rims this year though. Undecided on my setup and pockets kinda young right now LOL.

HeartTLs

iTrader: (5)

What parts were to making runs to Advance auto to get? Did you have the car aligned after lowering?

After lowering my cars alignment was way off and with the stock control arms impossible to get into spec. Used SPC 3arm kit for the rear and as soon as I get wheels will get SPC ball joints for the front.

Treblig

Leebog

Wow

TeamAcura

We were just renting a spring compressor from them but got the wrong kind. LOL. Car is getting aligned tomorrow. I know the toe is out of spec and I didn't get a rear camber kit...yet. I will see how close they get it within spec. I don't mind if it's slightly off and I know that's going to be the case. I can live with a little more wear in the inside temporarily though until I get some rims.


Thanks guys! More to come, stay tuned...

TeamAcura

So I got my alignment done today. Rear camber is off by -3.6 degrees. I didn't think it would be that bad. Fronts are a lil out of spec but not as bad as the rears. Everything else came within spec. Guess I'll be investing in a camber kit.

HeartTLs

iTrader: (5)

My rear was pretty bad as well, I got a SPC 3 arm camber kit. The mechanic working on my car said for a novice mechanic or someone unfamiliar with the kit, getting the car aligned with the SPC is a nightmare and Ingall is much easier. Since he's worked on other cars with SPC kits he's familiar with them and likes them much more than the Ingall one. Both kits cost the same depending where you buy them.

TeamAcura

That's what I've heard about SPC. I'm leaning towards Ingalls right now. Not much to choose for camber kits.

Steven Bell

iTrader: (2)

Looks good, TA! Nice stance.

rxyamahax1

Congrats on the new ride
There's nothing more exciting than a brand new car. You're wasting no time in getting Bella just the way you want her. Nice.

Supersammanyo

Very nice!

LawnPro

Hey T.A. - did you get your lip kit yet?

TeamAcura

Hey LawnPro,

Yes I did, but only front installed. The rest not yet lol. I was playing around with the dang switchbacks trying to get them to work and have failed miserable. I get no hyperflashing but as soon as I try to turn on the small exterior lights, they do not light up because the fuse blew (like 5 times). So I gave up after that.

Anyway, I raised the car up a little to prevent scrapping and give it a better stance for me. I also got rear camber kit installed. I will post up pics very soon once I get the lip kit installed. She will look much better.

When are you gonna drop that beauty of yours Lawnpro?

TeamAcura

Update on Bella:

Rear camber kit installed
Raised the height; front and rear
Lip kit fitted
Alignment done

I washed her up today and thought it be nice for a little photoshoot.

Messed around with some filters and lighting with my phone and a couple are without filters. It's not the best or clearest but hope yall enjoy the pix. Comments and suggestions welcome!

Recon_45

SEXY!!!makes me want to get a 4th gen even more! enjoy the ride brother

Jackieee_TL

Looking good!!

Been researching and just looking at photos of the OEM lip kit for the 2012+, and it's starting to grow on me. Thanks for the photos

ct8132002

Pow! No time wasted... I have a feeling this ride gonna be one of the top 4gs on here

Stew4HD

Looks great! Well done!

KarKraze

Looks sharp

yooin14

your car looks nice. do you have any photo of rears from completely back side? I am on the fence between rear underbody kit or splash guard. lol

mondster

still cant get myself to like that rear kit... but overall, nice car!

TeamAcura

Thanks man I will. Test drive a 4G; I have a feeling you ending up owning one after lol. Great car all around. I see your in my neck of the woods, we should do a meet soon.

Glad I can help you w/ some of my pix. The whole lip kit honestly transforms the 4G to another level. It just looks sportier but not overdone. It still has the upscale/luxury look to it. Pull the trigger man, once you have them fitted on your car you will not regret it!

LOL nope. I'm currently satisified with how she looks now given my budget. But that is awfully nice of you to say. Quite humbled. I'm not doing anything that hasn't been done already though but I've still got a few more mods on my list before I'm completely satisifed with her.

Thanks Stew, I'll get info on the shipping from your other thread probably tommorrow if you're still interested!

Thanks. I love what you did to the grille. One of a kind!

Fortunately, I took a ton of photos LOL. Here they are. The lighting in these pix shows its lines a lot more than during the day time. It don't look that bad but then I'm just being biased.





LOL I understand, it's not very popular among 4G members. But I happen to love it. I had a guy on the freeway during rush hour in a 2G honk the horn, roll down his window and gave me a , I just smiled and ditto. I've honestly gotten more compliments and looks w/ the lip kit on then w/o one. Go figure.

weather

TeamAcura...Amazing looking TL!!! I love the fact you raised Bella a bit, she was riding a little too low for my liking initially, but now, she looks amazing! I loved your photos showing the entire body kit and you ALMOST had me regret not having placed the rear piece until you showed the last two pics. To me, that view of the kit is where things break down for me, no offense. Don't get me wrong, on 85-90% of the viewing angle, the car will look amazing but having people following me on the highway and seeing that view would not be something I'd be comfortable....but that is me.

Regardless, the important thing is that you love your TL and trust me, she is a GORGEOUS ride and I am envious of the MT....I sometime wished I would have gone that route. Look forward to seeing where you will take Bella in the future, but you are off to a great start

TeamAcura

LOL! That made me chuckle. I know where you and others are coming from but it doesn't bother me at all hence why I got the complete kit. Thank you for the kind words for the most part...HA! I appreciate it!

weather

I appreciate that you didn't get offended as it was the last thing I was trying to do. Like I said, I have been torn and on the fence about the rear piece from the day I got my TL because part of me wanted to get the whole kit. The pre-MMC kit was awesome and I was hoping they would have done something similar for the rear piece. They got it almost right, and as I was saying, from most angle, it does make the car look so sexy and aggressive but its that direct view from the back that I just can't seem to warm to it.

Bottom line, I love your car, I like how it rides lower and has a very nice aggressive look to it. You have modded your TL with the right amount of accessories without making it too "bling blingy". I am a firm believer that sometime, people just go a bit too far in modding their TL.....so far, you have it looking just FANTASTIC!

TeamAcura

I hear ya about the modding part. It's a disease LOL. I will attempt to make mine very tastefully w/o taking away the OEM look. I'm going 20" on the wheels though and maybe even 19". My biggest grip w/ 20"s is it's heavy and I do not want to compromise the dynamics of the car. So if I'm going 20", it will be light and expensive lol.

LawnPro

Now that is a sweet drop T.A. - awesome!!

Steven Bell

iTrader: (2)

Looks great Team.

yooin14

thank you for uploading request pictures. I can feel that this will look better if I see this rear kit in person.

Matts_Acura

You have a great looking TL! Look forward to seeing what else you do.

rx2010

Looks good! Did you install the under body kit yourself or let the dealer do it? If you did it yourself, was it easy? If the dealer did it, how much did they charge to install it?

TeamAcura

Hey rx2010, I did it myself with the help of the DIY instructions I downloaded that you can download here: http://estore.honda.com/acura/access...L&modelName=TL

From a scale of 1-10 with 10 being the hardest, I'd give it a 5. All you really need is a drill, socket wrench and screw drivers and follow the instructions carefully. Some of the other stuff they have listed you do not necessarily need. It's a little nerve wracking drilling holes in the bumper though so don't screw up ( no pun intended )! Be careful not to scratch or scuff the paint so take your time and it will help if you had an assistant to remove and install the bumpers. I managed to do it without one and the most time consuming and challenging piece is the front bumper. It is heavier and there are a lot more screws and clips involved. I preferably would not want the dealer to install it for me because they might not do it the right way or miss/break something I wouldn't know about. I trust my own work more and obviously doing it yourself will save you money for other mods!