sockr1

iTrader: (5)

thanks for the nice words, how come you traded in your wdp? i almost sold my car a few months back locally and now i feel bad i even thought about it (was going to get around 22k for it and was gonna pick up a used s4), i love my car.

i love my xlr8 setup. i chose it based on sound and least drone. xlr8 proclaims they have purge resonance technology that reduces drone and since it's my daily i wanted it to still be manageable inside my car. i felt it had a much better sound than atlp (they are distinctly different) and the rv6 was still infant and super expensive at the time. xlr8 was a no brainer to me. i would get it again in a heartbeat. i'm not a huge fan of the atlp tips either.

the xlr8 exhaust paired with the hfpcs creates a great sound.

i love all the mods i have haha, but i would say my top 4 are the following:
- exhaust (i feel like this makes my type s sound like a type s if that makes sense)
- steering wheel
- Tein EDFC Active suspension (changes damping based on speed and acceleration, gives me full control over my suspension and allows my car to be soft for my wife and stiff when i drive spirited)
- HFPCs

haha yea i'm local, i think i've only seen 2 or 3 modded TL's anywhere in SD. they just aren't that common. i'm usually more in northern san diego up by ucsd. the tune and bolt-ons are treating me very well, the car is a completely different beast than when i first bought it (with only 4 miles on it). it pulls so hard on the top end and just keeps pulling and pulling, but it still drives very well with the tune for my daily driving. where are you located at?

D's Up

I'm closer to Scripps Ranch/Carmel Mountain but I do pass by UCSD sometimes.

Steven Bell

iTrader: (2)

San Diego sounds so good right now. We have an inch of snow on the ground here in KC and more to come tonight.

sockr1

iTrader: (5)

haven't updated in so long but here's my current setup! i'll soon post some updates that have happened since i last posted updates in here. front window seems darker than it is because i have a sunshade up in the windshield in this pic

kelser414

...been watching your thread for a while now...given me a LOT to think about. Well done! I look forward to more updates.

sockr1

iTrader: (5)

nice! if you ever have any questions feel free to PM me or ask on here. i'll be putting up a decent amount of photos from the last year or so, i document everything i do haha

Steven Bell

iTrader: (2)

Looking good, dude. Love the wheels.

swoosh

iTrader: (5)

am not a fan of mesh wheels but I will sure as hell make an exception for the XXR530's

Boogsephine

Looks great! Should we expect to see the ASPEC kit anytime soon?

sockr1

iTrader: (5)

thanks swoosh! glad to see you back in the forum. those wheels look good, but man they are a pain in the butt to clean and wax...

thanks! it's funny you mentioned the aspec kit, i've actually been going back and forth the last week and contacted a few vendors. haven't pulled the trigger yet but just might. need to figure out a way to get it and install it without my wife seeing it. she would flip about 830 dollars towards my car again, especially since we're going to europe this summer. i've always been so-so about wdp kits since they color can be really off, but it makes it look so aggressive in general.

what to do what to do...

Steven Bell

iTrader: (2)

Fixed.....

sockr1

iTrader: (5)

haha nice one steven! if i do go that route, i'd go with the base lip up front

RenaissanceCar

Looks great! Very clean and subtle flavor.

Steven Bell

iTrader: (2)

Good call-that's what I did.

swoosh

iTrader: (5)

am glad to be back brother

yeah, I love multispoke wheels and I totally understand what you are saying bud...cleaning and waxing is a PITA...

Steven Bell

iTrader: (2)

I always clean the wheels first. I've never found a really good wheel cleaner and wax that REALLY keeps the brake dust off. I just live with cleaning the waffles.

20TwozZZZzz

Wow this thing is beautiful!! It sits just right and I would def get the ASPEC kit, that would set this car off!!

Boogsephine

That would look good! You could go even go with the Type S front later as it would cover the holes up from the base lip being installed. I had my front repainted after I had the kit installed since it was way off but I'm very happy with the kit now.

Have a good trip, too!

Steven Bell

iTrader: (2)

sockr1

iTrader: (5)

ok so i've been very active on the forums but haven't updated here in sooo long. so i've started to organize all my photos and will be posting updates here and there. eventually my photos will show what my car currently looks like.

mileage update: i'm at 99k which means i've driven 98,996 miles on this car

first the fun stuff and then the maintenance stuff...enjoy!

aem v2 intake, installed June 2013
my wife initially said no intake because she thought it was going to be super loud, but she said "you're just going to buy it anyway no matter what i say" and i took that as an "ok". luckily we're still married. turns out the intake sound blends really well with my xlr8 exhaust sound and started my path down the "intake mod" route

aem v2, model 26-6110C!



here you can see the unique aem v2 design, a pipe within a pipe!



all my mods have been done in my apt. parking spot...



battery removed



intake installed







i put some foam tape at spots where the intake is known to rub



i know people say it doesn't work but it gives me peace of mind...filter wrap



final look after installation



rv6 bar and red engine bay components, January 2014
purchased an rv6 bar on the BM and decided i needed to keep my red type s theme going by painting certain items in the engine bay metal flake red

first the metal flake base layer



then the red top layer followed by a clear coat



before (before aem v2 intake):



after:



center arm rest re-pad, February 2013

thanks to this thread:
https://acurazine.com/forums/problem...cement-640667/

removed the arm rest



remove the leather wrapped around. the old foam is so flat and broke up so easily! having a 6MT, my arm is always resting on the center arm rest, it took a beating but the leather still looks great (thanks to zaino)



new foam installed and trimmed. bought this for $3 at a fabric store.



final foam look. i just put on the leather again and used spray adhesive to glue it all back together. like new again!



replace side mirror glass, March 2014

had some browning on each of the side mirrors and replaced both sides. the browning is due to moisture getting in between the glass and the glass backing. so this time before installing i put a bead of silicone sealant at that transition all the way around the back side of the mirror. haven't had any browning since and it's not noticeable when in place.

also cleaned out the old grease and put in new white lithium grease



white license plate frame, October 2011

went out to happy hour with some friends in downtown San Diego and luckily i stopped drinking at a good point, because on the way home i was driving 15 mph through downtown and a cop was parked, saw me driving, and pulled me over...all because i didn't have front plates. he checked my front tint and luckily said it wasn't "too dark" (any front tint in california is illegal...i've been ticketed 2 times for it) and didn't write me up for that.

that weekend i decided i need my front plate on but hated the black license plate frame that stuck out like a sore thumb on WDP, so i painted my license plate frame white to blend in better and put the front plate on

doesn't blend perfect but looks MUCH better than a black, obtrusive license plate frame. sprayed some plastic adhesion promotor, then plasti dipped it white.





more to come....

Oh Sickest TL

iTrader: (3)

shit dude everything looks great! thats a ultra clean TL! the plate frame was a excellent touch.

Ive never been a fan of the 3g engine covers I think its dumb to cover everything up like that so I tried painting mine to see what it would look like, turned out like shit so ended up taking them out and theyre just sitting around BUT i must say those hydrodipped covers look so fucking awesome man I LOVE those!!

I need to do that armrest mod badly as well . my shit is FLAT lol

sockr1

iTrader: (5)

haha thanks man! you need to get the armrest done, it feels like your arm is on a cloud after instead of a piece of wood haha. it takes about 30 min and costs less than 10 bucks it's pretty easy.

i tried my own hand at painting the engine covers first and half of them came out horrible haha. it's all in the prep work it takes a ton of time. right before i did my second attempt, i found these local marines doing the hydrodipping and thought why not. i had already done the second roud of prep work so it turned out pretty well (in my mind)

KJ TL-S

iTrader: (9)

Hey Dave, how does the leather on the arm rest come off and go back on? I have the padding and spray adhesive, but never got around to doing anything with it.

sockr1

iTrader: (5)

you just peel it off from the underside, it just has adhesive on it. you see all the little peaks and valleys on the underside along the edge? you just pull those and the whole wrap comes off. to put it back on you spray the underside of those same peak/valley edges, push it down, and let it dry. let the spray adhesive sit on the leather a bit to get tacky and then press it down, and hold some of it down for a few minutes to bond.

Oh Sickest TL

iTrader: (3)

^sweet

Steven Bell

iTrader: (2)

Good work, dude. Still love the Carbon Fiber engine bay.

fuct

How can one obtain the "3.5 Liter Upgrade" red lights on the base model TL?

guitarplayer16

iTrader: (8)

love the new mods

the license plate colour matched is a nice touch

sockr1

iTrader: (5)

just hit 100k miles yesterday so i had to take a pic of how the car sits currently. the info light is for the 105k service which i'm now starting to collect parts for. still love my car!





thanks! it's one of those very minor mods that doesn't necessarily catch someone's eye but rather prevents something bad from sticking out (black frame on white car)

Sparks415

Still looking great after all these years!

Steven Bell

iTrader: (2)

^^^^ +1

sockr1

iTrader: (5)

updates way overdue but here's a current shot i took last night after a sunset car wash.

previous setup: 18x8.75 +20 XXR 530 on 225/40/18 Bridgestone Potenza RE970AS, lowered on Tein SS

current setup: 18x9 +32 TSW Nurburgring on 235/40/18 Continental DWS06, lowered from TEIN Street Flex

I switched up from the XXRs because they were too aggressive and i had to drive over bumps and dips like a grandma...and the ride was a little harsh. so i looked for a fairly flush stance that cleared brembos (such a pain to fit), was lightweight, allowed me to go to a thicker tire, and was a little less aggressive.

since i was trying to get a little more comfort back i also sold my old TEIN SS and put on the TEIN street flex which give more comfort compared to the TEIN SA i was looking at because it doesn't change preload as you lower (separate adjustment). highly recommend the flex since they ride so great and give you a ton of custom adjustment (preload and height)

these wheels fit perfect! and they are only 19.4 lbs. i dropped 7 pounds a corner with this new wheel/tire combo!! car rides great

N1h1l1ty

I think this is the only instance of those TSWs looking good lol.

My way of saying you did good haha

DarkTower19

Now Aspec!

I kid...looks great either way Sockr They look very similar to the AG M310's which I was considering...but I believe those are heavier than your TSW's.

mtiaz

Digging the new setup man, looking great

Oh Sickest TL

iTrader: (3)

yezzur

N1h1l1ty

M310s are way more concave - I test fit a set in 18x9.5 and they've got almost as much concavity as the 530s. Personally I still think that out of all the mesh wheels, the 530s, "reps" or not, look the best.

The only wheel that comes close but is also styled a little differently is the AG M590. I'm sure there are forged mesh wheels you could bring into the discussion that I don't know about, but if we're talking just off-the shelf options, 530s still have my vote

sockr1

iTrader: (5)

i'll take what i can get haha!

thanks man. about 2 years ago i bought the AG M359 drilled to our specs but they didn't clear the brakes and i got a full refund. i didn't want to run spacers. i wish i could have gone AG or VMR but none of the specs work in 18" for the mesh wheels i want

no go on the aspec kit. i think it looks GREAT on every color EXCEPT wdp. the color mismatch is horrific 9 times out of 10 especially since my car is now 8 years old and doesn't have the original shade. if i ever have to get my car bumpers repainted i'll do it then but only then. plus i don't have the money for that trying to save for a house in expensive ass san diego

thanks! you ever decide about the aspec kit or not?

leaving the concavity of the 530 was the hardest part of the decision! it took me a long time to pull the trigger but in the end i made the right decision since i can drive my car the way it's meant to be driven and not grind my teeth on every dip.

i wanted concavity but the AG and VMR wheels didn't fit the way i wanted so this was the same mesh design without the concavity. i love the way it looks so all good here!

mtiaz

Yeah I've decided not to go through with it at this point. I can't deal with the mismatch. I might have my front bumper repainted in the summer cause of some scrapes before I throw a clear bra on it and cause it has a pretty bad mistmatch going on. Hopefully when I restore/detail the paint in the spring I can get rid of some of the mismatch going on in the rear.

I might go a-spec side skirts when I lower the car and throw spacers on the waffles since it's just a more accentuated version of the stock Type-S skirts which I think will give it a nice beefier look. A-spec money is probably just gonna go to performance mod's and other various bits.

sockr1

iTrader: (5)

haha i'm the same way. i've actually almost pulled the trigger a few times on just the aspec sides for the same reasons! i think the aspec side skirts pronounce the look of lowering so i may do the same. i've looked up pics of just aspec side skirts and it's not that bad