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Hey guys, I was the guy who bought "JTYankfan"s 2007 MRP TL-S. I have to say what a great guy to deal with, he moved on to an M3 now as his daily. A week before I saw his FS posting here, I was all set to buy a 6MT TSX, I already have a 5AT TSX that wife uses but I love how that car drives and handles, was itching for a MT car , haven't had a stick shift for almost 5 yrs now. Then saw the
TL-S for sale and I thought it was a great deal. Although it is A/T, I think the TL no doubt is a step up to the TSX. So here I am with 3 Acura's in my driveway.
The car came with 18x8.5 aspect wheels but I think these have been repainted by the person he bought the set from. They look much darker than an OEM spare he had that he included with the car. I am looking to have this refinished and powder coated OEM color. "JTYankfan" also has Michelin PSS summer tires on here, so I am thinking of selling the tires and mount either Michelin A/S 3+ or the Conti DWS06. I've read great thing about the Conti but I have them on my TSX and for some reason, they do not road force balance well unlike past Michelin tires I had that they balance great and will not have any vibrations during high speeds, just my experience.
I have the car apart since buying it and have been doing routine maintenance , spark plugs, picking up Acura OEM parts from Curry Acura tomorrow and planning to do a 3x3 transmission
fluid flush, I am not sure if it was ever done on this car ever. I usually do a 1x drain and fill on our TSX and MDX every year. Spark plugs are being changed as well, not sure if it needs this but been
reading a lot the past few days about the TL's and saw big thread about the Transmission pressure switches so ordered those as well. The positive side of the stater cable has corroded and I hate those part store battery terminal where you have to splice the wires together and bolt them up, so ordered a new OEM cable as well. Also ordered a Type2 Coolant/Antifreeze, so going to do a drain and fill on the radiator. A new PCV valve. Changing the oil to Pennzoil Ultra. Air filter and Cabin filter is also being changed. Lastly brake pads and brake service. The brake fluid is nasty, I don't think it ever has been bled since the life of this car, because the fluid inside the reservoir is greenish/yucky color. I will be bleeding the brake lines like crazy. Pads also need to be changed, might go with a more aggressive brake pad like Project MU or Ferodo DS2500 pads the EVO/STI guys swear by.
I have 3 Acura's on my driveway. I grew up with Honda's ever since my first car and have learned to love their philosophy and driving characteristics. But the current lineup of Acura cars, not very impressed with them, I guess, except for the MDX and RDX. They seem to get those 2 right.
I have been searching for an MRP TL with OEM 18" aspec wheels, I saw one pic , how many colors did the Aspec wheels come from factory? I know there is the one I have on the pic above, and a chrome one. Is there any another one that is a little darker?
And a question to you guys who redid your Brembo brake calipers, because the shop that are doing my wheels are giving me a killer deal to powder coat my front calipers, what color would go well? I was thinking like an Orange but not made up my mind in terms of the caliper color up front. Also, I have to bring these to him to get them powder coated, what can I use to plug the brake lines since the calipers will be off the car for a few days?
nice post and welcome! glad to see you're taking care of a lot of maintenance before anything else, once these cars are cared for they will last a very long time!
regarding brembo colors, i think either an amber to match your turn signal amber would look good or maybe a nice silver (but might blend in with the wheels).
i saw that you have an mdx, what year and how do you like it? any downsides? my wife and i are looking to get her an mdx and i'm currently looking at used 2015s or slightly used 2016s. we're pretty sold on it but haven't driven one yet. our only requirements for "features" are leather seats, back up camera, and navigation (dont' need all wheel). any thoughts on your mdx that you wish you would have known or anything that you really like?
nice post and welcome! glad to see you're taking care of a lot of maintenance before anything else, once these cars are cared for they will last a very long time!
regarding brembo colors, i think either an amber to match your turn signal amber would look good or maybe a nice silver (but might blend in with the wheels).
i saw that you have an mdx, what year and how do you like it? any downsides? my wife and i are looking to get her an mdx and i'm currently looking at used 2015s or slightly used 2016s. we're pretty sold on it but haven't driven one yet. our only requirements for "features" are leather seats, back up camera, and navigation (dont' need all wheel). any thoughts on your mdx that you wish you would have known or anything that you really like?
Thanks. I am most particular with maintenance stuff before anything else, since I love a spirited driving on the highway and drive my cars pretty hard, I love a well maintained car.
Regarding the MDX, I have a CPO 2013 Tech, this is the last yr of this model before the 2014 remodel. I can tell you first of all, I LOVE how this truck drives. the SH-AWD is great for this car. Engine is strong , it has the J37 engine. We needed a 7 seater on occasion on road trips and I always loved the styling of this model ever since it came out. Upsides are this car is plenty powerful, drives really smooth and has a great balance. Interior is quiet, has a back up camera, ELS system sounds REALLY great.
Now for the downsides, mainly is the gas mileage, I average around 16-17mpg combined. It gets up to 18-19mpg sometimes when I feather the gas pedal. We took it on a 1,000 mile road trip to Mt. Washington in New Hampshire and it was a great trip, thats the only time I saw 20mpg, since it was mostly highway. The back-up camera is not so great at night, although there is a remedy to this if you change out the back up light to LED bulbs it will be better. Navigation is not so great either, although it is decent and usable, it falls way beyond the new tech now, but the thing is I do not use the navigation since I use my iPhone and Waze/Google Maps apps anyway since it gives you great real time traffic, accidents, police sightings, etc .. LOL I have driven the current generation Toyota Highlander for a month straight, IMO, it does not compare Drive wise, we all have priorities in buying a car in what we want, to me, it is the drivability and handling of the car. I feel more connected on the road compared to the Toyota. Other cars you can consider (Japanese) Lexus RX ( same driving characteristics of any Lexus/Toyota ) they do not feel as connected to the driver IMO, but if you want a great leather, navigation and tech advancements, it is hands down the best car. Acura is not close to Lexus in terms of luxury. Infiniti QX60 is also nice, they look great IMO, and is nicer than the MDX interior wise, but I do not like a CVT transmission and this reason alone kept me away from them. At this point in my life, I am not ready for a European car, I am sure they drive great, have great handling and is always ahead of the curve, but reliability is 2nd on my list and all Euro makes just does not have Acura's reliability and maintenance.
Lastly, when I was looking for our MDX, I considered the current generation, but could not justify the $6,000+ and up price difference to the 2013's that was on the lot. I got mine for $29,000 with 35k miles on June 2016. Oh, one thing I forgot, the J37 engines have reports of excessive oil consumption issues, I found this out after we bought the car, so I have no choice now but to just keep an eye on the oil every 1,000 miles or so. But so far, I have filled it with Pennzoil Platinum on my first OCI (5,000 miles) and burned just a little bit, maybe about half a quart in 5,000 miles, it is not a concern for me. Whatever car you and your wife pick, best of luck!
Hi Alex, thank you! I was reading through your MRP thread a few days ago and you take great pictures and a great detail on your car. Very clean! you car looks awesome..
Last edited by Steven Bell; 10-15-2016 at 05:27 PM.
Reason: No need to re-quote the previous post, especially if you're the next person posting.
Hi Alex, thank you! I was reading through your MRP thread a few days ago and you take great pictures and a great detail on your car. Very clean! you car looks awesome..
Thanks!!
Be sure to post some pictures of your car when you get the chance.
thanks for all the info, that's a huge help!! it's great to talk to a real owner of the car since the forum tends to be a little weak in that area. that's good news to hear that it drives very smooth and allows the driver to feel connected to the car. i'm an overall enthusiast and i don't think i would like a newer car that doesn't feel that way.
i didn't realize that the gas mileage was that bad, maybe the non-awd version has better gas mileage (but i know it still won't be great). we were shooting for about 23 combined.
our other option that we really like but is out of our price range is the lexus rx...we think it's the best looking SUV out there, it looks aggressive, sport, and luxurious all in one. we tend to hang onto cars for a long time (my wife's honda civic is 10 years old and my type s is 8 years old), so we think the MDX was a better option due to it being bigger compared to the rx for future family growth. i haven't looked into the infinity suv yet but i've heard great things about it. like the rx, i think it's slightly out of our range too. the mdx is great because you get so many more options for the price point.
that's interesting about the oil consumption, i didn't know or hear about that at all so that's good you told me that. my TL currently has an oil leak so i'm very used to checking oil every 1000 miles and filling up as needed hahaha.
i've been checking prices every week or so and right now they are about 35k for the 2015 used models. They vary between 20 and 50k miles which is a ton, but sounds like they are pretty reliable and shouldn't be that big of a deal. the navigation is lower on our requirement list due to all the recent phones options now available like you mentioned. in fact i'm currently doing the nexus 7 tablet install in my type s and that should blow away any "off the shelf" head unit out there...things have come a long way for that kind of stuff. i'm sure i could figure out something on my own for the MDX if i feel like it really needed some more tech. thanks again for all the info!
thanks for all the info, that's a huge help!! it's great to talk to a real owner of the car since the forum tends to be a little weak in that area. that's good news to hear that it drives very smooth and allows the driver to feel connected to the car. i'm an overall enthusiast and i don't think i would like a newer car that doesn't feel that way.
i didn't realize that the gas mileage was that bad, maybe the non-awd version has better gas mileage (but i know it still won't be great). we were shooting for about 23 combined.
our other option that we really like but is out of our price range is the lexus rx...we think it's the best looking SUV out there, it looks aggressive, sport, and luxurious all in one. we tend to hang onto cars for a long time (my wife's honda civic is 10 years old and my type s is 8 years old), so we think the MDX was a better option due to it being bigger compared to the rx for future family growth. i haven't looked into the infinity suv yet but i've heard great things about it. like the rx, i think it's slightly out of our range too. the mdx is great because you get so many more options for the price point.
that's interesting about the oil consumption, i didn't know or hear about that at all so that's good you told me that. my TL currently has an oil leak so i'm very used to checking oil every 1000 miles and filling up as needed hahaha.
i've been checking prices every week or so and right now they are about 35k for the 2015 used models. They vary between 20 and 50k miles which is a ton, but sounds like they are pretty reliable and shouldn't be that big of a deal. the navigation is lower on our requirement list due to all the recent phones options now available like you mentioned. in fact i'm currently doing the nexus 7 tablet install in my type s and that should blow away any "off the shelf" head unit out there...things have come a long way for that kind of stuff. i'm sure i could figure out something on my own for the MDX if i feel like it really needed some more tech. thanks again for all the info!
If you love how your TL drives and handles, then you will love the MDX. I am not saying they handle the same, but the characteristics are there, road feel, steering response, etc.. Drive the MDX and Lexus RX/Highlander back to back and you can tell right away, the Lexus drives really smooth, so smooth actually that on long roads, it is kind of boring. The steering feel/feedback is absent, it is very toned down, hence the smoothness. Ride is also very soft. I you like this kind of characteristics, then you will love the RX. My wife tends towards the Lexus feel and we keep going back and forth on the MDX and RX but settled with the MDX because of the extra 2 seat in the back, as it turned out, we use it quite often. There is a new RX 7 seater that is coming out, it is called L or XL. You might want to wait for that if you are in the marker for brand new. I tend to buy used and let someone else take the initial depreciation hit
The oil consumption is only on the late J37 models I believe, I read somewhere that they used "Aluminum/Silicon" piston sleeve rather than the traditional cast iron sleeve that the J series engines use. They're saying this is causing the oil consumption, only on the J37 though, so if you get the 2014+ up MDX, you should not have these oil consumption since the current model MDX has a J35 with the direct injection engine.
I have no idea about this Nexus Tablet for our TL-S, I will have to check this out , the MDX then to keep their value well and you will see MDX's with high miles and still have high prices.
I have been searching for an MRP TL with OEM 18" aspec wheels, I saw one pic , how many colors did the Aspec wheels come from factory? I know there is the one I have on the pic above, and a chrome one. Is there any another one that is a little darker?
And a question to you guys who redid your Brembo brake calipers, because the shop that are doing my wheels are giving me a killer deal to powder coat my front calipers, what color would go well? I was thinking like an Orange but not made up my mind in terms of the caliper color up front. Also, I have to bring these to him to get them powder coated, what can I use to plug the brake lines since the calipers will be off the car for a few days?
Have an RL and TL and only swapped out the RL what I used was visegrips. They also have special hose clamp pliars to crimp the hoses too but not sure its really that necessary just get a bottle to catch the fluid, your gonna have to bleed them anyway why not also flush the fluid at same time too.
On my RL, i bought off a guy in black market here he had them powder coated and bolts and guide pins chromed. They are in an orange and look phenominal on the CGP. Look below on colors for calipers with sample shots. Look through that for some ideas. Mine are in there in the orange. I also swapped out to sslines since everything was off
Just wanted to update this thread, did some maintenance work on it.. I'm loving the car, but eventually sold the car to my cousin who needed a car as he was back from military duty overseas. I would not have let it go without finding a replacement TL-S!
Starter cable and PCV. Old starter cable was corroded!
Looks like the A/T fluid was never changed.. did a 3x3 DW-1 fluid..
new air cleaner filter ..
changed out all 3 of the a/t pressure sensor.. wasn't easy to get to but got her done..
took out those stubborn rotor hat screws!
bled the brake fluid.. looks like it has never been bled, the reservoir is dirty and nasty inside..
That had to be a hard decision, but adding a pedal probably made it a little easier! Your cousin got a very nice car with a lot of the maintenance completed. He should be set for awhile! Also, thanks for his service!
Congrats on joining the cool club with the extra pedal! Can't wait to see what you do with this one.
That had to be a hard decision, but adding a pedal probably made it a little easier! Your cousin got a very nice car with a lot of the maintenance completed. He should be set for awhile! Also, thanks for his service!
Congrats on joining the cool club with the extra pedal! Can't wait to see what you do with this one.
Thanks! It was not an easy decision since I sold the car to my cousin without really looking to get in a 6 spd TL-S. I was just browsing through and undecided on which car to get at first, wife and I didn't want car payments as I was looking for a replacement, for the money, I don't think there is a better car out there in my opinion since my priorities are reliability and ease of maintenance, repair. Plus, I know the MRP will go to a nice home and my cousin will take good care of it, I went all out on the maintenance on that car.
Thanks! I'm glad I found the 6 Spd and will do the maintenance first for now. There's an oil leak I am trying to track down. It is awesome to own a manual car again!
Nice. Im on the waiting list for the perfect TL-S 6MT WDP.
is it just me or would some of you remove the TL-S tails? I just find it too conflicting and ugly.
Nice. Im on the waiting list for the perfect TL-S 6MT WDP.
is it just me or would some of you remove the TL-S tails? I just find it too conflicting and ugly.
Thanks. They are not easy to find but if you just take your time and be patient, you will find one. Good Luck in your search.
I would not remove the tails, they are perfect in my opinion, it is more of a subjective matter my man..car looks good as it is to me..
10-12-2016, 11:21 PM
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