Manasseh257

So I'm very new to modding and haven't gotten the chance to mod my car yet.
I'm trying to lay out a plan and pretty much organize, prioritize, and learn everything I can about what's what so I don't carelessly add stuff and eff my car up after the first mod. (Not to mention I'm not trying to spend unnecessary money on shit)

So the car I drive is an Acura TL 2.5 (First Gen 1997) and lately I've been looking for engine performance parts and trying to add up prices, estimate how much everything would cost at the end (initially), and pretty much lay out a foundation on how I would want everything to play out. A problem I'm starting to see is that the G25a engine doesn't have much aftermarket support. I can't find any type of CAI, Headers, Cams, Intake Manifolds, High flow exhausts etc. for the car, at least vehicle specifically and it's a bit discouraging to say the least.

What can I do? Will I have to fabricate my own parts or are there parts out there that I can use for my car?

I want to experiment and find out but I don't want to jump and do something blindly and mess up something.

You guys are pretty handy and improvisational, how would you all tackle this issue?

horseshoez

iTrader: (2)

You may not like this advice, but I would recommend you buy a different car with more aftermarket support.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

yeah.....bro..there is absolutely zero aftermarket support for the first gen TL.
you will be the guinea pig. go ahead and test things out.

Manasseh257

Yeah that's the unfortunate reality that I've been coming to terms with. Some of the engine builds I've looked up pretty much made other vehicle specific parts work on their car. (But they had to do quite some fabricating and adjustments)
I just gotta look more into how and what they did to fabricate these parts to fit their engines.

While buying a Miata, Subie, or Civic is still an option, it' not the choice I'm making. I've only ever seen 1 or 2 1st gen TLs on the Web that were actually modified heavily. I know it'l
be hard but I'm with the challenge and will like having one of the very few modified 1st gen TLs.

I preciate y'alls feedback though.​​​

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

if it's your daily driver, i'd advise against that.
just drive it and enjoy it.

however; if it's a project car...then the mighty car gods have blessed you

horseshoez

iTrader: (2)

The only really good thing about your car from my perspective is it has an inline engine which makes adding a turbocharger relatively easy (when compare to a vee style engine). However, adding forced induction to your engine will be very hard on the transmission; if you go this route, you'll probably be replacing transmissions every year or two.

Manasseh257

It will turn into project car once I get a new car. (I won't start modding until I have another daily driver just planning ahead)

​​​​​​​I most likely won't do forced induction for reasons like that tbh. I'll be fine with just getting the most out of my engine naturally aspirated. I'm not looking to do anything ridiculously extreme. Just moderate performance modding and a few aesthetic changes.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

we're barely squeezing 30hp out of the 3rd gen TL.....and that's with aftermarket support!!!
your attempts will be futile....

Manasseh257

I'm aware. But I won't be taking it to any type of drag strip or doing 1/4 times in it as I'm more concerned about the handling and cornering (I'd be taking it to circuits rather than drag strips). So to me any gains I make will be an accomplishment. Even if I squeeze out a mere 15 extra horses.
Believe me, I'm very realistic and know I'm not going to be making a 400 HP 1st gen TL and I'm perfectly fine with that. I just want to do something different and I don't have the knowledge or skill yet to attempt an engine swap nor would it be necessary at the moment, so just having a unique performance oriented 1st gen TL that I built will satisfy me.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

but it wont be performance oriented....you probably wont even squeeze 15hp out of...

- fab up cold air intake
- fab up exhaust..

that's as much as you can do!

horseshoez

iTrader: (2)

Fixed.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

i mean if this is really a project car, throw some nitrous at it...and hope to god nothing breaks.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

basically think of your car as a naturally aspirated 4 cylinder.
there are no bolt on modifications for an N/A 4 cylinder that increases power.

unless you throw nitrous at it, or go forced induction.

horseshoez

iTrader: (2)

Splitting hairs here, but I thought the G25A was a normally aspirated Inline-5.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

it is.
I'm trying to have a teaching moment here. lol

if he thinks of it as an N/A 4 cylinder, he'll realize nothing can be done to make the car any faster.
i've had '89 Mazda mx-6, 1998 Toyota Corolla, 1999 chevy s-10, 2002 v6 dodge ram 1500. None of those cars were any faster after adding a cold air intake and resistors to trick the ecu...
they were all 4 cylinder's, save for the dodge...

horseshoez

iTrader: (2)

Ahhh, got it; sorry for the misunderstanding.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

no worries; I enjoy your input as I learn from you too.