Does anyone know of a good website for learning about car modification? I'm thinking something like tirerack.com where you can enter your vehicle and the site tells you what you can do with it...

 

Everything you could possibly want to know about TSX mods is here.

What do you have in mind?
Performance?
Style?

 

In this I am a true newb.
I guess I was hoping for a hold-your hand customization website that will help to differentiate between what I can or can't do. :-) Mostly for my own edification of course (don't tell my wife).

Um... performance I guess mostly.

 

The most common mods seem to be:
-cold air intake (CAI)
-Comptech sway bar
-better tires
-lighter wheels
-suspension kits (springs/ shocks, A-Spec suspension, or coil-overs)

It all depends on what your budget is. So far the only performance mod I've done is the intake but I'm going to be doing a few other things this summer. :evilgrin:
Certain mods will have worse WAF (wife approval factor) than others if that's important to you. An intake or ehaust would probably have a pretty low WAF. Wheels and tires would probably have a pretty good WAF.

 

LOL Nice with the WAF. You seem to know what that is like.
So I guess my questions would be (don't trouble yourself with complex explainations, simple is fine -- i can look up the details):
- what is the benefit of cold air intake?
- what is a comptech sway bar?
- i've heard that most designer rims are heavier, not lighter... so they have lighter ones too? do they look good?
- re: the suspension kits, is there much noticeable difference for someone unlikely to bring their car to the track? (especially when you are already starting with a TSX)
- If I was going to spend my money on one thing, what would give the best bang for the buck performance-wise?

Thanks you are a great help DM.

 

One more thing. I have also heard about changing the ECU chip in a car... would this be necessary to take full advantage for other enhancements you make?

 

Reading is important but nothing is better than actaully doing the work yourself. The best way to gain more knowledge on cars is first you have to know all basics like how does a car operate? EFI systems on a 4cyl, 6cyl and 8cyl, emissions, electric, at what degree does the intake valve and exhust valve over lap or close and so on. Working for a small shop on weekends will help you gain all knowledge you want to know. Remember, fixing a car or installing parts aren't hard but to diagnose a problem or even to tune a car is another thing.

Good luck on your reserach!!

 

There is a lot of chat on these mods in this section so I'll be brief.
- A CAI gains about 12hp by removing the restrictive stock intake and routing cold air into the engine.
-Comptech is a famous aftermarket company that makes parts of all types for hondas and acuras. Our car already has front and rear sway bars but the rear sway bar is kind of soft which causes understeer and body roll in agressive driving. The Comptech sway bar is stiffer than stock so it reduces body roll an understeer.
-Our wheels weigh 22lbs each so you can certainly get heavier ones and lighter ones. The blinged-out chrome wheels will definitely weigh more than stock but there are a lot of nice looking lightweight wheels available too. Usually a forged wheel will be lighter than a cast wheel but also much more expensive. Your best bet is to look through the wheel gallery that Xizor has put together and see what you like best: http://gallery.bussert.dyndns.org:81/TSXWheels
-Most people go for a suspension kit because they want their car to ride lower. Some kits are more tuned for track use, while others are made for the street. The Acura A-Spec kit is a pretty nice choice because it lowers the car about an inch (maybe a little less), improves handling, and most reports have said that it actually feels like it rides better than stock.

As for what to buy, the CAI is the best bang (about $200) for your buck but your wife will definitely notice if you put one on. It's much louder than the stock intake but only when you're at 3/4 to wide open throttle. Once you're cruising, you'll never tell the difference from stock. There are a few sound clips of what the intakes sound like if you do a search you should be able to find them.

If the CAI is out of the question, the next thing you should consider is a set of sticky summer tires. This mod is well worth it because it improves every aspect of your car's performance from braking, accelerating, and cornering. Once you drive with performance rubber, you'll never want all-seasons again.

 

There are many of us waiting for an aftermarket ECU option but so far nothing is available for us. Hondata is one of the most respected ECU upgrade manufacturers for Honda and Acura vehicles but they are at least another year away from having something ready. There are several other manufacturers out there that could produce an ECU for the TSX so we might see something before Hondata is ready.

An ECU upgrade or reflash can help unleash lost power in your engine but is not required for any of the mods currently available. It works by altering fuel maps and the vtec engagement point. In general, a reflash will be fine if you just plan on doing simple bolt on mods such as intake, header, and exhaust. If you want to go big, get a programable ECU such as the K-Pro by Hondata, then you can have the computer tuned so extract the most power from your engine. No two engines are exactly the same so the K-Pro is an awesome system but quite a bit more costly if you do the install properly by tuning it on a dyno.

People that are planning on supercharger or turbo upgrades are anxiously waiting for an ECU upgrade. If you go forced induction, you pretty well have to have some sort of aftermarket fuel management system to keep things working properly.

 

Wow, thanks Dan

 

Glad I could help you.

 

that is a loaded statement depends what manufacturer and how much you want to spend. weight is one thing of concern, but getting plus sized wheels brings in another factor - inertia - even with a lighter wheel, the weight is now even further out from the center of the wheel (where it gets turned obviously) therefore it yields lower performance in terms of straight line acceleration.

heck yea there is a noticeable difference. first off, if you get anything (aside from the a spec suspension apparently) you will deterioate ride quality. you will see a drastic reduction in body roll. and you will see premature tire damage if you dont get an alignment and a camber kit

i would say the injen CAI. but you run a big chance of sucking in water and hydrolocking your motor.

my suggestion would be to look some stuff up on your own. modding a car is simply too complicated to answer a question like - what can i do to mod my car?

every mod has it's pitfalls and be prepared - once you start modding - you will not be able to stop. one thing leads to another. you'll see. my suggestion - if you dont plan on spending money and you're not that into aftermarket products i would stronly suggest you keep your car stock. modding is not for the light hearted.

and be careful of that trout, it's deadly hehe

 

You definitely deserve a for that one. The water would have to be 18"+ deep for you to injest water with a CAI. The water would have to be over the front lip of your car for that to happen.

 

I had no idea dzuy was such a big noob? When did that happen?

 

I think the WAF trick here is to put this on prior to bringing the baby home for the first time! (Wow honey, what an interesting sound your new car makes!)

heh heh

Would the Acura dealer sell the vehicle with only summer or winter tires so I don't have to waste my money on All Seasons?

 

One more: Would CAI installation void the warranty?

 

It wouldn't void your warranty unless you drove it into a pond and messed up the engine.

 

Good luck with that one.

The all-seasons come from the factory. I'm sure they'll gladly put summers on them for you but you're probably not going to get a discount if they keep OEM rubber. Your best bet is to sell them privately in our Black Market section.

What part of Canada are you from?

 

I'm from Edmonton Alberta, land of smooth, clean streets for only 30 days per year! (ok maybe a bit longer than that)

 

Burrrrrrrr.

There's a few members here from your neck of the woods.

 

hey hey hey. no fish slapping.

all joking aside, this happened to one of my friends. granted his car was lowered about 2 inches. here's the story.

he was driving on a 2 lane road - one lane going each way. there was a flood in the road. it went up to his bumper, so i would say that is about 6-8 inches of water. he completely let off the gas, was going about 10 mph. next thing you know - his car shuts off. he cant start it.

why? hydrolock. just b/c the manufacturer says it SHOULD survive up to 18" of water, i wouldn't put my money on it.

hydrolocking may be rare, but it is a risk. that is why i chose the comptech ice box.

you can snicker at me for being scared now - but i'll be laughing my ass off when some noob on the board buys a CAI w/o any knowledge of the risk and blows his motor.

i'm just watching out for the noobs. besides, this guy doesn't sound like he knows too much about modifying cars to begin with.

so be careful noobs,

 

Ah. As I said in another thread, don't go swimming with your TSX and you'll be fine.

 

well, if someone goes swimming, can they look for some more trout?

there seems to be a missing smiley on tsx.acurazine.com hehe



i see i have spread my influence over in the OT section, just do a search for troutslap to see what i mean.

 

I'm petitioning soopa to change it to :herringslap: just to be different.

 

That's a good one.

 

:pickeralslap:, :bassslap:, :pikeslap: :salmonslap:, :muskieslap: The possibilities are endless.

 

I'll be the first to say I am more than overjoyed (is that a word) that the smiley doesn't work.

 

I don't know too much about it by my own admission (see my earlier posts). You seem to be well informed, what are the other risks?

 

oh i wasnt trying to be insulting. hope you didn't think that.

there are several risks and complications.

1. the stock intake has a few resonators that are a pain in the ass to get off, the instructions say to take off the bumper, which is a pain in the ass, i took mine to a shop and the guy was able to work around it, but he has a hydraulic lift - so working on the car is easier.

2. i'll compare hydrolocking your motor to getting aids. everyone says it's ok. you dont have to be too careful. but all it takes is one time. see my flow? sure, the chances are low of messing up your motor from sucking up water, but the risk is there regardless.

3. some acura dealers may not like that you modified the intake system - esp if you somehow develop a problem with the motor. and trust me, they can tell if you have an intake - even tho you put the stock one back in for service. theyre not dumb.

4. getting intake alone isn't going to get you the most power possible. w/o header and exhuast (and a hi flow cat) you'll be leaving your exhuast system incomplete. imagine the intake the tip of a straw where you suck in air. so you get an intake and have higher air inlet. so then imagine pinching the straw and blowing out the same amount of air that was sucked in the straw. that's what you'll be doin by keeping the stock exhuast and header. if you dont believe me, ask anyone on the board how puny the stock header pipe is, and the huge collector that is ultra restrictive.

5. dont forget you'll have to clean your filter every so often. that involves taking out the fenderwell and basically making your car undriveable for an afternoon, not to mention you'll need a filtercharger kit to re-oil your filter.

6. common sense but - the more power you try to squeeze out of your motor - the shorter the life span of your motor. grant it you'll probably wont even know - but like i said earlier - its good to know the consequences of your actions.

7. not sure but, i never really did understand the purpose of having a metal pipe as a CAI - i mean wouldn't the metal get hotter than the plastic? so wouldn't you be drawing more hot air into the motor? i'm not too sure on this one. just a question.

just be careful of your decision. at first i just wanted to get a lowered suspension and some nice wheels. somehow i ended up buying all this extra crap.

then i thought - it would be nice to have a nice looking exhuast. then that somehow ended up with me buying all this crap.

and believe me, aftermarket products NEVER fit perfect. and if someone tells you otherwise, they're a fool or a liar. and you will see small problems too...i,e, i have this damn exhuast rattle i cant figure out.

and my warning to you is - once you start modding - it'll catch like a wild fever and you wont know how to get rid of it. so if you are wanting to start modding cars b/c you think it might be fun - be prepared to deal with a lot of headaches.

so why do i put up with it? simple. i love cars.

 

Who fixed the smiley?

 

you're such a trout hater!!!

 

No worries I really have no idea about this stuff. And after hearing your comments, I think I'll leave the engine mods to people who have more time and money than me...

 

well, i wouldn't give up just yet. just do a lil more research. there is a plethora of info on the net - including this site on how to properly mod your car.