Hey guys,

I'm excited to join the community here! I will be picking up a 2003 CL-S 6 Spd tomorrow, pending Acura 120-point inspection. I am a LONG time Euro guy (VW, Audi), and this will be my first import. I've driven the car, and really like it.

It has some exterior flaws (minor dings, scratches), but the interior is almost flawless (driver side seat is worn). All in all, it's very well taken car of, and in great shape for a 7 year old car. It's NBP with 0 mods, 2nd owner, all maintenance records, and 120,xxx miles. I'm getting it for 7.5k.

Seems about right for market average, yes?

I plan on some mods down the road: suspension, wheels, intake, exhaust, headers (maybe). We'll see how the money does.

Anyways, just wanted to pop in and say hi. I will be posting pics soon after I get the car.



Andy

 

Welcome. Headers should be #1 on your list. They give ~20hp. The cheap headers (XS) are hard to come by for the 6MT now though. You should be able to find a set of used CT headers for less then $700.

Post pics when you can.

BTW, VWs and Audis are technically imports too

 

Wow 20 HP for headers alone? That's decent, thanks.

And yeah, you're right about Euro being imports too. I always just attribute the term with Japanese.

I was thinking of hammering out the Show before the Go. The performance is enough for a DD, for me anyways. What would you recommend for springs/struts? Coils would be nice, but I'm not sure I want to drop 1k. However there is something to be said for doing it right the first time, I've made that mistake before.

 

Oh, and CT is Comptech?

 

Yes, Comptech is now called CT Engineering.

Congrats on your CLS6! You will not regret it!

 

Cool, thanks for the info. I will check them out!

 

I used to have KSport coil overs and they were junk.

You cant go wrong with Teins, but they are I bit expensive. I switched to a Neuspeed Super Cup kit and my only regret is not buying them the first time around.

 

So far....
You loved the Ksports too at first and now they are junk do to failure.
only actual trail and error will really bring the quality out.
Now you will be a louder voice on coilover opinons.

 

Well, I knew what I was getting into with the KSports and their *not so spotless* track record. Simply put, 40k miles and they are shot is not acceptable. I had them on my Civic as well, and they lasted a little over 1 year/~9k miles.

The Neuspeed kit uses Koni struts and Neuspeed springs which have a lifetime warranty on them. If I could have justified the added expense I would have gotten Tein SS-Ps revalved and resprung, and I still would have said the same thing about the K-Sports. Im not bad-mouthing coilovers in general. I love coilovers (and I still think they are superior to standard spring/strut combos). But cheap coilovers are just that - cheap. KSport, Function and Form, Omni and Megan are all the same coilovers. They are made in the same factory to the same standards (which arent very high). The only difference is the color and the branding.

I wont lie, I did love the KSports at first. The car handled brilliantly with them. But if you look deeper into it, the reason it handled like that was because it was sprung very stiff. The Neuspeed kit isn't sprung nearly as stiff, but handles just as well because the struts are valved properly.

KSport/Omni/whatever other color coilover uses basically the same valving for many different cars. The reason they get away with it is because they mask the under-valved struts with a very stiff spring - which btw dont have excellent QC either. Its unlikely to get two different springs with the exact same spring rate, but with the KSports the variance is even greater. Whereas higher quality kits match the springs up with other like spring rates to cut down on the variance.

 

welcome. lol i was thinking that too but i knew what you meant.

 

Took me 4 sets of coilovers before I found what I was looking for, trial and error for sure man

Rogue, welcome to the site

 

welcome to the A where the playas play.
and we ride Ac. whips like everyday

if u ever see a low green TL with dark tint and no chrome at all....thats me

 

my buddy dave is selling his tiens cheap.

 

Welcome Rogue! Seems like you got your CL for a decent price, especially if you got it from a stealership. I put Tein basics on my CL-S and the ride is fantastic. I lowered them down all the way and the ride is still very smooth.

 

On the header side of the world, if you are a 6MT, you only have 2 choices XSpower and CT. There is a world of difference between the price of tyhe 2 and a world of difference in the quality. The performance gains between the 2 are nearly identical.

The problem is that the CL-S 6MT uses a sifferent set up for the rear motor mount and most headers won't fit. The CT's and XSpower headers have a odd bend on the pipes for the rear bank to accomodate this.

The next problem is that XSpower headers (which we used buy for $97 shipped) are practically non existant at this point.

 

Damn I just got me function and form, LOL

I guess I'm screwed now. Thanks civic , u bastard!

 

Had my cls6 for a good year now, its not the fastest car around town, but its faster then what most of my friends drive. And its faster than most people think it would be. I think I like it because you don't see too many of them, people are always asking if its a TL or Integra or RSX. I tell them CL and there like Ohh never heard of it. But ya you won't be disappointed(except for the fwd). Its a great buy.

 

welcome, you'll love the car

 

Its hit or miss with them. Some have good luck, others dont.

 

Thanks for the warm welcomes guys! I just bought it, from a private seller. Just got back from Acura and had the CPO inspection done. There is "wetness" around the main seal, not a drip, but it will need to be replaced down the road. Clutch is original, with 120k on it, still grips ok but I can tell it's on the way out. It's a bit slow to disengage.

I'll do the seal and clutch at the same time and save some cash. The mounts will have to be replaced soon too, side engine mount is cracking. Any recommendations for aftermarket mounts?

All in all though, I'm very happy and really like it.

I'll post pics soon!

 

I don't know much about the Tein's for the 2nd gen, but I had a set of SS's that I returned for the cheaper F&F's and they looked nearly identical. They were different in that the SS's didn't have adjustable preload, but the collars, perch, dampening knob, shock body and wrenches were very much alike. I assume the Tein's have a more thorough QC which contribute to the higher price.

If the Tein's can be resprung and revalved, that'd make them a much better set-up overall. They're already quite expensive and changing the spings/valves would probably put you in the Tein Flex price range. That is, if the Flex are even available for the CL.

 

IIRC its around $125 per corner for revalving. Ive heard from some that F2s are actually different then KSports/Megan/Omni coilovers, but Ive heard from alot more that they are the same.

The design of the coilovers is pretty basic. Its the quality control that sets them apart.

 

Makes you wonder what the QC standards of those really cheap Raceland coilovers are. They're selling for roughly $250 and appear to be another F&F, D2, Ksport clone.

If they are manufactured in the same plant as the others, with the same QC, that gives you an idea of what kind of profit margin these companies have.

 

Yup. Same thing can be said about alot of things though (HID kits come to mind).