Hi guys,

I'm going to enjoy getting to know all of you fellow Cl owners and your sexy beasts. I just got my 2001 Acura CL Type S the other week and i'm damn stoked! I just put in an Injen Cold Air Intake system so I'm probably pushing 280 horses give or take a few.

Well, suffice it to say that i've got the "mod bug." Being new to sports cars and especially to this car, I was hoping you guys could give me a couple of pointers, some advice, and point out some helpful posts/threads to my next couple of questions/ goals for my baby.

Budget: $1,000

Goal: A sleeping beauty - I want a looker that's a sleeper, something that's civilized but capable of savagery!

-I want to push 300 horses to the wheels (currently: 280, but probably 240-250 wheel) and look good doing it. I want all engine, no NOS.

-Improve my overall handling/turning/cornering


--------
What can I do to increase horsepower to the engine?

What should I add to improve handling, cornering and turning?

I'm very new to car modifications and autos in general, so if you guys could help me out with some advice or point me to certain places that you think will show me good products or instructions of what to do for your young grasshopper, i'd really appreciate that.


Thank you all!

-Mike

 

don't want to make you feel sad or anything, but CAI alone will not push you to 280hp, and to get to 300whp, you will need to go FI

 

hrmmm..... i unno bobby....

and as for you augunnu.... you should do a SEARCH it helps allot and you wont get angry responses but since you're a n00b.....

Comptech Icebox
XS (or comptech) Headers
UR Crank
Thermoblock Throttle Spacers
RT High Flow Cat
Unichip

With the above engine mods you should be nearing 300whp or atleast in the neighborhood of 280-300whp from what i've been reading.... but that's even a bit of a stretch... the only way to get more than 300whp is w/ a Supercharger or even the more rare and elusive turbo (you'll have to build that yourself from scratch or pay through the nose to buy one from someone here).

As for turning and handling I haven't looked into it since i'm more interested in trying to accomplish 300WHP w/ a N/A J32A2 also.... but all of this information can be attained by clicking SEARCH it's really helpful. oh and welcome to a-zine! Enjoy the ride! I'm looking for a 6 speed with navi meself, but hey I fell in love with CL's w/ a 01 type-s so enjoy the whip!!

 

lol..........


Honestly man, if you want 300whp. You will need to go turbo, supercharger or nitrous along with regular bolt ons. I don't recall anyone getting over 300whp all motor. If you are referring to 300crank hp, then I believe thats possible with some bolt ons.

Good luck and happy modding.

 

im sure he means crank.

theres a big diff between crank horsepower and wheel horsepower.

our cars have like 220whp stock? someone help me out here,.

 

erm i've seen dynos in the 230s I think, i may be crazy...

oh btw aung you are not going to get anywhere near 300WHP with a 1k budget FI or no FI.

 

I do not think CAI can give u 20HP... unless u have header.
stock CL-S is 260, and CAI alone will certainly not bring it up to 280.
I do not think $1000 budget will get the work done.

 

were you drinkin when you posted this thread?

 

take it easy on him, he prolly just got the car, i went through the same thing when i got mine, and got the "modbug", but yea to give you a heads up your prolly gonna end up dishing out around 5 grand for that turbo for 300 to the wheels, or 4grand supercharged, good luck and dont go cheap, you get what you pay for....

 

lol! Been on plenty of different forums, but I kinda figured that the car community forum would be more mature and helpful. Silly me, I guess forums are forums after all.

Anyways, I do appreciate all the advice. 1k is just a laxed budget because I figure i'd have to start somewhere. I'll look into the specific parts that you guys mentioned in the searches and thanks for the reality check as far as the budget to 300bhp ratio. That really gives me a good perspective.

I guess i'll spend my 1k on Ebach prokit, springs, and work on the car characteristics a bit first. Then i'll look into the headers and spacers like some of you recommended! Thanks for your comments and keep em coming.

 

Welcome to the forum !!

Since you've already done the intake, headers and springs (to lower the car) are probably you best bets for mods that will offer the greatest improvements (unless you go forced induction).

 

Cheapest and best suspension mod is the sway bar. It won't give you the aggressive stance like lowering your car, but you can feel the difference in your ride right away.

For $115 and a super easy install, this should be the first mod everyone does to their car in my opinion. I still remember the look on my face after installing my sways and taking my CL out for a test drive afterwards and how much flatter it drove.

 

sway bar upgrade is one of the most noticeable ones. i loved my upgrade =]

300whp is possible.. but not with your budget.

 

Is $115 for the Rear TL sway bar ??

 

as for sway bars. me and subtledreamer picked up two full sets of eibach sways (i believe they are the thickest in the market) for $150 used. awesome price! the best part is that it's interchangeable between the tl, cl, and accord =] meaning you can find it cheaper used on certain forums (ahem, accords)

 

Yes I believe that is what he is referring to.

aunggu - The rear-sway bar is probably the best bang for your buck as far as improving handling. You can install it yourself and the difference is night and day. Welcome to the forum.

 

Yup, and while you are at it, pick up some Universal poly bushings from Pep boys while doing the install.

 

I appreciate and will follow your guy's advice.

I'm going to pick up some performance sway bars for my car. Should I get front, rear, or both for sway bars?

As far as more bang for my buck, would sway bars or springs be the better way to go? I will probably end up doing both, but which would show a more noticable improvement right away?

And of course, my 1k budget is a start. I've got plenty squirreled away to blow on my new baby. Thanks for all your advice and keep em coming, i'll keep you guys updated as well! Thanks.

 

For our cars you only need the rear sway bar. This is a noticeable improvement, but its hard for me to decide if this or springs have a better result.

Since I put on sways first then springs, its an unfair evaluation.

But since you are on a budget, sways are much more reasonble in price and give a great upgrade.

Also, if you plan on dropping your car more than an inch, there are many more additional costs. (Camber kit, new shocks, alignment, all these additional costs can be $400+)

So the safe bet is to get the rear sway and stay away from the springs till you are ready to eat additional costs.

Much Luck

 

I'm finally ready to start doing some modest mods and I'd like to do the sway bar. Where can I find one at one of those great prices? I did a preliminary Ebay search but they were hitting for $320+.
Also, for those that picked up the whole kits, did you install front and rear or just rear?

 

Stock 2001 CL will typically pull 200 to 210 to the wheels, that's about it and many have posted less than 200 believe it or not.
I pulled 210 stock multiple times stock which was on the high side and I've dynoed every mod I've installed along the way, although I would have to go back and look at all of them to see what the gains were for each.
My highest dynos with the mods listed for my car below came in at 251-252 can't remember which and my best quarter times were in the 14.2's.
So I'm at or very close to 300 hp to the crank, it is possible without FI, just depends on the car and the starting point.
Of course temp and humidity can affect the dyno and the track, so numbers can be misleading but I have just about all of the bolt on mods other than FI, so my car is a good example of what you can expect to see with similar add ons.