Hey everyone,

Not sure if this should go in this section but I just wanted to reach out to the other CL owners out here, maybe you guys can help me out.

So my first car is my 2001 Acura CL base model. Got it from my brother about two years ago and loved it. Only thing that was done to it were some wheels (which sadly I still haven't gotten rid of....) After driving it around I spent the rest of my money on an AEM cold air intake and a 2.5" catback quad exhaust I had a shop do for me. Also got the windows tinted as well. The car was great. It was comfy to drive and wasn't boring to drive at all. To be honest, I probably had one of the better cars at my high school. As time went by, I grew to love my car and be thankful for what I had. She never gave me any problems besides two tickets but that was besides the point. I wanted to go all out on her and make her look and perform amazingly. I added a few things here and there such as a trunk lip spoiler, painted the brake calipers black, and changed the road lamps to white LEDs. This summer I did a whole sound system revamp and added a neuspeed strut brace. The car was a lot more enjoyable. I was thinking of increasing the power with some headers but then I decided that I eventually want to do a J32/J35 hybrid motor. I calculated cost for everything, talked to Yungone often to get advice, and I had it set. I was going to save up as often as possible for this engine swap.

But then a few weeks after I had decided to do the engine swap, I came to a realization. I started noticing how bad the resale value is and I also started noticing better cars out there on the road. The other thing that I wanted was the 6 speed manual from the '03 type s. I wanted the third pedal. I started looking on craigslist for other cars. Anywhere from a 300zx to a E46 M3. Even looked into old muscle cars. Cars appealed to me but then I kept looking back at my car. I started thinking that the costs of getting a different car weren't worth selling my car over.

I believe these feelings of my car spawned from my friends to be honest. I had no one to really relate to and talk hondas/acuras with. The CL community is a dying race and over there, I see two of my friends with RX-7 FCs with a local community of 10 other RX-7 people. My other friends consist of a Stage 1 A4, an FR-S, a miata, and soon to be another RX-7 owner.

Basically, I'm at a point right now where I don't even know if I want to put anymore money into my car. I recently purchase Brian6speed's TL lip that I know I will be molding on to the car. But my plans before for coilovers, wheels, and other things are just being overlooked in search of a different car. I'm not sure if its because I think my car is inadequate or because I just want to be around other people with the same car as me. Maybe some of you CL guys can help out here. Maybe share some stories?

Thanks for letting me tell my life story lol

 

Don't invest a whole lot of money into the CL.

The CL is a great daily driver. I have the CL-S MT, but even a regular CL or 2nd gen TL has plenty of power for day to day (my parents had a 2nd gen TL). Throw in a head unit that has nav and bluetooth and there aren't any other luxury features I really want.

I am assuming your CL is paid off. I would start putting money aside for another car if you want something to go a little wild with. It's no fun trying to daily a sports car.

For example, I have a 370Z. I have some things done to it and I don't have to worry about hurting usability. I can lower it, put on a body kit, spend on a nice paint job. Even the little things make a big difference when you have a daily driver. I bought super sticky tires for my Z that will wear out in 15k miles, but that's ok. If I were to daily the car, I'd be going through tires every few months and costs would get out of hand.

Turning the CL into something it is not (a true sports car) is just an expensive proposition. When I first got my CL, it came with a CAI that I found incredibly annoying. It droned when I was cruising on the highway so I removed it. Yeah so maybe I just lost 5 HP. Big deal. Even an MT CL-S with full bolt-ons will probably not get a 5.9 0-60. A 350Z runs 5.4 stock, a 370Z 4.7 stock. The performance difference is not even comparable. And we haven't even compared handling and braking yet.

Plenty of go-fast or showy options out there. I wouldn't dump a whole lot of money into a CL.

 

Yeah I get what you mean. I guess I'm at that point where I fell out of love with the car and I just feel like I want something... more.

 

Personally, I'd say be different. Keep the CL, keep the mods to a few grand or less and drive it for 5+ years. Sounds like a 6 speed swap is in order though. Once you do that, it will certainly run forever with good care and you will continue to be the only one with 'your' car and not another g35/37, 350/370z, rx7/8, etc.

Now if you find a 300zx in good condition, that's a different story...

Even if these others are better performance cars, the CL is still one of the best combo luxury sport coupes around and a real 'sleeper'. On the flip side, I bet your friends, at times, probably get tired of driving a car that is grossly oversold and everywhere. Seriously, how many G's are out there? Last thing this world needs is more on the road, ha!

If you must, go for a 370z, great aftermarket support and the sky is the limit on upgrades and customization. At the end of the day, a CL is a cheap platform that you will never recover costs on, but if you fix it up just the way you want, plan to keep it 5+ years and the decision will be fiscally worth it to keep the car, pocket the money for a future project.

 

I bet you could sell your CL for 4k-5k or so. Pull off the parts you can like your sound system.

You can probably pick up a MT CL for 6.5k or so. Buy it and put your audio equipment back on. Do not do the engine/tranny swap. Save the time and expense of doing a swap to create something truly unique, not to emulate something available off the shelf.

I was this close to doing a swap myself. I bought a wrecked CL-S 6 MT, and then I had it at the shop partially disassembled as I was looking for an anthracite 2nd gen TL-S. I thought it would be neat to have one of the few 2nd gen TL-S MTs around.

After studying a lot of threads on here and vp6 and other places, it just wasn't worth it. The CL-S seemed repairable for much cheaper, so that is the way I went. And this was to make something that would have been unique. I can't imagine going through all of that expense to get something that will be functionally identical (hopefully!) to something you can just buy.

 

^ agreed

 

There's lots of local members in the Sacramento/Bay area you can meet with.
A lot of members still miss their CLs after they sold them. I know I'll miss mine when it's going. But I still love it and even have a replacement oddy trans in my garage when my current one goes. For me, the CL is a great car. Roomy, safe, quick and rare.
Mod it the way you like it and enjoy it. You may not like your new car as much and wish you'd had your CL back and by that time it's too late. Maybe test drive a 370Z/FR-S and make a comparasion. Another down side is car payments.

 

I also say - why do what everyone else is doing?

No matter how cool or how fast or wild you make your car, there will always be someone with more money and time to throw at their car.

The CL has timeless good looks and should provide years of trouble free service, and with relatively little investment will handle really well and provide respectable performance.

 

Your already invested and have history with your CL, which is worth a lot. You need to figure out what you want and need your car to do. Only you can decide, but your getting better MPG then any of the cars listed, have decent performance, can have more then two people in the car at a time and its does not require a lot of maintenance to keep running.

 

Maybe this was caused by my wanting of things happening sooner rather than later. I've always imagined that when I'm older I'd have some fast car that people noticed but I guess that I'm probably at that point where I want everything now. I thank you guys for helping remind me of why I loved the car in the first place. Its practical for me and its not boring. Its not like I need speed anyways considering I'm not a race car driver and I'm only 18. The CL does get head turns every now and then. Probably because my exhaust sounds pretty damn good if you ask me.

I think it'd also be a better option financially just to keep the CL anyways since 1. its been so good to me and 2. Its not an expensive car to maintain. Plus, I do like the looks of the car a lot. Its hard not to look back when I park it.

Again, thanks you guys for helping me realize what I had again. I do like my 27 MPG, my sub 240 crank horsepower, and the fact that it has luxury features. I'm going to finish what I started with this car. I don't wanna just sell it and leave it hanging, you know?

 

I think I'm the next youngest to post here at 19 , and I guess let me tell you from my perspective .

My 2001 cls auto purchased at 18 with 95k miles . Put around 5k into it and realized I hate automatics . Decided to sell my stanced wheels and put oem tl wheels on it , kumho tires, coilovers, sound system, tint , done . Its an excellent daily driver that can still get some speed going in case of needing to pull infront of traffic . Awesome . Looks fairly god for being quite beat up with 130k now .

My 2003 Cl-s 6mt . I searched for this car for almost a year . Just got it back in June . 19 years old now . I love this car so much . The 6 speed is sooo much quicker and fun . Nothing beats fast shifts and rev match downshifts. I have a 1/222 car , the chances of seeing another on the road is slim to none . Everyone gets in my car (obviously my friends are young too ) and goes damn this interior is so nice etc ... I just love it .

Now you say the same , my friends drive :

2002 Subaru WRX wagon : JDM legacy engine and 16g ebay turbo running 13's in a grocery getter .

2001 Audi B5 S4 : Soon to be 700 horsepower , enough said .

2001 Ford Focus Hatchback and 2003 Saab 9-5 Hatch . Saab is boosted both fwd cars .

1991 Miata : Full cage welded diff and nardi steering wheel . Reguardless the most fun I usually ever have is drifting although I have 2 fwd cars .

Also I've driven my friends M swapped bmw , holy shit rwd and bmw is just such a win . I love it . But once again everyone has a bmw . I'm the only CL . I have 1 friend with a 6th gen accord coupe on coilovers but I mean that's still not a cl .

I guess to finish this I just gotta say nothing will be the same as your cl . If you like something else than get it and love it but don't be upset the cl is gone .

Oh and btw I drove a stock scion frs ... so damn slow . Wait for the turbo model if you're gonna get one . Also because the value is gonna tank once the turbo model comes out . Stay out of debt the best you can .

 

Yeah personally I would hunt down for a 6 speed CL but I have one problem: I can't find one in black lol I like the other colors but personally I only want one in Black. Black or the blue color they have for the car. Now that blue is a nice color. NBP and ABP are my favorites followed by Anthracite.

I rode in a stock frs and yeah they are pretty slow for what they could've been. I guess it is pretty cool to say you're the only CL out there. Definitely gives it the "what car is that?" appeal. If I ever come across a black 6 speed for sale, I'll be all over that. But for now, I'll enjoy what I have and make the most out of it, which is a lot for this car.

 

On the FR-S. There's no torque in that engine but the handling is great.

 

Can't fault you there. The CL isn't a rice rocket or is it a race car ( well ok except maybe thinjims )

At this point the aftermarket is nill & the $ to ring out only minor performance gains doesn't make any dollar sense.

My 2nd car is a 93 Explorer worth about $1K. But I'm not going to entertain the thought to lifting it or putting expensive wheels or any $ into major mods because it ain't worth it. As you have discovered there are better cars on the road that fill your wants more the the CL.

 

Of course there will always be faster cars on the road and of course there will always be a better platform to mod dollar/hp. For me however, as some have already mentioned..it's all about exclusivity. When my car blew through 2 auto trans, I got a good deal on a crashed 6 speed car, and swapped mine. When I continued to warp several sets of shitty stock brake rotors, I upgraded to a RL bbk. When I wasn't happy with the old shitty factory head unit, I upgraded to a pioneer double din and now have my whole music library at my fingertips. When the stock power was not enough, I spent money on mods. All in all, I ended up with a pretty damn rare & comfortable car that will beat/hang with most 350z's, pre 5.0 mustang gt's, stis, etc.

Just last week I was at the track and beat a bolt-on mt 06 mustang gt. Sure he trapped 2mph higher at 105, but he couldn't catch up by the time we went through the traps. Ear to ear grin on my face as the mustang owner was creeping around my car scratching his head after in the pits. As mentioned prior, the looks of the car are timeless and in 6mt, is hard to beat, aside from maybe the fwd- but the lsd makes up for a lot of what it lacks not being rwd.

All in all, i've dropped maybe 5k into my car over the years. I'll never EVER sell it as it's not worth what i've put into it, the upkeep i've done, and what it's worth to ME. Call me crazy, but i'd take this car over a 350z, 370z, and many other newer cars. I'm not saying all newer cars (i'd die for a n54/n55 335i), but many for me leave a lot to be desired. I'd rather mod my car to my liking & not have to deal with a car payment for 3-5yrs. Looking forward to turboing her over the upcoming long winter. The car can be whatever YOU want it to be & don't let anyone tell you otherwise

 

Sounds like you're in a tough spot, but I'd recommend selling your current CL and getting a 6 speed in it's place instead of dealing with the idea of swapping it. If you're mechanically inclined and have a 2nd daily, it might be a more realistic option to get your hands dirty.

After getting into an accident with my 05 Altima SE-R, I was hard pressed to find a car near or around the same performance & reliability ... so I purchased a CLS6 for $6,000 @ 126,000 miles and I have confidence this car will go another 100,000. Between the overall performance, shift quality, LSD, low oil consumption, interior quality for a 10 year car .. they're truly hard to beat. As others have said, having exclusivity is what makes this car special.

Good luck with your decision.

 

No payments FTW! I don't feel bad about throwing money at the CL now that it's paid for

 

HSo I've been an avid reader of these forums for a while now and the info posted on here has not only helped me but SEVERAL of my friends after i shared the info i found on here with them. I finally decided to register today as I believe I had a Honda/Acura knowledge base that is now broad enough to effectively contribute to the forum discussions on here with accurate technical data.

I have owned a Honda Accord (that I did A LOT of work on and got to know Hondas very very well through this car). I have worked on an RL and a few civics as well etc. A little over a year and a half ago I had the pleasure of taking over ownership of a 2003 CL Type S Black on Black with no nav and 6spd transmission. I absolutely fell in love with this car immediately (esp going from a 1994 Accord) and honestly have not found another car that's as good on gas with as much power, comfort and luxury.

Anyways, I was going through the forum and this post caught my eye as I can relate to it quite well. Recently in the spring my family purchased a new vehicle (VW Jetta) without bothering to tell me to congradulate me on successfully completing university etc (I only have to pay insurance and gas on it). As much as I like the Jetta it just does not compare to the Acura at all in terms of smoothness or power or anything else even though its a brand new car. I am having a very difficult time coming to terms with the fact that I will most likely have to put the Acura up for sale very soon as maintaining 3 vehicles at 25 years of age is simply unaffordable. I know I will regret not having her around while shes gone. These cars were rare and unique to begin with and now they are getting extremely rare and to me that's better than updating to something else because its the trend in which your friends are going.

Honestly, if your CL is in good shape and you like it then keep working on it because you will regret getting rid of it. Think about what else you can get that has tht much power with that much comfort and luxury and features for around 5-7 grand....not much that even comes close to these cars. I've been SO HESITANT to put my car up for sale even though I financially have to ....because I know how rare what I have is. Also, after all the effort and care that has been invested into this car throughout the years to make sure that it stays in good shape, it would eat me up inside if the car was purchased by someone who was going to abuse it or use it as a winter beater and disrespect it.
I am DEFINITELY at a crossroads - one one hand I DO NOT want to sell my CL because it is honestly the best vehicle I have owned to date (I like it more than the brand new 2013 Jetta and 2013 CRV that are parked next to it). HOWEVER on the other hand....my parents leased a vehicle for me as a nice gesture (so I have a new car and to save me money while I do my graduate studies) and I would be the BIGGEST ungrateful asshole in the world and a terrible son if I disrespected them and told them I wanted nothing to do with the VW they bought. So I have quite the dilemma as to how/what I am going to do
Anyways just because your friends are getting other cars doesn't mean their cars are better or more functional than yours and certainly not as rare....so Id say if its financially doable to hold onto it.

 

I'd share your dilemma with your family. If they bought you the car they can understand if you simply prefer your CL. They bought you the car because they want you to be happy with it. If you're not, that's not the reason they bought you the car.

 

Not to throw another decision at you, but my other car is a 2000 Mercedes CLK430 (W208). V8 TORQUE MONSTER and a real RWD sports car, and still very luxurious and has a back seat big enough for an adult when necessary. It's not a great handling sports car, but more of a muscle car or GT cruiser, honestly the handling in my 00 Prelude SH was much better. I still think the CL feels sloppy compared to the Benz though. It will rape almost any jap car out there stock to stock in a straight line, light to light. You can get them pretty cheap, and no engine or tranny problems. You can even get the AMG 55 motor for a few grand more and it will blow the doors off almost anything on the road bone stock. Still gets 30mpg on the highway.

The only other car I was strongly considering was 98+ Lexus SC400 with the new body and VVTi engine, but almost impossible to find one.

For a brand new car I would consider FR-S / BRZ but I think the back seat is probably too small. I also like Hyundai Genesis coupe, or even a Mustang V6 has 300HP these days, and cheap, but not very luxury. I do really like the VW GTI as well with the double-clutch auto. I NEED an automatic for city traffic. If you drive a good shiftable auto, you won't miss rowing the gears. G37 are getting cheaper now. I saw 2009 with 25K for under 20 grand.

I will still take my old CLK though. It is rare and everything I want. A 13 yr old car that turns heads everywhere. I guarantee it's more impressive to 90% of people than any modded ricer.

People are scared to buy used high-end cars, but now that it is older, most of the parts are available aftermarket and not more expensive than most other cars. All cars basically have the same parts and there are always forums available to help you if you are a good DIY. If not, then find a good indy specialist shop before you buy a Benz or BMW. The dealers will KILL you for repairs.

My experience has taught me that adding mods to most cars is stupid, you mod one thing and something else breaks because it was not engineered that way originally. Just save your $ and buy a better car that was designed that way.

 

^ And than you have a car everyone else has .

 

Your real RWD torque monster sports car would likely get beat by the slower autos on this board light to light lol

 

LOL, whatever you say. I own both, and I know. Just look at the specs.

 

At least 90% of people worth striking up a conversation with IMO. Still, your point largely applies to me; I don't dislike newer cars, but am far more impressed by older, well-kept cars. And mods on them or any other car are fine by me if they're not loud or can enhance its daily functionality. Sometimes, the problem isn't that the car's engineering isn't up to the task, it's that the budget or intended demographic didn't make a case for the implementation of a feature that's later modded in with little to no negative recourse. At other times, technological advancement makes possible what wasn't at the car's inception. Either way, I think it's a bit simplistic to assert that modding is stupid considering that there are guys and gals who mod even thoroughly engineered cars like your CLK.

That said, I think we can agree that there's a point at which certain performance aspirations are better realized behind the wheel of something else. The CL, partial as I am to it, will never be the last word in performance or driving satisfaction. Unless one gets a kick out of trying to spite a car's essence, it maybe time to move on if accepting that is an issue. I'm fine with what the CL is, but have done light handling mods because I feel that there's some left within the engineering window. There often is with Hondas, but it's never fully exploited because it isn't enough of a priority with most customers.

 

So I thought I would chime in because I have been in your situation for the past 15 years. I currently own an 03 CLS6 I bought in 09. Previously I have owned 4 Acura legend type II coupes. First was a 91 LS 5 speed in 99. Then I realized they made a 6 speed and bought a 94 6 speed LS in 01. In 2005 bought my wife a 94 LS coupe to have matching cars. In 2007 I came across the legend in my avatar, 94 6 speed LS two-tone paint, two-tone interior, full body kit, custom sound system with custom subs in the trunk, aem big brake kit, Advan Kreuzer V's, CF hood, previously suprcharged, greddy cat back, etc. Needless to say I absolutely love that car, but it's not designed to be a race car and I don't treat it that way. I appreciate it for what it is and don't expect it to be a rocket. You guys think the CL market has minimal support for aftermarket parts? Legend support is and always has been almost non-existent!

Anyhow, I have always liked the exclusivity of owning a rare car and as a Honda lover I knew I would eventually end up in a CLS6. Once I picked mine up I began to work on the mods I wanted. Literally the night I drove it home I made a list of the things I wanted and researched prices. I can comfortably say I am content where the car is now. Having bought almost every bolt on part out there I have reached a point where all I have to do is turn the key and drive it. Current mods are comptech icebox, headers, supercharger, strut bar, sway bars, oil cap, greddy evo2, eibach springs, 18x8.5 aspecs, UR crank pulley, RL bbk with ss lines, jspec ss, corsport bushings, innovative motor mounts, supercomputer pedals, CLS door sills, etc. I also have the Ronjon kit, sarona roof spoiler, navigation screen converter, JL W6, two spare sets of gunmetal aspecs, rear slotted/drilled rotors, greddy e-manage with boomslang harness, and HBP sitting in the garage.

Yeah it took me awhile to acquire these parts but I knew these were things I wanted to have for the car. Is it going to be a race car? No. But I can keep up with most cars on the street and hold my head high after a quick street encounter. Just the other day an 07-08 type-s was "mocking" me and wanted to race. We both floored it from a rolling start and I took him! Got some props at the next light and felt good about my ride.

So to answer your question. What would I do if I was in your situation? First off do not mod it anymore and look for a 6 speed. It's bullet proof and just a blast to drive. I've seen so many people mod there cars just to end up wanting a MT. I think there's no better example than our CL's to prove that. Besides the fun factor of the manual tranny, the auto trannys are infamous of crapping out on you stock let alone after you add more HP. The marginal cost you will pay for selling yours and getting a 6 speed will outweigh the time and effort you will put into it swapping the tranny. It's by no means an easy task to find one and you may have to travel a bit to find one but theyre still out there, you just have to keep checking. Lastly, be realistic about your expectations from the car. Set a goal of what you want it to be and pick up parts as your budget allows. To me that's almost just as fun as actually modding it! Are parts abundant? No, but coming from a legend owner we should be grateful that at least they exist! Enjoy each mod for what it is and then move on to the next one, hence why I still have some parts waiting to be installed. At the end of the day our CLS' are still nice looking cars, reliable and easy to work on/mod, a nice blend of performance and luxury, and rarer day by day since many of the old school members that paved the way for us have moved on to other projects (most who wish they would have kept their CLS'!). I hope my mini-novel helps you decide which way you want to go with the CLS! Just remember no matter what car you mod you will never see that money back. Hold on to the stock parts if you want to recuperate some of those funds back. Good luck!

 

Well recently my co-worker has been asking me about my car. He is very much interested in it and conveniently, a 6 speed CL that's black has been on craigslist for a bit. I've been debating whether or not to ask him if he would buy my car still and what he would pay for it and all that. Since I drive so much, I would need to do it when I can get a car within a few days. I've been contemplating different options for cars, and of course, the CLS6 has always been in there. However, after recently discovering and researching the Saabaru (Saab 9-2x wagon) I've been sort of... allured to the car. The fact that it's a nicer looking WRX and the interior isn't totally shitty. It's practical, AWD, turbo, can take subaru and STi parts, and it looks good too. Tad pricier than the CLs6 but that's expected from a younger car.

Anyways, where I'm at right now is I will do only a few more things to the CL-P. I want to do what I want to do with it because I figured that I will probably regret not doing the rest of the stuff I wanted (Fix or get a new F**King hood, lower it, paint headlight housings black). Plus, after I'm done with that, it gives me the chance to sort of wait it out more to really figure out what I want. The CL has been good to me and (especially the damn tranny for some reason? 100k miles after 1 rebuild? *knocks on wood*) so I don't want to jinx my next car because of the CL curse. Idk if its just me but whenever I've seriously came close to selling my car, something bad has happened, almost as if the CL is talking to me... So yeah I'm just going to finish the car, put up some pictures, admire the work I put into it, then just drive it 'til it dies or when I finally figured out the car that I want.