I just recently purchased a 2003 CL-S (first car purchase ever) and have been reading some of the posts to get a sense of what modifications I want to do. I'm not going to go all out and get a full body kit etc., but I just want some basic modifications to distinguish my car from the rest of the pack.

I'm definitely going to lower it and get a tint, but other than that what are the major mods that can improve my car (looking for engine as well as aesthetic mods)?

Also, regarding the tint and lowering, how much should I be paying and how much should I lower it / tint it? What does The Law have to say about this topic (i.e. what is the legal limit? I'm in California)?

Psyched about my car.

Thanks in advance!

 

Welcome to the board.

I think a nice set of RIMS make the biggest difference from a stock car.
Especially because of the fact that I wasn’t that crazy for the 2003 stocks.
Even if you stick with 17” it will make a HUGE difference in the look.

A Cold Air Intake is a nice first “do it yourself” MOD if you’re handy with basic tools.
It will give you a quick 8-10 HP for 200-bucks and it sounds great at 5,000RPM.

Shawn S

 

welcome newbie!!

first off, which color combo did u get??

second, with regards to the aesthetic/cosmetic mods, there are a plethora of options...just last week, i did my cosmetic mods which included high beams with blue tint (Optiblue's) that actually make a difference just by looking at the front...depending on the color of the car, it may not look as good...for ex, i have the red rocket, and the blue light really looks good against the red...Chod allowed me to try the blue bulb in his Aegean Blue CL-S, and they did NOT look good...here's what they'll look like:





other cosmetic mods i did were all interior bulbs (im currently working on getting pics of before and after), license plate bulb, trunk bulb, and backup bulbs...all of these bulbs also have a blue tint to them, however, the tints look fantastic, and the backup bulbs really accentuate the rear lights housing, and i'll bet they'll look even better on the '03 housings...finally, the Type S floormats add a subtle touch to compliment the Type S interior.

as far as performance/suspension mods, u also have numerous options...let's explore suspension first:

springs
sways
upperstrut bar
tires (i guess u can consider them suspension since they dictate handling)

i put on $200 tires, so if u combine the tires with all of the above, u get an unreal package...and to put it into perspective, Shawn's rims/tires package basically equals the suspension package above...so it's rims vs. springs, sways, tires, upperstrut bar...your call on that one...i have Michelin Pilot Sport A/S's in 225/50/ZR17, and they rock!!!

performance mods:
headers
CAI
Iridium spark plugs
pulleys
RES (pending it actually gets produced)
supercharger (pending it actually gets produced)

these mods can get expensive, so initial performance mods that i'd suggest are the CAI and maybe the plugs...headers run u in the area of $1,200

so to summarize, u have plenty of options for initial mods...whether u go performance, suspension/handling, or a combo of both, u can do several mods that won't burn a hole in your wallet

best of luck in your selection, and again, welcome to the boards!!

 

Welcome!!

What color because if you have the black inside...you need to get door sills...when they come out in a few days (we hope). That should only rin you abour 55 bucks I think...check that extreeemly long thread to see for sure and to see samples.

I would go spring, sways, tires, tint, CAI, and headers (used if you can) and RES if it ever comes out!

Rims too if you want to spend the money!

 

thats weird.. you would think the blue highbeams would look even better in a ABP CL.... blue on blue - whats so bad about that?

 

lighter blue on darker blue...looked ugly when we installed it in Chod's ride

 

Thanks for the warning.

Shawn S

 

first of all, this board rocks. i go to sleep for a couple hours and i get such a good response turnout. thx all

i kind of like the stock 17"s. i may consider getting rims later, but i think i'll start off with some basics.

yeah i've seen that most people have a CAI mod. my understanding is that it routes the airflow to get air from outside the engine? this adds 8 - 10 hp? what are good brands? i see that you have xephyr, and some others have AEM. what is the diff?

wow you like CL-Ss enough to go from a 2001 to 2003? you like the car that much? pretty sweet that you got the 6-speed

 

i got anthrocite (charcoal grey)/ebony

yeah i was thinking about doing something to the high beams. i don't like the way the regular headlights are HID but the highbeams are normal. how much were the optiblues? pics look pretty sweet, i wonder how they'd go with anthrocite... i also want clear signal lights.

haha this may sound amateur but how do you get to the headlight housing? no screws on the outside and when i popped the hood i didn't see any easy access to the lights.

i think i've decided to go with springs for sure. just to clarify, lowering the car necessarily involves new springs? what do sways and upperstrut bars do? prevent rolling?

what's a header? pulleys? RES? how do the Iridium spark plugs help? oh and (this is important for a poor recent graduate like myself) how much do these run?

thx for the welcome

 

I've got a stock 2001 CL, and the first mods I'm looking at are:
- CAI (Injen? AEM? Xephyr?) for ~$200
- Comptech Sways ~$275
- Car cover ~$170

OK, so the car cover isn't exactly a mod... But I don't get to park in the garage, so it's something of a necessity.

There's also some really good info on mods and other stuff in the FAQ (http://www.geocities.com/gamesmgr/chod/acura). HTH!

 

yeah i got black inside. what are door sills?

yeah so far i think i'm decided on springs, CAI, and tint. i have to find out more about the others. how beneficial are sways and how much do they cost?

 

damn, i'm looking at autocarparts.com and comptech headers cost $1K?? anyone else make 'em?

 

you have to take off the bumper...that's the easy part...then the rest is a nightmare....j/k...check the FAQ

 

the Optiblue's will run u $40, and that includes shipping...b forwarned, the brightness isn't as much as the stock high beam since it is not as concentrated a beam...the passenger side access is simple to the highbeams...no tools nesessary...just turn the unit counterclockwise 1/4 turn...u'll know it when u try it...hey practice on the stocks if u want...the driver's side lamp is a bitch b/c u gotta remove the coolent fluid reservior first to gain access to the bulb...directions are in your CL manual.

springs = lowered look...sways and upperstrut bar minimize side-to-side boat feel

Denso Iridium plugs replace the stock (platinum?) plugs and give u a couple extra HP

pulleys replace stocks to give u some extra performance (not sure of any HP gains)

look for header info on Comptech's home page (http://solar.innercite.com/comptech/header4.html)

if u're a recent grad, get the CAI and look into some of the suspension mods...consider the cosmetics as petty cash purchases

 

I wouldn't do pulleys..I have them and I dont notice too much difference. CT is the only one that make the headers now...if you can get them used for like 800 thats well worth it I think...thats what I did.

As for the sills...look at the top of the car talk page...the thread that is like 23 pages long....read that...you will know what they are and what they are supposed to look like. You will like them and they are cheep.

 

how much of a tint is allowed? i'm pretty sure you're not allowed a tint for the side windows, but a lot of people go around this by having different degrees of tint in the back and for the side windows? how much for a good tint job? what is this 20%, 35% stuff i'm hearing about?

what's the standard lowering height? 1.5"? is this length pretty much determined by what kind of springs you get (e.g. comptech) or can you ask the installer to do different heights? what should i be paying total for the springs and the intall?

damn i have so much work to do but instead i'm just thinking about my car...

 

I dont know about in cali but here tint can be 50% on the side windows...that means it lets in 50% of the light...its just a way of knowing the darness of the tint...then I think on the quarter windows is like 38 or something and the back is like 20. If you ask me I dont like 50 on the sides...to light. The ting is here when you go to get a inspection sticker...they dont check...or you know where they do and you avoid them...the cops dont car here so I would go with 30 somthing all around or 20 something...the % differ from brand to brand. If you know of place that will not check go darker...it will look better on that car!


Height depends on the brands...i would go with CT unless you want a real low drop...but if its too low you have to get camber kits...if you dont you run the risk of wearing out the indide edge of the tires faster than the outside edge and the lower you go the more it effects the ride quality. I would go CT.

Get used to it...you will thinking about this web sight all day checking it all the time to see whats going on...i know I do!

 

State laws are here:
http://www.iwfa.com/iwfa/consumer_in...tatelaws.html, CA allows 70 on the front, and has no limit for the rear. 70 means that the tint will allow 70% of light to pass through (someone pls correct me if I'm wrong here). And 70% tint is just about no tint.

There were actually a couple of threads on tinting some days back where they were comparing the different materials used in tinting. One name which I recall as having good references is Lumar.

As for lowering, how much you lower your car depends on the springs you use. Comptechs lower by 1" rear and 1.5" front. Other springs will lower differently. How much you lower is mainly a matter of taste, but if you go too low, your wheel camber goes off, and you have to get a camber correction kit. Either that or rotate your tires more.

I am looking around for the best prices I can find for springs and struts too, so I have no clue what the "best" price is. From the FAQ, good prices are $270 for comptech springs and 280 for Koni struts.

 

welcome to the family and are u having a auto tranny or manual..?

 

don't forget that the springs will settle after a while, so keep that in mind...when i look at Eclipse's springs that have settled and my fresh springs, there's a big difference...his dropped another inch or so...just so that u're aware.

 

Get a CAI......Its the best thing to get for the money!!!!!!!