AcuraSpook

Hello all! I am new to the forums here. In the past when I have joined car forums it was usually encouraged to say hello. As I do not know what the protocol is here I am saying hi!

I purchased my first Acura, (Third Honda) two weeks ago. She is an Acura CL Type S, 2003 with yes, the highly sought out Six Speed! She is Anthracite Gray exterior, Black interior. I was driving a highly modified (CAI,TB,IM,CS,H,TP,E,Tuned) '96 Accord. After having to make a few small repairs to her at 210,000 miles, I decided that it was time to buy a car I wouldn't have to modify to high heck in order to make it as fun as I wanted it. Needless to say after consulting an old friend who had owned an '01 Cl Type S that I always enjoyed driving and riding in, I decided the CL-S 6sp was for me. My father works for Honda and as such, buying Honda products is in my best interest financially, and this is aside from the fact that I loved my Hondas much better than any other cars I've owned.

Fast forward to two weeks ago and my fiance drives me to Columbus, Ohio (5 hours from Buffalo, Ny) to help me pick up the CL-S I picked out on Cars.com After two weeks I am so in love with this car that it is ridiculous. I don't have to tell you fellow owners what makes these cars so special. This is definitely the highest quality vehicle I've ever owned.

I do not plan to modify this vehicle very much, not as much as my last car haha. I am afraid to disrupt the carefully calculated balance that Acura engineered this car with. The only part of this car I find longing is handling. That aside she is a very capable machine. I plan to fix the handling problem eventually.

So far I have I have installed the Injen Cold Air Intake, and have enjoyed the resulting sounds and throttle response increase. I also have won a used Comptech Header off Ebay. It will need to be welded onto the car, but that is a story for another thread. After those parts, I plan to paint the stock wheels and clean up a little rust she has accumulated. Then I want to focus on the handling issue, by purchasing the Eibach pro kit plus. I chose this kit for several reasons, mainly being a decent increase in performance with out breaking the bank (My car will be daily driven, even in winter) The kit will also be ok for use in the snow we get here, and the price is great (700$ from my tuning shop) Maybe down the road, I will supercharger, but that would be years off

Anyways, thanks for reading this long winded intro. I will be posting and reading a lot here I think!

JBlueCLS6

iTrader: (2)

You fucked up,

That header you bought on Ebay was for an Auto.

AcuraSpook

I was afraid of that. What make it incompatible? IE, is it possible to fab it onto my car or is it total junk for me?

AcuraSpook

If I got screwed I'll be so annoyed, I specifically asked the seller what car the header came off and they told me 03 manual cl-s.

richardparker

iTrader: (7)

Welcome,
What did you pay for the headers ?
I might be interested in the j pipe if your dumping them

civicdrivr

iTrader: (9)

Welcome.

Post up a pic of the headers for a definitive answer. And what do you mean you need to weld the headers onto the car?

p.diddy

iTrader: (3)

welcome.

AcuraSpook

Thanks for the welcomes!
I paid 201$ shipped to my door. I am not sure what I am doing yet, as I have yet to establish whether they will fit or not. If they do not work out for me I will defiantly be dumping the headers and will let you know whats going with them richardparker.

Civicdriver, they need a flange welded on the end of them B-Pipe, when it was removed from the last car it was cut off right before the flange. I already have some prices from a few local fab shops to flare and weld a flange on so I can just bolt it up to the stock exhaust. Depending, I might just have the header welded onto the cat. Its price and ease dependent. More than likely for several reasons, I will have it restored to its original configuration.

Can anyone identify them for me?

AARONSredTYPE-S

WELCOME.
WOW, Those headers look a little warped brother, and they are def. for an automatic car, (no notch for the 6spd)
be careful when modding, things for this car are flippin rare and almost un-replaceable...gl

AcuraSpook

Thanks man. They are true, they look funny because the top pieces are ceramic coated. I guess I might as well turn around and put these back on Ebay. I might hold on to them for awhile, yesterday when I was talking to the guy who tuned my last car and when I told him that I might be stuck buying a new Comptech Header for 1200$, he told me I should be able to get a header made for less than a grand, same design. If I go that route, What better than to have a real set on hand to copy from? Who knows. I am upset because the seller lied to me. At least I paid 200$. I should easily be able to recover that cost.


So where exactly is there supposed to be a notch, and how big for the 6sp. Like is it something I can cut into this header safely, or is it just better to ditch this before I get in deep? Does anyone have a comparable picture for me?

inspiron0937

this is the bend that would need to be in the rear header to clear the rear motor mount

inspiron0937

and welcome! we have the same color car

j.khordz

Welcome to the Azine family.

AcuraSpook

Thanks for the welcomes!

inspiron0937, thank you so much for getting those pictures on here, that will make my future search a lot easier. So unless the Fabrication shop can cut the old runner out fab a new one to match that picture at a reasonable price I am SOL.

I'm thinking if a shop can modify the header to fit no problems, for say $250, that would still put me way ahead of the game in terms of price. I only paid $201. so $201+$250=$451. That is still a far cry from $1200 haha.

I'm set on the comptech because I don't plan to heavily mod, and as such want every last drop of performance from where I do mod. Plus in Buffalo I NEED stainless that is as heavy duty as this header or in 2 years the salt and snow will melt it away!

If this will just wind up becoming a quick mess I will be sending these babies off to the black market soon Probably much easier to send them to a good home here than on Ebay.

aep4749

You should be able to get your money back from the seller on ebay if they provided incorrect info.

m733l

iTrader: (1)

welcome.

i remember years ago someone on here made the auto headers fit his 6spd. will have to do a search for it. basically, he saved down the bracket that was getting in his way for the rear header. it'll be a tight fit but im sure you can find a shop to do the same you. obviously it will cost more $$$$.

not sure how much you modified your previous cars, but it almost impossible not to modify this car and because parts are so rare it makes this car a money pit. nice pick up nonetheless and

SimonCL-S6

Congrats! We need some pictures!!! Also, you will be very happy with the eibach springs i have them as well! If you want to see how the drop looks you can check out my thread

civicdrivr

iTrader: (9)

Are you 100% those are comptech headers? There should be a metal plate welded to the center runner of the front header that says Comptech Engineering. I cant see it in the pics.

p.diddy

iTrader: (3)

i was thinking the same thing.

Karanx7

iTrader: (2)

Yea the CT headers were also redesigned to include the 6spd cars. It's pretty likely that those aren't CT. I'd get my money back.

AcuraSpook

That much I can say. Look at the last pic, middle runner very carefully. The Comptech plate is on there wit the Carb #, the B-Pipe also has a Comptech USA plate welded onto the rear section.

aep4749, You are correct I could. I would normally do that if I had been screwed, but in this case I am not sure what I am doing so for now I am just going to swallow the $201. It seems or that price, I wouldn't be able to TOUCH comptech headers for our car anywhere else so these might be valuable to me after all in a few different ways. They might be modified to fit my car or used as a mock up for a fabrication shop to build me new headers. Worst case scenario I could easily sell these to someone with an Auto and recoup my money. Judging from the blackmarket, these were at least worth the two hundred.

SimonCL-S6, I actually checked out your thread two weeks ago before I joined here. I was researching parts options for the car. Your thread helped me set my sights on the Eibach Kit haha. In Buffalo coilovers get seized to quick for my taste, so I wanted lowering springs and struts instead. After researching prices and performance, I settled on the Eibachs for a number of reasons. The kit provided everything except strut tower braces I would need to sharpen handling. And all the parts of the kit were engineered to work together. Third and most important, they achieved a decent drop with out making the car too low (Snow driving is rough here sometimes) and that means I might not have to buy a camber kit either. 1.5" is usually with in the stock components range of adjustment. Did you use a camber kit or no?

m733l, that is very useful information. I will have to hit the search bar, and see what I can dig up. I always do all the work on my own cars, but I cannot fabricate, and therefore this was looking to be the first performance part I'd ever have to pay to have installed haha. And trust me I'm no stranger. My last (1996) accord was a 171whp, 168ft/lbs of torque f22b1. Apexi Cold Air Intake, Prelude Throttle body, Ported and polished to match H23 Intake Manifold, Hondata Thermal Gaskets, Prelude Injectors and Fuel Rail, Bisimoto Stage 2 Camshaft Regrind + AEM Cam Gear, Greddy Header, "Custom Cat," Apexi WS2 Exhaust, ODB-I swap for tuning reasons (dizzy and vacuum) All tuned by Innovative Tuning here in Buffalo on Hondata s200. Also various suspension and aesthetic upgrades. She just started rusting out to bad for my taste. I wanted a clean slate on a finer platform. So that's what I got haha.

I hope not to get out of control with this car. After I get a header on there, I planed on getting a piggy back like AEM F/IC or Apexi Neo to tune her a little, even out the power curve and stuff like that. Plus with intake and headers I don't want to have a lean A/F ration. After that I plan to turn my attention to the suspension. The Accord only had one area of triumph over the CL and handling was it. I know a 3,400 ish pound luxury vehicle will never be a 2800 ish pound Accord but I can defiantly get a much better feel with suspension work.

AcuraSpook

In 2001 and 2002 the six speed didn't exist so the comptech headers were designed like this. I doubt someone go their hands on comptech plates to weld onto a fake. plus the flanges that bolt to the block are exactly like the comptech ones. They are definitely real.

civicdrivr

iTrader: (9)

K. Honestly, sell them in the black market and get a set that are meant for the car. I dont think its worth the hassle hacking up the rear header or trimming the rear mount bracket.

AcuraSpook

Currently looking at my finances right now to figure out how to do this haha. Shop that tuned my last car said they know very reputable guys who make parts for them (the owner of the shop has a few 500+ whp STIs so I'm willing to listen to them about who make good parts haha) and they can probably fab me Comptech copies for well below a thousand. What do you guys think... custom headers I'd be willing to drop like 800ish. I am just nervous a custom just wont match the power boost of the comptechs. 28whp is a ridiculous gain. I NEED that gain haha.

AcuraSpook

Pics.







is that better guys

SimonCL-S6

NO camber kit needed just a special alignment which cost around $80

richardparker

iTrader: (7)

First mod
Crack those lamps open and fixed the condensation issues and remove the amber lens while in there.
If your planning on spending on comptech have some custom one's made.It might be cheaper
I'm thinking of doing a dual set up a little later .
I have a pair of extra headers and 5 inches of the j pipe from each. easy to build off of.

m733l

iTrader: (1)

found it. not ct headers, but same idea. the guy grinds the rear mount to make a dc header fit (no bend in the rear header)

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...hlight=headers

nice cl6. never get tired of seeing them. modded or not.

Nersh7

Nice car, when I bought mine this is the colour I wanted but I couldn't find it with the features that I wanted for the price so I went with SSM.
Enjoy the forum it has tons of useful info!

AcuraSpook

That's what I figured. Nice! Thanks for the info man. My dad is a Honda Tech so I can get the alignment free ^_^

I might try and swap the pro springs for the sport ones, and see if it will still align. If not, the Pros will be fine. I love the drop in your car SimonCL-S6. Looks great, and doesn't rob you from the comfort and function of stock suspension.

richardparker, are there threads on here detailing how to do that? I bought a kit to resurfaces the front of the lights because they are cloudy and scratched but I really do want to remove the fog too. Yeah I'm thinking if i get a custom setup done, I might as well have a whole exhaust system made. I just don't want to lose the great sound of the stock system. The B-Pipe and front header I have are totally usable, I would only need a back header fabricated.

m733l, thanks for digging that thread up. I will have to read deeper into that and consider it as an option. I'm told the DC ones and other companies are all copies of the CT ones anyways so I am sure the concept carries over.

Nersh7, We are in opposite spots I wanted a white manual, but they were all tan interior when I was shopping. I didn't want the tan interior so I went with the gray because I thought it looked sharp and the car was a good price. So far this forum has been a wealth of knowledge. I mean it really helps to talk with and consult other people who have been working wit hthe same vehicle much longer than I have. Everybody here seems really helpful. No trolls haha.

richardparker

iTrader: (7)

Yea they're some to do the lamps,it's not that bad either kinda fun.
Because they're easy and you can make them look great from looking like old lights and it will cost next to nothing.
I have done mine 3 times and I have done a few others.

If you need any pointers when the time comes just ask.

AcuraSpook

Thanks man. I'm guessing you just cook them until the silicone comes apart, clean them by hand, and then reseal them using high temp silicone?
I researched painting the housing on my Accord, black so I'm assuming it is a similar procedure.

civicdrivr

iTrader: (9)

DO NOT dry the condensation by hand. The lenses are very soft on the inside and scratch easily.

dave586270

iTrader: (3)

Nice pick-up!
Here is a DIY for clearing/opening the headlights: https://acurazine.com/forums/2g-cl-frequently-asked-questions-52/d-i-y-clearing-headlights-495390/
Welcome!

AcuraSpook

Ok. When I have more time on my hand this week I will have to go ahead and try that out. Only one lens has condensation behind it, so it wont be that time tough.
In fact I resurfaced my headlights today to take the scratches and fogging off the front. Here is a comparison pic of left headlight done, right one untouched.



Defiantly worth the 13$ for the kit to do it. It was very easy.

AcuraSpook

Ill take a finished picture later. The right lens looks kinda like hell even after a resurface because that lens has the condensation behind it.

Type S of Edmond

OMG!!!! Your the one that out bid me for those! You suck lol jk jk i do have an auto that those would go on lol Ill give you what you paid!

AcuraSpook

Well to be honest I am probably keeping them to either modify my car's bracket or the header to fit. They are way too rare these days used to pass up. Sorry for outbidding you, you need to work on your ebay sniping technique a little more ;] haha. But if I do decide soon that I will not be using them, I will keep your offer in mind.