plastikman

I very rarely open new threads here, but I am so excited, I just had to ! I finally bought my A-spec Rims and suspension from Curry Acura ( they are the best on Ebay if you ask me ) and I am having them installed this weekend. Curry charged me just under $2000 for the whole package delivered, since I am a repeat customer, they did not charge me for shipping. I bought my A-spec Rims for my TL from them as well. After talking to someone on here ( thx Bob) I went with the Pirelli Zero Nero, those I purchased from Tirerack.com, came out to just over $800. My suspesion is being installed by Acura of Lynnwood, cost is $420 plus tax, it is a bit of a drive, but they were the best deal all the Acura Dealers had to offer, some were mind blowing, here is a list of the offers I got.

Hinshaws Acura - $800
Acura of Seattle - $850
Acura of Bellevue - $1200

Now mind you, this is just for the suspension, that's it ! So when Acura of Lynnwood offered it for $420 I was not giddy, but they beat the hell out of all the other dealers in Western Washington. Once I get all this done I will take some pics, it is time to dig out the good old digital Camera !

VQPower37

congratz

Javadog

I also had Lynnwood install my A-SPEC suspension. Rob runs a great parts dept. I also have P Zero's mounted on A-SPEC nickle chrome. You'll love the drive compared to stock. Having owned a few of the German rivals I can't imagine not having my Black 06. After 18 mo's with the upgrades I still look foward to hopping in the drivers seat for road gripping fun. Have a blast be safe and enjoy hooking up with the 405/522 ramps!!

plastikman

Javadog, I take ot you have a RL or a TL? I bought the Platinum Rims, they are the same ones I had on my 05 TL, just love the look. I am excited for the suspension and yes Rob is great, I have done business with them before.

neuronbob

Awesome! This single mod makes the biggest difference in handling for this car. Welcome to the club!

plastikman

Thx Bob, your input has helped me alot on making my decisions, hell once Im done our cars will be almost twins !

plastikman

gracias

plastikman

Tires from Tirerack.com should be in tomorrow. That means I will get the rims put on tomorrow and the suspension will be done on Saturday ! Its like xmas, but really early !

:gheywave:

plastikman

Ok, Rims and rubber of course are on, tomorrow comes the suspension

Mike_TX

Throw us a comment on the noise levels on the P Zeros when you get a few miles on them. I'm interested in how they compare to the stock Michelins for general road noise.

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plastikman

Will do, but I tell you what I will do tomorrow as well and that is get an alignment done, I am pulling really bad to the right.

neuronbob

Keep us posted! Anxiously awaiting your report. The A-Spec makes the RL into a nice driving toy.

plastikman

Ok, so today I had my suspension installed, but I am not sure I am happy at this point, let me explain. First off to the let me say the Pirelli Zero Nero All Season Tires are nice, quiet and good on the dry surface, will wait to see what the rain is like. Dropped my car off with Lynnwood Acura at about 9am and received a 07 RDX. My girlfriend loved the RDX, it was fully loaded with the back up camera. I liked the car but it doesn't have enough power for me, but it was descent. My gf likes it because she wants to have kids in the near future and thinks it would make a good mom car, go figure. Anyways back to the suspension, picked up the car at about 2pm, all seemed well. As we were driving home I heard a rattle near the back window, this was upsetting to me ! I have never had a rattle in my car, not one since I have bought the car just over a year ago. It sounds like it is coming from where the rear shade is at, since I have my windows tinted I did not raise it, will it damage the tint? I just don't know. On my way home I stopped in at Hinshaws Acura, they are only about 3 miles from my house and that is where I bought the car. They said I need to drop the car off next Thursday night and I can pick it up on Friday. I work during their normal hours and this is my only option, guess it will do. The suspension is nice though, makes the car a much better ride, stiffer and really nice when you take corners, all I can say is WOW ! So my overall first impression is good with everything, just the rattle has me a bit pissed off, I guess I am anal like that when it comes to my ride. Once they fix that I believe I will be a happy customer, until then I have to leave the radio turned up.

plastikman

Went for a drive again this morning, had to get my Starbucks. I have just have to say one more time, I am highly annoyed by that damn rattle.

neuronbob

Sounds like you could have the dreaded rear windowshade rattle. Given that it only occurred after the A-Spec installation, a rattle from the back seat itself is another possibility. I'd bring it back to the dealer to have it fixed, and make clear that it happened only after the install.

In the meantime, keep your radio up and go test your car on a curvy road, that'll make you happier.

plastikman

Yeah I agree that it might be the window shade, but they did take the back seat out, from what I am told. I have an appointment on Thursday/ Friday, so hopefully it will be the end of that. I have take the car out twice today, no real reason, other then to just hit the freeway and the exits and I absolutely love it, soooooooo much better on the curves, its just amazing. After driving with the stock suspension for a year and now this, I'm like a little kid ! I think the next thing I want to do it the steering wheel, but that will have to wait until after Xmas.

Javadog

I've been driving an 06RL w/ A-Spec suspension and P-Zero's for 18 mo's and wouldn't switch out anything. I drove the OEM Michelins for about a month before making the upgrades and was initially ecstactic about the improvements in the tactile road feel and grip over stock susp. and tires. After a while you begin to forget the differences. Having owned a number of German competitors, I soon took for granted the improvements I came to expect in higher end engineering. Recently I was without my RL and driving a stock 07 (major damage from being rear ended on the freeway) and the difference the upgrades made and the confidence in pushing the limits at times was very noticeable. The stock RL is a nice driving car, cushy, reliable and a worthy competitor to the high end mkt, but gets kid of boring over time. If you have the extra change, and you like to feel whats under the tires it's a must mod. The P-Zeros handle all conditions well. I live in Seattle, so dealing with inclimate weather is a daily routine and those tires don't get loose even in the occasional snow. I drive the mountain passes often without hesitation. My 4WD Ford Expedition didn't negotiate the hills as well as the RL. I have put 22k miles on the rubber, I might get another 8k before it'll be time to replace them. They have a tendancy to tram a bit on the freeway but I partially attribute that to the stiffer suspension also. Seems more noticible as they wear more. Noise levels were less than the Mich's, noticed that when I had the loaner. The steering wheel upgrade was worth it also, allows a better grip when you must hold on :-). Anyway I'm rambling on....In short, this is the finest piece of balanced engineering I've owned and still after 2 yrs am still thrilled to crawl behind the wheel. Add another 80 HP and it would be an exhilarating ride second to none in the the RL's mkt. Play hard...Drive safe....kick a little ass in the corners !!

neuronbob

, javadog! Acura should've released an A-Spec sample to the press years ago. That would have changed a lot of minds about the RL. A-Spec rocks!

plastikman

Java, well said ! I love my car, but I am seeing what it can do now and it's like we just met

plastikman

Well I had the car in, to fix the rattle . . . . . well they did not fix it all the way ! Yes it is better, but the rattle is there when you go over big bumps. The adviser said they did their best and if I still was not satisfied they would have to order the whole back panel and replace it. I have my windows tinted and I am afraid they will damage the tint. What do you guys think? If they damage the tint can I hold them responsible for the repair? I am not sure what I will do yet, I have some thinking to do and hopefully get some good advise from all of you.

plastikman

Well over the weekend I did some thinking and I am going to hold off on having the rear panel replaced. Although I would like to get rid of the rattle permanently, I don't think I want to deal with the panel being replaced, the tint getting ruined and possibly causing even more rattles. Yes the problem is a lot better then it was to start with, but I can still hear it when I go over big bumps. If I should decide to have it done I will do it after the new year, probably the same time I upgrade the steering wheel

plastikman

OK, so I thought I would do a little update this morning about how I like the handling of my new Aspec gear. first off I am very satisfied with the pirelli zero's, I had heard good and bad and I wasn't sure that I would be satisfied, but I am. They are very quiet and stick well to the road, rain or snow ( we had some snow yesterday, but its already gone ). I love the look of the Aspec rims, but that is nothing new, I had them on my TL as well, it just makes the car look so much nicer. Now to the suspension and my thoughts. It really does make our car a totally different beast, it changes everything you know about the handling of the car. I had OEM suspension in for one year and was very used to it and once I got the Aspec suspension, it was like I was driving a totally different car. It gives you the classy RL look and the sports car feel, I just love it. I didn't think it was that much of a difference until I hit the freeway entrances at about 90mph and it felt like nothing at all. So my first few weeks have been a lot of fun with my new upgrades and I can't wait to do some more. Only issue I have now is the rattle in the back window, but according to Hinshaws Acura, they will have to replace the whole panel back there, but that is a whole other story and will not be addressed until the new year.

neuronbob

Another A-Spec convert!

Once you go A-Spec, you never go back! Acura should offer this as a factory option on its sedan line....

plastikman

You know I was thinking that, they really should offer the A spec suspension as an option. Also, they should give the guys who test drive the cars for magazines and other media RL's with A spec suspension, then they would just love the car all together !

neuronbob

I have been saying this since I bought my RL. Car and Driver test drove a 2004 A-Spec (6MT) years ago, but for some reason, Acura never provided samples of the TSX or RL in A-Spec form. Not good marketing at all.

revit

I agree...it doesn't seem to make sense to provide one model of the low-end & never follow up with something better.