gman44116

iTrader: (1)

Nothing fancy in the photography department here. Thought I would share my ride with AZ.....

Picked this one up in early September. 2007 CMBS and TECH package.

Had my eye on the RL since '07 and finally had an opportunity to put one in the garage..So my search began...

I am the 3rd owner. First owner was a Honda executive who put 50K on this one in 2 years. Then it went to an Acura dealership in Cali and was sold CPO to owner number 2 in Texas. 2nd owner drove it 24K in 3 1/2 years.

I made an objective to pick up a southern or western RL with the hopes it had never seen snow. This one barely saw any rain!!

I made the flight down to Houston and picked the RL up and made a mad dash back to Ohio.

I am very happy it was a CPO as in the first 3 weeks I had some savings account shocking repairs:

1. 2 new motor mounts
2. Replacement of brake master cylinder
3. Propeller Shaft.

All done under the CPO warranty.

Also had some blown seat heater bulbs and the A/C unit bulbs. A simple DIY. The headlights were dulling and pitted. So was the front ACC grill emblem so I buffed the shit out of all 3.

The body is in pristine condition. No accidents, no scuffs, amazing condition. The interior still has the Acura scent to it.

So now after getting the warranty issues out of the way it was aftermarket time

First thing was to install the RV6 J-Pipe:





While I was under this fat monster I found this on the mid-pipe:



I don't know who bottomed out this thing but it wasn't me!! I figured why leave it as I don't know what its long-term effect would be on the j-pipe's added performance or the OEM cats.. So I threw on a new OEM mid-pipe while I was at it..

Didn't stop there so I installed the RALCO stock LW pulley.



I got bored very quickly with the wood shift knob so I found the MDX knob to have a better color with the interior and it had matching perforated leather as well. I really like its beefier size:



My center armrest was plagued with the poor padding and was starting to tear on one of the corners. I had the armrests recovered and new padding. Came out better than expected (no pictures right now but I will add one or two later).

I was lucky enough that this RL came with the dealer installed A-Spec body kit. But no rear deck lid spoiler so I picked one of those bad boys up too. While my son and I were messing with the spoiler I decided to de-badge the ass - end.. Only emblem left was the 'A' symbol..

On to the suspension and handling....

I added the A-Spec suspension. Worth every penny, to me that is... I only wish it had another 1" drop. Love the handling..
While I was down there I upgraded the rear sway to the '09+ 19mm.

My biggest complaint was the PAX tires. Nice cruisers but they were never going to make me happy.

I found a set of 2012 ZDX take-offs from an Acura dealership.



Put two coats of Opti-Coat 2.0 on them and they were ready to go.

Uh-oh. Not enough clearance. So I has Motorsport-Tech make some 7mm hubcentric spacers for all four corners.



I don't think 6mm spacers would have worked. Caliper clearance is tight and looks great.



Slapped some 245/40/19 Conti ExtremeContact DWS on the rims:







I am content now with the performance, handling and everything functions as it should. Now it's time to enjoy the ride

Can't wait to get some snow on the ground and see how the SH-AWD and my new tires handle the winter here in NE Ohio...

Matt W

Rims look nice...but lol you could have got that exhaust pipe fixed for like 35 dollars. You probably could have replaced the whole system for what you paid for the new mid pipe.

HEAVY_RL

iTrader: (1)

those wheels look good

gman44116

iTrader: (1)

I hear what you are saying. The mid pipe cost $160. That's new resonators too. I have no interest in replacing anything else but a 5ZIGEN catback someday..maybe....Not sure why I want to mess with replacing the whole system. Not sure $160 would cover that my friend..

After doing the math, paying my guy to cut and weld it in that bend I had no issues paying a little more for 'new'. Who wants a bunch of welds and potential less flow integrity of the pipe.. Plus my time taking a trip to the shop..!!

Type S Zero

Wow congrats on the RL !

Nice Write-up and package/upgrades you have done !

Matt W

Ah well thats not bad then, I didn't look at the mid-pipe though it was like 500 or more.

Those wheels look great though.

Time for JDM headlights and it would look perfect!

mitchkramez

Any chance you have any pics of it from a bit more of a distance straight on from the side? I've been thinking about these wheels, but would love to see the car from the side.

gman44116

iTrader: (1)

Quick photo for you

gman44116

iTrader: (1)

Shot of the center console re-upholstered with leather.

Matt W

So....I see that you had a Comptech S/C on your old TL. When are you going to do it to this RL...its the same kit

gman44116

iTrader: (1)

I was one of the first in '05 to supercharge. I must have had 40-50 mods to that 6 speed. Loved everything about the TL, besides FWD. Couldn't take it anymore.

You can look back at my started threads from that year and see all the mods in one post.

In regards to SC'ing the RL. I don't think I'm going to do it. I really wish the guinea pig for that project would have updated the forum. My only question to making it work is the fit of the larger fuel pump and the piggyback ECU. Everything else is butter.

Matt W

The kit was the TLS supercharger the only modifications that were made was an odyssey battery you have to remove the supercharger to get to it but oh well! And modify the upper radiator hose! There was NO fuel management done, and the ECU stayed stock!

If you want more info, these were the guys that did it and would be able to tell you everything.

http://autowaveinc.com/

oo7spy

I love those wheels on the RL. If you ever have them off sometime, it would be a great data point for us to kniw how much they weigh.

Any plans to lower it?

ichi d

Car looks good and now i cant wait to put them on. i had these wheels for sometime now which i bought off another member here on azine and never got the chance to put them on. Oh well, i guess i have to wait till spring time now that winter is here.

How does the 19s feel compared to the stock 17s with aspecs suspensions?

Matt W

That is aspect front bumper? I never noticed before but the side view of the car looks alot better with it.

Type S Zero

yeah A-spec lip corrects the roundish lower bumper part.

A-spec body kits ain't really lower than OEM bumpers, they just have a more square finishing instead of being rounded off towards the underbody.
Making the lower part of the bumper a little longer/wider

(i think the bumpers should have been molded like that from the factory, it wouldn't really cost more to produce, but the add-ons are more profitable i guess)

Matt W

True it looks much better. I want to do the aspec bumper but I don't know how long I am actually going to keep this vehicle, and I have already spent alot of money.

gman44116

iTrader: (1)

Approx 25 lbs per rim. It is lowered (a-spec).

I had the PAX rims on and I believe they are closer to 18's. The ride with the 19's is what you would expect from a larger sized diameter tire. Really there is not much of any difference.

Yeah dude! You got busy with that custom exhaust! I would have hoped to see you pick up that CT S/C in the black market and mess with that on your RL...

oo7spy

25 lbs isn't bad for a big SUV wheel. I completely missed the Aspec suspension when I asked about lowering it.

gman44116

iTrader: (1)

Actually Matt, there is more to this install. There's an Advanced Control Module that comes with the kit. Wired/jumped or piggyback to the ECU. Plus I think larger injectors and maybe fuel pump.

neuronbob

Nice pickup gman. Glad to see you on the RL side. Long time no see! I'll be looking for you on the freeways of Cleveland. If you see someone in a silver CTS-V (soon to be a blue CTS-V wagon ) flashing and waving at you, well, stop gawking and wave back.

gman44116

iTrader: (1)

Good one Bob! I will keep an eye on the horizon for you and the wagon...I strayed for 6 years. C55 AMG and a Lexus GS kept my appetite in check. But I wanted a 'one quiver' ride. Hope this can keep me satiated for some time

Matt W

Oh god, please tell me you aren't getting a CTS-V Wagon! I could probably find you a good deal on a funeral hearse if you are into that ugly look

projektvertx

iTrader: (2)

Clean ride, very good choices!

HEAVY_RL

iTrader: (1)

Dont hate on the wagon Brah.

gman44116

iTrader: (1)

Snapped a couple shots of the front clip.

How do you like my custom stainless steel mesh A-Spec lip??









And another front wheel ZDX pic:

oo7spy

Please keep comments like this out of this thread.


In fact, you should just GTFO or AZ with that kind of comment.

gman44116

iTrader: (1)

If you were wondering what the little black things were by the top of the mesh grill it's a bracket for my license plate.

I found this license bracket at Autozone:



I STRONGLY DISLIKE front plates. Unfortunately, Ohio has a front plate law.

This bracket makes it easy to take the plate on and off with no time and ease.

The bracket came in a polished chrome finish. I gave it a few coats of black to match the bumper.

gman44116

iTrader: (1)

Why don't you just send him a PM instead of dumping all over this thread

oo7spy

So others can comment on his post, but I can't?

Is it because I don't think a shift knob is worth $120?

HEAVY_RL

iTrader: (1)

Are you all on the same period cycle?

Gman have you thought of blacking out that mesh?

oo7spy

I let it go a long time ago, like when it happened. For some reason, dude can't help but bitch about all of my posts since then, and yet, he can't put me on his ignore list either.

HEAVY_RL

iTrader: (1)

They did both use smileys.... but I get what you are saying.

gman44116

iTrader: (1)

I dont bitch about all your posts that would be a full time job. I rather give attention to the posts in threads that I start and you take hostage or the posts you comment about a FS post i had that you called me a tool unprovoked, get what you give.

You ARE a douche. I said nothing to hurt your poor feelings. I am just VERY sick and tired of you posting, rather your worthless (mostly in my threads) comments.

You called me a 'tool' so yes, you are a donkey and I have no issues stating it again. Im positive that Bob can stand up for himself in here.

I don't see a single reason why you have to go off topic, again.

YES! I will say it here. After all, this is my thread, my topic which I actually started! You should try it sometime. So now. Just keep on topic. No one cares how you feel about Matt W saying he thinks Bobs vehicle choice here. If I was a moderator I would have just deleted the post. But I isn't lol.

It really comes down to keeping on topic. If you don't like what someone says off topic, no one wants to hear your thoughts.
Isn't there a rants and raves' forum or something here you can go pound sand in?
Just take it to PM, brutha.

Whats up Heavy---- PM stands for private message, not pre-menstrual. Haha


Heavy, I don't want to murder out the ride. Not saying blacking it out would do that. I like it the way it is. Contrasting.

HEAVY_RL

iTrader: (1)

Play nice guys... and you can certainly block each other so you don't see the posts.

Yeah, the contrast makes sense.

oo7spy

So Heavy comments on an off topic post, and you thank him. I comment on it, and you criticize my post then go on to say that I derailed your thread?

If you are so VERY sick and tired of my posts, then there is a plain and simple way to stop all of them. Put me on your ignore list, and go about your happy way.

Welcome to the world wide interwebz where anyone can say whatever the hell they want, and it's up to you to take it for what it is. Grow up dude.

coopcoop30

Worth the read....twice. Beautiful car and I like what you've done with it.

neuronbob

Whoa, lets relax on the negativity. It seems to be running all over the site today. Channel positive chi.....

Back on topic:

The mesh grille is a unique touch, gman.....

gman44116

iTrader: (1)

LOLz... Keep it up ya donkay

Matt W

On topic: I like the mesh aspec grill. You need some damn clear corners and it would look perfect!

My top grill is probably going to be in pretty bad shape after this winter and I was thinking about doing something like this:




I think they the chrome part is a little to thick on those though.