Fishman

Hello all!

I've been lurking for a while but finally pulled the trigger on a 2005 RL with the A-Spec body kit, wood steering and wood shift knob. I live in Southern California, paid $32,500, CPO from a dealer in the north LA area. The vehicle has 33,000 miles on it.

Dumped a 2000 Mercedes CL500 that was about the worst maintenance vehicle one could ever imagine. I've owned the RL for about a month now and must say I truly enjoy the ride, fit and finish of the car.

The only modifications I'm planning are very small: License plate white LED's, Swap the fogs to better match the HID's (I'm a neophyte in this area so suggestions are welcome, although I'm sure there is a thread that adresses this), Possibly swapping out the high beams for a slightly whiter bulb, mainly to change the look of the DRLs, and extending the exhaust tips about 3/4 inch to get them out from underneath the rear A-Spec apron.

Here is a pic of my previous baby and a few of my new baby.

Jaysmith2000

Welcome! Beautiful ride, and good price you got on it. Just curious, did the previous owner remove the emblems from the back or ..???

TampaRLX-SH

Welcome and enjoy the RL!

I must say, those first two pics truly highlight some similar styling cues, especially the use of chrome highlights. Call me biased, but the RL carries it off better.

neuronbob

Welcome to AZ and thanks for delurking. The A-Spec body kit looks best in the darker colors.

Beautiful ride you have there.

There is a thread here in which someone extended their exhaust tips to get just beyond the A-Spec rear lip. If you don't find it first, I'll try to find it a little later....doing my precious family time today....

Fishman

The car came from the dealer with the emblems shaved. It had some pretty intense pinstriping that interfered with positioning of the emblems, so I assume that's why they were removed.

minkl81

iTrader: (2)

nice RL

aspec kit looks very nice too

static808

Looks great. Makes me wonder on getting an A-Spec kit. Looks great on your Nighthawk Black RL.

Quick question. Is the A-Spec front bumper a replacement for the existing bumper or add-on.

Thanks in advance.

slawek65

Fishman, check www.hoen-usa.com for fog lights bulbs.I have them on my RL and I think color match with HID's it's very good.

neuronbob

The A-Spec body kit consists of an add-on underbody lip to the front and rear bumpers, and replacement of the side skirts.

RL05

Great looking RL! Welcome to Acurazine!

Quick question:
Did you have them swap your exhaust tips? Or, were they like that when you purchased the car?

It looks as though the driver-side tip is on the passenger-side and vice versa. You mentioned extending the tips, so I was just curious.

UW RL

those don't like like stock RL exhuast tips, perhaps a muffler shop did some swapping.

Touge

Nice car and welcome to the forums

neuronbob

You know, you're right. Those aren't stock RL exhaust tips, and it is likely they were extended already by switching tips. I missed that at first glance, maybe I'm getting presbyopia earlier than I'm supposed to be.

Chas2

How can you tell? The exposure is dark, but it looks like my stock 06 tips, cleaner of course, because I have black soot marks

RL05

No, they are stock, but they have been switched. I work at an Acura dealership and the shop guys did that to me one day as a joke. If you look at your tips, they are shaped similarly to the rear of the car so they blend. If you switch them, they flare out as opposed to blending. The original owner of the car must have done this because the A-Spec kit hides them so much.

Fishman

Very interesting observation(s). Until now I had never noticed the flare, but you are correct, it appears the tips were at some point switched. I believe I will have them switched back and extended just a smidge. Thanks to all of you for your visual acuity.

RL05

No problem Fishman! Let us know how it goes.

neuronbob

Interesting observation. The shot was a little dark, so it was hard to tell.

Now those with A-Spec body kits have another option if they want their exhaust to protrude slightly.

synth19

very nice, seems like your style has stayed the same with the Acura.

Fishman

So... I decided to buy the A-Spec suspension and have it installed. I purchased it and had it installed at Acura of Alhambra, just outside of Downtown L.A. I loved it, my wife hated it. I loved the lowered look, she didn't notice a thing. I loved the aggresive feel to the suspension, she said I ruined a perfectly good ride.

In the end, I decided I loved my wife more than the suspension, so she wins, I lose.

Now then, does anyone out there have any suggestions on how to recoup my investment in the A-Spec suspension that is now sitting in four boxes in my garage?? I was thinking about Ebay but it looks like it's a very thinnly traded commodity. Any suggestions would be very welcome.

neuronbob

I'm pretty sure someone looking to save $$$ will PM you. Also, try our Black Market. You'll get a lot of hits there, and that's where official "for sale" posts belong anyway.

My wife didn't notice anything when I switched to the A-Spec. Then again, she was accustomed to our A-Spec TL, and before that, my Comptech spring-lowered 2G TL. I obviously married well.

cl-baller201

Man that ride is gorgeous!