bx-tls

My rear brake just went out a few days ago, it was pretty sudden. I was waiting until the spring to do any work to the car. Well since this happen, I decided to go ahead and do some mod. I just got ebc rear from CleanCl ( great guy, drove from LI to manhattan to give it to me)

When I was looking at my suspension, to my surprise i had tokico blue on already.
I can't tell what kind of spring are on, but it look oem. I am considering bilstien and h&r spring, from doing search this seem to be the best choice for ride quality. i want to get about a 2" drop and no more because of the horrible road here in the city. My rim are the factory 17" type S but going ot upgrade to 18 inches in the spring. Want 19 inches but i know there would be more rubbing issues, and again the roads here would make it impractical.

First question: Should i go with my orginal plan of bilstein- HR or go for a full coilover like tein?? and what is the major advantage/disadvantage of one over the other, don't seem to be much to me, i do go to the track but rarely. Any other suspension anyone would recommend?

Next- My rotor are in good condition, I was worry about it being warp or damage but it seem to be fine. but i also notice that it is drill but not slotted. So i figure these also aren't the original rotor. Any idea how I can find out what kind they are.

Second question- What are the benefits and differences of drilled vs slotted rotor, I just thought that they provide better cooling. I don't think I am going to change them yet, since it is working perfectly normal but if i do, i'll probably get rotor that are both drilled and slotted. Just don't know exactly what the different between the a drilled one and a slotted one.

Third question- My front brakes are ok, is it ok to just change the rear and do the front later. Would there be any problem from running on two different type of brake pads. Reason is, I am thinking of upgrading to a BBK later. I originally plan to do all 4 brake but from search, i found out that I just needed the front. I am leaning toward rotora BBK but any other suggestion?

Fourth question- Should I get the rims and tires i want then do suspension or do suspension first then when I get rim i take it from there. My car came with brand new bridgestone blizzek ( great winter tires so far ) when I bought it, so i am considering keeping the factory rims and those tires as my winter tires and get 18 inches and performanace tires when spring comes along.

Final question- Bedding, how many miles should I wait, from search i get anywhere from 100 to 500 miles but on the ebc manual it seem to suggest doing it right away. And what exactly is the benefit of bedding, I got my brake change a few time and never seem to have any problem, I took it out of the shop and drove it just fine.

Right now, some of the mod i intend on doing are header. Any other beside comptech and megen? comptech too expensive and megan seem to be the noise problem.

I plan to switch out the pulley for UR pulley, going to probably go for the set, or should i just get the crank alone since the other 2 seem to be for cosmetics. I am thinking that since it is lighter, there some be some benefit since i am taking out some of the stress from the engine.

Intake I have decided on the icebox, but i really don't like how it look so bland, but it seem to give the most gain.

Planning to do some interior and exterior work also but not until I find a garage to store the car.

I know, alot of questions, I did use search so i had alot more before this haha. Thank in advance for answering

TLsu

The AEM V2 intake gives equal gains to the Icebox and looks aftermarket. However, it is louder, and the filter is not in the engine bay like the Icebox has it. The filter is right behind the bumper, thus making it more susceptible to taking in water and hydrolocking the engine. However, I wouldn't worry about it because your bumper would have to be submereged for that to happen.

Hope that helps.

Pure Adrenaline

iTrader: (2)

Holy crapload of questions, batman!!

1. Coilovers are designed to work as one unit from the ground up, so the valve and springs rates are matched. Plus you can infinitely (within the range) adjust the car's height to your preference.

Some coilovers offer a great range of damping adjustment such as the Tein SS, but others do not, like the Tein Basic. It's your call; if you want to be able to tune the damping rates to your liking, then definitely go for damping-adjustable ones. You can also look at the A'pexi WS (about 550), Zeal Function B6 (about 1700, if I remember right), Megan coilovers, etc.

Springs + struts is also a good way to go. It seems that people like H&R Sport springs with Koni Yellows. The Konis come with 5-way damping adjustability plus two seat perches for different ride heights. It's not as adjustable as, say Tein SS, but that doesn't mean it's inferior. It's all about the increment of the damping adjustment. Tein SS' damping adjustment increments are very small, unfortunately.

1.1 No idea. I guess you could take a look on the hat and see if there's a company logo or something.

2. Drilled and slotted virtually serve the same function; to dissipate the gas that builds up between the pads and the rotor. Technically, you actually lose cooling ability and contact surface by going with drilled and/or slotted. But unless the rotor is full of holes, it's negligible.

Slotted does serve one function that drilled cannot -- they act to scrape the brake pad surface to provide a clean, linear and flat contact area between the pads and the rotor. But this will, of course, wear out the pads sooner. By how much? Hard to say; it depends on your driving style. But it's not like the pads will wear out 3 times quicker, so don't let it bother ya.

And drilled has a higher chance of cracking at the holes if the rotors aren't properly drilled. Personally, I would recommend going with slotted rotors. Rotora makes great products; my entire brake system on the car has been retrofitted with Rotora components. They are amazing. You can get all 4 rotors for like 300+ bucks, if I remember right.

3. I have the Rotora BBK in the front, and Rotora slotted rotors with Hawk HP Plus track/street pads in the rear. They are great. And yeah, it's okay to do just the rear. Front to rear doesn't really matter. It's when you run different shit on each side that you have a problem.

4. Sounds like a plan. It's good to have a set for the winter. I, of course, sold my Type-S wheels a bit hastily, because I'm an idiot. And it doesn't matter what you do first -- it's all personal preference.

5. Follow the instructions that came with the brake pads. Nobody knows the pads better than the manufacturer itself. The purpose of bedding is to properly seat the pads and the rotors together. When you only get new pads but keep the old rotors, they won't make a solid 100% contact patch at first. The process of bedding will seat them properly. Still the same principle even when you get new pads and rotors at the same time.

Headers -- Look into OBX and Alphawerks. I have OBX SS headers I got on eBay for like 290 shipped. Headers do wonders for our cars.

Pulleys -- I got the 3-piece set, just because. The power steering pulley spins more than stock, so it makes the steering wheel feel a bit lighter when you're turning it.

But yeah, virtually all of the power gains come from the crank pulley. Once again, personal preference.

Good luck.

bx-tls

Really, I could have swore it say the icebox gives the most gain. I am not worry at all about getting water into the intake, we don't get any major flooding here if any. So if I can get the same gain and the nice sound, I'll go for the AEM. But, I thought that they are no AEM for type S,only for tlp?

Pure Adrenaline

iTrader: (2)

AEM V2 is only for the Premium. The regular AEM CAI is available for the Type-S.

It's pointless to argue about which intake gives more power. The difference will be negligible. Pick the one you want to see every time you pop the hood.



FYI, the AEM CAI sound in VTEC is amazing.

Leviathan

Since the HP gain is a non-issue with CAI, what is the consensus on the sound?

AEM, Injen, Icebox et al... Who wins with sound?

PenguinQX

iTrader: (1)

Stay AWAY from Alphawerks, unless you are buying a used set. AW currently has had a bad batch of headers that don't fit the car at all - I know, I was suckered into paying $400 for a set. They do NOT honor their WARRANTY, and have HORRIBLE customer service.

bx-tls

thank for all the advice everyone.
Penquinqx, that really good to know, I don't have money to throw away like that.
Pure Adrenaline, koool of you to give me such clear and detail information.
And regarding CAI, from what I understand, the icebox is the most quiet, OEM like sound. While AEM and Injen- the 2 other popular one does give a hearty growl.

actually anyone has a sound clip to compare??

bx-tls

Also, regarding header, which one gives the most gain or all they all relatively the same also. From Search I found that comtech and megan are relatively the same, what about others?

Pure Adrenaline

iTrader: (2)

They are all basically the same. Any difference in gains among the types of headers will be negligible.

As for the intake, I have an AEM and it sounds great. It screams.

Pure Adrenaline

iTrader: (2)

Good to know. I wasn't aware. Thanks for the heads-up.

TLsu

The AEM V2 will be the loudest, but it only fits a TL-P. Then just the plain AEM and the Injen should be second. The tamest sounding will be the Comptech Icebox.

PenguinQX

iTrader: (1)

It's not a very well known issue - a bunch of guys over at Acura CL have experienced this problem too. If you haven't noticed, Excelerate has quietly pulled the AW headers from the group buy section. He did post about them being defective over at Acura CL.. No idea why he didn't do it here. I've been holding my tongue about it since I wanted to see if AW would honor the warranty and apparently AW-related peoples peruse this site.

Pure Adrenaline

iTrader: (2)

Yeah, I just read everything and posted in both threads.

Good luck, man. Let us know how it goes.

Excelerate

iTrader: (1)

Excelerate didn't quietly pull anything out of the Groupbuy section. It was pulled months ago when the issue arose. Like I said in previous threads, once I was alerted to the problem I stopped selling them and allowed people who had not used their headers, i.e. run exhaust through them, to return them for a full refund.

And again, Alpha Werks has not denied any warranty claims. And as before, send them back to them and they will do the warranty work.

Stop trying to badmouth me in every thread.

I am going to repeat this statement, which I have uttered a few times before and I have tried to act in good faith and as a good businessman. I was not aware that Alpha Werks headers had a defect when I sold them. When I became aware of it, I stopped selling the headers and allowed anyone who wanted to return the headers for a full refund to do so, as long as they had not run exhaust through the headers. If you had used the headers and run exhaust through them, then we began the warranty process with Alpha Werks.

Now to PenguinQX, there was exhaust run through your headers. It is clear from your gaskets:



I made it very clear to the Acurazine community that I had no issue with allowing people to return the headers for a full refund as long as they were not used. If you did use them, you were not without options. You could then have warranty work done through Alpha Werks. I have been in contact with Alpha Werks every week trying to help facilitate the process for a few members. I have been there to help so please don't besmirch my reputation. If you have an issue with Alpha Werks because of defects and/or their remarks please take it up with them.

03CoupeV6

Since I don't have headers, but I've been reading these threads about these AW headers, I'm a little confused:

If you sold headers (whether you knew it or not) that simply didn't fit the cars you were marketing to, how is that the fault of the owners who tried putting them on? It sounds to me like AW needs to stand behind their (relatively large) mistake and give everyone a full refund without the whiny-assed "exhaust went through them" excuse. That's like Acura offering to replace a defective transmission only if you never drove the car, what sense does that make?

AW can make all their excuses they want, but in the end, they've lost a whole lot more money from potential future customers than they would have if they'd done what was right from the start and refunded everyone's money, whether exhaust had flown through those pipes or not. I hope this stuff was worth it to the company.

Practices like this =

Excelerate

iTrader: (1)

Well that comparison isn't really the same. Alpha Werks isn't saying you cannot get warranty work done because you ran exhaust through them. They are honoring warranties.

Pure Adrenaline

iTrader: (2)

If the headers weren't used -- full refund from Excelerate
If the headers were used -- warranty from AW

As much as AlphaWerks is dragging ass, you can't expect them to pay a full refund to the customers. Why? Because they didn't sell the products to the customers for what they paid. I don't have the numbers, so I'm gonna use imaginary figures. Let's say AW sells the headers to Excelerate at a wholesale price of 200 dollars. Then Excelerate sells the headers to customers for 300 dollars. AW shouldn't be asked to pay the full 300 dollars. However, they should replace/warranty the products. But are they doing it? Well, based on what we've heard from several members here, it doesn't look like they are. And that's where the problem is, not with Excelerate.

Excelerate

iTrader: (1)

Thank you for your support. Alpha Werks has been slow on the warranty process but they have been doing it. A number of headers were sent out the other day after being re-machined. They are warrantying the headers and doing the work; they are just taking some time to do it.

Pure Adrenaline

iTrader: (2)

Yeah, I think I read about at least one member over in the CL section who is getting the new headers shipped to him from AW.

But in Penguin's case, as a fellow AZ member and a car enthusiast I am enraged by Carlos' response to the situation.

When my AEM CAI was too long, I called their customer service department for advice. The representative on the phone said "I don't have time to sit here and listen to people complaining." :umm: So sorry to bother you? It's their fucking job to assist customers with problems related to their products. It bugs me.

But I digress. I don't think, for the most part, anyone's blaming you. Like you said, you did what you could, and the ultimate responsibility is on AW.

Excelerate

iTrader: (1)

I've spoken to Carlos about his reaction. I told him he has to be more patient. He IS willing to work on this issue. However, there a couple people that call him everyday, email him everyday, IM him everday. And then sometimes they talk trash to him so he gets upset. So then when someone else comes on and says something sometimes he assumes everyone is just out to bust his chops. He is willing to take care of Penguin's case. He has not denied his claim. I spoke to him earlier and he said all he has to do is send them back to AW and he will take care of it. He PMed Penguin the address.

Well thank you for the support. It is greatly appreciated.

bx-tls

To blame the merchant for a defective product is a little harsh. Like I stated in the other thread, I don't believe any merchant intent to sell a few bad product and lose their business. Sales is hard, especially if you run into this sort of problem,which was no fault of the merchant.

Example, i also work in sales, i sell electronics. We offer all our product with manufacture warranty and a store warranty. Besides physical damage, it is basically cover. But if it is drop, crack ,water damage, then there is not much we can do for you, we can't take the product back because the manufacturer won't take it back from us, so we lose out. We get credit for defect, to help offset cost but that is determine by the manufacturer. They will take it back,repair the item and sell it as refurbish or as a floor sample.

Again this is an exmaple of how the company I work for operate, not implying that is how excelerate or other business conduct their business. but since we are the face the customer see, we usually take alot of the blames when something goes wrong.

As a customer, i refuse to do business with any company that has crappy customer services or gives customer the run around. That being say, I don't know why AW won't just take it back and give the customer their money or credit if they want that instead of another set of headers. Then sell the item at cost, they won't make money but won't lose any either, and more than likely keep the customer trust.

I am looking for some mod for my car, right now I need brakes and possible upgrade to BBK. I will say that I will do business with Excelarate, so far he has not given me any reason to doubt him, and conducted himself professionally. I just won't get AW header until i heard better of them.

What i am trying to say in my long whining post......... give the middleman a break,it is sometimes even harder for them when things go wrong. push too hard and you could lose your distribution right, not enough and you lose customers.

Pure Adrenaline

iTrader: (2)

I do sales part time, too, and I'm also aware of the customer-seller-wholesaler-manufacturer situation.

It's a bitch, any way you look at it.

bx-tls

I can understand that as well. some people you just can't be reason with. Can we all be a little nicer , everyone get piss off, but yelling don't help

Pure Adrenaline

iTrader: (2)

I can understand his frustration, because I also do sales/customer service part time, but there's no excuse for his comment where he said "you guys are bad-mouthing us, why should we help you?"

Maybe it's just me, but when there's a widespread problem, I look at individual claims as a chance to make up for the mistake in the first place. Bad word-of-mouth will spread exponentially faster and wider than good. Once a reputation is hurt, it takes much more time and effort to build it back up to where it was. With that comment, Carlos single-handedly took AW down to rock bottom, in terms of their relationship with the AZ community.

Excelerate

iTrader: (1)

that was the reaction from him I was talking about. He is just getting frustrated with those two to three individuals who nag him all the time and they talk trash to him so he gets upset with the whole thing. It is not right. I spoke to him about it. Hopefully he takes care of the issue and redeems himself. I am no longer carrying their products until this issue gets resolved so I hope that AW continues to warranty their products and offer customer service, in a more calm tone.

fsttyms1

Needless to say this isnt a vendor problem, and the blame and bashing needs to stop. Blaming the vendor for a deffective product isnt going to get the problem solved