velocity111

I haven't been on the board in a while, just came back from the middle east (left in jan this year) and have some $$ to do some upgrades. I'd like to get the car up to 300hp (min) to as high as 350hp (max). I've already decided to put on the OBX headers - but am skipping the mufflers as they don't really yield a lot of power for the $$. Other than the headers and a Comptech Icebox, what else is available? I know a while ago people wre talking about chips, or CDIs, etc. - is there anything new in that area? Aside from the CT supercharger or nitrous, what other options are out there?? Any suggestions would be much appreciated!!

Thanks in advance.........

PeterUbers

iTrader: (1)

Icebox
Crank pulley (UR)
Exhaust
B-pipe
ground wires
denso ir. spark plugs
lighter wheels, stickier tires
Unichip
V-AFC
Redline tranny fluid
tranny cooler
Royal Purple motor oil

All the above are possibilities for you .. i know someone w/ a CL-S that has all of those .. he runs a 14.10 @ 100.mph .. i run a 14.7 @96mph ... so it all adds up

Ianbiz3

what do we currently run?? stock non type-s

maxx96

You said you have some money and you want to put in some OBX headers? Go with CT headers and if you want to get your car to 350hp you WILL have to put in the SC. (Don't know if you mean at the wheels or what).
Don't forget if you go with the SC that the ice box comes with it. Right now there is nothing else that will give you your power goal.

@cUr@-TL

u forgot the 3.5L conversion...


@cUr@-TL

Love my 99

True that but which gives you more hp for the buck??

CT SC=$4000 w/o installation for @50hp
3.5 conversion=someone said on an earlier thread it's $6000 for a gain of ?? hp

velocity111

Thanks for all the suggestions - it was exactely what I was looking for.

PeterUbers: what is a B-pipe? Unichip - does that mean that someone finally came out with a chip for the TL?

Maxx96: I was under the impression that OBX basically ripped off CT's design for their headers - so what is the difference (besides the $700+) between them? Even if the CT headers are better - are they really $700+ better? Good call on the SC, I didn't know about the airbox, thanks! My only hesitation about going that far is that we're dealing with a FWD design, and the front can only take so much power before it's wasted. I keep going in circles because I want to do this, but then I think I'm wasting my time with a FWD platform - your thoughts??

Thanks to all who responded!

PeterUbers

iTrader: (1)

Velocity:

B-pipe + axleback mufflers = total cat-back exhaust system from Comptech = $1100 total (approx.)

Unichip is a chip actually made for our cars.. couple guys on the CL-S forum had it installed, and ran back to back w/ a CL-S w/ similar mods (one CL-S w/ mods and no chip vs. one CL-S w/ mods and the UniChip). The cars ran even as far as I read. Not worth it in my opinion.

OBX owners are now reporting flaws/defects in their headers.. leaks, cracks, etc .. one year out. There is a serious issue w/ actually installing the obx headers.. they require a lot of drilling and some bending to get them in properly .. they also have an annoying resonating sound between certain low rpms... $700.00 basically buys you peace of mind when you get the CT headers.

I bought my headers used for $600.00 and they work great. I'd just wait for someone on the CL-S forum to sell their used headers.

You'll never develop that much power that you'll be wasting it on the FWD design .. maybe the S/C .. w/ all the other bolt-ons... but if you drive it right, you won't be worried about pushing the FWD limits.

What you MAY be wasting your time on is the automatic tranny platform .. b/c the automatic can only take so much before it snaps like a twig.. The current automatic s/c Type S owners have yet to have their S/C's for over a year to report what the tranny's are doing... are they gunna fail... are they gunna last w/ that tranny cooler and high-temp tranny fluid?? no one knows yet.

I have the headers, intake and exhaust.. and I think the only other thing I'll add is the crank pulley.. and i'll be set.

velocity111

PeterUbers - thanks for all the info. I'm usually of the mind "you get what you pay for", and I think you've confirmed that for me with the headers. As far as the SC and the auto, I've talked with John at Comptech (this was as of almost a year ago) and he stated they had a TL-S with their charger on it with other mods running almost 550hp with the stock auto tranny with only an oil cooler. They had run it like that for almost 6 months with no problems and nothing funny going on with the tranny temp. Granted, it's not a year or much proving time, but it does give me a little peace of mind when I think about running 300-350HP. In the end, it seems that the SC with the CT header system is the only thing out there which will get me close to where I want to be.

if anyone feels any different, I'm all ears.

Ebay right now has a brand new CT SC for $3500 from a car dealer in Washington, anyone ever buy anything from acuralynn on Ebay???

Got_3.2?

iTrader: (2)

n0ssss is da best bang for the buck.

velocity111

What kind of nos are you running? I've thought about it, but I'd rather have it on tap the whole time (sc), instead of part time (nos). I will say that Nos is the best bang for the buck, but again, I don't know sh*t about it, and having something on tap all the time is a plus.

TimN88

Does anyone have any details on the 3.5 conversion? This is something i would actually consider, as i prefer the reliability of N/A motors, although SC motors can be very reliable. Maybe i shold try a supercharged 3.5L?? I wuld probably need a larger pulley to push more air, but if i would not outsource one (another company besides comptech making one), i coud bang one out on my comp using solidworks, and then export that to the CNC lathe (or if im not lazy, just make it on a normal lathe) and then drill the holes on a drill press, all of this being done in my school's machine shop. If theres any interest for this, let me know since i would rather make more than one at a time to offset the costs, which i would have to pay for if i do not get a key to the building next term.

car_lost

ok, 3.5 conversion: its not $6000. its about the same price as the comptech s/c. that includes all the work and installation (for the 3.5 conversion).

intake: cold air intake, short ram, icebox. those are your options. the cold air intake and the icebox will give u the best gains. the short ram will give less. with the cold air intake, u have to worry about hydrolocking the engine (sucking in water), but it looks nice as hell, comes in a variety of colors and sounds nice and mean when in vtec range. icebox will give more or less the same gains, no chance of hydrolocking, looks stock, no sounds. short ram will give less gains, no chance of hydrolocking, gives sound like the cai and looks good as well.

exhaust: comptech axle-back with the b-pipe. i think the b-pipe would be pretty pointless unless you have F/I. other than that, the axle-back is mainly for looks and sound.

ground wires: these would be useless on the TL. the TL is already grounded very well.

denso ir. spark plugs: useless unless u have all the basic bolt-ons.

lighter wheels/stickier tires: awesome combination right there. if u get very lightweight wheels, they will make a pretty big difference.

unichip: its only a piggy back system. it DOES NOT replace the ecu. as for gains, i have no clue.

v-afc: only good for a few HP after u have all the basic bolt-ons. plus it looks pretty sweet and is fun to fiddle with.

headers: obx, stone, comptech. there was a bad batch of obx headers in the beggining. they were a pain to install and blah blah blah. they fixed that and htey are pretty much a direct bolt-on now. they do have resonance though. it may or may not bother you. stone headers seem better than the obx and they are only a little more expensive, but they also have a resonance, but not as bad as the obx. comtpech, speaks for itself.

tl-steve222

Will a Comptech downpipe (b-pipe ?) fix the resonance issue w/ OBX headers?

Mr Zipps

Austin519 -- on acura world did a 3.5 upgrade and is now going to throw on the supercharger. He beefed up his tranny with a titanium tranny thou.. I dont know what he is running but he should be down in the low 13 possibly 12s.

If anyone is doing a 3.5 upgrade talk to dean on the cl forum. he owns a shop in fl called velocity resource and they did austin519 upgrade and have a kit for our cars.

IMO the 3.5 is the safest and best way to go and best bang for the buck...

moahdriven

Does anyone make an supercharger for the stock '03 TL...I know comptechs superhcharger applies for the type-s, but is there a reason they dont make one for the stock?