hey fellow acura tl owners. this is my first post. as you can seen in my profile, i have a 98 grand prix gt. next spring (2003), i want to get an acura TL, definitely prefer used. I have spent too much time modding and wasting money into a Grand Prix. An Acura is soooooo much nicer. I have a question for all of you. The regular tl, not type s, what does the vtec sound like? My buddy has a type R, and its obnoxious. I'm guessing the 3.2 vtec will sound similar to a 99-00 civic si's vtec. When you add an cai, does it double the sound of vtec? Also, if you guys have pics of wheels on your car, can you post them? One last favor, can you explain the difference in years between the tl's? i know in 2001 they changed the taillights, but thats about it. thanks guys, i hope to have many more posts, and own a tl next spring!

 

Welcome aboard!

To me and most of the people on this board, the sound of vtec is just simply amazing. With the cai, it makes it sound even deeper and better. I have never heard the 99-00 civic si's vtec so I can't compare. I am guessing our vtec has a deeper tone since we have a V6 and the civic is a 4.

Here is a quick breakdown of the TL:
96-98 = 1st generation TL
99-01 = 2nd generation TL, 225 hp
02 = cosmetic changes (including the tail lights you mistaken for a 01, new front end with fog lights), 225 hp for TL, 260 hp for Type-S, more supportive seats, etc...

99 has 4 gears, hard disk navi, can control 1st to 2nd gear shift

00-01 has 5 gears, side airbags, dvd navi, and a few other minor changes, shifts from 1st to 2nd gears automatically.

If you want more details, just go to the acura website or somebody else will add their 2 cents.

Good luck!

 

What I've noticed is that all the Honda cars, they just sound louder normally. The same goes for the Integras. The CL/TL/RL are so much nicer. I've notieced that with the Integra whether your crusing or pushing hard...you hear the engine constantly work louder...and yes it does get annoying. It's funny to because with all the sound it's making, it's not really going anywhere quicker. But with the CL/TL, the ride is so quiet and smooth until you hit VTEC where it sounds like the car is doing something and it is. The CAI makes the VTEC sound much more powerful!