Gingerbreadman

First I just want to say that this is a great forum! I have really enjoyed reading it for the couple of weeks I have been lurking. I originally just got my 1999 Acura TL because it seemed like a reliable, full featured, automobile, but since my purchase you guys have opened a whole new exciting world to me. I don't know whether I should curse or bless you really..... Since the purchase only 3 weeks ago I have ordered the following:

An OEM Aero Sports Body Kit off of ebay - $500
A DVD Navigator System (to upgrade the HD one) from ebay - $300
A new 2.20 navi disk from Acura - $185
A new navi screen (the 1999's had terrible antiglare coat) - $110
which i later discovered on the board I could fix with some armor all
A K&N drop in air filter from ebay - $35
And am currently looking for a place to get the car painted with the new kit on it

The upgrades that I am thinking about for the future from the recommendations found on this board are the following:

A set of Comptech headers (but ow to the $1000+ purchase price)
A Comptech Ice box intake
A UR CAM pulley
and maybe after that a unichip although I am not sure about that

Here are my questions for the gurus and the ones with these specific upgrades

How do these upgrades affect gas milage? Right now I am getting almost 30 miles to the gallon (highway) and could probably be happier without changing the HP if I will suffer in milage. I do still have to use this car as a daily driver as well.

How do these upgrades affect the life of the engine and transmission? Obviously with more HP there is more strain on the engine and HP and if the overall life of these components will be seriously shortened I again can live with what I have.

How much noise difference can I expect with the headers? The pulley I expect no change and the Ice Box I have seen is the least noisey of my intake options with the most benefit but I have not seen any commentary on the headers sound change. Additional comments on the others are welcome too.

Thanks for your help on these issues. I hope these points have not been addressed too many times but I did not see the answers to my exact questions.

By the way I am a 99 TL Dark Emerald Pearl right now with no mods. I will photo my changes and post them as they are done. I probably wont dyno the hp changes but my butt dyno is puckering at the very thought of what I might find... *smiles*

Pure Adrenaline

iTrader: (2)

My gas mileage went down slightly but not by much. Thirty MPG is pretty amazing. I only get about 23 all highway, and usually 20 combined.

Headers won't produce any loud noises. There will be a slight change in the exhaust tone, but it's not a big deal at all.

The thing about modding is that you get desensitized after a while to the increased power, improved looks, whatever -- and you want to keep adding more to it. Take it from me and hundreds of other people on this board. Shit, I'm broke all the time because I dump all my money into my car. It's an endless money pit. I just wanted to warn you in advance.

Welcome to the forum, and congratulations on the purchase.

ou sig

Gingerbreadman
funny name BTW...but we have the exact same car!!!

Like PA said, the headers wont really change the exhaust at all. And with my mods, I still get 28-30 MPG on the highway and 19-22 in the city, and I dont drive lightly at all. The pulley is a CRANK pulley not Cam, but that is also my next mod I would think. Dont waste your time with the unichip or any chip for that matter, unless you have lots of money and time for some serrious dyno tuning.

You really should get some new springs to lower it down an inch or two - that was my first mod and still my favorite. Also since you have a '99...you can take off the silver looking shift plate (around your shift knob), get some graffitti remover and spray it on. then wipe it off after about 20 seconds then you will reveal a CHROME shift plate! looks very nice and can only be done on the '99 TL's.

optiq

clear the headlights

tnguye3

GBman,
From what I read it looks like you are going to try to please the visual side of the car. If you really want to make difference, I would take a look at chenging the suspension with a CT sway bars, springs and sturts. This will make a 100% difference and one where you can surly see or feel. Headers, cam, intake and muffler are nice but the ROI (return on investment is not there in my point of view) are not there. And since you are an old fart, you do not need all that stuff. Mod'ing the suspension is not cheap (will cost you ~$1500) but if you want to feel like you are on rails and handle 100% better, than I would recommend the suspension change.

LOL

Gingerbreadman

Old fart!?!?!? I am pratically pooting dust I am so old... heehee. But tnguye is only a couple years younger than me.

Anyway thanks for the good input guys and gals and please keep it coming.

ou sig - could you take a couple photos of the chrome shift plate and post them. I did find one set on the board of one done up but the lighting was kind of off and it was hard to really tell how it looked. And thanks for the correction on the pulley thing. thats what i meant

pure adreniline - i can already see what you mean about the money pit thing. my wife is already looking at me sideways when i talk about stuff i want to order. she has not nixed me yet however because i almost bought a 2003 tl type s and the fact that I spent only 10k instead of 24k is my bargaining chip.

tnguye - the car already seems to handle like a dream. of course I am use to driving a grand cherokee which is the porsche of suvs but is still a suv so maybe my basis for comparison is off. So the struts and sway bars will make it a lot different? and does that make it ride a lot rougher? to be honest I will not be taking as many 100+ mph romps down windy roads as I use to but i will be riding on straight roads where the roughness will matter.

Thanks again for everyones input and keep the info coming about the gas mileage and the wear and tear on the drivetrain. If we were talking computers or networks i could be the source of all knowledge but on vehicle repair and modding i know just enough to be dangerous.

kabota

Welcome to the 99 TL club man!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was going to keep mine stock but then I unfortunately found this site and the rest is history. This site is addicting!!! :ghey: :gheywave: :troutslap

moahdriven

I know u said ur looking into a comptech icebox, but i would say go with a CAI. its not ricey at all and wont make u seem like ur trying to pose as a teenager. it jsut makes the car sound ALOT more powerful in higher rpm's, and not noticeable during normal driving...there is that hissing noise at startup but it only lasts like 2 minutes.

NYZGREATST

i can atest to that as well. when i got my tl, i promised myself the MOST i would do is classy chrome rims, dark tint and a tv in the dash (cant live without it). now almost a year later and over 3 grand, im hooked on the mods.

i have headers intake exhaust and pulley, i lost maybe 1-2 mpg. its not to bad. as far as sound, its pretty loud BUT then i put the quiet insert tips in the exhaust, and its very very quiet. its real close to stock sound.

as the others have mentioned YOU NEED TO DROP IT!

ou sig

here is a picture of the chrome shift plate...note this is with the temporary cd mounting plate.
the chrome looks just like the little part on the bottom of the shift knob. I think it looks very nice and is a subtle "mod" and the best part is it only costs a few bucks!

the deck now looks like this with the Metra kit after being wet sanded and painted with flat black spray paint. I have other pictures if you want to see them.

aaronnn

welcome and hope you enjoy your extremely long stay here on these forums! because soon enough you'll find yourself here every other hour!!!

here are pics of my 99TL with the chrome shift plate mod done!


different angle


its definitly worth doing!

derrick

Dammit ... looks brilliant ou sig ... makes me wanna find a trashed TL in the 'States and do the non-navi to navi conversion (of course, I will have to ask lithimus, who's moving back to Toronto to help me with the conversion ...) But I don't think the GF will be too pleased with the idea ... I might have to settle with a PSP in the car. LOL.

Going back to unanswered questions:

How do these upgrades affect the life of the engine and transmission? Obviously with more HP there is more strain on the engine and HP and if the overall life of these components will be seriously shortened I again can live with what I have.

Honda factors in quite a bit with longevity to their parts. There are quite a few guys on the board who have had engine mods galore for years and without problems. Since you have '99, you've got the 4-speed tranny, which is 'less susceptible' to the tranny problems of the 5-speeds. Comptech is a great brand for headers ... you'll be happy you have them. Some have had no problems with other makes (Stone, OBX, etc) but of course, you have a few members with complaints (fitment, quality, etc).

Hope that helps you.

moahdriven

AHHHHHHH those chrome shift plates are sooooo sexy. lucky 99 tl. maybe i can buy some of that instant chrome spray from kraagen. chrome in interior = nice.

seattle dale

welcome gingerbreadman, shit if your calling yourself old, wtf am i. I'm an ancient relic compared to you. That doesn't keep me from modding though, its what its all about. Don't let the earlier statment about the unichip deture you, i have one & its been great. It was like getting my comptech headers all over again. The other plus is that the chip has already payed for itself in my improved gas milage, 30 to 50 miles a tank. That was an unexpected pleasant surprise. One mod that is a freebee, that i dont think has been mentioned, & many of us have done. is the intake resonator removal. Gives your ride kind of a deeper throaty sound. Warning, once you start modding, you won't be able to stop! Youv'e been warned!!!

JPritch

Welcome aboard Gingerbreadman!

It's cool to read about 30 somethings modding their cars! Looks like you still have a little style left in those tanks of yours!

seattle dale

shit how-about damn near 50 something!

ou sig

Dale, your case is a rare one with the unichip - though I am glad yours worked out so well. I am just saying its not as easy as most "chips" for other cars that you pretty much know exactly what you are going to get. The unichip just didnt have enough R&D to tailor each chip to the different varieties of combinations of mods that some people have.

99TLKID

I got to ECU.....its good to have more TLer's from NC on here!!! Welcome aboard!

Gingerbreadman

You guys rock! Thanks for all the good input. I am thinking I may actually try the Megan headers after reading this thread ... https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...megan+comptech and that means I can get more mods MORE MODS.... MORE MODS.... I MUST HAVE MORE MODS... heehee.

The shift photos were great. Thanks. I think I may do that tomorrow. And it answers a doubt that I had. I am happy with the stock radio for now and the interaction with the steering wheel is cool (not quite as full function as the one in my Jeep but still cool) but I was wondering how another stereo would look in that huge arse whole they have cut out for it and whether or not it interacted with any other functions. The photos that have the Alpine with the holder area in it (ou sigs) look really nice and quite classy. I will definately go that route if a stereo change ever takes place. Did you make that Ou Sig or is that purchasable somewhere?

As to the dropping the car issue... I want to but I am terrified I am going to start rubbing on every speed bump and curb I encounter. I am in central NC (although I did go to college at ECU just like you 99TLKID, and god I loved Greenville) so it can be quite hilly around here in certain areas and with the OEM spoiler kit (that is hopefully on a plane winging its way here right now *fingers crossed*) I just am scared of the potential problems. More input from "droppers" is welcome on that. Plus I was watching the ole lady yesterday and she pulls right up over the curbs when she parks the car. OOPS there goes the front spoiler

I did put the navi conversion (to dvd) in yesterday so that was cool. Anyway thanks for all the input again.

And Seattle Dale, your not old. Hell I am not old either. To these young whipper-snappers however anything over 30 is ancient so we are both in the same "old man" catagory. Me, you, and the 103 year old that was on Good Morning America for being a centarian (or whatever the word is) are all pratically the same age, heehee. But we still know how to pimp on our "dubs" with the seat set back.

Gingerbreadman
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Run, Run as fast as you can..................

Gingerbreadman

I meant huge arse hole, not whole....

Obviously I went to EZU, heehee!

MikePA

A mod that looks good and doesn't cost much is to paint the engine covers and battery cover. Tower Paint sells paint to match your car color in large, aerosol cans that make this easy. They also sell the gray primer and clear coat.

jeff m 02 tl

i don't think it really matters how old you are to do mod's to your car, hell i'm 38 driving an 02 tl-s my mod list reads like this:
AEM CAI
Thermoblock spacers
Stone racing headers
UR pully set
Eibach pro kit lowering springs
Comptech sways front and rear
Comptech strut tower bar
EBC drilled and slotted rotors
theres more but thats just the important stuff, and the list WILL keep growing until I find a way to get myself to stop logging on this web site and finding new and beautiful ways to modify my car, Oh I think I just missed an important thread on a new mod gotta go

Peace Jeff

seattle dale

right on GBM, I like the way you put things. Your as old as you feel right? Tell ya the truth i feel pretty friggin old with my screwed up back. All i know is that i love to Mod & will continue to do so. As long as i can get the mod by my wife that is. LOL. Thanks for the incouraging words!!

HCHO2000

where did you get the replacement screen?

ou sig

you can find them on ebay quite often

Gingerbreadman

I got my screen from ebay and am about to put it back on there since i discovered the armor all fix. i will post when it is up.

ou sig

its not really an armorall fix, that just removes the rest of the anti-glare coating so it looks the same (but you know dont have any coating on the screen).

Gingerbreadman

Here is a link to the screen for sell that I said I would post for anyone who is interested.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...spagename=WDVW

And yes ou sig I know the armor all removes the antiglare surface. I decided just to keep the one that was in the car with the antiglare removed and sell the one i bought on ebay. I actually think it kind of looks better with the antiglare gone. I know it looks better than the antiglare that was on it all messed up. my point that I made in another forum too is that the antiglare provides no protection for the screen. It is a glass surface and anything that happens to the antiglare, say some of my "bling" (you know a pimp has to have his diamonds, heehee, jk) scratching it, would simply scratch through the antiglare and etch the glass anyway. In my opinion, anyway. All the antiglare does is to give it a "flatter" looking surface and block glare which is not really noticable anyway, again imho. It does however give you for the less "flat" surface a brighter clearer screen so I like it like it is now.

The one I am selling has the antiglare intact so the buyer will have to make their own opinions on that.