OBrechkin

Hey guys I just joined 2 seconds ago It looks like you guys are all really good with your Acura's now I'm 20 years of age and all my friends keep telling me that my 2003 Acura 3.2 TL Type S is a begginer level entry sports car so mine has 151000 Kilometers 260 Horsepower with the 5 speed Sport Shift Transmition I have gone to the track and floored it, it has good acceleration all the way up to 160 KM/H then it seems to run a bit out of juice so im trying to get 320-360 Horsepower and hoping for more grunt all the way to 180-200 Kilometers so I've heard supercharging is a good way to go but i wanted to ask you guy's opinion if you could let me know what parts and how much it would costs and how much extra horsepower i can expect i would really appreciate also the price range is not a issue to me thanks a lot for your help guys

gold2003tl (90)

your not going to be at 320-360 unless your running boost. first mod is to get an intake, then headers, exhaust, spacers, 09 tl intake manifold, prob hit 300. you can get a supercharger.Who ever told you 2nd gen TL is for racing is a fool, your auto tranny will not hold up to abuse. consider a 6 speed manual swap for track days.

gold2003tl (90)

supercharging is going to be like 4.5k. intake is 200, headers is 500 ish. the Cl was probably a 6speed manual. TL's were not offerered in a 6 speed but you can swap out the cl's for 3k ish.

im just putting out rough numbers, but first of all check your tranny fluid with that higher millage. does the fuild smell burned? is it brown or black? it should be red. has your tranny be replaced? are there blue bolts on the case?

also we something called a search button which will find you answers to everything your looking for.

gold2003tl (90)

blue bolts means that the tranny was replaced by acura. if they told you have a new tranny than it was replaced, and that doesnt mean it wont have problems. my car did not fall within the vin number problem and i still had to get my tranny replaced. people are still having problems with the replacment trannys, i treat mine very carfully. does your tranny slip slightly comming out of 2nd and 3rd gear?

OBrechkin

No the tranny has never been replaced i called acura Canada and asked them of that problem before i bought it and they asked me for my vin and they told me that my car has a new transmittion and that there should be no problems coming from it and i have never had anything go wrong with it and as for the tranny fluid i have recently maybe a month ago did a hot engine flush and replace all the fluids in my vehicle

and as for the tranny nothing is wrong with it it does not smell burnt the car turns on easy with no problems and the gear changes in both the automatic and sport mode are very smooth and responsive

and for the case i dont believe there is any blue bolts on any parts of my engine is that a bad thing ?

OBrechkin

No i dont have that slipping problem althought my friend who has a 2002 tls does have that problem but me i dont have that what year is yours

and also you spoke of a boost im not to familiar with those words haha what does it mean boost and headers ? sorry im a rookie when it comes to modifications haha

gold2003tl (90)

boost as in forced induction, aka turbo or supercharger. also regardless of year all 2nd gen TLs have the same tranny issue.

jdjohn84

OBrechkin

a ok haha the dudes from acura canada told me the problem was fixed early 2003 but i trust you guys more than them but ya im not worried about boosting the car

is your car boosted ?

OBrechkin

jdjohn84 why the long face ?

jdjohn84

That was actually the 'annoyed' face. I'm just hatin' on you for being young and having thousands of dollars of disposable income for modding a car. Enjoy it while you can before wedding rings, kids, and driving an SUV or mini-van.

BTW, turbo-chargers compress the air by using the car's exhaust to spin a turbine, whereas super-charger turbines are driven by an accessory belt that usually extends from one of the engine's pulleys - usually an extended alternator pulley. Most aftermarket boosting is done via super-chargers; turbo-chargers are usually installed when the car is manufactured.

OBrechkin

ah ok i can understand that haha i am very fortunate i must admit

and also i appreciate the discription of turbo chargers what would you recommend for me to do to try to increased my horsepower by 60-100 hp ? your help would be appreciated it

Aman

Oh boy...

I've never heard anybody call the TL-S a sports car before this. A sports car is a Honda S2000, a G35, a Cayman, things like that. a TL is a practical, luxury sedan that's got more than average horsepower and handling. A sports car, it is not. And what track do you go to that has a straight long enough for you to reach 100-130 mph?

Which is it? Your transmission hasn't been replaced but it has a new transmission? And read the post, it said blue bolts means the transmission was replaced by Acura.





Get a new car. Anything over 300 horsepower in a FWD spells trouble, because of torque steer, not to mention the fact that the TL wasn't built to handle that kind of power. Sell the TL, buy a manual transmission car that was built originally with however many horsepower you want.

OBrechkin

lol i like my car to much haha but i have the same tranny since the car came out but i have never noticed the blue bolts acura canada said they found the problem early in 2003 and they said they fixed the acuras from 2003 are supposed to be different or something and should not go wrong haha thats what they said and as for the track its not really a track its i forgot the name i went there with a buddy but its more of a drag race lane where you just floor it against peoples other cars haha thats where i floored it

and a occasional speed burst on the highway from 120 to 160 when no one is around of course lol im responsible enough not to danger someone else haha

but do you have any ideas for increased horsepower ?

gold2003tl (90)

i i stated before, bolt ons: intake, headers, exhaust, spacers, turbo, supercharge, nitrous.

as for the bolded text, do not believe acura, they are brainwashing you, they didn't "fix" the problem. Mine is a late model 2003 and had a defective tranny just like the rest of us. Warranties are expired by now car is too old, all they did was replace the tranny with the same tranny with a slightly different fluid path to the gears.

do not beat this tranny up on a track, or use the sport shift 24/7, or your be shelling out 3.5k for a new one. occasional speed bursst will build up over time and will do damage by over heating the clutch packs.

gold2003tl (90)

others feel free to correct any wrong numbers

intake +7 hp

header + 25-30 hp

full exhaust +20 ish hp

supercharger +60 hp

Spacers + 5 - 10 hp

pulley +5 hp

nitrous + 50 - 150 hp

turbo custom + 80-100hp

6 speed man swap frees up + 5-10% ish to the wheels

09 TL intake manifold + 5 on type-s (guess)

Port and polish + ?

thats it, unless your running nitro fuel.

kdawg8526

iTrader: (3)

^exhaust barely gave any hp probably 5-10 hp and i have the atlp exhaust too

and headers on a automatic tranny wont give 30 hp more like 15-20hp

and with the 09 manifold you gain lots more torque and feels more like 10-13hp

correct me if im wrong

jjashaa

iTrader: (23)

doesn't add.. it frees up.

OBrechkin

to gold2003TL thank you very much that is exacly what i was looking for your help is very appreciated now i can go look at how much it will costs me thank you

kdawg8526

iTrader: (3)

while your at it you might as well do a 3.5L build that'll get you some hp

jdjohn84

I wonder how that compares to the P2R Power Plenums.

jaMezBOI

iTrader: (3)

Are you talking about HP to the crank OR to the wheels? what are these numbers based on?

I dyno'd 225whp/194wtq w/ comptech headers, XLR8 hfc, apexi catback, UR lightweight pulley, aem cai, MDX IM spacer, and p2r thermal gaskets. Valve timing was off but you do the math.

jdjohn84

Base-P is factory listed at 225, S-type is 260. Sad that so much is lost getting power to the wheels...especially with all your mods.

jaMezBOI

iTrader: (3)

Yeah, thats what you get for buying an automatic car.

stock whp for type-s is 195, I only gained 30whp and the car is almost fully bolted. Ill be dynoing my car after my 09 IM comes in so I can see the gains my car will get from it. Then Im probably done with performance unless I fall into a pit of money and do the 6spd swap with the custom M90 blower.

OBrechkin

a 3.5 built what is that how much hp and money

fsttyms1

The only way you are going to come close to 300 at the wheels is FI or a really good 3.5 build.

hANDYcaptd

iTrader: (5)

Figuring about 25% loss to the wheels, you made about 30whp. You're at about 300hp at the crank.

So OP, he's at 300 with all the bolt-ons, do the math. 320 will require some more work, port and polish, 09TL IM maybe. 360 will definitely need boost.

jdjohn84

Replacing the stock 3.2L engine with a 3.5L engine that is used in the later model TL's. Cost? A new engine plus labor to install. Just buy a newer TL unless you are a major gearhead and can replace it yourself.

OBrechkin

ya im not going to get a new engine my engine is perfecly new if i were ever to get a new engine it would be a brand new 3.2 im thinking supercharging it intake headers and spacers and pulleys and i think i will have enough power to notice a difference

kdawg8526

iTrader: (3)

you dont need a new engine for 3.5 conversion you just change out the crank rod and pistons

jdjohn84

I'm sure some have seen this, but here's a link to a totally tricked-out 02 TL-S (but he maintains a stock look). http://www.cardomain.com/ride/184466 He has a DIY for every mod he has done. Very good resource.

jjashaa

iTrader: (23)

thats.... pretty sad man....

OBrechkin

ya thats sweet thanks for that

Aman

Sheez, I think 25% drivetrain loss is a bit high. I mean I know it's an automatic, but he can't be losing a quarter of his power from the crank to the wheels.

I/H/E mods will do little if you're stock, but are definetely a worthy investment if you're going FI.

For OBrechkin, I'd suggest just slapping a Comptech supercharger and calling it a day, maybe some bolt-ons. No offense, but it doesn't seem like you know a ton about cars, and rebuilding your DD's engine probably isn't the best place to start learning, especially since you're in my area.

jaMezBOI

iTrader: (3)

Thats exactly what I worked out with a tech at work. FI or 6spd fully bolted is the only way to have these cars put down some good numbers

nothing I can do about it

jjashaa

iTrader: (23)

i was expecting a pretty decent number with all your mods...

AdamType-S

Whatever you do, do NOT take any modification advice from FlacoJ. His pvc pipes, crappy welds and cockeyed optimism are not going to get you to the checkered flag any quicker.

I also just found out that he used to work for Honda and designed the original 2nd gen transmissions.

OBrechkin

thanks for the subjestion i think thats what im going to do im thinking of the comtech supercharger the intake the high flow filter pulleys and header to start and then since thats a lot of money after i get some more im going to exaust system with stainless steel tips i think that should be good enough lol exited for the supercharger thought haha

jaMezBOI

iTrader: (3)

so was I. Im going to hit the dyno against after my 09 IM comes in and hopefully the car puts down better numbers.

fsttyms1

What are you smoking? Headers are the largest power makers for our car this side of FI and DO make a difference. You dont need FI to have those mods be a worthy investment.