Hey Guys!

I have a question for all of you, I have a second Generation TL, fully stock at the moment... I've allowed myself a budget of only $3,000 the most for the time being. So, here's what I've done so far... I've changed the Dash factory bulbs with hyper-white LEDs (from ledautomotive.. they're awesome!) and Changed the climate control bulbs to the blue leds as well... now, my question is, has ANYONE ever managed to change the factory bulbs in the factory radio to that of any LED color of their choice? ... I'll be ambitious to tackle the conversion once I get a response!

 

Yeah everyone knows about chaning the Bose Stock HU bulbs to whatever color LED's as well. Several people have already done it. I guess if you know what ur doing then go for it. I gotta find the link for ya for one of the members that took pics of when he did it.

 

its been done....

search

 

Heres the link for someone that has done it. Just scroll down and you'll see the pics. https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...ght=Conversion

 

Sweet! Thanks for the support, I really appreciate it. I'll be coming here more often for more advice from yous from now on. I'll go ahead and post pictures later on to show my progress. Besides, I'm a novice, gotta start somewhere, you know? haha. Here are my future mods:

- AEM Cold Air System .. Yes, not to worry, I WILL get an AEM bypass valve... I wouldn't be that stupid to make such an installation without regard to blowing my engine when it rains..
- 20% tint... (just to be safe legally across the states)
- Apexi Cat Back Exhaust System (Still doing research)
- 2002 Tailight light conversion
- '99 OEM Foglights (For once, salvage yards are useful.. found a pair for only $130 including everything from the assembly to the bulbs!)
- 18' SA JH8 Silver Rims w/Machined Lip
- Aftermarket guages

Current Mods:
- 15" Blue Neon Lighting (Underseats)
- White Windshield Washer LEDs (white's allowed by state law)
- Black Powdered/Coated Aluminum Razor Grill

... Estimated cost all together?.. about $2,700 THE MOST.. If I look around hard enough.

If you have any other suggestions, comments, criticism, or anything else, feel free to write! I might learn from your responses!

 

OEM Fog lights for 99 TL?

 

Yep... Geniune 1999 Acura 3.2 TL OEM Foglights... Yes, I know they're hard to find, let alone very expensive from the store (Pepboys or Autozone), so I figured, why not try a salvage yard? After 20 calls or so, I finanlly found them. To my luck, someone apparently recently brought in their totalled TL just a day ago.

 

joe80055 - You also might want to consider getting LED wedge bulbs for your maplights, dome light & courtesy (door) lights. Hyper white will compliment your dash lights I got my bright LED'S from www.Tec-Toyz.com they are 9led's in a wedge base bulb and look really nice.......To see pictures just do a search here on AZ. They are not much money at all you can also check out ebay.Ttec-toyz also sells on there.

 

Ah! I was just looking into Tec-Toyz for the interior wedge lights, actually I ordered them just a day ago. I get so pissed when I'm trying to read mapquest directions in dim amber light.. definitely not cool at all. I was thinking of getting the LED wedge bulbs for the trunk as well. I'm positive the dome light matches the fitting of that in the trunk, so I thought inserting an LED there would help illuminate the interior of the trunk..definitely useful at night! So, what do you think?

- One more thing, Here's an idea... the blue 15" neon bulbs I have under my seats... do you think it's possible be able to run wires from the neons to the right passenger HIDs in the front (that's where I spliced OEM wire to work the LED windsheld washer nozzles) and then to ground without blowing anything (bulb, fuse, etc.)? If so, I'll just get going and start working on it tomorrow. Plugging the neons to the cigarrette source definitely gets annoying once in a while.

 

i havent even put on my bypass valve on my cai, i dont see th eneed for it, only way it will submerge is when water lvl is about 1 1/2 foot high, never seen that in my life here lol

 

Hahahaha, you're lucky.. I'm stuck in a place that's full with roads that may flood occasionally, Now, If I were to be in NYC again, Florida, or California, then it'd all be a different story. haha Nice grille by the way, how much did your extra emblems cost?.. espcially the "TL" near the acura symbol

 

Where do you live in Warwick that you have to worry about floods like that? I know about the big storms we had last year, but htat was definitely not the norm. Just curious...

 

Actually I live right near the Friendly's on Warwick Ave.. I'm not from around here, I've only been around for just over a year now. I just found it unusual for all of the flooded roads as i drove all over RI. I'd just buy a bypass valve just as a precaution incase I accidentally fly into a puddle or something. You know how it goes with water getting into the engine. It'd suck ass.... Where are you from?

 

I'll be honest I just bought my TL and haven't done any mods on it, but as far as a CAI ive never seen the need for the AEM bypass...not only that in order for it to work the filter needs to be completely immersed in water. So unless you plan on driving through 12" deep puddles (i'm assuming that the CAI intake point is at least a foot off the ground) then no worries about rain!

 

Sweet! . Just got my tires shipped in tonight...
Tire specs: High Perfomance/P205/60VR-16 Yokohama AVID V4S.. I'll see how they go.. Once I get them on, I'll stay with them for now and then replace them with the rims in the summer, and save the AVID's for winter occasions.

... Are there any '02 tail light conversion kits out there for less than $299? .. just curious

 

To G20Flyer: Thanks for the tip! I'll keep that in mind, I've just heard so many stories and done so much research, so I got a little cautious and paranoid for a bit there. I'll give you credit for your statement.

One more thing I'd like to ask, rumor has it, that on some TLs, people had problems with loud humming from their CAI while the engine is idling... Could it be that those people didn't install their CAI's right or is it really something I shouldn't be worrying about? Ah! another question also... is there really a noticable difference in performance once the cold air intake's installed?

 

I just moved from Warwick last year. I'm in Attelboro now. Warwick ave was like one of the worst places to flood in the state last year...no wonder...like I said, not the norm around here.

My car might have been one of the threads that you read about the humming noise. The hum noise comes from a short ram intake mostly. Stay away from the Secret Weapon-R SRI! That particular one is horrible. I got rid of that one after I had it on my car for a week. It was way too annoying. I heard that the AEM V2 has a little hum at idle too. I installed and INJEN CAI and the hum went away. As far as gains...not really "noticeable" but it sounds awsome when you mash on the gas! (It looks nice when you pop the hood too!) Check out this thread. Hopefully it help you out. Also try using the search option. There are a ton of threads about CAI.

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=130960

 

Dude, you're awesome, you're right, you were one of the people I looked up in the threads for the loud humming while idling. I'd rather go with the Injen CAI more than the AEM V2 at the moment.. (noticable price difference) so I changed my mind about my choice in getting which CAI. I'm going to start switching the bulbs with the LEDs for my dash tomorrow, and I was wondering, I know there are filters behind the controls of the climate control for the factory bulbs. My mission is to keep my factory gauges for now, but make them seem way brigther and whiter rather than the old boring dull look. Just imagine the dashboard brightness of the '02+ accords and ES300's...that describes what I'm talking about. If there's a filter, I'll remove it and install the white LEDS, and see what happens from there. I'll post a pic up showing my progress/results soon!

 

Check this out... maybe it's just me.. but, I raced a 2002 M3 the other night against my Stock TL (no mods). I must say, it was a pretty close race, we both sped through the entire state of CT on I-95 as we were going from RI to NY. Going at 130+ the entire way, we both cut down a 3 hour trip to 1 1/2 hours. I was able to pull away a couple of times suprisingly by half a car's length. Now tell me something... I know the potential of the M3, but if the TL's driven right, can it beat almost any car out there? I personally believe that maybe it's the other driver sucked and didn't know how to really open up his engine fully... I just know that car could've destroyed me easily. Here's a list of other cars I've been able to overcome:

1996 Nissan Maxima GLE (Modded)
1999 Acura Integra GSR (modded... next door neighbor's)
2001 BMW 330i
2000 BMW 325i
2003 BMW 325ci
2003 Mercedes C230
1999 Mercedes CLK230
1996, 1998, & 1999 Mustang Cobras
1 2004 Pontiac Gran Prix
1 2002 RSX (It was modded out.. too close of a race)

..every other vechile in the past wasn't much of an amazement to me to consider listing on here.

Any opinions?

 

[QUOTE=joe80055]Ah! I was just looking into Tec-Toyz for the interior wedge lights, actually I ordered them just a day ago. I get so pissed when I'm trying to read mapquest directions in dim amber light.. definitely not cool at all. I was thinking of getting the LED wedge bulbs for the trunk as well. I'm positive the dome light matches the fitting of that in the trunk, so I thought inserting an LED there would help illuminate the interior of the trunk..definitely useful at night! So, what do you think? QUOTE]

To answer your first question YES you can use the same size 9led wedge 921 for your trunk. That's what I got in hyperwhite and it's 10x brighter in there when I'm getting shit out of the back....Just give an e-mail to tec-toyz at Brian@Tec-toyz.com & let him know you want another bulb.

 

how was the LED install? difficult? i want to do white but i think it would be real hard.

 

So far, it doesn't seem difficult to install them at all... just takes alot of time out of your way I guess.

 

debagged, and broke off the 3.2, made that grill outa ordinary mesh, but got into a accident and fucked up my grill, doin a new version soon in spring wit grills from grillcraft on ebay, and the same "tl"

 

GEEZ.. sorry to hear that man, hopefully you get the car damage fixed and well running again.. I'm just happy that there's been no damage to the engine HOPEFULLY. You know how it goes.. once the engine's hit, it's never the same again. I know that feeling.. I have a 1995 Avalon XLS (still going strong/mint condition) with 187,870 miles on it at the moment. Once the tranny went and busted my radiator.. it's just... not the same anymore... it's still strong has hell.. but the feel of it, .. gone.

 

Hey PenancE, I was wondering.. where can I find Perforated Aluminum?... I was going to use that for my grill since I messed up on the first one. I tried Home Depot, Lowes, and all of the other hardware stores, have anything in mind? The color's not an issue to me.. I could always give it a nice coat of my own color. here's the specs..

5/32" Diameter Holes
3/16" Staggered Centers

http://images.marketworks.com/hi/66/...material_a.jpg

 

Sounds like a nice list of mods...if I were you I wouldn't do the AEM with a bypass valve though. The bypass valve will only be effective if you submerge your filter in water. The bypass valve does not expel water...it only provied you with another place to suck in air if the filter is underwater. I had the AEM with the bypass valve and got rid of it for an Injen CAI with out the bypass b/c the intake sits a little higher on that intake. Definitely happy I did that. Maybe go with the AEM V2 since you don't have a Type S. Just some thoughts though.

 

Damn...sorry to be a dead horse. I didn't finish reading the thread before I posted that last post. Yeah, sucking water into the engine definitely sucks. Take it from someone who has done it. Fortunately I was able to get it running again with no damage to the engine at all. It'e been over a year since that happened.

 

Haha, it's okay, no worries about it. At least you knew where I was coming from with that statement :-p

Question: How do I post pictures up on threads anyway so you and other people can see them? Any type of special html coding needed?

 

Hey guys.. is it possible to remove the green tint within the cluster of the dashboard so that instead of the blue color coming from the hyper-white LEDs, just the white themselves would show?

 

There really isn't a way to make your gauges look "more white". The hyper-white LEDs will make your gauges look more bluish even if you are using the hyper-white LEDs. It will be much brighter than stock. Here is a link to what I am talking about. It includes a DIY.

http://www.ledautomotive.com/OrderI...ClusterInfo.asp

 

Ah yes! but I must clarify one thing though, made a little trip to autozone today, .. I know someone that works there that specializes in TLs and Accords... turns out, there is a way to make it bright white rather than blue! THere's a green screen that you have to remove, once you have this, instead of seeing blue, you're guaranteed to see white! I'm kinda excited to play around with this, I just got my LEDs from UPS today so I'm going to head over to my place and try to install them from there.. If I @#$! up, then I'll just fix it all over again back to the way it was before. Reply with your e-mail address.. i'll send you pictures once finished! Surprisingly, it has been done before, i stubbled onto someone's pictures and was pretty convinced..

 

Nice dude. I hope you are right...that would be much better than the blue. Let me know when you are finished! Good luck.

 

Maybe the case. I had a good run with an M3 somwhere in Nevada, the flats. We were hitting 130+ at times and he was a driver so i'm pretty sure he could have taken me. It was a thing of beauty actually, nothing but straight road for liek 50 miles

 

A stock TL can beat a mustang cobra??

 

Have you done this yet? Send me pics & ill post them for you.

 

When it comes to the specs of both cars, supposedly, the cobra's supposed to win by a long shot... but apparently, that hasn't been the expected outcome as I thought it would be. Remember, although the TL can't possibly beat the mustang cobra, at least it's able to keep up with it when conditions are right.. i've asked around and got the same response back. I'd love to race one with a Stage-1 Turbo charged Type-S... now THAT.. would be interesting. .. tried going against one... Definitely didn't know how bad I was going to be left behind until I heard the tubro kick in. haha .. definitely felt stupid.

 

Half way through the project!! ... It turns out, that clear plastic background behind the gauges makes the greenish-pale glow that you usually see through the gauges... I'm just working on ways now to remove it without anything. .Furthermore, since that plastic lens also distributes the illumination of the stock bulbs, I have to find a way to make all of the guages light up evenly without the original lens... kinda sucks if I were to remove it and there would be several dark areas within the gauges... but alas! I'm searching for transparent plastic that'll carry the glow I need. to make everything light up evenly.. I'd show you a pic, but I slapped the gauges back on so I'd prevent getting any speeding tickets and actually know how much is in my tank. haha. Going to a crafts shop, lowes, and home depot to see if they have what i'm looking for. Stay tuned.. i'll keep you posted.

 

Thanks dude. I was wondering how this was going. I got my Comptech exhaust, and UR pulley on in the last few weeks. I'm going to install my DC Sports headers tomorrow.

 

Really?!.. how are they?.. do they hum or are they quote as the OEM exhaust? Any noticable boost in power? How much did they run for? What's the difficulty of the installation?.. (Don't have much knowledge of the comptech) I'm excited for you! ... Sorry for so many questions, I'm the type that's always willing to learn what one has to say for his/herself.

 

Don't worry about all the questions. That's what we are all here for. It's getting off topic. Hopefully no one will really mind.

Comptech exhaust took me about an hour to install. VERY EASY INSTALL! $595 shipped from Excelerate on here. Exhaust is not for gains in power, just sound...it sounds great. It gives your car a growl. The pulley is awsome. The CAI with the pulley makes a VERY noticeable difference. Read this thread. I posted on it a few times about the pulley.

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=131971

I'll have to let you know about the headers in a few days. Remember to let me know about your LED project. I can't wait to see your results.