Just ordered an 04 TL and I'm debating about getting the bodyside molding. It seems like it would help prevent dings, but I'm not sure how it would look aesthetically. What do you all think?

 

How it looks? here we go

http://www.acura-tl.com/forums/showthread.php?t=83947



Welcome to the forum

 

Congrads!

The BSM have been a very contraversial topic. I have them on my car and think it looks just fine. I also have the bodykit which helps to offset the lines, in my opinion. They are about standard height and offer protection from people who open their front doors only. Rears doors will contact your car near the door handles. Look at it this way. The BMW 3 series also has the character body line that runs from the front fender to the rear but is more subtle. They too have the mouldings and are usually black vs. color matched with the car. No one ever mentions that their BSMs make the car look bad. You have to ask yourself whether you can live with dings for the sake of aesthetics. I live in Boston too and park my car in some tight places at times and got the BSMs without hesitation. Another thing is to take the color of your TL into consideration. Lighter colors tend to show dings a little less than dark ones. But BSMs on a dark car are less noticiable as well. Choices. Choices. Good luck and make sure you park in No Man's Land like all of us here.

dsc888

 

I also have the BSM and I think it looks very nice, here are some pics:

http://www.acura-tl.com/forums/showthread.php?t=89329

 

Hey DSC888, thanks for the feedback. Gotta be honest, I'm a bit stressed about driving a TL around Boston, especially given the psycho drivers...but...you know what they say...you only live once.

I think I'm going to spring for the BSM, you raise a good point about tight parking spaces. We're in brookline and our parking spot is fairly tight.

Take care and thanks again.

 

I initially thought they would be a nice little extra, but after seeing them on the TL I think they are too busy looking. This is because of the line along the top of the doors...it's too much IMO.

 

The Puffy Lumpers are the single ugliest accessory ever created in the history of the Honda Motorcar Corporation.

The TL is a boxy, squared vehicle. There's nothing puffy and rounded about it. One of the most distinctive features of the car is the large 'groove' that runs from nose to tail down the length of the TL through the doorhandles. It's an indented square. The Puffy Lumpers are a debossed sphere. Any first year design student will tell you that the Puffers are ridiculous and completely contradict the overall feeling of the vehicle.

As if it couldn't get much worse (trust me, it can't) they aren't functional! Look closely at the car. Unless you park next to Boxters and Mini Coopers, they're going to give you zero protection as every SUV and minivan known to man have doors that will clip your TL higher up where the doors slope naturally outwards.

Don't make your car look awful 365 days a year for all to see when the alternative is to deal with a ding or two that will only be visible for 5 days until your local body shop can pull them back out.

The Puffy Lumpers are an affront to the design standard set by the 2004 TL. They were designed for the 1985 Ford Tempo. Don't do it to your car. If you really want to make your car look hideous, then by all means get the Puffers and add the sunroof wind deflector and the gold badge kit too. If you're going to go down, go down hard.

BJ

 

I put the "Puffy Lumpers" on my 6spd SSM and I am very pleased with their look. True, the car looks good without them, not sure if it would be called "better". I think it looks sportier without and a little more luxury with. BTW, I do not have any of the A-Spec kit stuff or lowering crap going on. And Yes, I have the sunroof visor with mud flaps on mine. No regrets here

 

I have the BSMs on my NBP and think they look fine.

Already seen a couple of impacts on the molding, nothing on the car yet.

 

what color is your TL? I got the SSM side moding still in box it's yours for $70. I got it free from a salesman when I bought mine TL.

 

False. They're not even fifth ugliest. They are exceeded by smoked pastic window visors, sunroof visors, gold emblems, wheel well arch protectors, and plastic hood shields, to name a few.

False. The grooves are most definitely embossed cylinders, as the BSMs are debossed cylinders.

Way way way overstated. They will also tell you "form follows function".

False. Here's a specific counter-example. The Honda Odyssey is known to man. It's even known to BJ; he owns one, as do I. The doors on the Odyssey it the TL right in the BSM, if it has them.

They work, and on the TL they are at the apex of the door, providing the protection that they are supposed to provide. Whether they look OK is up to you.

Mike

 

Boltjames, Boltjames, Boltjames.......

You know your doctor told you to never read another "BSM" thread again. It's back to the "couch" for you........

 

BJ: Here is my scrip for puffy lumper exposure:

Rx:

Double the Prozac and switch to decaf.

Sincerely
Dr. XP

 

The best argument I've heard AGAINST the BSM is that with all the suv's on the road, the heights of doors are all different and a little strip isn't going to protect from all of them.

Given that reasoning, I thought the BSM were mostly useless for protecting your TL from door dings. I fear most parking next to big trucks and suv's. I try to park next to real nice cars, as people with nice cars should be more aware of where they swing there doors. I just get the impression that a lot (not all - before I get flamed) of people buy suv's because they aren't very good drivers. Those huge cars will more than make up for poor driving skills in small accidents.

So for those of you who skipped all my babblings...
BSM in my opinion is a purely aesthetic accessory...some like it some don't.

 

I just bought my TL yesterday...according to their website the door are supposed to be dent resistant?

 

They may be "dent resistant", but they will get dents in them if some inconsiderate jerk slams his car door against yours. My guess is that all the new cars use the term "dent resistant" now.

Reminds me of the term "water resistant". If a "water resistant" 2 way unit (walkie talkie) gets a lttle wet from rain and one drys it quickly with a towel one might get lucky and save it. If you dunk it in the pond and fish it out, it'll be dead.

greg

 

BTW, I think the BSM looks fine. I don't have it on mine, but did consider getting it. Like someone commented, many cars come with it from the factory, BMW 3 series, some Volvos and Audis to name a few.

 

No problem...I am right next to you. I'm in Jamaica Plain and cruise through your town plenty. You guys actually have some fairly big spaces on the main streets but I am sure residential lots are a different story. BSMs definitely have their value. They come standard even on the cheapest Korean cars for a reason. Don't worry about the way they look because you will get used to them in no time. If worse comes to worse, they can be removed if you don't like them or if they get damaged since they are held on by super strong 3M double sided tape. Good luck and happy motoring.

dsc888

 

I keep flipping my opinion on BSM.

Living in NY, I wanted to get it to reduce the inevitable dings expected in a big city with tight parking spots.

Then, someone mentioned that the natural line on the side of the car is a groove. To complicate that with the bulge that BSM creates is a styling no-no. I stared a some pics and decided it didn't look right.

Then, I see the current BMW 3-series has the same design STANDARD - a groove along the upper door and a protective bulge lower down along the length of the car. That doesn't look so bad.

Ultimately, I may still buy BSM because I always see overweight, old, or otherwise inconsiderate people park too close and then fling open their doors all the way with full-force before getting out of their car. I flinch picturing my new TL parked next to them after only a few precious days of dent-free existence.