As my 'life clock' turns 30 in a week's time, I'm presented w/ a possible "gift" of getting my 08 NBP TL tinted, or perhaps a tuning mod such as a J-Pipe.

I've been wanting to cool down the interior of my car (Ebony and NBP), using ceramic 40 or 50% on all 5 windows.

But I've recently been scouring all the J-Pipe threads, and that mod really seems to make some sense.

As to which mod (similar in price) is more "practical", is of course in the eye of the beholder.
I'm planning to have kids soon, so tint would keep the rear cool, keeping passengers happy.

A J-pipe (thinking ATLP v2 or XLR8), would keep my butt-dyno and right foot happy.

PLEASE HELP ME DECIDE !!!

 

ask yourself, do u want little power which is prolly unoticeable or an exterior work that may enhance the look of your car and help keep the interior cool.

 

^the Jpipe will be very noticeable.

I would go with the J-pipe. It's almost winter, keeping it cool?

 

J-Pipe.. it wouldn't be worth it if you got tints, and a cop pulls you over and you have to remove them.

 

off the top of my head, but weren't we all recommended to stay away from cermic tints? messes with the navi unit on the back window, no?

i vote for j-pipe. but tint does do a world of difference; if you're worried about cops, go 35%. win-win.

 

Sounds like tint is for keeping everyone cool and the j-pipe for your pleasure. I'd go with tint for now and add the j-pipe later.

 

J-pipe. Go > show

 

Go with the tint, keeps the interior cooler and improves the looks. You would hardly notice any difference from add a J-Pipe.

 

You'll appreciate the tint more. It will make your car look cool and be cool. I have a black on black TL also and I noticed a difference in interior temperature. On a sunny day it was about 10 degrees cooler just sitting. Also there isn't as much heat radiation coming in with the tint so your interior will cool down quicker.

 

No difference? I am in the same position as the OP, want either tint or Jpipe. Seems like everyone raves about the power increase with a jpipe. But dont want to get it if there is barely a difference. Id rather have more show since my 5AT is never going to be a "fast" car.

 

I appreciate honest feedback from all of you. As a young family man, my car is my main hobby per se, but I adhere to a budget, so that most of my earnings go to savings, rather than blowing it on the car. I agree with both sides of the argument, whether to go w/ tints or the J-pipe, but I have to choose only one until next fall. So if I go with the J-Pipe, i'll be without tints for next summer, although I managed this past summer anyhow.

Next year, I can look into the other mod perhaps. Point taken, in regards to the seasons changing, but keep in mind, i live in southern california, so we still hit the 80's during the day for the time being.

After reading all the jpipe threads, I concluded that the XLR8 is the optimal product, given that I do not have plans to lower my TL due to my unfortunately steep driveway.

 

I would vote for tints. A j-pipe will just be the beginning of more expensive performance mods.

 

Get both. I am in the same boat. Get which ever you want now and then keep saving for the next. It's only money.

 

I've already done the stage 1 exhaust mod (mid-muffler delete), and did NOT like the drone. I've therefore concluded, that there's no way I can tolerate a catback, or even a CAI (which i've had before on my 1st car, a civic). I subsequently brought the car back in, and it's now back to stock.

This is a very subtle way of causing REAL gains, w/ minimal impact on drone or the environment for that matter (I feel very strongly about not adding greenhouse gases). I don't think there's any other product for the TL like the J-pipe mod.

 

The J-pipe will add 10-12 WHP mostly in the low-end. Do not tell me that isn't better than tints, I'm sure your car came factory tinted, but not as much. J-pipe will make for faster acceleration and better throttle response, something our cars lack in the low end. Tints are for looks, and possibly will change the cabin temperature by 1-3 degrees, but is that really worth it for the performance you feel by pressing on the gas?

AND good choice on the XLR8 J-pipe, best J-pipe for the most max. performance, ATLP V2 is slightly second, but drop friendly

 

For teh J-Pipe, what signifies "low-end"? I am not a speed demon, and my revs from a redlight usually go up to around 4,000 rpm. I only go beyond that If I want some fun. Would a J-Pipe be of any benefit 4k rpms and under? If it's only past vtec 5k-ish, then perhaps it's not worth it for me.

On a side note, I think the 06-08 base TLs at least, were programmed to have a less aggressive throttle from a start to help reduce torque-steer. Wouldn't adding more torque down low increase our torque steer? Perhaps, but not enough to care I guess.

Can anyone confirm if our TLs have "factory tint" on them. It does seem that there is like a very light tint on the windows.

 

If you didnt like what your stage 1 exhaust did then I dont think you would like a j pipe. Also tint should be around 150 for the rear 5 windows and the j pipe is around $400.

 

I thought the jpipe produces little to no noise by itself.

 

The J-pipe will give you a slightly different exhaust noise (usually for the better), of course you won't have any cabin noise though or any drone. You won't hear it only if you're on the outside.

 

Tint. It's a significantly cheaper investment than the J-pipe. Before you know it, the money you saved for getting the tints now, you'll make up that amount for your J-pipe in no time.

 

The issue w/ the tinting, is that to do it "right", I need to spend around 310-355 to do it. That is w/ Ceramic Film (so I have no disturbance to my GPS and radar/laser detector), and also for them to do the moleskin felt ($20 per door). This is using the Llumar Axcess film, which is cheaper than the Formula one or Huber Optik. Is moleskin ABSOLUTELY necessary?

So 330ish vs. 420ish, is kind of a wash for me.

I'm now trying to figure out if the J-Pipe will provide me with any better MPG. I'm hoping that compared to an CAI or Catback, that the J-pipe may increase MPG most effectively. Even if it's 1-2 mpg, it would be worth it in my wife's eyes

 

 

The J-pipe will increase MPGs. Anything that makes your exhaust more free flowing will increase MPG. CAI will NOT increase any MPG regardless of what people say. J-pipe will increase as much MPG as the catback (in my own experience), the only problem is, if you will drive the same with the J-pipe or Catback. Trust me, get the J-pipe, I'm sure your car is slightly tinted already, which is good, and I'm sure CALI does not get hot in the winter, spring, or even summer than Texas.

People say that the Tint will keep the car cooler, and some say the J-pipe is more for pleasure. Well everyone needs to tell themselves whether each time you step on your Base unmodded TL's gas pedal, are you satisfied? Or is the "look" of your car really what matters. It is entirely up to you, but this is my . It is almost like if you're living in the New England territory and you're tinting the car because of the "heat". Is 70 degrees really hot? lol

 

Although most favor tinting in terms of looks, I'm on the fence, as my car is already NBP, I feel that on black on black cars, tint may be a bit much BLACK for me. I would go for a very light tint like 40-50%, as it would appear darker than that w/ my black interior.

I appreciate everyone's feedback. Still trying to decide.

 

Update: I decided on tinting the car. I did 75% Llumar Air Blue 80 all around. It gives my windows a slight blue hue and has kept the insides cooler. I might have done formula one 50% ceramic if I could do it over again, but it's too late, I was just trying to be different w/ the light blue tint. Will post pictures sometime.

 

For you, it sounds like you should get the tint, because, you say you are a family man and don't really go fast or put the petal to the floor so the j-pipe isn't really for you, although the biggest difference is in the low end. The tint will make a maximum of 6-8 degree difference (depending on how dark though) and it will make EVERYONE happy, the j-pipe will just be a personal desire. The j-pipe doesn't really effect gas mileage of harmful outputs, so, not to worry. Hope this helps.

 

J-pipe increase MPG ?

 

tint - best mod possible

 

Where's the poll?

 

BTW, it all comes down to whether you want looks or performance.

Tint is also going to be cheaper than a j-pipe, unless you go for premium tint such as Hüper Optik or FormulaONE Pinnacle Series.

 

Slightly just because of the exhaust being more free flowing. Tinting in the winter/spring won't really help, maybe the summer, but I live in Houston where it is 100 degrees with 100% humidity and don't have a problem at all.

 

metallic tint

PLEASEEEEEEEEE 10-12whp is such BS...maybe if u did the precat deletes, intake, 3rd cat delete and a catback exhaust...THEN i can POSSIBLY see it happening.

 

get the precut tint off ebay for 30 bucks and do it yourself

 

Check XLR8 dynos and other members experience. 30 WTQ at mid range and 10-12 WHP.

 

And that is just with the J-pipe. Of course weather conditions and other things will vary, but this one shows a 16 WHP increase.

 

This is the ATLP V1, the V2 is more free flowing possibly a 1-2 HP better than the 8WHP the V1 J-pipe is showing, but even that the XLR8 is better than the ATLP V2 because of exhaust scavenging. XLR8 will most likely gain at least 10 WHP and at least 20 lb/tq at mid-range, best performance option you can buy.