So I recently got my first car... a base AM 2005 TL! I absolutely love the way it drives. The only problem I had with it was the previous owner had damaged both bumpers which caused the paint to start fading; the sideskirts' clear coat had also started to chip off. My parents decided I should replace them. I showed them the RonJon kit and, unexpectedly, they thought it looked really nice and it turned out to be my Christmas present. My body shop told me the bumpers should be removed as little as possible, so I bought some Depo dark smoked tail lights and sidemarkers to be installed with it. I also got the rims painted gunmetal with the "A" on the centercap painted red. I plan on getting my car back Wednesday, and will promptly post some pictures. Now, I obviously have some questions which I couldn't find answers for on here.

1: Along with the red Depo emblem inserts I plan on ordering, what else could I order that is red and cheap to match my wheels (like gauges, shift knobs, etc.)?
2: What relatively affordable performance mods could be installed without taking off any of the bumpers, besides exhaust?
3: Could I sell my bumpers, despite their minor damage, and/or tail lights?
4: I feel so lucky to have this car... ESPECIALLY with the modifications I have made. When I told people about my car, they seemed to compare it with every other car you see on the road. Isn't the TL's quality on-par with other cars of similar value and some surpassing it? It feels so solid.
5: I see alot of cars (Mustang's, G35's, BMW's, even lifted trucks) all grouped together or at a meet. I'm in Houston and haven't seen any Acura's like this. Are there ever TL meets in Houston?

 

I had a huge thing typed out but pressed back on accident, so:

congrats on the first car, do proper maintenance especially on the transmission.


ditch the red all together. sell your bumper (for the right price). check the regions section at the top of the page for locals

edit: the tl still looks better than most newer models on the road and with a kit on it, even better.

 

welcome to the site, you can register your color here https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-2004-2008-93/tl-owners-please-chime-855960/ thnx.

 

I am definitely going to do proper maintenance on such a nice car. And I guess the red does look a bit ricey, but I might paint my calipers to match. I also just realized the Houston thread has tons of information regarding meets. Thanks for that info.

Thanks, and I registered.

 

I think justnspace is in the Houston area. Get in touch with him. Just don't get too close, you'll catch crabs.

 

the paint fading might not be because it was damaged. the TL's are known to have mismatched front and rear bumpers for the lighter colors(white, gray, etc)

 

Congrats on the car. My TL was my first car as well.

Definitely a "no" to anything red. You can get away with the calipers, but stop there. Do you have any pics of the bumpers? The A-Spec kit might cover some damage and it looks great on any TL (I never really liked the RonJon kit).

Keep us updated!

 

Congrats on the car. I didn't know Rondy was still selling his bodykit. Try selling your parts in the Black Market in the Off Topic part of the forum since the RJ Bodykit are full replacements for your existing bumpers.

 

Congrats and welcome

 

Congrats man!

 

Thanks guys. The pictures in my garage are the most recent pictures I have, and as you can tell there really is no noticeable damage. And I am starting to agree that the red would be a tad obnoxious, so I am just going to keep it until I have enough money saved for some 18's or maybe 19's. When I get my car back I will post pictures of the OEM bumpers and the new body kit and body work.

 

please remove those black out tail light it doesn't look right on a TL, it was a trend back in early 2000s but now it out of place especially on a TL.

 

Starting off with the RJ kit is a pretty solid start! There are quite a few things you can choose to do but it depends on what you want your car to be. I'm going to answer your questions first:

1. I would suggest removing all the red stuff and returning those red emblems. I personally feel that it makes the car look "boy-racer" like you would have in Need for speed vs a nice clean car that turns heads (for the right reasons) that is nice and luxurious. Start off with simple things such as smoked sidemarkers, performance, and maybe even tiding up the car like a proper wash/wax kit or interior detail.

2. Thing I would start off with (no particular order):
a. J-Pipe
b. Rear Sway Bar
c. AEM cold air Intake
d. New brakes (IE performance rotors & pads when your brakes are due to be done)
e. Ipod kit/hookup
f. Nav/TV interface
h. HID Fog's
i. White interior LED's
j. LED license plate lights


3. Folks will buy bumpers that are slightly damaged to put on a car when they are doing a "budget" repair or just need parts to sell the car or get it on the road (IE need a bumper b/c factory one was ripped off after hitting a deer). You can try ebay and as well selling it here on the black market section.

4. When the TL was introduced it was WAY ahead of the competition. After the others refreshed their cars (IS, G35/37, etc) the TL still remained on par. People will always compare your car to it's competitors to poke holes in your story or simply out of curiosity. In a Road and Track session with a Pro driver at Willow Springs, the TL was able to beat all of it's RWD competitors with MORE horsepower and larger motors because of it's driving dynamics.

5. Check out the Texas sections under regions up top! I'm sure you can find a TON of texas meets near you!

Well I see you saw the houston stuff and though the red was ricey. I would use black on the calipers since red is going to stand WAY out over the gunmetal wheels and your rotors. Something more conservative will look better.

Congrats on your TL and drive responsibly and safely!

 

^^^^^lol I remember clublexus was going nut when the article release in Japan state that TL-S beat G35 sedan and IS350 lap time.

 

I only did that to see what smoked lights would look like. It actually turned out much better than I thought it would, but it was not suitable for this car like you said. It was just PlastiDip so I could remove it. I wouldn't leave that on there...

Thanks! I actually am looking at all of those mods, apart from brakes since I just got mine redone. I saw another member on here has hidden foglights in his RonJon bumper. And I agree the red does look "boy-racer", so I am just going to leave the red on the rims until I can get some nicer ones to better flow with the bulky kit. I already invested in some nice exterior wash and interior detailer.