I"m less than a day away from my brand spanking new TL and I want to thank you guys . I been monitoring this forum very closely and reading everyone's opinion about this car and honestly even though I never drove this car I already know how it'll feel like haha . I just have a few questions as to what to do when I get the car ..

- CAI ( what's the most reliable/top brand and how much $$$ )
- Headlights , I saw someone's picture and they had blue headlights ? it looked awesome
- Anything to gain maybe around the 300 hp area ( $$$ )
- Thank you guys so much and I'll be an active member by tomorrow !

 

Ah, another demographically-proper 40 year old TL buyer from Roslyn hits the forum. Will he be upset when his 300 hp luxury car rattles? Methinks yes.

BJ

 

Inen ($250 shipped on ebay) - Boost claim about 10-15 HP, sounds sweet with the 6-speed (Sounds cool on 5AT too I guess). Kind of a bitch to install, pretty fun tho. Remember that there is coolant in the lines that you join with the coupler.

They are Xenon HID projectors. They do not however, auto level like BMW

I guess the only signifiant power gains would be the addition of the intake ($250 shipped) and the straight pipe which cuts out 2 resinators ($60 - $100 at hold in wall muffler shop).
Good Luck!

 

lol well if you want to wait and shell out the big bucks, when comptech comes out with their supercharger (4000-6000 washingtons) you should get 40-60 hp at the wheel... If you are talking about the headlights that look bluer then the stock headlamps, then thats prb a bulb replacement. i have seen them on ebay but never really looked into it... its just a different kelvin rated xenon bulb.

watch out for the rattles though... they can be anoying after awhile (bass is off on my car until i fix the side pocket rattle)

good luck!

 

You come from NY, yet you don't know where Roslyn is? :sqnteek: CLUE: Queens isn't Nassau.

And BTW, I'm 53, have had my '04 TL for a month, and it's dead quiet. Not a single rattle.

 

the headlights are probably 6000k HID. I had these on my 02 and liked them alot.....until I sold them and realized how much brighter the 4100(?)k stock ones were when I put them back in. Intensity is the sacrifice when you move up on the light spectrum.

 

I hope you had the good sense not to buy from Paragon!

 

narnia,

why don't you tell us your experience with paragon (if you haven't already done so). you seem very down on that dealer.

 

Hey, Bud..

Yer off by about 23 years. Meaning he won't be upset if it rattles as longs as it's fast.

XP

 

If anyone living in NYC & LI has missed the saga of Paragon, please check these two out...

http://www.acura-tl.com/forums/showthread.php?t=79525

http://www.acura-tl.com/forums/showthread.php?t=77104

 

Nice to know that I wasn't the only one with problems at Paragon. I high-tailed out of there in 15mins after the guy was telling me stories and said my price was rediculous. I was pissed. The sales rep wasted one of my weekends when I could have gone to another dealership.

 

sar·casm ( P ) Pronunciation Key (särkzm)
n.
1. A cutting, often ironic remark intended to ridicule.
2. A form of wit that is marked by the use of sarcastic language and is intended to make its victim the butt of contempt or ridicule.

Acura has targeted wealthy 40 year olds as their audience for the TL. A young director or VP living with his working wife in Roslyn, if you will. Wants a luxury badge at a fair price and some sporty 'pep' on his way to the LIRR.

This forum, to the contrary, is dominated by 20 somethings who wanted a souped-up Accord or TSX but found that they could afford the TL too. Nothing at all wrong with that, but they tend to create misperceptions about the car such as:

"This thing rattles too much!"

"270 horses aren't enough!"

"These tires aren't sticky!"

"My headliner is falling down!"

When driven normally by older, executive dad's, the TL is a terrific car exceeding all expectations. When driven as a poor-man's NSX, well, it isn't an NSX.

BJ

 

I think I am missing something here!? If I were to spend any amount of money on a car, I would not want the headliner to fall down, the thing to rattle, etc.

 

Is anyone allowed to have an opinion on this board that may differ from yours BJ? Maybe everyone should submit their posts directly to you for approval prior to it hitting the board?

Give people a break man, the kids are allowed their opinion as well as us old guys. If your not fond of their opinion then let it go, everything doesn't have to be a dick measuring contest here as you seem to always try and turn it into.

EZ

 

 

I'm with NL. If it wasn't for the people complaining of issues or giving feedback about their cars to the dealerships or researching problems amongst fellow owners, car companies could have and probably would have made inferior products with more defects to the consumers. If it wasn't for the feedback of our fellow 1G or 2G TL owners, we would still have had to deal with the road and wind noise issues.

I worked hard for my money, and I expect the car I bought to live up to it's price.

 

No rattles here either. I'm soo glad. Sorry folks, please don't hate.

 

Look out, they're spankin' 'the BJ. Time to pile on!



( As long as thats OK with you BJ. I don't want you to get upset or anything. I'll submit my posts to you in the future, for approval)

To Everyone Else -RELAX! Thank god for a little levity (even sarcastic levity!)

Hey GaleForce - Aren't you too young for me to touch your Tra la la! I have three daughters and no way is anybody touchin' their Tra la la!

 

You don't understand. It's not that their opinions are wrong; it's that there are too many of them driving the car differently than intended that's leading to the 'quality' issues that wouldn't exist if they were driving the car in a normal, unaggressive, 40 year old fashion.

I'm just here for balance. Every thread that has a bunch of 20 somethings crying about rattles needs an asterisk that says "if you're a 40 year old executive don't worry....your TL won't rattle if you don't mod it or drive like a Civic ricer at the mall". That's all.

Did you see the thread yesterday about some kid that went to pick up his TL all excited, heard some tic in a speaker, went "aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah a rattle!" and walked away from the car? It's hillarious. Well, it's not.

BJ

 

Misperceptions??? How is a fact a misperception???

Yes, it does as a matter of fact, no misperceptiuon here at all. Let me know when your brain can understand that because yours doesn't or even millions don't, many do and they have a right to complain about it.

For me it is, for many others it isn't, some of those that don't think it's enough are dads.
Just because 270 is enough for you, doesn't mean it is for someone else.

The Turanza's suck in every respect.

How is this a pisperception? Because it hasn't happened to your car yet? :sqnteek:

So BJ now dictates whats normal and what expectations we are all to have... :shakehd:

Remember that when racing old ladies in SUV's, practice what you keep preaching. The TL isn't a Ford escort, it isn't a Taurus and it isn't an NSX but that doesn't mean people can't have fun with it and expect what Acura advertises and expect them to live up to it. You have low expectations, no problem, some people can't handle making a company live up to high standards, those people generally don't buy this calsss of car.

Maybe you should switch to KIA, no expectations on rattles, headliner, tires or anything else. Perfect for you and the older gents you describe but nobody knows.

Maybe the older gents you think you're talking for might have a different opinion as I doubt they like the rattles anymore than the younger guys. You have this nack for telling others what is normal or what to expect and if they deviate here you come to be the ignorant ahole you have built a reputation on. Grow up and realize not everybody conforms to that single minded mold you describe.

 

Ah, another series of personal attacks. Did you not take Debate class yet? Rule #1: Don't make it personal. Stick to the subject. Well, you would, but you can't because it's an argument you cannot win. The vast majority of TL owners are happy 40 year olds who drive the car normally.

Bigger question: You clearly own a lemon, so why weren't you as vocal at your local Acura dealer as you are in here? Maybe then you'd have gotten a better car.

BJ

 

 

You can't tell people that there is a right way to drive their car.

 

You couldn't be more full of shit if someone dumped it on you from a helicopter. The TL was not designed to be driven at 55 like an 80 year old lady would drive it. Acura advertises it as a sports sedan meaning it should handle spirited driving. You yourself bragged about kicking some SUV's ass then come back here and tell us that we are the cause of interor quality issues? Rattles happen because of poor design and installation of parts. Acura itself has admitted to these problems but here you are defending them as if Acura was your Mom or something. :sqnteek:

You're not here for balance, you're here to tell people who drive the car to work every day that the cause of their problems is self inflicted. 99.9% of the people who have complained about rattles or other interior quality issues haven't modded shit. If people complained of transmission failure or engine failure you might have a point. But to blame interor quality issues on modding is frankly the most stupid moronic childish defense I've ever heard.

You're worse than that kid, plain and simple. He's a kid and can learn, what's your excuse? :sqnteek:

 

Are they hot? If they are, they can touch my tra la la.

 

I get it, you attack people for complaining about rattles, you blame them for it and then tell me I'm attacking you. You're too damn funny.

Response to your rule, I'll debate any damn way I wish. You only care about the people who are happy and that they are 40, neither of which mean squat to the people who have issues and the right to voice them without a childish twit like you blaming them for Acura's screw ups.

Were you at my dealer to know if I have been vocal or not? NO but of course as usual you assume much and know very little.

Yeah, you bet. Acura would make one special for just me...

 

Agreed.... you must drive it the way he thinks a 40 year old dad would drive it. How many 40 year old dad's drive like 80 year old women? Not that many I'll wager. Also, if a 25 year old buys it why should he be expected to drive as if he was 40 and a dad?

I'm sure 'ol BJ here will tell us in the next chapter of "Your Acura has issues, its all your fault!"

 

From a handling standpoint, the toughest target in the TL segment is the BMW 530i Sport. The new TL chassis was engineered to challenge this comparison favorite.

To accomplish this, engineers focused on creating a rigid platform with performance-tuned suspension and large tires. The large tire contact patches improve braking and handling with all-season tires. The available Dynamic Package with summer high-performance tires boost acceleration, handling and braking capability even higher on both dry and wet surfaces.

The TL has excellent dynamic properties. It feels crisp and taut, corners flat and offers a high level of grip – even with four passengers aboard. In internal testing, both TL models (5-speed Sequential SportShift automatic transmission and 6-speed manual transmission) surpass the 2003 BMW 530i and the Lexus ES 300 in a 600-ft. slalom exercise and in maximum cornering capability.

Those are Acura's words, not mine.

 

I'm not telling anyone how to drive their car. Just pointing out the very accurate and very true fact that those 40 year olds who drive their car 'normally' don't have the type of quality issues that many 20 year olds complain about in here. The only reason I bring age into the conversation at all is because so many of the younger racing types appear to have these issues whereas the older touring types are pleased as punch.

As a 40 year old yourself, you should be able to understand this. Your specific case seems to be a lemon (although you frequent racetracks, but I'll give you a pass on that one); generally speaking, the majority of the 'boo hoo rattle' posters are aggressive young drivers who are lowering their cars, changing the rims, changing the tires, racing Civics at stop lights in residential neighborhoods.....it's par for the course. I'm certain that the Acura engineers responsible for rattle control didn't build the car for a mini-Andretti when they were targeting a mini-Trump as the primary purchaser.


BJ

 

he he he. That's funny!

 

Now GaleForce. First, I thought you were a 17 year old girl! Second, I didn't think you were gay and third, my daughters are only 9,5 and 4!

 

I have SO missed entertaining threads like this one. I am misty eyed at the memories.

Memo to GF: Presuming you are, in fact, the red-blooded 17yo American male you purport to be, I wouldn't go around calling my peter "tra-la-la" if I were you, or you WILL be mistaken for a ballplayer from the "other team."

 

I suspect that many complaining about the rattles in their cars are over 25, maybe even older than 30. I drove a 2000 Altima before this, and every now and then when I drive it around, I realize the true meaning of wind noise and rattles. I probably wouldn't notice a minor rattle in the TL because I'm used to much more. I am 22, and I have not abused my car (maybe in your mind, I'm in the minority).

Even IF someone did abuse their car on the road, and raced everything in sight, how does that relate to a falling headliner? The two people on this site who are most frustrated with the problems with their car (Norse and Sherlock in my estimation), are not in this "decadent and reckless" age group that you seem to be referring to either.

So, I don't think that most rattles are due to the abuse of the car. It is a first-year production, and there are kinks to be worked out. And yes, Acura might have cut a few corners to make the car such a great value (which was why most of us purchased/leased it).

 

There are so many factors involved - A lot of people seem to think that every car is a cookie cutter type product. People should not lose sight of the fact that a car is assembled by hand - on a long several mile track. Just like every home built is unique and may or may not have problems like the one next to it.

I worked in a GM factory once and got to witness the whole car manufacturing process. If we were seeing bad welds, poorly formed body parts etc. yes, that is a HUGE quality problem that can be fixed and never to be repeated. This is handled by robots etc. The logic can be corrected and the robot reprogrammed.
But the assembly of the zillion parts that go into a car is done by hand, by people not making 6 figure salary (ie - incentive to work hard and careful) who may or may not have had a good nights sleep the night before or got into it with there spouse before coming to work - therefore may or may not do 100% on each car that comes through their station. Not to mention that the parts - seats, dash, trim all come in big bins - most of the defective parts are tossed aside, but I guess many get by the inspectors.

Where Acura is perhaps failing is up front first of all with not enough research or prototype testing. TTM - Time to Market pressure for sure. Then they are failing on the backend (which is what I do for a living - just not in the Automotive world) Testing the final product and doing adequate QA/QC on the cars before they roll out the door.

IMO -
Headliner adhesive - poor design not thought through all the way
Memory Seat - not enough testing on unit up front
Tires - poor choice
Rattles - assembly problem on an individual basis as it does not impact each & every car - poor design only where it affects many cars.
Paint - no excuses - this is all done by robots
Paint screwed up on install - Quality control should catch this - and a new technique to install determined.

I am not happy to hear all the problems the TL is experiencing, but I guess it does not surprise me - the last thing the plant wants to do it SHUT DOWN THE LINE for any given period of time during the day - so maybe more things get by or are "let" by.

Who knows for sure. I feel most for the couple guys out here who have had every problem possible. That was me and my new '94 Ford Thunderbird. Day 1 disaster. Don't miss that lemon at all.

Dunno...just some thoughts. Peace.

 

Again the word "normally" as if you keyed the phrase as something only you have the definition of. The TL is a sports sedan, some people expect it to drive like one and there is nothing wrong with that. Driving aggresively will not cause INTERIOR QUALITY CONTROL ISSUES, now if they off road the car then you can sit there and claim it. Issues arise from aggresive driving in the driveline, like engine problems etc... I know you don't understand that but most "NORMAL" people do.

I do know that you're clueless, I also know what my car is and have taken the steps a normal person would take. What I do about my cars issues doesn't always get voiced here.

I've been to the strip once (a straight line with no bumps even, who would'a thunk it?) and that has nothing to do with the problems I'm having with my car, none of which are mechanical which would be the case had I been abusing the car. You seem to think that flooring the accelerator for 1325 feet will loosen everything up to the point everything rattles, you couldn't be more wrong. I've drag raced cars for years, much faster cars that launched on the box and they didn't rattle. You need to blame people for Acura's mistakes, this makes you feel better about your purchase, whatever.

I don't agree, there aren't many "ricing up" their cars here. The people I've seen have been normal guys, you know the word normal right? Normal guys who drive back and forth to work and hear rattles. Also, racing people in residential neighborhoods while very stupid doesn't cause rattles unless they aim for every pot-hole they see. Just because you don't like the younger guys doesn't mean they all fit the pre-conceived notion you put them all in.

When someone comes on here and states they road race you might have a point, driving the car as it was intended isn't wrong and well within the design specs. I very much doubt you drive the car that mellow considering the point you made about the SUV's you raced, you need to get over yourself.

 

Valid points, while frustrated with my car, I don't hate it. I just don't like people here telling me it's my fault for rattles, falling headliner, failing seat memory, third brake light nearly falling off, poorly installed glove-compartment, rear deck rattles, rear seat panel falling off or the front doors sounding like they were tacked in with shipping popcorn.

Yes my car has issues and yes I voice them, loudly in fact. When I vent I feel better and sometimes even forgive the car for its issues. Sometimes it rewards me with a quiet ride for the entire ride home. On those days I absolutely love it.

 

Norse and BJ, you silly silly men, it sure is funny to see you guys go at it. I just want to say I am young, and yes I do drive fairly aggressively. Not because of this car, but more that this is just my driving style. This is where I don't understand Acura's demographic predictions - I work for an IT company, don't make $80K a year yet, and 40 years old? Try cutting that in half! I bought this car not to have a race car, but because it's nice all around. I have a couple squeaks and rattles, but they are surely not because of driving too hard. This is not a luxury car or a sports car. For the poeple who think you should baby this car, rightfully so but it has an agressive look, 270HP, and sport tuning for a reason! If I wanted just a "cruiser" car like this is apparently supposed to be, I would have gotten an ES330. Don't go crazy, but give a little credit and drive the car like it is built for.

By the way, I do complain about my rattles and such because this is my first NEW car and I expect it to be fairly problem free and reliable, that's why I bought an Acura. I don't expect it to be a tank like a Rolls Royce, but quality is not too much to ask, damn it!

 

Absolutely, you have every right to vent.

 

really - at least you do it here - my wife catches all my complaints, which is not fair.

 

Yes.

I may not agree with all you've said, but I respect your right of speech. If I like it, I reply. If not, I ignore it. If it hurts ppl, I shut it down.


:o