As the title states, I have finally saved up about $600 for a new mod.

My car currently is pretty much stock except for some minor mods: lip spoiler, TL-S RSB, CF Trim, Racing pedals, and painted front Acura logo.

I have two possible choices for my next mod...

 

What's so interesting/good about the A-Spec suspension?

 

J-pipe and OEM Sidemarkers

 

power or handling? that is the question.

 

J-Pipe + rear sway bar

or

Coilovers

 

Im in the same position as u (drummer boy) but im thinking a A spec lip kit or Coil over... :/

 

People will say because "They were engineered specifically for the Acura TL".

I bought my A-Spec suspension because I just needed to replace my blown shocks and found a killer deal on them!

 

kleen- well it's a factory tuned suspension made specially for our cars. And I'm pretty sure I read somewhere on here that A-spec springs and koni yellows are the best handling suspension setup for our cars

Tltrigirl- well I think power would benefit my car more atm, but i wouldn't mind a slight drop and better handling

CL- Thanks. I've looked at the Type-s ones on Heeltoe and i don't really think they're worth $120 IMO

 

TL-S suspension??? but is it doable???

 

lol I forgot to refresh the page before I posted so ya what guitarplayer said.

I'm just not a fan of coilovers because I'm looking for more of a performance upgrade instead of a drop. And I already have a Type-s RSB. I didn't want to get a progress or CT one and possibly risk broken endlinks with stock suspension.

 

well aspec suspension...i opted to better handling and fun. driving around here...i really woudln't be able to utilize the extra horsies from a j-pipe. but it is on my list....it'll have to wait until i get my car back though .

 

PCD's, custom headlights and accord fogs

 

Not trying to hijack your thread, but since we're on the topic...

What's the difference between the Type-S suspensions and the A-Spec suspensions?

 

Oh ya I saw that thread. So many bad things happening to TL's lately. I hope you get your car back soon.
But back on topic, I was thinking something similar to that, but the only problem with the A-spec is that I can't put them on myself. I would have to go to a stealership and pay for the install which will be God knows what.

I was thinking about sending my headlights to Jnc or Ack, but then I opted to save that mod for another time! As for the PCD's, I don't want any rasp, but the accords are a definite. I will be doing that when it warms up a little

The Type-s is stiffer than the base (especially the 07-08 base) and has no drop

The A-spec is even stiffer than the type-s and is about a .5 inch drop

 

Ever give coilovers with dampening features a thought? Not all coilovers are only for a 'drop' and '0 performance'

Drop the car to a lower height = lower center of gravity = less body roll

Dampening adjustment so you get better road feedback especially during hard and spirited driving? I'm sure coilovers can/will be more stiff compared to A-Spec suspension. Plus you get the option to raise or lower the car to whatever height you feel necessary. Comes handy especially when you get a set of wheels in the future.

Nice wheels but having a 3-4 finger fender gap makes the car look ugly. Even if they are $3,500 Volk wheels. If you did buy the a-spec suspension, to fix that you would have to buy coilovers eventually.. Why not do it right the first time?

.5 drop is very minor. No one will even notice it, except you. With coilovers you can go from a 1 inch drop to a 3.5 inch drop and anything over 1.5 inches is definitely noticeable.

 

I haven't really thought about them, and while you are right in saying that they lower the COG, and have less body roll, they still don't offer as much of a performance upgrade as an A-Spec suspension. And with the A-spec suspension I can add koni yellows and get about the same drop as coilovers on a higher setting, while still maintaining a factory tuned spring. But thanks for pointing that out because I was wrong to assume that coilovers were just for looks. But the fender gap doesn't bother me that much, and I can't see myself being dropped more than an inch.

 

J-Pipe and save the rest for coilovers.

 

DIY install for suspension. My dealer wanted almost $900 to install with alignment. I only asked because I was curious. Find a member nearby or a buddy who's mechanically inclined to help install. It's not overly complicated. I helped with mine...after a lot of f bombs being said to the car. Lol.

 

$900?? Well the only problem is that the lift I have access to. It lifts from the wheels... and I have to take those off to install the suspension. So I guess I'll just have to buy some jack stands if I get the A-spec.

 

Umm... As far as I know, getting shocks DOES NOT lower your car (May be wrong, but pretty sure it doesn't). Your car will only go as low as the springs are set to be. A-Spec suspension lowers the car no more than 0.5 inches like you mentioned. You can pair them with any shocks on the market and will still not get anymore of a drop.

I know you keep saying you don't want coilovers but you saying "they still don't offer as much of a performance upgrade as an A-Spec suspension" makes 0 sense. A-Spec may be a upgrade compared to 07-08 base, or 04-06 auto. A little stiffer than manual TLs, but compared to aftermarket coilovers it's a downgrade...

For about $200 more you can get a set of some good coilovers that are 32-way dampening adjustable (set the stiffness to what you feel is comfortable for you) and fully height adjustable (set the height to what you feel is perfect for you)

Ask the people here that actually track their car and ask them what kind of suspension they are running. I'm pretty sure it's not "X-Brand shocks + A-Spec springs"

Actually I'm kind of curious... I wonder who on here runs with aftermarket shocks paired with a-spec springs. I don't think I've come across anyone who has.

 

https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-tires-wheels-suspension-97/spec-suspension-vs-koni-eibach-839828/

94eg said the shocks lower it about an inch, but in another thread justnspace said they lower it 20mm (.79inches)

https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-tires-wheels-suspension-97/spec-springs-koni-shocks-733284/

But yes I was wrong to jump to conclusions and say that coilovers < a-spec

 

Oh yes I did read that koni yellows drop about 20mm. So .7 inch + .5 inch is roughly a 1.2 inch drop.. but koni yellows cost about $120 per corner so your looking at ~$500 shipped. Add the cost of lowering springs like eihbachs or other brand is about $200 shipped. Totals about $700.

Coilovers are still better for the money and offer more features lol. Unless you can get a good spring + shock combo for $500 total I don't see why you wouldn't go coilovers. Just my 2 cents

 

drummer boy-

honestly everyone is going to give you a biased opinion here on their set up. aspec will actually give about a 3/4" drop. i actually did measure mine.

what you need to do to make a decision, is determine what YOU are most comfortable going with and placing on your car. yes coilovers are nice and offer extra features, but honestly once you set your "perch" and the dampening, you probably aren't ever going to touch it again. if you're going to track your car and you are mechanically incline, then coilovers might be a good choice. i wanted handling and something that was going to be close to OEM specs for the car. acura didn't spend all that money on R&D to put out a sub par product for their vehicles (which you know i'm sure).

what do you want to spend? what are YOU looking for in a suspension in terms of handling and drop (you already said you wanted handling first over drop)? right everyone and their mom says..."get coilovers". i'm not telling you to get either one, i'm just saying do your homework.

i know someone who has had aspec, then switched to coilovers. he liked the aspec but wanted "moar low". so now he has coilovers. he likes his drop, but he initially hated the stiffness in the ride (almost too stiff for his daily driver-this was with the dampening set at max soft). he got used to it eventually and just lived with it.

so, really you need to find people that have had aspec then switched to coilovers. some will hate it, some will love it. you have to choose what's going to be best for your situation and driving style.

or you can just get the j-pipe and side markers call it a day. do more homework on suspension while you save up for the next money pit item for your car (new suspension). .

 

^^^ I think this is well stated good advice, but whatever you decide to do there is always "my next mod" on the horizon.

 

Yes coilovers would be better for the money in that case, but I'm not really looking for noticeable drop with better performance. I'm looking for a moderate perfomance gain and a close to oem drop, and I can accomplish that with a-specs. But if I was looking for a noticable drop and a performance gain, then I would absolutely go the coilover route.

Thanks for the advice. You really helped clear somethings up!

I'm probably just going to purchase the j-pipe and get the USR sidemarks. Because
a.) it's cheaper and with the money I save, I can put towards a suspension and nt05's in the future (because after all, what good is a great handling suspension with out some good rubber)
b.) It's more suited to what I drive. I drive on highways a bunch, and I would probably love having the extra power for the occasional on-ramp.

Anyways, thanks for all of your help! I'll probably order this stuff tonight!

 

This really says it all....chose what you like best and fits your style.

 

Tein Basic coilovers, makes the car look AWESOME with even OEM wheels, and you can paint the OEM wheels grey or plack. Duplicolor wheel paint.

 

ya that's why I decided on the j-pipe. Once my tires wear out, hopefully I'll have enough money to do tires, wheels, and suspension all at once. Btw Steven, your Type-s is probably on of my favorite TL's on here!

vietxquangstah helped shine some light on coilovers for me. Looking back on some of the comments I made regarding coilovers, I felt so naive.
But anyways, I will defiantly consider coilovers when I upgrade my suspension this fall. But at the moment, I'm just gonna stick with the j-pipe.