Hey guys (and gals maybe, didn't see any posting)

New guy here, name is Dave. I've been into Honda/Acura's for oh, all but one vehicle. :P

Little background. I'm the son of a ASE master mechanic who owns a shop where i was born and raised in Orlando. I've been around cars in general all of my life. Sr, as he's referred is a drag racer where I took to HPDE's. I'm now coming here from almost a decade run of owning Integra Type R's, I owned 4, one 01, two 00's and a 97 (recent) Well the 97 just sold and the wife wants me to get a 4 door and I want a manual. I used to track my 00 PY and I did the 97 a favor earlier this year at CMP. Everyone likes pics, right?







I'm totally comfortable working on cars and will likely perform all the work on the TL I get. I've done simple things like brakes, to rebuilding and clearance motors (ITR) I hope to be able to provide some insite on various things as I also have access to All Data (used by mechanic shops for repair/diagnostics)

I've read some of the recent threads on looking/buying and so on and even tried to post in the Black Market (newb status so can't) I followed one I idea I found and emailed all Acura dealerships in about a 500 mile radius. I know I'm looking for the rare ones here, KBP and WDP manual trans, ebony interior but I've traveled for the mentioned ITR's from FL to CT, FL to WI and SC to IN. I don't mind it. Any pointers one info on some you guys find, LMK please. I'm looking for something sub 65k miles and up to 21k price. Low/One owner preferred, no body work ever and clean titled.

Also, totally familiar with forums and rules along with searching, so I hope not to be "that" guy here. I'm an Admin on ITRCA as well if you guys need anything there. LOL I'll update avatar and signature soon.

Dave

 

Welcome love all your cars can't wait for the TL wonder how that's gonna come out!

 

Welcome to the forums. Im pretty sure your gonna like the Type S. I have had a few of them including both the auto and manual versions. It can be fun sometimes, but I personally didnt like the manual in the TL. Always a pain in the ass and difficult to drive smooth. I like the manual in cars like my Z06 and stuff like that, plus I always felt that it was delicate. Regardless thats all just my own opinion and im now back in a automatic Type S and im much happier.
Like you said be prepared to have to travel to get the right car as the 6mt's are difficult to find. They are out there, but usually far away lol. I had to go from Chicago to Dallas once, then to Kansas City to get mine. Fly and drive its the best way :-)
BTW, it sounds like your set on stick, but if you change your mind I have probably the cleanest and lowest mileage 08 Type S available. I consider my cars always for sale if the right buyer comes along. Its in the for sale section if you want to see.

Goodluck with everything!

 

 

Good friend of mine used to own a 6MT black TL-S 07. He sold it just 6 months ago prior to me selling my 97R. Had I known all of this now, I would have bought his, 68k miles, original owner and he would have sold to me for $14.5. Ugh... Oh well. I really want the KBP as a top choice anyway.

As for the manual trans, I hear ya. I hardly drive much and only put about 4k miles on my ITR in 2 years. 600 was going to get it, and 400 was to the track event, there and back. So about 3k miles. LOL. I live 2.6 miles to work and have a work car. Luckily not stuck in any kind of traffic so manual trans doesn't bother me at all. However, I have looked at your FS thread, among others. If I was in the market for an Auto, your would already be sold.

I sent out several emails today to dealerships. I likely won't hear back for a few days with the holidays, but I'm being patient as I have the work car and really want the right car for me.

Thanks for the warm invite guys. Hope to contribute a lot of DIY's here. I haven't seen to many of them on these boards and as mentioned, I perform my own work if at all possible other than machine work.

Dave

 

Welcome Dave! Best of luck finding a TL!

 

Welcome Dave, I'm also very interested what plans you have for the TL when you get one!

 

Welcome to Acurazine, Dave! Tis the season-best of luck in your search.

 

Welcome to AZ Dave.

 

Funny you mention that. Intentions are to leave it stock...

Likely tint first and any service work that needs to be done or hasn't been already. Want it in top shape first.

From there, if I don't buy one with Aspec kit already on it, I'll look for one of those.

Def. going to put 3k yellow HID's in the fogs. Although, I may just put regular HID's (6k) and do a yellow cover, depending on what color I get.

Intake is not of the table but I haven't done my homework yet.

Likely won't do exhaust based off of what I have heard/seen here and elsewhere. I'm now 30 and just don't want the drone on highways.

Coilovers are possible, but that too depends. I have a fairly steep driveway which my friends M5 barely fits, and another friends GT2 does not fit. I'm looking for comfort here, so that's where my delima lies.

I may plasti-dip a few bits here and there, but just saw someone make the crome emblems not so shiny, but still silver. May opt for that.

I'm going to research up SS front brake lines and superblue or equivalent for braking. I know they come with Brembo's so I might as well compliment that.

I think that's it. LOL

 

I like Dave already, he uses the word "tint" and not "tints" lol.

For the A-Spec kit PM AckTL05, he gets them at a very good price.

I used to have 3k HID in my fogs with the overlay on top, it was nice and yellow, but decided to clean the front up and took the yellow overlays off and put 6k bulbs in.

Exhaust mods can be done for sound with no drone and sound just a good as some of the aftermarket catbacks out there. Sure they don't provide the extra ponies, but if you're looking for a deeper tone while spending very minimal money, the stage mods can be your best friend.

I'm always a fan of coilovers, I have the ISC N1's with the comfort spring rates and they ride awesome. Most people will tell you to go with the Tein Street Advance for ultimate comfort since they reuse the stock rubber top hats.

Never messed with the plasti dip but a lot of people here seem to use it and love it. And I never messed with the braking system except upgrading pads and rotors.

 

welcome to the site Dave, KBP and MT with Ebony/silver combination you are looking for is extremely rare even there is one available it will still be over price. As of right now Type S with AT along the mileage you are listed is going for $20k+, good luck with the hunt and keep us updated.

 

Other than not having the stock rims here, any reason not to inquire about this car? It's def. more miles than I'd like, but it's the combo I want and the price isn't out of this world...

http://www.exclusive/vehicle/4111876...carolina-27603

 

link doesn't work.

 

What he really meant to say is that he has a clean 04 Accord that he would really like to sell you.

I flew from NM to NY to pick up my car as well. Fly and drive. Best way to do it, took me about 6 weeks to find a car with 6 MT and the right mileage on it.

Glad to see you moving up the Acura line to a TL. You won't regret it.

 

I found one sir!!! Welcome Dave!!!

http://www.cars.com/go/search/detail...nal&listType=1

 

I've seen that one as well. My concern there is the dealership. I've read up on reviews from there and seems they are shady as hell.

Also, not sure why the direct link above isn't working. Here's that one. My concerns are rims/others....

http://raleigh.craigslist.org/ctd/3407481201.html

Thanks again guys!

 

That KBP you posted has some other small mods done as well. The front grill looks to be painted black and the headlights have switchbacks, different HIDs, and an LED strip at the bottom. And as you pointed out, the G35 Coupe wheels are not stock

I love KBP, and I love how that one is 6-speed, but there is no way to tell if the previous owner installed everything correctly or not. It's something you would have to check out in person and feel comfortable with. Granted, all of the aftermarket things installed are extremely small on the "modding scale", so they are all changeable.

The price is good and I think it would be worth taking a look at

 

Funny you just posted. I just got off the phone with the dealership selling the car.

My concerns:

Rims, I want the stock ones on it. Are they hard to find here in the black market? I'm sure I can plasti-dip them for now as I search for OEM units

Front calipers. Guys on the phone assured me they were OEM Brembo's just painted blue. He's going to get additional pics. Anyone got a close up of theirs or willing to take some detailed pics for me? I want to make sure they are genuine, then figure out what kind of work will need to be done to strip them and try to correct them as much as possible.

I didn't catch the headlights piece. What are switchbacks in regards to that? No clue there. LED strips, also didn't catch that. I'm assuming then at this point, replace the headlights completely to get it back right?

Suspension, how hard is it to find stock TL-S suspension used? I assume Auto and 6MT are the same? He says it has coilovers, which given the rest of the car will likely be on the lower scale so I'll likely pull those off for OEM's. (or, Koni's with GC's, are those an option on the TL's?)

I'm going to wait to see the rest of the pics and condition. I think I'm going to try and offer like $15k and see if they bite, as the car sits. Obviously I'll have to price out replacement parts vs. leaving with the cost and what the overall will be and what I can buy with that. The car is about 4 hours away, so it wouldn't be a wasted trip, but I don't want to go there with expectations and leave empty handed if I can avoid it.

Any other things, thoughts or others to look at or consider regarding a Mod'd one? Obviously I'd prefer a stock one...

Appreciate you guys' genuine input here.

 

I have stock type s suspension. Don't plan on re-using.

Swapping headlight housings would not be neccessary. You may need to pull the bumper to get to all the lights.

I have switchbacks and love them. They are 5k blue just parking lights and blink amber with blinkers.
I also have LED daytime running lights in 5k as well and 5k HID headlights with 3k HID fogs with yellow overlays.




Best pic I have of brembo front.

 

Pretty much all the things you mentioned can be put back to stock easily. It will be pretty easy to get a stock suspension back on the car because a lot of members lower their cars on coilovers so they really don't have a use for the stock suspension again, unless they are holding onto them to go back to stock someday. Rims maybe a little harder to come across, but not impossible. Most that buy aftermarket rims will use the stock ones as a winter setup (I do this myself, so I hold onto my stock rims). I would say leave the coilovers on and just raise the car up to stock height if you don't want to be lowered. If the coils have damper adjustment you can always put the damper on the softest setting to get a close to stock feel. But then again you could always sell the coilovers and buy a stock setup and probably make a few bucks, depending on what brand coilovers they are.

The headlights are OEM so no need to replace the whole assembly. Switchbacks are just LED turn signals that light up white and blink orange. Type 1's alternate between blinking white-amber-white-amber. Type 2's light up white, but only flash the amber color, then go back to white when the turn signal is off. Most run Type 2's in place of the stock amber bulbs the car comes with. If you don't like the look of switchback, instead of going back to stock, get amber LED bulbs from eBay and put them in. They are way better than stock amber halogen bulbs and that car is already setup for them.

Switchback Video
Type 1's on the passenger side
Type 2's on the driver side


Here is a DIY on how to paint the Brembo's as well as pics of what they look like stock. https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-2004-2008-93/d-097-diy-painting-factory-brembos-red-white-acura-logo-640092/

 

Yup. Not a lot of us are stock. Not that we hate on people that roll stock. We love all 3g TL's base and type S.

Best looking car on the road.

 

Thanks for your input guys. Well, I think I may have to pass on this one. To many red flags IMO...

Car was purchased by dealership at an auction in VA. Car came to them "stanced" :vomit: Fenders were rolled in the rear, and really crappy job. I've rolled fenders before on my PY track car, they make a tool for it. Have no clue what they used, but it looks like complete crap. Nav has an issue, says no disk found. They tried another disk from another 07 TL they had on the lot. Still said the same thing. Could be the disk reader box in the back, or the entire unit. No way to tell until you dig into it. Corner lights were missing, they ordered DEPO ones (no biggie, but adds more fuel to the fire) G35 rims instead of stock. Brembo calipers painted. Holes in the front bumper for what he called a "JDM License plate" WTF is that? Air intake with a spacer, drivers seat has a quarter sized hole in it as well.

Unless he takes $15k (or less) and I take a look and it checks out (VIN's on body panels, drives ok with no noises) I'll be passing on this car.

I appreciate all of you guys' input. I'll likely be adding to this thread on the next one I find. LOL

Oh, I completely agree. I guess my "concern" is the blank slate that I can do what I want to it. It won't stay stock. LOL as much as I'd like it to, it won't But I'd like to do it my way with as little finding parts/this/that as possible.

 

this is one of the reason when I set out looking for a Type S there must be no mod on the car even HID fog light.

 

Welcome Dave B!
It Johnny with the beard from Expo

 

What's you guys' input on an 06 TL 6MT Nav?

As in, how close to TL-S. Will I still be seeking the Type S?

I found one with one owner, 65k miles, 6MT, Nav that is well taken care of for $14k. Seems like it's almost 2k below KBB and guy is looking to move. Also, it's within driving distance.

As I understand it, the 06 had the LSD and had the Brembo's up front. True story?

 

Given your backstory i.e. you have a work car and the TL you are planning to keep stock, etc. then you *may* be good to buy the 06 MT.

that's not a bad price given it has nav, a hard option to find w/6MT on the base.

Yes the 06 MT has a LSD and front brembo's, that is 100% correct.

The Type-s is going to gain you nice seats, red backlighting (personal preference but I love it), and other aesthetics like smoked tails, wheels, quad exhaust tips.

That's going to be the main difference. Yes the type-s is slightly faster but again if you're planning on keeping it stock, I think the differences are negligible. I'm modding the hell out of my type-s and have a good portion of it gutted for auto-x, so that's why I went for highest performance model I could

I think you may be a bit like myself in that you appreciate the rarity factor of certain models/combinations on cars, and that's the other side of this coin. The type-s manual, especially in KBP or WDP w/ebony is super rare. Like, really. I get a lot of enjoyment out of driving mine knowing that of the utter sea of TL's surrounding me, very few are manual like mine, much less a type-s. Again though that is a personal preference. I just can't stand feeling like I drive the same thing everyone else does.

on another note, when you do pick up a TL, I would HIGHLY recommend doing this mod to remove the slave cylinder check valve for the clutch:
https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-performance-parts-modifications-112/113-removal-slave-cylinder-check-valve-734300/

You'll test drive the TL and wonder why it doesn't shift right when going hard at high rpm, and also wonder why it's such a bitch to smoothly shift 1-2-3 unless you ride the clutch hard.

Then you'll do the above mod after you buy the car and wonder what the fudge Acura was thinking.

swap in some GM Syncromesh gear oil and you will be set, my friend.

 

Thanks for the link. Interesting note/mod. I'll def. be doing that since I'm searching 6MT only.

With regards to this particular car and so on. Yes, your dead on. I like the rarity/uniqueness of the TL-S for sure. I'm even open to not being KBP or WDP. This just came across as a really good deal with the right factors (one owner, service history, low miles, nav, clean car and title)

I too would prefer the red lit interior, and just saw the difference and it's a turn off. So is the steering wheel. I much prefer the later wheel 3 spoke design instead of the 4 spoke. Fog lights being in the headlights is also a turn off. I like them in the lower grill area.

You sir, may have answered all of my questions and I may open up to a few more miles on the car I'm looking for. I thank you for that!

 

Yes then I would say the type-s would be the desired outcome. The steering wheel is superior with the 3-spoke design, and the type-s emblem on it is a nice touch. That red backlighting is really nice and every button in the car that has a light is red backlit, compared to the base TL which has blue dash backlighting but the buttons for like environmental controls, etc. are not blue to match like the red is on the type-s.

Red footwell lighting comes standard on the type-s as well, which is not too pronounced but adds a very nice continuity to the color theme.

I wish you luck in your search - I lucked out and found mine on a whim 20 miles away private party. Dude was like "yeah i got a few people coming in from out of state to look at it" and I said "no, no you do not, sir." and I bought it on the spot lol.

Kudos to you if you can find that KBP 6mt - there's another member on here local to me that has the KBP w/a-spec lip and it looks so nice. It's not manual though, but it sure does look good.

 

Any of you guys know user Zain with the KBP that was stanced? It's his KBP that's FS in NC. I just texted him inquiring about the car. Seems he took the vosson rims off and that's why it has G35's on there now. It was sold at auction and bought in NC.

Nav issue, he says is just a CD missing. Trying to get more details now from the previous owner. It is after all the color I want. Just a little more worn than I'd like but I can get the car for $15.4 as of now from the folks selling it. 78k miles, 6 MT.

 

This is Zain's FS thread if it rings a bell for any of you guys.

https://acurazine.com/forums/member-cars-sale-49/2007-acura-tl-type-s-kbp-6-speed-cheap-%40-location-springfield-va%40-864679/

And the link posted above is the NC dealership selling it.

Wondering if this project is worth taking on, or look for something else LOL

 

Wow, $15400 might be worth the hassle of finding a navi disc and such. Depends on how much effort you want to put into making the car what it should be!

 

I would pay 15.4 for that if everything checks out mechanically and cosmetically. I can deal with a few minor issues like picking up splash guards for the bumper and a nav disc.

If it's more than just the nav disc missing i.e. the nav system failed (which does happen from time to time in the type-s), Acura will quote you probably 2-3k for a new unit, however, there's a thread on the forums here with an alternative where people just send the unit back to Alpine (the original manufacturer I believe), and can have it fixed for a few hundred bucks. Or something like that.

As a comparable, I paid $21,750 for mine with 49k miles and included a set of aftermarket wheels/snowtires, 2011 nav updates, and new front brakes. That was just shy of 1 year ago.

 

I'm on the fence on that particular car. When I spoke to the previous owner, he advised that he raced it weekly. That concerns me on the mechanical side of things. While it may or may not show signs of wear currently, you can't tell on the bearings, or if/when it's been mis-shifted.

Then there are the wheel studs. He said a few were missing/broken.

I'm all for projects and working on things. My 97R was a work in progress. But, I'm also trying to get into something and go. By the time I add up Type S wheels back on, NAV concerns/issues, misc body stuff (it's had one side resprayed, who knows how good), hole in the drivers seat (new seat cover? Used seat?) I'm into the thing another 3k. The fogs don't work as well and the LED pieces in the lights. Oh, the fenders have been rolled too for the old stanced look. While not a terrible deal, I wonder about the missing fender liners and the paint around the arches doesn't look great in the pics I was sent.

There's just a TON of red flags with the car. Will also need new tires very soon.

 

Pass on that car especially since he admitted to racing it weekly. What is wrong with these people? It's a TL, not a rocket ship.

 

Move along.

 

For me, that was the nail in the coffin.

At this point all I can do is wait. I've got a few PM's not responded to from the Black Market, I've signed up for AutoTrader alerts for TL-S new listings, post on other Honda/Acura forums, and mass emailed all dealerships within about 500 miles.

Any other avenue's you guys can think of? After 15 days I'll post the WTB thread in the Black Market section.

 

Dang, you're really on top of this car search! I think you've done all you can. I would just sit back and wait.

 

Ha! I'm used to hunting down ITR's. Cherry ones are harder to find than good 6MT's

I don't mind waiting, but I'd sure like a new ride in the stable.

 

Going to the bank this week on one I found.

Low mileage, color combo's I want. I'll have to fly and get it. But it's only 2 hours north of the last car I bought.