Just got myself a TL, so thought I'd sign up here

Introductions:
I'm a high school senior (currently) living in Southern California; going to be attending college in the LA area starting Fall 2012. I just inherited my dad's '08 TL as a graduation present, and literally could not be more happy
It's a 2008 TL, 5AT, white w/ tan interior, with about 75,000 miles on it. This will be my second car.
My first was a 2004 Subaru Outback H6 that belonged to my mom (also white with a tan interior and an AT hahaha). It's going to my little brother this summer because he's learning to drive. It was a great car for sure, but I think I'm gonna like this TL even better

Why I joined:
I wanted to learn ways to get the most out of TL's performance-wise, even with a limited budget. I like performance driving (canyon roads, the occasional auto-cross, etc.), and I have been looking into both light and heavy modifications to increase the TL's general agility. Power's not so much of an issue for me since TL's are FWD; stock power is fine for me (for now :P).

 

Congrats and welcome
Start looking in the 3g section under the suspension section and you will find what you are looking for

 

Here's a mod list I've come up with, based on a bit of research and poking around on this site...

Mod List:
Suspension:
H&R Sway Bars F&R ($500)
Prothane sway bar bushings ($20)
Fastline Performance Powerlinks ($190)
Tein Street Advance Coilover Kit ($900)
Fastline Performance Solid Tower Brace (needed for Tein coilovers) ($230)

Brakes:
HT Spec Brake Package: Stage 2 Sport Package ($600)

Power:
K&N Performance Air Filter ($45)


Stages:
Stage 1 ($755):
H&R Sway Bars F&R ($500)
Prothane sway bar bushings ($20)
Fastline Performance Powerlinks ($190)
K&N Performance Air Filter ($45)

Stage 2 ($1,730):
Tein Street Advance Coilover Kit ($900)
Fastline Performance Solid Tower Brace (needed for Tein coilovers) ($230)
HT Spec Brake Package: Stage 2 Sport Package ($600)


Total: $2,485


These mods probably would not happen all at one time, but in two or three stages. I plan on having jobs in college; all my extra money will be saved and will go into this car .

Does anyone have advice on other mods that are worthwhile?

 

Congrats Welcome to AZ! Check out the 3G garage for tons of info. Also register your TL at www.myacura.com in the USA or https://www.myacura.acura.ca/ in Canada. Save your Navi and Radio codes there. Check for any recalls your TL may need.
You may also want to post here:

https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-2004-2008-93/3g-tl-owners-sign-564449/

That list looks pretty good to me.

 

For sway bars I would recommend the Progress for the rear, as for brakes look in to brakemotive they are much cheaper and work very well. Skip the K&N filter it have ben proven to do nothing on our cars.

 

Awesome

Congrats and Welcome to the Worlds Best Forum

 

Welcome and Congrats on the car!!

 

welcome to the site, looks like the mod bug already infected you lol.

 

Welcome and congrats!

 

Haha I had a hunch about that.
Would a new intake affect these cars much, or have they been proven largely ineffective as well?

 

You're just going to make more noise with an intake. Save your pennies a little longer and get a j-pipe. The exhaust note won't change but you'll get decent proven gains.

 

Alright, sounds good
I was also considering a catback exhaust system, but decided that seeing four exhaust pipes and getting just 8 more hp to the wheels was the juice not quite worth the $1,000 squeeze. Is this roughly accurate?
And anyway, compared to my old car the TL's already a rocket ship hahaha.

 

Not all aftermarket exhausts have quad tips. The ATLP Base is made specifically for the non-Type S TL, therefore it has two rectangular outlets. The Comptech exhaust is also traditional, having two round outlets.

As for gains, your best bang for your buck is a j-pipe. Even though you don't get as large of a gain compared to a j-pipe, I love my exhaust. I was getting pretty bored with my car but my exhaust made me fall in love all over again.

If I were you I would get on heeltoeauto.com and excelerateperformance.com to cross shop parts. They are both vendors here on Acurazine and can give confirmed gains for the parts you're looking at.

And if your TL is a rocket ship compared to your last car, why do you want to make it faster? Just curious

 

Welcome T-Lag. These guys will steer you right, especially about the CAI vs J-Pipe.

 

Haha faster around corners is my main priority In terms of straight-line performance, I'm basically set. That all being said, however, any budget power mod can't hurt

Plus, these mods would not happen right now. This plan will encompass at least a couple years; I'm just mapping the road ahead so I can begin to know how much I need to save

 

you have a nice life, a TL in LA is HOT!!! what color?

 

For the Tein coils go to 1xracing.com, they have them for $800.

 

I agree on the brakemotive package as well. I think the current offer right now for drilled/slotted + pads is 145 shipped. Check out the vendor section to make sure tho.

BTW welcome to AZ

 

Welcome to the Thunder Dome. BITCH!

 

Due to the base 07-08 TLs having the softest suspensions of all 3G TLs I would suggest an upgrade.

Maybe a bump in stopping power. I have RacingBrake pads and rotors, but there are tons of options out there.

And if you feel like removing parts, I might suggest looking through the TL Diet thread.
https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-performance-parts-modifications-112/m-010-putting-tl-diet-update-links-post-1-a-610974/

 

Lots of heeltoe-sourced items in your list!

Before buying if you want a straight unbiased, customer focused opinion hit us up before buying. Also note our Price Match feature on Heeltoeauto.com will always give you the best value for your money