Cdcannistraci

Hey everyone, it's my first time posting on the forums here and I'm a bit of a car noob so please take it easy on me lol. I'm going to be buying a 3rd gen tl sometime this summer and I want to put some stuff on it. The first thing would probably be an exhaust system. I want to get a catback and a J pipe. I understand what I catback does as the name pretty much explains itself. I'm confused about the J pipe though. Does it replace the cat? Also how many cats are on the tl? I am also from New Jersey and I'm not sure what's legal here in terms of the J pipe. I don't really mind if it's illegal, is just like to know so I'm not caught with me pants down. Also if any of you have the Tsudo J pipe and catback setup please give me your thoughts! Other than that I look forward to my TL ownership!

horseshoez

iTrader: (2)

My thoughts are if it is illegal then your car will be polluting more than it should. If that's your goal, don't count on much help, the rest of us like breathing air which is as clean as possible.

Cdcannistraci

I get where your coming from. I'm not out to do any illegal modifications. I'm just saying that if the J pipe is illegal in New Jersey, I'll still put it on but I'd like to know. The J pipe is the only "illegal" thing I'd do, I'm all for breathing clean air too. NJ just tends to be very very strict with car modifications.

anx1300c

iTrader: (2)

If you go with the RV6 or XLR8 V2 J Pipe, you will be deleting the third cat, which simply makes the TL an "ultra low emissions vehicle" rather than a "low emissions vehicle". It'll hardly make a difference in the grand scheme of things, as far as pollution goes. There are two primary cats (precats) which are 900 cell (restrictive) and the aforementioned third cat, for a total of three. My TL had the XLR8 V2 J Pipe (omits the third cat) and RV6 HFPC (high flow precats), which are 200-300 cell (lower numbers = better flow + more power). I'm in NY and never had an issue with inspection. No check engine light, which is all that matters in states that don't use sniffers.

NoTLoud

The 3G TL has 3 catalytic converters, two of them are right off of either side of the engine, before the J-pipe. The third is right after the J-pipe. There are 4 O2 sensors, 2 on each of the cat converters right of the engine. What most (if not all) of the aftermarket J-pipes will do is remove the third cat converter, so the pipe will mate right up to the exhaust and remove the third cat. The beauty of removing the third cat converters is that there are no O2 sensors that run to it, so you won't be throwing any codes.

My advice upon buying a Tl is to do the preventative maintenance first before any mods. Maintenance > mods, every time. A quality J-pipe back exhaust system is going to run you at least $1k for this car, which is a good amount of replacement parts you could buy instead. I've sunk well over $1k in parts into my car and I am still not happy with the way it is driving. The TL's are great cars overall, but considering they are getting up in age, they are going to have issues. No 10 year old car is going to perfect and parts will start to break, so be prepared. Luckily, for the most part, even the OEM parts for this car are affordable.

Scottwax

A long tube J-pipe will make the most power. It will remove your 3rd cat but since it isn't monitored it won't give you an CEL. And honestly, if it was absolutely necessary for the 3rd cat for Acura to meet current emission standards, it would be monitored as well. You'd easily pass a tailpipe test without it but not a visual.

Personally, I'd just get the j-pipe, remove the mid-muffler and replace the factory resonator with a Dynomax or Magnaflow resonator. Your exhaust will sound noticeably better without being overly loud, no rasp and quiet at steady speeds inside the car.

Kevin17112

You still get to keep the third cat if you get the ATLP j-pipe, correct me if I'm wrong guys.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

there's like two versions....one with and one without...so you get to choose, which one you want........
if you want one with the third cat, buy that one...
if you want one without the third cat, buy that one!

srg818

With these exhaust mods, how is the exhaust odor coming out the back? Anything noticeable? I got stuck behind "that guy" on the highway recently who deleted his cats and every he gave it some gas I had to roll the windows down.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

You know you can press the air circulation button and you wouldn't have to roll down the windows?

srg818

There are times where I'd rather drive with the windows down...