lenz973

I have been slowly putting together a j35a8 swap to go into my 06 accord. I bought the accord right before purchasing my first house. I became obsessed with the thought of putting the type S swap in it and converting it to stick. I bought the flash pro, a trans, jpipe, had the manifold and runners done by Gerzand and bored the throttle body. This is where I need help, I was informed that the manifold looked to be in worst condition ever seen in terms of gunk. I got the engine from someone who buys cars at auctions. He needed the rear end and sold me the motor for an ok price. I drove the car up and down and didn’t notice any issues. I recently sent the motor to a machine shop and he was shocked how bad it looked as if it has never seen an oil change. It had to be hot tanked about 4xs, Valve Job etc to get the motor ready to put back together. So far I’ve put almost 4gs into just buying a motor and cleaning it before even upgrading anything. This was never going to be a major project, a few bolt ons and swap it in. I have a turbo build that I’m doing for another vehicle but put it on hold due to my desire to see what the Type S can do. Should I just swap the motor into the car as is, or reach out to get a super charger kit and get it all done in one shot? I wanted the car to keep certain things, AC, not have a crazy loud exhaust... (searched for a comptech exhaust and bought it for 1000)... 😢 I still need to get Hfpcs... I considered the RL cams but at this point, I want to make it worth my while for what has been spent so far. I’m trying not to count but after spending so much and basically having a stock motor... It fueled my desire to get more out of the Engine. I know I’m all over the place, but please help me make the right choices. I REALLY WANT TO KEEP AC, keep the vehicle fun somewhat with a stock feel. This is coming from someone who dealt with 4 cylinder Hondas and loud exhaust.

mb.3g

Not trying to rain on your parade but I do not believe a j35a8 will bolt up to your transmission.

EDIT: Ah did not see you had already purchased a matching trans. I would recommend Rotrex but you want to keep A/C.

lenz973

no problem, thanks for the reply mdnborg! Yes, I don’t want to lose AC... Not sure what other options I have. I see several ppl going the rotrex route here and it has me dying to follow as well. Does the comptech supercharger allow you to keep ac? I would have to buy a used one right ?

Acura TL Builder

I wouldn't recommend you get the CT Supercharger for a 3.5L engine.

thisaznboi88

iTrader: (7)

go turbo or rotrex. Just know that either way it will not be cheap.

lenz973

thisaznboi88

iTrader: (7)

stage 2 billet camshafts for 1500 bucks, or go turbo and keep the A/C

lenz973

What turbo set up would you recommend if I decided to go that route? Thanks for the advice

thisaznboi88

iTrader: (7)

its all custom. So look to spend about 5-6k on a custom setup.

lenz973

Ok.... I will just weigh the pros and the cons. If I go the rotrex route, I’ll update those who are interested to see how the build came out.

thisaznboi88

iTrader: (7)

You can find my build thread on here. I made 383 on 7 psi with a j30 engine. J35 engine will make more tq and more whp. But then you have to worry about killing the 6mt especially 4th gear.

lenz973

Ok I will look up your build thread and see how everything came together.

stkh22

iTrader: (2)

If your trying to give your car more power but stock feel as you say, slapping on a turbo kit or supercharger is deff not something you want to do. Your going to have a ton more tq steer since its fwd regardless of lsd. Also instead of using a TL-S J35A8, you could of simply just picked up a RL motor which is also a J35A8 motor, long blocks are way cheaper than the Type S since your paying stupid mark up because its a "Type S". You will then get the RL cams and the RL finned oil pan. I picked up a 70k RL J35A8 to replace the blown motor in my 08 TL-S for $650 from a wrecking yard. All I did was swap the harness and a few brackets and it has been running like a champ.

lenz973

When I went crazy after the TL type S motor, I didn’t know RL was a similar and cheaper option. I just saw how TL loyalist love their type S!! Of course due to the Body style and performance of the engine. Many ppl feel that there hasn’t been a great TL since the 3rd gen and this isn’t coming just from ppl on the forums. I don’t really want to go stage 2s because the engine ends up being louder than the exhaust at idle . I would look at the RL cams as an option since I’ve read they have more lift and add a few more horses. Should I look on a site or just order 06-08 RL cams from the dealer? Glad you were able to swap in the Rl motor and didn’t skip a beat with it in. The torque steer would mainly be felt from a stop to a start right? I doubt I’d be launching from stop sign to stop sign. Lol. Just looking to enjoy the extra power on a roll while highway driving.

stkh22

iTrader: (2)

The tq steer on any boosted FWD car that has more than 300whp is bad. My turbo h22 in my 4th gen prelude was bad, even with a quaife lsd and 235 tires. Didn't matter what gear I was in, as soon as I dropped the hammer it would pull hard right esp when vtec would engage. Imagine that on a bigger displacement motor with about 100 more tq than the h22. RL cams don't net that much, to tell you the truth I couldn't even tell the difference between the two. When I owned a MS3 with bolt ons it was almost as bad, heck even out of the factory stock the MS3 has tq steer and it comes with a factory LSD. Boost is fun and all, but for me, I will just stay all motor when it comes to fwd cars. Now awd and rwd its a diff ball game. I still think you can have tons of fun going all motor on an accord with the j35 swap and it should be plenty quick esp after a nice tune.

Have yet to drive the all new Civic Type R, I have read all the rave reviews about it but we are talking about 2018 technology vs mid 2000s tech.

As for the cams, you can try looking on forums but I prefer new with engine internals just as a piece of mind to know its not worn and possibly damaged. You may get lucky and find a used RL motor which you can use as a spare to build or what not vs buying brand new from the dealer. For the price of what RL motors sell for, I'd probably take that route, send the heads out to get worked on and debate if I want to build the bottom or keep it as a spare motor in the even something goes wrong.

If I decide to keep this car, I will look into a J37a4 swap as I would really like to have dual vtec again... but for now I'm content with the J35, its not the fastest thing but its enough to keep me satisfied.

lenz973

I was just looking at your name and took notice to the h22 Lol. I won’t go deep into it because it’s an Acura/v6 forum. My original project was an h22/f23 swap in my 6th gen Accord. Custom pistons, stage 2 and 3 cams, springs retainers... at idle ppl would ask if I needed a valve adjustment.. it sounded terrible. Fun and made good power all motor but didn’t last. Lol after that I went built head in the h22. I now have a fully built bottom end ready for turbo in that car. My builder is predicting almost 700 whp with the right turbo..A few life responsibilities, the new accord coupe, and the desire for more power caused me to want to finish this TL swap over the turbo setup. I felt that I would love the j35 swap all motor in the accord...but as I kept spending to get the stock setup ready... The desire for more since it’s all apart kept creeping in. Im also watching ppl currently build their rotrex here and the thoughts and desires consume me. Maybe I will just start all motor and see how it goes in the accord. If you think the RL cams aren’t worth it, then I will hold off.

My wife has an Oddyseey and we were just at the dealership. I saw the new type R 2.0 Turbo.. 300 hp and going for about 34,000... Vehicles made to handle boost and torque steer are more fun to drive over the fwd vehicles I’m sure.

stkh22

iTrader: (2)

I hear you man, the power game never gets old and once your bitten, man does it bite hard tho. H22 is fun, with the right turbo yeah 600+ is very possible if you have the correct build. I started with Honda as a kid, left the game a lil bit and went Nissan for a while. That was fun, still have my first S14 chassis now with a mild sr20 build with around 380 to keep me out of trouble. I came back to Honda/Acura as I needed a decent/reliable daily that was 4drs... Came across the TL-S and I remember why I have love for Honda, but after all the issues with prelude and MazdaSpeed 3, I promised myself, if I ever get another FWD Honda/Acura it would stay NA. But to each their own. Nothing beats the music of boost and that VTEC engagement, it is just soo different, scary but exhilarating at the same time. But I do have to admit, the tune of nice all motor car is very pleasant indeed esp the reliability, simplicity and just ease of maintenance is hard to beat. Maybe I'm just getting too old??? Good luck with your build man and keep us posted which ever way you decide to go.

KN_TL

iTrader: (3)

I'm not sure what I am putting down but the torque steer from 50mph in 3rd gear on the interstate is a handful. Boost is about 10psi and all of the chassis components are stock except for Tein SS coilovers and upgraded swaybars/bushings.

My next step is compliance bushing replacement to help with that.

I had heard at one time that Andy could retain your AC by placing the SC where the power steering pump is located and going with an electric pump. Not sure if it was ever done though.

As far as drivability, my car drives better than ever. I swap back to stock to get inspected and it's night and day difference. Dom does an amazing job with the tuning.

Oh, and the stinky exhaust can be bad.

Acura TL Builder

Dom = tuning wizard

lenz973

Anyone have any feed back on the pistons sold by P2R? Not sure if anyone has attempted it on here and posted results. I guess it bumps the compression to 12.0:1. I was advised to look at this instead of Super Charging the motor and losing ac. If I go this route, this would mean I can’t SC or Boost with this compression down the line. For $240, I am tempted to go this route but reliability is in the mix as well. Are they safe to use? I was going to go with the Spec clutch which is expensive, but since I’m not going FI should I go stock or is there another clutch that does well?

horseshoez

iTrader: (2)

Bumping your engine to 12.0:1 with new pistons is a lot of money for what, maybe 10-20 hp & torque; do you really think it's worth the effort for such a small gain in power?

lenz973

The motor is already apart and was being built. I just wanted to know if anyone has tried them and what were the results. For $240 to get 10 maybe 20 hp is worth it for me. I wouldn’t tear apart a complete build just for that.

horseshoez

iTrader: (2)

Ahhh, very different story; I was thinking the motor was still in the car (clearly I haven't read the entire thread).

lenz973

No problem... I’m ready to complete it and hopefully have it tuned and running within a month...

CountryNoob

Sooo....what did you end up doing?

Acura TL Builder