Kevin Marr

So, a friend of mine pointed me towards the TL as both a performance car and a reliable car. I must admit the more I look, the more I'm intrigued by them. But, I was wondering if it's possible to push a stock 2004-2008 TL from the stock ~275bhp to ~300whp. Here's my limitations though:

- Mainly bolt ons. Nothing super custom or that has to be blueprinted. I want a daily driver that's fun to drive, not a stock car.
- Needs to run reliably on 87 octane (don't want it draining me at the pump)
- Want the 6-speed manual, NOT automatic

The kinds of things I'm thinking about are like performance headers, downpipe, maybe CAI, modest tune (again, wanna run 87 octane), etc.

I know for another car I like, 2009 Cobalt SS sedan, I've seen plenty with 350whp or better out of a 2.0L turbo. So, I'm hoping a 3.2L V6 naturally aspirated can achieve 300whp at least.

Is that doable or am I just dreaming?

thisaznboi88

iTrader: (7)

j32 or j35?

not going to get max power with 87 oct or cheap. Engine dumb down the timing and you will actually be using more gas and producing less power. You might also run into knocking issue once you start modding.

might happen for the 3.5L but not for the j32 unless you are willing to put stage2 camshaft and hondata. sorry but you will have to throw tons of cash at it or run boost.

polobunny

Dreaming. The TL from the manufacturer is asking for 91 octane. Don't expect no knock from running 87 and creating more power.

The TL is also a very... err... not rewarding platform. It's not that you can't make more power, it's that it's not cheap nor easy. Gotta pay to play as they all say.

As for the comparison between the Cobalt SS and the TL... it's a completely different car. There's nothing that ties them together other than they both have wheels.

anx1300c

iTrader: (2)

Stock BHP is technically 258 on all 3G base models. The 04-05 were overrated at 270. I'm probably around 270 whp with all the conventional bolt ons and Flashpro tuning. 300 N/A can be done, but it will take cams on top of all the standard bolt ons and most likely head work as well. Figure on spending at least 8k to get there. You will most certainly not be running 87 octane though.

Kevin Marr

Huh, I thought the TL ran 87 stock. No matter...

If I did add a few bolt-ons (performance headers, downpipe, CAI, modest tune), how much do you think I could add to it realistically?

And another question (kinda related): what kinds of things could I do to reduce 0-60 times? I could care less if a car can do 150mph+, where am I ever gonna go that fast on a daily driver? But, if I can shave some time off 0-60, that interests me.

EvilVirus

iTrader: (8)

My advice to you is to read more of the performance section to understand the TL better.


Here read this one:


https://acurazine.com/forums/perform...mplete-897606/

anx1300c

iTrader: (2)

0-60 is not this car's strong point. It's not a good "light to light" car. Summer tires can help, but only so much. I recently got left at a light by a VW Golf R32 (they're AWD) as I was spinning through first. I caught/passed him around 75 mph, but a lot of technically slower cars can/will get you off the line. You don't want to get into it unless you have enough road to stretch its legs.

thisaznboi88

iTrader: (7)

Not to be mean but unless you are planning to drop 8-10k to make significantly higher HP ask in turbo or S/C. your not going to get more than 30whp with bolt ons. What you will do instead is change the area under the curve and expand the power band.

anx1300c

iTrader: (2)

^^ 30 whp is conservative. Many have gained 40-50 from stock with the right combination, but every car is different.

sockr1

iTrader: (5)

i agree with 40-50 hp with the right bolt ons and a tune

thisaznboi88

iTrader: (7)

^ my bad. I was thinking Auto not MT.

But yeah 40-50 whp will run you close to 3-4k or more depending if you get new or use parts.

Catback:500-1000
Jpipe ~450
PCD ~400?
CAI~ 100-250
Flashpro~ 700
Etune or dyno tune ~100-450
Pulley ~250
SHAWD IM ~300
ZDX TB ~250
PNP lower runners ~150-250
MDX or P2r IM spacer ~70-150

01acls

Easy way to drop your 0-60 time is to decrease the tire circumference by going to a lower profile tire with the same tread with. However, gas mileage will suffer accordingly.

anx1300c

iTrader: (2)

^^ While that works in theory, any potential gain will just be negated by increased wheel spin due to the effective shortened gearing.

polobunny

Are you suggesting messing up with the speedo?

Oh Sickest TL

iTrader: (3)

I've pretty much done all of the bolt ons with the exception of PCD/HFPC and pulley (maybe next year) but where I'm a 06 theres no flashpro available so not getting the full potential out of it. But I can tell you the car responded pretty well to the bolt ons... is it a super fast car now?? NO, but it can go when pushed.. Buddy above is right it shifts the power band. The car is pretty much all top end now, its pretty fun to rip around in now but I will say it did not come cheap.

FamilyGuy

Lose weight. It's like free HP

Scottwax

There are no headers for the TL, the exhaust manifolds are cast into the heads. Depending on your type of emission testing, you can do precat deletes and a long tube j-pipe which will remove all three of your catalytic converters. If your testing is for engine codes and/or a tailpipe test but they aren't picky on the visual, you can do high flow precats and a long tube j-pipe since the third cat isn't monitored. The rest of the exhaust isn't a huge restriction but a lot here will remove the mid-muffler and replace the stock resonator with an aftermarket.

Cold air intake (doesn't make much power on its own but helps more if you are modded), intake manifold from a larger J-series engine, larger throttle body, maybe Type S, MDX or RL cams, etc will all help make power.

Definitely make the car more fun to drive but if you're hunting for 12s, going to need a power adder for sure.