Hey all,

I'm a newbie, so go easy on me.

Just bought a 2008 TL. I'm looking to wake the engine up a little, but not interested in obnoxious and loud, and not interested in annoying ressonance at 65 on the highway.

I thought about CAI, Jet V-Force programmerj, and replacing the stock mufflers to mold the sound a little. Looking for a nice "M5 sounding" growl, low and mean - but fNOT interested in being an "all the time" loud car, I would greatly prefer quiet on the highway, only to growl hard when tromped on.

LOVE this car, it's great. Just want to wake the engine up a little, without breaking the bank. I've got no problem spending $500-$800.

Thanks for your help-

 

The best mod for the money is the RV6 J-pipe which is $450 I believe. Increased throttle response and an extra 13-18 WHP.

Next great mod would be the UR pulley or the RSB.

UR Pulley decreases the weight of the stock pulley by a few pounds, but it rotates at a faster pace which leads to 100LB lost- equivalent to a tenth off your 1/4th.

The RSB is to improve your cornering and steering response at higher speeds. The RSB is the best bang for your buck overall. Comptech RSB goes for $100-110 shipped and the UR Pulley goes for $200 I believe.

 

The CAI, well at least till you get F/I, is a waste of money. Now it does give you a few WHP, but for $300+, the gains aren't worth it compared to the RV6 V3 J-pipe.

The cheapest way to improve sound would be doing the Mid-muffler delete which should cost around $40. You can replace the Dynomax Resonator on the resonator of the exhaust to "increase" the sound. Unfortunately, this won't give you a M5 sound, instead, you may get the G35/G37 noise.

To achieve a M5 type sound, I would make your own exhaust or buy the RV6 "True Dual" Exhaust.

Of course, you WILL NEVER achieve the same sound as the M5 because of the 3.2L TL and the 5L+ M5. V6 vs V10(?)

 

Don't know much about the JPipe - how's the install on that? And what will it do to the "sound" of the exhaust, if everything else is still stock - anything?

Thanks for your help, man. I know newbies are probably annoying to you pros. I appreciate the responses.

 

I Know M5 sound can't be done - just trying to give people the kind of thing I'm going for - vs. 95 civic coffee can crap sound.

As for the JPipe, can you give the quick & dirty "why" the VR6 is so effective? Just trying to understand - the Acura pipe that it's replacing.... is that sh!tty?

 

the r- j-pipe has bigger diameter piping and eliminates the 3rd catalytic converter. it is less restrictive than the stock j-pipe and has better flow, sorry if i was redundant

 

Right on man, thanks for the response.

Will it change the exhaus tone if everything else is stock? Just wondering what I have to do to get more growl.

I sure don't want loud and annoying on the highway at 65 though..... with this j-pipe give me that? Or does it only wake up when tromped?

I'd rather have it sound stock at low throttle position and low speeds.

 

J-pipe install is fairly easy. Most people here will recommend putting some WD40 on it a day before the install because the bolts are rusted and would be harder to take off. A breaker bar is recommended. I install my stuff with my Uncle and he has air tools which make everything a breeze. You can check the 3G Garage for all DIY (Do it yourself) tutorials which is located in the main 3G forums (stickied)

It will change the exhaust sound a little, not a whole lot, but enough for you to notice.

RV6 is the best J-pipe (Make sure you get the Version 3 of it/V3). It is the most free-flowing J-pipe available. Google Exhaust Scavenging to learn more.

That and the MM delete will give you almost no cabin noise/drone-- you will only hear it if you press the gas hard.

Good luck!

 

In your version of "you'll only hear it when pressing the gas hard" are you saying do the V3 j-pipe and mid-muffler delete - leave the rear mufflers stock? Where do I buy the pipe to do the mid-muffler delete? is it 2.25"?

Thanks for the help - can't wait to do these things.

Does the Acura warranty go out the window with these things you're suggesting? Just curious.....

 

you dont buy the mid-muffler delete, you take it to a shop and say you want your mid muffler deleted...they just cut it out and replace it with a straight pipe, but if i were you i wouldnt do it. i did the mid-muffler delete and 14" resonator over stock and just added the j-pipe there talking about and put high flow precats and i hate the rasp keep the mid-muffler and just do the j-pipe upgrade you will enjoy the sound and the power

 

Will the j-pipe toss the Acura bumper to bumper warranty out the window?

And what are your guys' thoughts about doing the V3 j-pipe and AEM V2 CAI at the same time?

 

That's fine doing them at the same time.

They will not void your warranty unless they can prove that it is directly its (J-pipe) fault which is HIGHLY unlikely. I don't think out of the 3 years I've been a member that anyone has had a problem.

 

I had a guy tell me the other day that doing the j-pipe and leaving the rest of the exhaust stock is a waste of $$, because of all the restrictions that are still being left in place the rest of the way back - your thoughts on that guys?

 

i have aem intake with j-pipe with magnaflow res but like i said i got crazy rasp with my precats so im adding the stock res back on but inline with my magnaflow res and theres not gona be much restriction there if anything noticable atleast....youll be good to do the j-pipe alot of ppl on here do that with precats and dont touch the rest of the exhaust no real need to to, no crazy gains with upgrading the catback system unless maybe the true dual exhaust from richie

 

I know I sound stupid.... but I will still have my stock resonator if I have the V3 j-pipe installed?? I don't want the awful rasp you're talking about, I would be miserable with that. Couldn't stand a resonance on the highway at 65 either.

 

This is probably a dumb question, sorry if it is - but what will this j-pipe do to gas mileage? Just curious. I don't "really" care - but I'd kinda hate to wreck my mpg.

 

You will gain MPG. You will still have stock resonator. If you re getting the J pipe, then don't get the MM delete.

 

^+1

 

Also, there will still be restrictions with only the J-pipe, but not as much. Of course, you will release all the power of the J-pipe if you get a catback and PCD(Pre-Cat Deletes).

 

Just so I understand correctly and don't make a rookie (and costly) mistake..... with the AEM V2 and the VR6 j-pipe, everything else stock - the sound will get meaner with a low growl when tromped, but not be raspy? And it won't be annoying with a resonance or loud hum while cruising at 65 on the highway?

Sorry if it seems redundant, you guys are just the only experts I can rely on right now - I need to be sure I'm not going to dump this $800 plus installation - then go "holy crap what have I done to my car?! It sounds like crap going down the highway, incredibly annoying, and I sound like Dale Jr. going through my neighborhood."

Probably over-worrying it. But I'm sorry, I've only had the car a week.

Thanks for being patient with the newbie, guys. It's appreciated big time.

 

Or you can get the high flow pre-cats which will help to not have a rasp. that with a J-pipe you should be good. That is direction I am leaning until I can get a Richie trudual.

Just get a K&N drop in filter. Cheaper and better. Less chance of H2O problems if you live in wet conditions.

My opinion only as I have spent thousands to get a H2B civic quiet with a 3" exhaust. I ran 3" high flo cat 18" vibrant resonator and 3" vibrant turbo muffler.

My exhaust will be first performance mod after a drop and different rims.

 

You won't have a problem with noise. Worst case scenario you don't like it, you could sell it. Those two items are a hot commodity here.

 

I feel like such an idiot, I'm computer literate - but I've been looking for 30 minutes trying to figure out how to post pics of my car and can't figure out how?! LOL.....

I saw where it says "Toby doesn't have a garage" - don't know how I get one of those either... lol....

What a dumb ass.....

 

agreed but im sure once you throw those on the car and notice the difference you wont want to get rid of them and i actuallly just had my stock res added back on behind the magnaflow res and it sounds back to stock again which is nice and once you get on the throttle it starts to have that nice g35 sound around 3-4k rpms, wish it was a little deeper but it works for me......

 

thanks man

 

I agree start with the RV6 (not VR6) V3 jpipe and see how you like it. Then you can decide if you want to do the MM delete or not.

To post pics you can click Settings at the top left, then Pictures & Albums, then Add Album and follow the steps to add pics. When you are looking at one of your pics that you have uploaded, there will be a link for the UBB code that you can copy/paste to embed the pic in your post.

Lastly, welcome aboard. While newb repeat questions can get annoying, it is definitely appreciated that you post in logical complete sentences, and are humble.

 

Thanks. I've always tried to search for answers first - but honestly I'm very new at this, and I must not be very good at searching because I don't find results I'm looking for. So I'm probably even searching wrong.... lol.

Thanks for the patience, I'll get the hang of it.

What's your opinion on the VR6 V3 j-pipe? I've so many conflicting opinions, even dynos https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-performance-parts-modifications-112/dyno-day-tomorrow-morning-821171/ showing that the AEM V2 brought more gains to a stock G3 TL engine than the VR6 V3 did. It's very confusing to know what's true and what's not.

 

IMO people on this board tend to overanalyze. Comparing from one dyno to another, making outlandish claims about WHP gains from an intake, etc. IMO, the j-pipe is just what you are looking for. You will gain a bit of power without getting any ricey exhaust noise.

You can decide yourself whether to spend $300 for an intake. Personally, I modded the stock intake system by removing the silencer/snorkel and called it good. $300 is outrageous to me for an intake.

RV6 RV6 RV6. Not VR6.

 

RV6 RV6 RV6. Not VR6.[/quote]

It's dyslexia - I drive on the wrong side of the road too.

 

and its 3G TL not G3 TL

 

fantastic

 

You will definitely not want the Jet programmer; it's a waste of money. I'd recommend a j-pipe, lightweight crank pulley, cold air intake, and a Progress Rear Sway Bar.

We have a number of options on our website if you want to do some research and get more info. Feel free to call, IM, email, PM us

 

Unfortunately I installed my rv6 v3 jpipe and greddy exhaust at the same time so I can't tell you how ONLY the jpipe affects sound. However, I have VERY SLIGHT rasp at high rpms in 1st and 2nd. Given that greddy exhaust is very aggressive (louddddddd), I'd wager any rasp you get with a v3 jpipe on stock exhaust would be minimal. There will probably always be a very slight rasp at the top end since you're deleting one of the cats but I'd be willing to bet you won't be able to notice it and if you do it'd be at an rpm level that you wouldn't be at often. The jpipe provides a noticeable increase in power.

Long story short, the v3 jpipe is a great mod and I wish I did it first over an AEMv2 intake.

If you're worried about engine mods mostly you might want to also consider getting a full exhaust. Comptech makes a good catback that is subtle and doesn't drone since it seems you're worried about highway drone.

I noticed someone else recommended an RSB also. While not an engine mod, I second this. I have one and its a cheap way to get a better feel in corners. If you want to go all out on handling you should look into coilovers like Tein SS or the HT-spec coilovers that mr heeltoe designed. Coils get expensive though.

My next mod sometime this summer is a lightweight crank pulley. Then HFPC's and thennnnn I'm done with performance mods.

 

No, there is no rasp with just jpipe.
I ran the RV6 V3 Jpipe for a year, with no problems with sound. Only gain in performance.


stock vs RV6 V3.

Recently, I installed RV6 V3 PCD's.

Jpipe - PCD's - Stock cats.

RASP at 3k!!!!!
and there is a smell. almost like a motor bike smell. the smell of a machine!!!!!!!!
to get rid of the rasp, you should weld in a resonator

the magnaflow #10426

 

He's back!

 

I am extremely interested to see what those PCD's will sound like when added to an exhaust system with just a mid pipe and resonator delete.

 

^like shit.
i have PCD's with stock exhaust and it sounds like shit.

you need a resonator.
this is not a hard subject, guys.

PCD's come with RASP. its a fact of life.
weld in a resonator, or pick up a cat back with resonators.
its fucking simple.

 

Sounds like the high flow precats might be worth the $200 more.

 

^winnar!

 

[quote=justnspace;13022866] and there is a smell. almost like a motor bike smell. the smell of a machine!!!!!!!!


Where is this smell?

A) In the car with the windows up, while driving
B) In the car but only if the windows are down - and you're at a stoplight
C) Never in the car you fucking idiot - I'm talking about standing behind the car while it's running, or in the garage after you've started it.