DeadLock

So I told myself, no STi cause I would mod it to death, test drive a TL, loved it, and said why not stay with the honda family, got a great deal on a 2004 TL with navi, with only 10k miles, certified bumper to bumper until 62,000 miles.

So the "I wont mod it begins" yea right.

I didnt want to spend $300+ on a OEM lip spoiler, so I got the eBay special, paint match is PERFECT.



Added some more 3M to it, so its not going anywhere



I ended up using from the Art Of Tint in NYC for tint, paid him $225 He uses felt like slips inside the door panel







You would think I would be content, but no, I saw some A Spec TLs and loved the look, but I wouldnt be stupid enough to spend 5k on the entire package. But sure enough there was a group buy, so I had to buy, paid $756 shipped for the entire body kit, had it installed the day after (did it all myself, thanks to AZ)

Also thought, since I have the Navi, why not make it into a DVD/TV tuner as well, got Dom's unit with PNP harness, part of his group buy which is like $225

For that to be fully functional I need this piece to tap into the XM port and add an aux input to the stereo.



So now with a touch of a button, I have dvd input, or when I am in reverse I have back up camera.....and I have sound via this aux input directly through the stock head unit, which means the sounds is dropped back when the navi talks..or when the phone rings via bluetooth.

So I didnt stop at the a spec body kit, I wanted the wheels, but they were like $1500 new, plus tires for 18" wheels are pricey....and I didnt want to sway away from OEM. So thinking I wouldnt get wheels for a while, I found a deal, some local was selling wheels and tires for $800, in NJ, so I picked them up, they were scratched up, but I found some GM matching touch up paint, and they look a lot better now.

No more talk, here are the pics......


























Next mod will be the DRL module, and some yellow fog bulbs.....and I really dont like the stiff A Spec suspension, I got spoiled by the stock setupl, but when I got the new wheels, it rides like shit now, the ES100 tires are SOO LOUD.......I need some new quiet tires asap.

ludachrisvt

iTrader: (2)

haha thats funny. "I will not mod." SUCKER! Looks great!

drdamian

lookin really hot.. what was the color of the touchup paint.. i am thinking of paiting my factory rims the same color...

DeadLock

Touch up is the Duplicolor NG GM 435 or just GM 435, you can buy cans of the paint, it matches the A Spec gunmetal almost exactly, you can see in the Brembo close up pic, some touch up places on the rim..........rims are 8.5" btw, thats why they had so many scratches.........but I like them wider, I will probably run a fat 255 tire when these are done, something quieter tho.

drdamian

thanx. i was thinking about that color. when i bought my car 3 of the 4 rims are curbed pretty bad. i was going to fix the scuffs and paint them the gunmetal color... Just until i can get my hands on a set of 19 x 8.5's .. my michelins are really bad.... i was sliding all over the road tonights bc of the rain.....

Stevie B

I am trying my best to keep my wallet in my pocket or I will be like you, mods after mods until I am maxed out on the CC's

stevencrosbie

Yeah...these tires are noisy....I guess its the price you pay for performance....

Nice TL....A-Spec really looks sweet! How much did you get the car for?

legionofdoom

Nice. What % tint did you go with?

DeadLock

Thanks, I got the car for 26k, and it was mint from Curry Acura. My cousin is the internet manager there, they were asking 29k for it he just got his price on it.


I used 35% all around, I didn't want anything too dark, but I think 35% works good with the black interior.

zax123

Looks good! You've got an eye for photography!

DeadLock

Thanks, I am using a Sony P7, its a 3 Mega Pixel camera, nothing special, I want to get a DSLR, but they are soo pricey.........

Do you guys think I should do a 35% tint on the tails and rear sides........?

zax123

My opinion is yes... I put RockBlocker on my lights and it totally changed the car.

DeadLock

I kinda like the ALL RED look, maybe if they had a light tint, so it would match the front side marker.

Republican TL

Deadlock, if you can afford to replace those Yoks right away for the summer, I would highly recommend the new Toyo T1-Rs. These are the new high-performance tires by Toyo and they are surprisingly quite for a high performance tire. Best HP tire I have ever driven on. I have them on my 18 inch summer set-up with the A-Spec and they ride and handle awesome. Its the only redeeming thing about my TL.

DeadLock

Are they really a lot quiter? I would really like a tire thats not as loud, kinda kills the ride of the car. I know its a performance tire, but so much noise haha....

How much did it run you for those tires?

05TLTony

Nice job man! Looking good! dum.dum.dum.dommmmm! to be continued...........!

DeadLock

Thanks, I really hope I dont go mod nuts...........I already regret the wheels, cause the ride sucks now.

A spec suspension is tough too, this is coming from someone who owned a car with a full race coilover setup........but I guess we all gotta grow up sometime.

Whodi

yokos are horrible and the loudest tire i ever heard. i switched to michelin ps2. wow what a difference. quiet ride.

DeadLock

Yea, I am looking for a semi cheap alternative, will deff be getting new tires.......

the ES100 arent bad, when they are mounted on a 15" wheel.

legionofdoom

Hey Deadlock, what do you mean by the "A spec suspension is tough"? Do you mean that the handling isn't as good compared to what you had before with a full race coilover setup or do you mean the ride is tough? Thanks.

DeadLock

I mean for a more of a touring luxury car it kills the taste sort of speak of the ride. It is not close to as stiff as my 9k front and 7k rear setup on my previous integra......

But the ride is a lot more bumpy, and noticable stiffer than the stock setup. I guess driving the TL for like 3 months already spoiled me a bit, I love how much quieter it is, and smoother it is conpared to my race inspired street integra, I would love to lower the car a bit, A Spec would deff be my choice for the most mild setup, but I feel like it ruins the car for what it is.

I am still getting used to just having the loud tires............

In my old car, the exhaust was so loud (3" turbo back) that I didn't notice things like rattles, and tire noise, but it gave me lots of headaches lol. And ever since I got this new TL, even the little things that people complain about (mostly rattles) I dont even notice still because its so much quieter overall.

So adding components that make the ride stiff and rigid, and getting tires that have so much noise is somewhat discomforting for me.

Like I stated before, as a passenger the A Spec suspension was not bad, but I warn you, if you do get it, you will most likely get more rattles in the TL than you had, because the ride is stiffer. Also all my opinions are made on NYC (brooklyn) streets, which arent the smoothest by far.

apnorm

iTrader: (3)

Deadlock...Here's a pic with the smoked tails and sides so you can decide for yourself. I like them a lot.

Pay no attention to the wheels - they're my winter beaters!

DeadLock

I like the tints. I was thinking of the lighter rockblocker......................not the 20%

looks good.