nrb2005tl

^Im 17 as well.
Sorry to thread jack, but here's my ride. We've got a similar set up, accept Ive got a DC sports CAI and an RV6-v3 J pipe.

Black calipers (painted). Hard to see in motion because of the thick OEM rim spokes.

Dpat

I got my TL-S when i was 17.

gofasttl93

What did you use on the wheels? They look powdercoated. Looks nice, bumper plugs don't match though

Do you have just a JPipe with no stage exhaust? How does that sound?

Drew

gofasttl93

Well guys, I got stage 3 done. I really love the sound but it's too quiet for my taste. Hoping as it breaks in it will get louder like everyone says it will. If not I'll have to do muffler swaps

Drew

vietxquangstah

iTrader: (7)

Was your rear bumper replaced or repainted sometime before you purchased it? The paint on your rear bumper doesn't match the rest of your car



I would suggest removing the body side moldings and the splash guards

gofasttl93

I did some investigation into the mismatch, and have found that it was very common from the factory on SSM, AM and WDP 3Gs. Also, the rear bumper cover is plastic so the light reflection off of the bumper will look different than off aluminum or any other metal. However, somebody bumped into me in the parking lot last week so I'm going to get it repainted because I agree it looks bad

I don't think I'm going to take the splash guards off because I like them. I'm planning on painting them AM. As for BSM... haven't decided yet. :P

Drew

nrb2005tl

Washed and sanded rims with wet or dry 320 grit 3M sandpaper.
2 coats of duplicolor sandable wheel primer (??)
4 coats of Satin Black duplicolor wheel paint (HWP104)
2 coats of duplicolor wheel clear coat (HWP103)

my bumper plugs = 2 metal washers with a screw inside For now, it matches my grill color. Atleast it looks nicer than two dirty, gaping holes inside of my front bumper.

nrb2005tl

And yes, I only have the bolt on J pipe (deletes 3rd catalytic converter). Barely noticed any horsepower increase, and barely any sound increase. It's only noticable for the driver, and if you know your car and how it handles, you'll distinguish a difference in power. If your looking for sound, get a cold air intake (any brand will do the same thing). Thats definitely noticable after 3.5k rpm (ROOOOOOAAARRRRRRR)

gofasttl93

Dang, you sanded your wheels? I think I'd be too damn scared to do that XD They do look amazing, though! Thanks for sharing. As for the J-Pipe, I've heard it's raspy with a stage mod. However, swapping mufflers with Stage 3 is basically the Greddy set-up, so I'm definitely going to do that once I get the money scraped together.

UPDATE:
I thought I had hit a nail, so I brought my car into Discount Tire. They told me "the Plasti-dip got in between where the tire meshes to the wheel which caused a leak." Is there any validity in this, whatsoever? Sounds like BS to me.

They also effed up my front driver plasti dip job

Drew

CLtotheTL32

iTrader: (3)

Wtf? How can a thin, rubber-like material expand enough to cause a leak? I call BS.

gofasttl93

They were also pretty condescending about Plasti Dip. They told me they screwed up one of the wheels and they just shrugged it off, then told me I should pay them $400 to powdercoat the wheels.

Drew

Aretardedorange

iTrader: (2)

No that sounds like crap. You should have said the plasti dip job cost you $50, and they owe you $50 lol. Do you have a job? Jw, cuz i need a job, no idea what to do though =/.

gofasttl93

Yeah, I work at a pizza place. LOL, I doubt they would've done that.

Drew

CLtotheTL32

iTrader: (3)

Sounds like they are just trying to get money from you. I hate to stereotype but a younger kid with a nicer car with stuff done to it screams "I have money" and the place wants to get every penny they can from you.

It's happened to me a few times and you've gotta learn to say no. Sometimes you have to be an asshole too, which isn't fun, but sometimes they don't take a hint.

gofasttl93

This weekend I was busy. I repainted my wheels, painted my lugs and center cap gloss black, and painted my calipers gloss black. I then repainted my grill and my rear emblem. Pictures soon to come.

Drew

gofasttl93

Base caliper coat:


Final caliper coat:


"New" wheels:

I redid my plasti-dip partly because of what Discount Tire did and partly because I didn't put enough coats on on my first try. I used actual paint on the lugs for more durability.

Dirty car with very shiny shoes:


Now to start masking for the grill and rear emblem:








I'll take some new pictures of my car after it's washed so you guys can see the final result.

Right now, I'm saving for springs and an RSB

Drew

MODS: Please edit the thread caption to say UPDATED: 2/27/12. Thanks!

goodoldayz

looking forward to the finished pics of the grill.

gofasttl93

Grill


Rear




The rear emblem looks the same as before but the grill is MUCH improved thanks to a better masking technique

Drew

goodoldayz

i just did mine too, and i think it looks better with the A emblem in silver/chrome. just my two cents.

Aretardedorange

iTrader: (2)

Looking good. You use plasti dip on the brake caliper as well?

goodoldayz

i doubt it, you need high heat paint for the calipers. plasti dip just might burn up after a while.

how did you paint the insides of the rims ? or did you just paint the face of the rims ?

gofasttl93

No, terrible idea, never want rubber around in your brakes I used VHT Caliper Paint.

I painted the inside of my rims, yes. I didn't have to, but I decided I wanted to -shrug-

gofasttl93

Here are some new photos of Cars and Coffee Dallas, my LED conversion and some recent photos of my car:

Got my WLED-B6 and WLED-NW6 bulbs from superbrightleds.com, got here in 2 days, pretty happy with shipping.


Courtesy Lights:


Stock vs LED Comparison:


Domes:


Night photo:


License plate bulbs (PITA to do but so worth it!!!!)


6:30 AM for Cars and Coffee at local starbucks:


Showing:




Awesome cars at C&C:




Random iPhone shot:


-Drew

gofasttl93

Likely going to install Tein S-Tech springs and a Comptech RSB soon. Anybody know where to rent spring compressors? Going to do it myself - I hit up Jotech in Garland to see what they would charge to install springs: $250! Just for labor!

Drew

EL PESADO

iTrader: (5)

u can rent in autozone

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

or advance auto...you have to pay for it, and you have 90 days to return for a full refund. Most of these places have tool loan programs.

Great progress so far...
and FK this aholes for the plastidip being the cause of an air leak.

d-townhakuzo

Go to elite auto werks in garland located where the old jotech was. It will be less than half that.

Aretardedorange

iTrader: (2)

I got quoted $75 here in NY to get my neuspeed sport springs installed. Find another place or have some of the local members help you. Progress is looking great!

gofasttl93

Thanks! I know right? Makes no sense.

Sweet, will do!

Dang, $75? I would definitely pay that rather than do it myself... haha.

UPDATE
Today I got my iSimple installed. Very happy with it so far, sounds great. If I can find my navi disk, I'm going to hack my nav system next.

Drew

gofasttl93

Here are some updates for you guys:

I finally got an AZine vinyl. I did kind of a shitty job putting it on, but it looks fine IMO:


My baby after a nice wash and wax:







After a while, I decided Stage 3 wasn't loud enough for me so I decided to cut out my mufflers:



The tone was good, but it was about double the sound output I wanted plus there was a TERRIBLE drone at 2K. I decided that cutting up my exhaust wasn't working. I decided to take the plunge and have a custom catback exhaust built for me. 2.5" piping, dynomax resonator and AP glass-pack muffler right after the 3rd cat, then straight pipe back to stock tips.



First impressions: It's PERFECT! It was about $400 ish total including the AP glass-pack. The tone is very relaxed and subtle during normal driving but has a very throaty tone at WOT. It's loud enough to get some looks, but it's quiet enough to maintain the luxury of the Acura TL. If I had to describe it, I would say it sounds a lot like a G35 with a catback.

Of course, with 2.5" piping from the J-Pipe back, I would estimate 5-10whp gain. From the butt-dyno, it certainly feels quicker. I also lost quite a bit of weight from deleting the stock mufflers.

Shot of the new Y-Pipe:



I then finished off the new exhaust by fully polishing my tips. I picked up some Bar-Keepers Friend and steel wool. Most of the black came off but there are a few tiny spots I simply couldn't take off.



I have quad tips, A-Spec kit and RV-6 J-Pipe in my sights now, as well as a cheap CAI from ebay :P

Mods, please update the post to say "Updated Pictures 4/8/12". Thanks!

vietxquangstah

iTrader: (7)

Curious, do you work as a delivery driver or a in-store employee? I used to work as a delivery driver for Papa Johns.... Money was good, $11-$12/hr including tips and money in your pockets every night when you go home...

Quit that job because I barely bought the TL with 30k miles and it was racking miles up very quickly...

gofasttl93

Both in-store and delivery. I only take about 1 or 2 deliveries a night, though. Believe me, people see my car and tip me less because many times my car is nicer than the people I'm delivering to XD

Steven Bell

iTrader: (2)

Wow, wait until Swoosh sees this!

Very nice, dude.

gofasttl93

Thanks Steven!

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

Gorgeous! Nicely done, man...
If you're looking at tips, think about the porsche tips!

ebelp

I'm curious what that exhaust sounds like. Post some vids.

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

^^^Concur!

CLtotheTL32

iTrader: (3)

Congrats on the exhaust! We need vids

The Acurazine sticker looks terrible IMO. Ditch it and do it right.

pipedacuratl

Ya sticker should be a flat black

CLtotheTL32

iTrader: (3)

The sticker should be on straight without the letters touching.