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progress sway bar asap. it was my first mod 9 years ago...well worth the price
this is definitely going to happen, it might take me 9 years to pull the trigger though
Originally Posted by nick04tl
Your paint looks incredible all your photos.
thanks man, I appreciate that.
do my best to keep the paint in the best condition possible. It's still far from where I want it, but I've quickly realized that with colours such as NBP, your not going to achieve results that you can with WDP. Since with black you will see ever spec of dirt, dust etc.
I do plan on correcting the paint once more and then perhaps going the ceramic pro route to better protect it going forward
Thanks to Hamburgler and jdmvette I have a pretty nice update...
I'm always browsing Azine and looking at various TL's, usually 3rd and 4th gens for more ideas as to how I want to mod my 6mt.
I want to keep this car forever and keep it looking classy while still adding subtle mods to keep it updated as well.
And soon after I pulled the trigger and here are the install pics and results .
PS, I will get better pics soon, I had limited space to snap these so they are a bit off and I did my best to correct the over exposure on my phone's camera. Last time she will be stock
Been a pretty productive last few months. I knew when I bought the NBP TL that paint defects were going to bother me. What I didn't realize was just how dirty NBP gets in a very very short period of time (this is my first ever black vehicle). So although I had the paint corrected, the amount of dust and dirt the NBP showed after a single day of driving was too much for me to bear lol.
So I reached out to my detailer and inquired about ceramic pro. After some research and few weeks of waiting for a spot to open up in his schedule, I pulled the trigger on the silver package of ceramic pro. I will let the results speak for themselves!
Also was able to find the time to go on a local "cruise" with some buddies who recently picked up a pair of 6spds Camaros. It was the first time since probably high school, that I was able to get out and just drive aimlessly for the purpose of enjoying the car. Night was full a some pretty decent hard pulls, and I enjoyed every minute of it since I never drive the car hard. I think I actually engaged v-tech this night lol. Friend was able to snap a quick "roller" pic of my front end.
yes absolutely! Dust has a much harder time sticking to the car's surface after ceramic was applied. Now if dust does settle on the car, a leaf blower is usually enough to get rid most of it.
It keeps the car cleaner for much longer
Originally Posted by 90foxnotch
I laughed at the finally engaged Vtec comment- I hit vtec at least 10x a day so I don't let my Honda down. Looks good
lol my driving hard days are gone....I think.....
I baby the crap out of my TL, plan on teaching my 11month old stick shift when he's tall enough to reach the pedals.
Congratulations on the purchase I know I'm late! LOL I have almost the same exact car but, I have the full parchment interior. I almost sold it for a Audi S4 or S6. I couldn't! I had searched too long for it. I bought it off a memeber on @herro_panda
Not too many updates regarding the TL, however, I did score some aspecs awhile back for cheap (18x8s).
I had been kicking myself ever since I flipped the brand new set some of us scored off eBay a few years back. IIRC the set was 399 at the time. I made a decent amount on them but have been looking for another set ever since lol.
Luckily I came across a local guy who had a spare set (story on that later). They were curbed but I got them for cheap and fixed the curbage.
Finally I have two dedicated sets of wheels....
Anyways here's a couple pics, I am too lazy and dont know enough about photography to take nice ones, will work on that some later. ignore my thumb
Even though I've toyed with the idea of selling the car, and have even fielded offers, I still continue to purchase parts for it lol. Not much has changed cosmetically as I will be focusing money and time towards a suspension refresh and probably new clutch in the near future...
But who said the Facebook groups were good for nothing?! Thanks to a couple solid ppl online, I was able to score an aspec badge (which I should have bought a long time ago) and some spectacular LED fogs for the fall season.
Just a couple crappy pics for now.... These particular LED fogs are much brighter than the nokya yellows and the angle they output on is very functional for what a fog light should be
I should probably move the aspec badge down more but I'm content with it for now
Needs to come down 2-3 inches. Hard to tell on the black where the trunk lines are but I always thought it was around the height of the license plate bezel (bottom).
Looks good though. Ceramic coat really made it shine!
yea I will reposition it when I get a chance.
I've seen quite a few members put it near the bottom right corner of the trunk lid........
i think with the other emblems removed, thats the best positioning to not mess with any of the natural lines of the car.
Time for an update, albeit its not much of an update.
Still got the car and still loving it.
After years of messing around with a faulty starter (and been stranded once), I finally placed an order for an OEM starter and got around to installing it....was not going to go through another Canadian winter with the starter on its way out.
The garage DIY on here was a godsend as well as some youtube videos I found online. For anyone who has done this and has read up on the install knows how much a PITA the battery tray is, and my go at it was no different (I was so fed up at the end I didn't bother to re-install the 2 of the 5 bolts lol)
I'm happy to say I was able to get it done and ashamed to say that this is probably the most mechanical work I've done on this car with my own hands.
Also, when I initially purchased the car years ago from the original owner, the guy had told me that the brakes were probably going to need replacing soon......well I was able to get another 45,000km out of those brakes!
Finally got around to replacing all four corners with Power Stop pads and rotors and am loving it so far.
I was skeptical about how bad the brake dust would be with this setup, but after a few weeks of running the setup, I am super happy to say the brake dust is surprisingly low.
Still need to get the modded slave cylinder installed (that's the next DIY I will attempt)
That's about it for updates for now. Car will need more mechanical work as time goes on and mileage continues to climb (at about 206,000kms now).
Looking forward to keeping the car for many more years to come.
Always a good feeling of accomplishment when you replace something yourself. Good job! Seeing a ell kept TL-S from time to time makes me miss mine even more...
Did the leatherique treatment again this year, had been awhile since the last go around.
This stuff is tremendous, really cleans and nourishes the leather and enhances the "feel" of the seats.
Not much else has changed for the car cosmetically. I did paint the front and rear brakes a nice yellow. I wanted to do burnt cooper but the color was on backorder....next time around perhaps.
Car did get a new clutch kit installed, and even a new clutch case assembly along with some other parts. I started a separate thread for that whole ordeal....will provide a detailed update on how that all came to be in the future, probably during a major milestone for the car or something. (its quite the story)
Would like to do a few other things inside the car to update the interior but for now I enjoy driving it daily. Not bad for sitting at just over 131k miles.
Been awhile....sorry for the long post (tdlr on the bottom)
Still got the TL, she is currently undercover and in the garage….
I had posted about a year ago about some symptoms I was experiencing after getting a new clutch installed...(link here). Thankfully those issues are resolved....but here is the back story of how that all came to be.
Lets go back to last year, around February 2023...
-Car went in for dent repair (caused by myself – backed into the garage and hit my wife’s SUV’s door – kid left it open doh!
-Anyways, I did some research in my area for reputable shops and found one pretty close by. Dropped it off in February of 2023 and then took off for vacation...
Fast forward to several weeks later, I returned to pick up the car. I think it was early March at this point....
-I could tell immediately the car was in very bad shape.
-For reference, my car was easily a 9/10 prior to dropping it off for repairs (was not a 10 due to the self-inflicted dent)
-I arrived for pickup and noticed the car was covered in dust, on not only the exterior, but the interior was caked in dust!
I immediately asked for a manager, he came out looked it overly quickly and told me they had a note on file to not wash the car (I had indeed instructed them not to wash it- for obvious reasons)
However, I could tell there was scratches all over the trunk area, even through the thick dust, so I was very concerned....
Anyways, he sends some young high-school student with a tornado gun, she does a half-assed job (while leaving her interior spray bottle ontop of the freshly painted area) - just shows how much "care" they actually took of my car...
I take the car home, prior to departing I showed the manager the scratches that were visible, and he told me to wash the car and bring it back and that "we will take care of it".
After washing, I notice just how bad the paint really is - keep in mind my car had undergone an extensive wet sand/polish stage 3 correction with ceramic ontop..
I send him the pictures and schedule in an appointment to take the car back...(I have the pics somewhere, will upload them later)
Well to make matters worse, while waiting for the appointment date, I take the car out to Costco for a quick weekend grocery run.
On my way back home, I notice the clutch is starting to slip.
I found this pretty odd as clutch was not slipping prior to dropping it off for repair....however, the car was on it's original clutch and mileage was over 200,000 km at the time so I thought maybe it was finally giving out...
Thankfully, I had installed a dashcam years ago, and it’s mounted to the right of the rear-view mirror, so its pretty hidden to someone who does not look carefully...
Well, I was going to check the dashcam footage anyways, but I did so earlier due to the state in which my car was returned to me....and guess what I found?
I have ON TAPE, their workers, who are most definitely kids, taking my car for a joyride!
I forgot to mention that I had snapped a picture of my speedometer prior to leaving it at the shop, when I picked it up, the car had been driven 13 kilometers
13 kilometers is alot! But i was holding off on bringing this up until after I had confirmed my suspicions
Anyways, back to the joyride...
-Not only does the recording show the kid taking my car for a joyride, but it also has his conversation recorded with his manager.
-Manager tells him to bring the car to the back of the shop, kid gets excited about the car being a 6mt...
-Manager asks can you drive manual, kids responds "We are about to find out"
-Instead of simply reversing to the shop behind him, kid takes the car for a "rip"
Never leaves first gear since he does not know how to drive, but redlines the car every opportunity he gets!
To make matters worse, my windshield wiper had been removed and placed on the inside dash of my vehicle, while the kid is redlining my car around, the wiper is flying around scratching my interior carbon fibre pieces…
I don't think I have the words to express just how much anger I felt in this moment.
I notify the shop manager of what I had just uncovered - his response was he needed to speak to the owners and requested I drop off the footage
I drop it off, with a detailed timestamp document of each and every infraction (there was alot)
Outside of the joyride, these idiots also did not tape off the interior of my vehicle which is why the entire interior of the car was covered in dust!
Further, after about day 5 or 6, they had finally discovered the dash cam and unplugged it (this was prior to the higher kms being put on the car)
When I informed the manager about the dashcam being unplugged, he told me it was "shop policy"
Fast forward a few days, manager gets back to me and asks what do I want?
Based on all of the evidence I had of mal-practice and absolute neglect, they definitely did not want a civil suit on their hands
They are owned by a local dealership, directly across the street.....so I told them I wanted my car back to its original form that it was dropped off in
After a couple days, they agreed and I picked my shop of choice to get the clutch job and repairs done. (they obviously copped all repairs)
This is getting to be very long....so will make it even more concise
-I take advantage to get some common issues resolved at this time as well…
-near rear main seal
-sway bar end links
-new clutch fork
-new throttle body hose (mine was cracked)
-installed new slave cylinder with check valve deleted
-replaced some motor mounts
-brake, transmission flush etc
The shop I chose is very reputable, they work on all cars but specialize in Japanese makes…I took my first TL to them as well….
-I had sourced the clutch kit from rockauto, took a chance on their throw out bearing but as mentioned in the forums, that thing squeals endlessly
-now this is where my thread about the clutch issues comes in…..I had began experiencing weird symptoms with the clutch after the shop had installed it…
-As I was taking it back for the clutch pedal to be adjusted, I decided to source the oem bearing as well so the squealing would stop
-well the 2nd time the tech took my clutch apart, he installed the clutch face incorrectly!
-and kabaam there goes my bell housing now!
-shop wanted to source an av6 transmission, but after some research I knew that wasn’t the right call
-told them I specifically wanted a TL transmission, they had one shipped out and installed it
-finally was near the end of this whole ordeal, countless hours of back and forth, dropping off and picking up my car…MONTHS LATER
-I still had to take the car to a different auto body shop so they could correct all of the overspray and paint bleeds from the initial shop
-waited several weeks as they are the best in town, luckily I knew them through a co-worker who got me in (usually they wouldn’t take on such a job)
-got the car repainted correctly, fixed the overspray and had the top roof mouldings and driver side door mouldings replaced with OEM parts
-initial body shop didn’t even bother removing these part (insert many swear words here)
-last step was to drop off my car to one of the best detailers in my area….
-almost a complete wet sand completed, topped off with yet another paint correction and ceramic coat….
-she was finally back to hit the road….
Happy to say this ordeal is over (I am going to leave a google review for the shop shortly)
Sorry for lack of pics…..car has been parked in the garage; new clutch isn’t even broken in yet….
Here is too many more thousands of miles!
TDLR:
-I dented my car, dropped it off for repairs
-Repair shop decided they wanted to take my car for a joyride
-Kid did not know how to drive a manual gearshit, blew my clutch
-Clutch shop installed the clutch disc incorrectly; destroyed the transmission
-Got new transmission installed
-Got car repainted, wet sanded, and coated again
-Learned my lesson, always get a referral for a body shop and don’t rely on google reviews.
Wow! Such a hectic experience. I'm glad you had a camera installed in the car though.
Originally Posted by BreezyTL
dashcam for the mother fuckin win!
I would have flipped some tables at that shop if it were my car. That is completely unacceptable.
Reasons like these is why I try to do all my own work. I hate other people touching my shit!
Literally without the camera I would have been screwed!
I am a firm believer in karma, and I am just glad that my car was made whole again....
They told me the employee responsible was fired....but I cannot imagine how badly they mis-use other customer cars...I've seen some very high end vehicles there....
Since I did a write up for Azine, I figured i'd use most of it to leave a 1 star review on their Google page too
Also, since car has been stored in the garage lately, I decided to take care of some maintenance items...
-basically all rubbers on the car will be coated with this (door jams, sunroof etc)
-I plan to use this to re-grease/lube the side mirror regulators as well.
Ive been wanting to swap out my OEM side mirror lights for some time now, just wanted to refresh the front end of the car a bit without hurting the wallet too much.
I pulled the trigger a few weeks back on USR’s Black Friday sale and saved a few bucks on their lights.
Took an hour or so today and swapped the new lights in and lubed up the window regulators as well.
I may list the OEM lights on here if I cannot sell locally
The stable hasn't changed at all since the above update, the km's are currently at 228xxx on the TL, and 72xxx on the MDX.
As time goes on with the ownership of the TL, and with little kids, I am starting to not be so "careful" with it.
....not carrying about every single scratch - a daily driver is going to incur scratches (had to make my peace with this lol)
....and also driving it more spirited - although its long overdue for a tune up
Reason for the update is due to installing the replacement cupholder lid. This is the first interior piece on the TL to break/malfunction - DVD Nav Disc is also due for a replacement, (consistently getting the disc reading error now).
Another reason for the update is due to missing some updates that were done years ago (yes you read the right).
They are not the biggest updates per say, but the definitely made a huge difference.
Still got to replace the armrest foam....one day....
Years ago, I had come across a local Canadian TL owner on the other side of Canada (I'm the farthest west coast, and he is located in the farthest east part),
who had undertaken a pretty nice audio overhaul in his TL.
Replacement of all speakers and the sub/amp as well among other things.
I had learned some minor things about how the speakers function in these cars and wanted to achieve better sound while not breaking the bank.
So I copied his tweeter, mid speaker and sub upgrade.
Although, I bought all three speaker types, I never got around to the sub lol (it requires alot more work than I'm comfortable doing myself, and also would need to spend $$$ on a new amp).
Anyways, even with only the two front tweeters and middle speaker replaced, the sound had a drastic improvement.
Currently sitting on the apec wheels for another week or so, as they are my summer setup. But for the first time, I didn't really dig having them on the car as much, even missed the waffles.
maybe might sell the Aspec wheels (again).
LOVE the stock wheels!
