ACCURATEin

Yeah i walked out to my car one morning and saw a piece of red plastic on the ground. Thought to myself, damn i hope this aint from my car...walked around to the rear and holy shit. Kept my composure but when the new tailight came in and attempted to install it myself I absolutely lost it. Once i was able to get the shattered unit out I took a hammer to it and busted it into 453 pieces.

Definitely have to take the rear bumper off when tampering with the tailights.

Your nav/dvd setup is nice, i've been thinking of doing the same mod. Its like a stealth tv because most will think its just a nav screen.

streetracing901

damn....that sucks man

Shibby

jerky i also received the same part from the same dealer yesterday, good packaging... i am trying to find out exactly how to go about switching out the lights...

Jerky

Shibby, you gotta take the whole bumper off, it should only take one hour of labor from someone who knows how to do it

Jerky

i like that term...stealth Tv....

very cool

Sorry to hear about your nightmare, believe me, i can relate...
How did you know it was 453 pieces???

ACCURATEin

haha im not sure how many pieces it was. i just threw out a number.

PDX3.2TL

I just got a look at the pics. I'm lovin the aspec bike! Great job customizing!

special-ed

read about your tailight fiasco but had to give a small chuckle (sorry!) cuz I know how crazy it gets in north beach since I work there on the weekends. Parking sucks on any weekend and with all the new bars popping up, just means more drunk people to possibly harass our sweet rides.

btw, first post and really enjoying the great forum. 2004 blue/camel sitting on 19" zenetti's with suspension mods just around the corner and may try to hook up for the meet in feb. we'll see....have 2 dings already due to parking lot incidents (friggin' haters) and would like to get them fixed first.

best wishes tl brothas and sistas!

sinatra_

Nice freaking pics man!!!

Jerky

im honoroed to receive your first post

welcome my blue brother!!!

rs808

Jerky
I also have the same TL setup. SSM with body kit, DVD player and conversion kit from AV.
I couldn't decide between the Sparkling Silver or Black Chrome wheels but after seeing you car I'm ordering the Chrome this week. (SWEEEEET!)
I noticed you have 235 tires on the wheels (Factory spec). Did you consider going with 240's to help protect the wheels? I remember reading a post that recommended 240 over 235. This is a huge concern for me bc my wife drives my car and has already scratched my front and rear passenger wheels. My only concern is tire rub with the 240's.

thanks!

Jerky

yeah do 240

had i know, i would have done that...i've already scratched one

i got them as a set pre balanced, so i didnt have an option

can you please try them out, and let me know how they work?

thanks for the feedback

enjoy your car...i know i love mine!!!!!!!!!!

260 HP

iTrader: (3)

I don't think 240 tire size exists. Passenger tire sizes always end with 5. 175, 185, 215, 225, 275, etc. You probably meant 245/40 R18.

SBTL

I complained to ACURA about my 04 A-SPEC 18x8.5" wheels being too wide for the 235/40/18 Yoko tires (related to rim scratches and inability to take the car through a car wash) and to make a long story short, they are going to trade me for the 05 18x8" black chrome wheels that you have. I have the choice of using the same 235/40/18 Yoko tires or buying new 245/40/18 tires (I am considering the Bridgestone S-03 Pole Position) for the new wheels. Are you satisfied with your 235 tire width /8" rim width fit in terms of rim protection or given the opportunity that I have would you choose to buy new 245 width tires and try and sell the used 235 Yoko's? By the way, beautiful TL you got there...

Jerky

RS808

check out what 260HP just wrote...perhaps you have the wrong numbers in mind?

no biggy

let me know what your solutions are!!!

Jerky

I am satifisfied with my tires...I know that the could get scratched so Jerky is soooooo carefule when parking. I've gotten accustomed to them, and have never curbed them...(well once...but it wasnt on a curb)

I wouldn't mind changing my tires to something else. you're suggestiong that i get what?

rs808

Well, I checked my local dealer and they would not budge on the price of the Chrome wheels with tires. They wanted $2,950 (includes tax and mounting). It amazes me that some dealerships will not come down on the price even if you tell them you can get it for $800 cheaper online.

I decided to go with the same Las Vegas dealer you used so the only option was the 235 yoko. The guy at the dealership said the yoko tires have a wheel protector built into the tire - "One of the reasons Acura switched to this tire in 05". Is this true?
He also said that since the 05 wheel is .5 thinner there is more protection.
Wheels shipped out on Friday (3 day) so I'm hoping to get them by Wednesday. I will post pics when I mount them.

260 HP,
Thanks for the heads up on the tire sizes!

Jerky

the price from falconi should be a LOT less than 2950 that's a freaking rip off.

Man dealers really need to WAKEUP consumers are intelligent, resourceful, knowledgable, and use the internet

"I decided to go with the same Las Vegas dealer you used so the only option was the 235 yoko. The guy at the dealership said the yoko tires have a wheel protector built into the tire - "One of the reasons Acura switched to this tire in 05". Is this true?"


are 235s better than 245 to protect your wheels? your advice is requested

rs808

I was able to get them for $2150 with wheel locks ( thanks to you). They were not sure if I wanted them to mount and balance the tires so they waited to ship until Monday.

From what I'm reading the 245 tire will definitely protect the wheel more than the 235 tire however I'm concerned about tire rub. Anyone?????

I guess I will have to be extra careful for the next 15,000 - 20,000 miles. I'll probably go with the 245's next time.

Jerky

i have 235's as you know, ill look into the 245s for next time... anyone else have any input?

maybe we should start a thread to find out

glad you got a good price for the parts...that's what acurazine is all about!!!

Jerky

Update: Repair of Cracked Tail Light Complete
I JUST got my tailamp replace today. for 65 dollars labor at a body shop, it took them 2 hours for the following labor:

-Remove aspec rear spolier (handful of screws)
-Remove bumper (tons of screws and clips)
-Remove tail lamp (4 screws)
-Remove LED panel and add to new tail lamp (I didn't see this they just told me about it)
-Put everything back on listed above

They originally quote me one hour, and they stayed true to their estimate.

wow im glad i paid someone to do this and didn't do it myself...


Just a reminder, the bumper must come off to replace light, as the new acuras have posts on the bottom of the light, so it's not easy to smash and dash these new lamps (a big problem with hondas im told)

fortunatly, I made it back to my meeting in time! whew...hectic day

Jerky

I'm getting my sway bar installed tommorow

I bought it for 120 at Oakland Acura

Install will be about 60bucks

Ill have it done during my "B" tuneup

Can you believe i put on 13000 miles on my car since I got it in early October? FLUT!

Jerky

I heard the biggest value for suspension is the sway bar for the 5AT i cant WAIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jerky

Sway bar day 1
ok, so i got the sway bar installed on my car, i havent' had a good chance to play with it, but i noticed right off the bat that the car is much stiffer in the rear (no duh) the front of the car still has some roll, but the back part does NOT roll nearly at all.

I would say the reduction in roll is about
50% negated in front
80% negated in rear

I don't have a way to accuratly measure this, but ill go drive in a bit and report back. Gotta hit some twisties to find out how will it's working

Jerky

Got a B tuneup at oakland acura...wow that was expensive 140 dollars for an oil change and tire rotation? wtf...

i only had right side changed anyways, i had to fix that front tire...so wow, that sucked ass.money NOT well spent. need to find a good mechanic in bay area, one that can care and love my car just like i do, anyone got any suggestions?

Jerky

I just got a note from Soopa! He told me my thread is the heaviest weighted on the TL homepage

Very cool, glad that people like this 'Blog' ill continue to keep it alive!

soopa

oh man... jerky needs to turn Font Smoothing on in Winblowz :gheylaugh:

synth19

awesome pics!

Jerky

heheh i was using my pc that i dont usually use. the one with photoshop and all my other crap was being defragged....

lol

Jerky

Sway Bar Results:

Ok, i just drove up in the foothills to test the sway bar out, turns going in 40-50 mph only. my intial observations are correct, I feel the rear end of the car as being very tight, very little roll at all.

The front of the car still rolls a bit, but that's prob fine. Being a FWD car, having some give in the front may help the car to sink better into turns where the power is.

I did some 'slalom' type turns in a large open parking lot, and there was very little roll at slow speeds. pretty cool eh?

that being said, I think it was worth it money...2 bills.

damn cars are expensive...

Lore

Hey jerky, who'd you say did it for you again? My bars are sitting with a friend in SJ right now... Can't wait to put them in!

Lore

Nevermind... If I only knew how to read, I'd see you had it done with your B service at Oakland. And now that I can't edit the post, I look like a fool

Jerky

you big flake...i was waiting to show it off to you!!!

Lore

Yah, I'm sorry... I've been at home recovering from the flu all week and I fell asleep after I talked to you. So 30 minutes because 3 hours. My bad. I wanted to get some coffee too! (Starbucks right across the street).

Whatcha doing tomorrow?

Jerky

tommorow im free during afternoon

i got dinner plans however...

we were at that starbucks next to home depot and taco bell...you live in those colorful apartments?

Lore

Nah, just in the area. But hm, I don't know if tomorrow afternoon will work. What'd you get at Best Buy?

daikon38

Yeah, I noticed that normal maintenance services are quite expensive too!

Since there are quite a few of us with TL's in the Bay Area, maybe it's worth it for us to find a good mechanic...or somehow cut a deal with a local dealer to give a discount to Acura-TL members to earn our loyalty and business.

Anyway, just a thought.

Jerky

i didnt buy anything me and my buddy were just bored

1 i was researching video cameras

2 i was researching getting a sub in my car, they said about 600 bucks for a single 12 (good quality) and a rockford foz amp, 1000 watts. including install

Jerky

I may know someone...there is a shop in oakland chinatown that can take care of us...should i see what i can find?

daikon38

Sounds good to me

It's always good to know that your car's well taken care of mechanically.