rossv1

You need some tints.

r.nogueira23

try using WD-40 to get that crap off the side
(not sure if youve already gotten it off)
it seems to work well on adhesives and paint and wont fuck with your clear coat

car looks good tho - nice snag for $10K

Jklaz

I painted my break calipers(masked them off, didn't remove it) and now my brakes are squeaking a little.. is this normal?

Jklaz

Thought I'd add some pics to show what's been going on. Ordered some stuff off amazon and painted the brakes just because they were rusty. Picked red to complement the all red tails and red side marker also went out on a limb and painted the A logo on the center caps.. doesn't look too bad I guess











----------As of right now idk if i'll get into any serious mods.. Last two tanks i've gotten an average of 18mpg which isn't cutting it personally since i drive pretty much 99% city. Might look into a tsx..

Steven Bell

iTrader: (2)

Very nice work on the calipers.

wrecked tl

Not even worth the trade you lose power for like a 2mpg difference. The tl is the better car and a funner drive but i guess its your choice

Jklaz

Thanks! Visually they look great but I can't figure why my brakes are squeaking. It could just be the humidity and a coincidence

I probably won't end up doing it anyways seeing as its a lot of work and I don't have much time to go without a car right now. Thanks for the comment I need advice and I do enjoy driving the TL

Jklaz

Still saving up my money slowly with no job to get tint.. but once I do tint I wanna paint the stocks just to mix it up. I eventually want to drop too.. thatd be the next thing after tint. HS budget with no job has me tight on cash..

But thoughts on the wheels being bronze?



All credit goes to jared.kroh on 8thcivic for photoshopping this

jonmizu

Look into the plasti dip gold metalizer with black plastidip as a base coat it comes out bronze ish and it's still temporary

Jklaz

I thought about doing that but I still have tiny dots of plasti dip on my wheels that wont come off.. It doesn't seem as temporary as i once thought unless the coat is really even and thick. which mine wasn't. so I think i'm gonna take precautions to paint it right

Steven Bell

iTrader: (2)

The bronze looks good. Keep saving!



I've updated your date in the title of your thread for you.

Jklaz

Thanks! I need to take some action soon.. I'm tired of the stock look. Got old really quick haha

CLtotheTL32

iTrader: (3)

I wouldn't touch the wheels. I don't want to sound like a dick since I was once in your shoes with the budget, but changing the wheel color with no other mods done make the wheels look out of place.

Save your pennies and put them towards something else, especially gas if you're not happy with the MPG.

You could black out your headlights for practically nothing! You just need a free afternoon, an oven, and some black spray paint.

Jklaz

thanks for the input! I've definitely been contemplating the paint.. I've had enough money to do it for a while just aren't sure if it would look good, thats why i posted it on here to see what people would say. I'm really on the fence so thanks for your opinion!

as for the headlights.. I don't trust myself at all baking open the headlights. couldn't I easily mess something up?

CLtotheTL32

iTrader: (3)

Thanks for not being offended by my post In no way was I trying to be an asshole.

As for the headlights, as long as you take your time and don't misplace anything, you'll be fine. Read the DIYs in the 3G Garage over and over until you have pretty much everything memorized, make sure you have the tools, get a friend to help, and just give yourself enough time to do it PROPERLY.

Jklaz

I'm really conservative when it comes to doing something that has to be done right..that's why I haven't done anything too complex yet. I'll read up in the garage. I have been a little bit but not on headlights. thanks again! hopefully I'll be updating my thread with actual progress and not pictures.. its frustrating to see people's builds going smoothly when mine is at a standstill when it's stock

CLtotheTL32

iTrader: (3)

Dude you're in high school! You can only do so much with a limited/non-existent budget.

Just don't rush into doing anything and don't do something "just because you can". Try to envision your car totally done and what inexpensive things need to be done to get the car to that point.

Jklaz

5 months later... got the seats fixed up. A lot of it was replaced/stained to match.. doesnt necessarily match up perfectly with the back seats but i mean theyre faded after being 7 years old. Sorry for the terrible pic.. been raining it was the only one ive snapped so far. Oh and the center armrest cover was replaced

Steven Bell

iTrader: (2)

Everything looks good!

05_NBP_TL

iTrader: (1)

Nice improvement

The Machine

iTrader: (8)

How much did the work cost?

Jklaz

thanks!!

Haha yeah It's like night and day and it feels better to sit on

around 400 it was pretty cheap from AW upholstery in Lexington SC

jgj925

just sub'd dude. excited to see if you can transform this thing. I'm a college freshman about to get a 3g TL in a few months so I'll be in the same position as you

ZEE06

how much did it cost you to do your seats?

Jklaz

Sorry for the late replies I only really check my thread when I have some kinda improvement haha I need to get better about this

My parents bought mine so I walk a tight rope on what I can and can't do to it haha I'm hoping to buy it from them probably when I graduate hs. Should be cheap enough/theyll cut me a deal

I'll be looking out for yours!

about 400. We're about to take it back in.. some of the parts that were stained and not replaced are peeling. Guess we'll see how that goes

--Update--

Tinting this wednesday.. since I'm in hs not looking to get in trouble at any random stroke of bad luck I'm going with the legal limit. Which is 27% i believe in SC.. should look good! Got some money coming in.. looking at:

*window visors

*one weekend/spring break I'm gonna jack the car up, sand off all the rust
around the wheels, paint my rims gloss black similiar to this picture of mrlunecy's car (from the grill thread https://acurazine.com/forums/showpos...&postcount=209)



*vinyl the grill black similar to above, but most likely keep the center bar/acura logo stock


*A-Spec.. maybe A-Spec replica(don't flame please.. I've seen some of my friends cars with replica kits come out pretty nice.. I won't know till I get one right? haha)

I mean this all depends on what I can pay for.. but I have a good vision of the car at the moment. Only time will tell! lets see how tinting goes this week

CLtotheTL32

iTrader: (3)

Sorry, I've gotta say it...

to replica A-Spec. Most of the time those replica kits are unpainted and made of different plastic. They are cheap for a reason. OEM comes painted with all mounting hardware and instructions. Multiple vendors here on AZ can get you an awesome price shipped to your door. What more could you want?

Don't cut corners or you'll end up spending even more than expected. Trust me.

Jklaz

ive read a lot of threads on it and obviously it's important enough for you to comment so i mean I am torn between OEM and not.. whatever I do it won't be for a while. I just don't feel like spending 750 from a vendor for it even though that's cheap comparatively. I guess I shouldn't cheap out on a luxury car though.. ah tough decisions

Undying Dreams

iTrader: (3)

+1 don't buy the replica kit. I've read fitment was bad on them as well as quality.

Take the window visors for example, OEM look the best, Acura did well designing this car IMO, and a lot of people use OEM parts on it because they're not junk.

A-Spec kit, A-Spec wheels and suspension, window visors, ect.

Jklaz

are the visors really expensive? I mean I whole heartedly agree that OEM is best its just price. Then again if I can't afford it maybe I'm not ready

Jklaz

Finally first real mod!!! There was a groupon a few months back for a tint place in Lexington sc. 150 for a full job. Figured it was cheaper than some friends and family members who had been tinted so i bit. Went 35 all around.. didn't necessarily want to go illegal plus the shop was only doing legal.. so for a good deal why not. Looks pretty good in my opinion. Just picked the car up. Don't mind the dirtiness!

Also I've read alot about the strip that doesn't get tinted on the rear windows.. mine didn't get tinted? Is this bad? Plus I'm looking into some kinda protection since there's a lot about scratching. Is moleskin the best? Thanks

Steven Bell

iTrader: (2)

Looks good!

dontTL'em'nothing

iTrader: (3)

Your car is coming along just fine. You are working with what you can afford. Some small mods you can do are interior leds, license plate led and maybe reverse lights. Ever thought about debadging the car?

Jklaz

thanks! its baking in pretty good I'm liking it more everyday


Thanks man! I love the username haha. I've thought about all 3 actually. Somehow the lights manage to slip my mind all the time because i never think about the electrical stuff hah but I plan on doing a debadge whenever I can get the car in the garage because the pollen is super bad here and I don't wanna have to work with goo gone and get more pollen stuck to it on the car. As for as the interior leds I don't really want to venture into wiring.. even when a really good DIY is available I'm still scared i'll mess up. I do plan on changing out the license plate one's with bright leds though.

dontTL'em'nothing

iTrader: (3)

main interior leds(dome,vanity and door) are just pull the old bulb out and put new one in. Some other members have gone beyond that and changed out courtesy lights, button lights etc. No wiring really involved, its just desolder the old one and solder the new one in, but you know what your capable of doing. So good luck man keep us updated.

story.customz

^+1. Interior swap is probably the easiest mod to do. Plus it makes the car sooo much cleaner than the shitty yellow halogens. I haven't done my vanity mirror bulbs and it actually looks disgusting when I turn on my dome lights and compare the two haha

M.I.N.O.

iTrader: (1)

Nice cleanup of the leather seats.

Jklaz

Soldering one time I tried to make a rapid fire xbox controller and burnt out the whole board sodering it but that was a while ago. I wouldn't be against trying it though I guess. I need to order a few things this week I need to figure out which LEDs to get since they're pretty cheap

I actually didn't notice it until you two said something about them. Just opening my door and looking at the yellow light makes me mad now

Thanks! that was the biggest hoop to jump through so far now the mod bug has definitely got me

dontTL'em'nothing

iTrader: (3)

another low cost mod is the rdx caliper covers i think its in the ballpark of $40 for all 4.

Jklaz

There's so many tempting things to do. I 100% can't touch the suspension or engine until I pay for the car which makes things easier since I can only do exterior mods but even then there's so many to do. Do you happen to know what type of vinyl I would need for the grill? Like are the cheap rolls on Amazon car-quality or would i need something of higher grade i really have no clue

ex:

Jklaz

Nevermind i see automotive vinyl