Hey guys. So I've been on Acurazine for a little over two years now but haven't really posted much. I've gained so much knowledge about these cars over the past two years and Acurazine has been a great resource. A lot of clean builds on here! I've always wanted to make a progress thread but never got around to it so here it goes. A lot of pictures in this first post as I wanted to capture all the progress I've made over the past two years. Enjoy!



I was lucky enough to get my parents 08 TL after I graduated college. I was planning on modding it but the automatic got the best of me.




So I traded it in after I couldn't pass up the 2008 TL Type S 6speed that was at my friends dealership. It had only 50k miles and was in great shape.





















it's first snowfall






This is where the mod bug began....


Roof spoiler from EndlessRPM






Then installed the full aspec kit
















Plastidipped grille








I bought the EndlessRPM catback and J-pipe when the pre sale was announced. Me and my friend bolted it up at his shop. Love the sound and gains from it.





















I got another set of waffles but were in pretty bad shape. I had my buddy's wheel guy fully repair them and mounted Bridgestone Potenza RE-760s on them.











my other toy





Replaced the cabin air filter



AEM V2 install









OEM window visors installed




My friend starting doing some carbon fiber work as a hobby and I decided to do some of my trim pieces. It's a real carbon fiber overlay and then clear coated.








I snagged a set of practically brand new blizzaks on ebay and mounted them on my other set of waffles





I then found a good deal on some modified headlights by JnC on the bm.



























Got some more pieces done by my friend













I also finally found some 18x8.5 aspecs that I am going to get fully refinished for the spring







That's all for now! My next mods are going to be suspension and getting the aspecs refinished and mounted

 

great progress. keep it up man.

 

Awesome progress, our cars are almost exactly the same! I am really jealous of your CF though

 

Woohoo another PA fella . I wonder if this is the same guy that my buddy CF trim pieces.

 

car looks great and nice seeing all the progress from start to finish. i've never been a fan of visors but to each his own.

just need to drop the car and add some spacers and you're setup will be sweet(er)!!

 

Thanks man I plan on it!

Thanks man yeah I've been following your latest thread and makes me want to throw my aspecs on

Hell yeah! Your buddy had some cf work done? My friends name is Austin or "Krupscarbon" on az.

Thanks! Yeah they definitely grew on me I'll admit that. Yep drop and most likely spacers will be in the spring

 

Fantastic progress so far! Clean and classy

A-Specs ftw.

 

Thanks I appreciate it man! It took me quite some time to find them

 

Nice collection of wheels you got going on it's good to see another PA guy around.

 

ah bucks county, nice! My gf is from there and I'm around there quite often. lol yeah I really need a garage

 

Very Nice Progress!


Love the carbon fiber and A-Specs! 5 of 'em too!

 

Thanks! I was afraid it would be too much but looks so much better than the wrap. I'm going to finish the rest of the matching aluminum trim on the doors eventually. I actually got the set of 4 shipped from FL and ended up finding a single one locally

 

Trim looks really nice, its got a sweet depth to them unlike wraps.
Good progress, keep it up

 

Wow super awesome dude. Love the going whole A-Spec! keep it up!

 

For sure! There really is a huge difference between these and the wraps.

Yep! Love the oem look

 

Excellent work-congrats.

 

Thank you sir

 

Very nice and classy

 

Great progress and congrats on the NBP 6MT.

 

Thanks guys! I see you're rockin a 6spd as well ^^

 

Small update. Finally decided to get the RDX covers for the rears so I'm going paint em red to match the fronts. Also, got a new dead pedal off the BM and installed it this morning.

 

Which method are you going to use for installing the RDX brake calipers? Drilling or high temp RTV? I'm tempted of doing this soon.

 

Great progress! I don't know what it is about those 8.5'' Aspecs, but people love to curb the shit out of those. I had to refinish the ones I bought and every set I've seen on here has had curb damage.

 

I'm going to go with the high temp RTV. It seems like it has held up well for others and personally I don't feel like drilling into the calipers.

I know right! It took me a while to grab em but every other ones I saw were heavily curb rashed. All along I planned on getting them refinished so honestly the condition didn't matter too much.

 

Well, I have your answer: just like OEM 5 stars, they're OEM wheels.
These wheels come as an option when buying the car back in 2004, and lets just say, you have your average joe driving on them.

Different story than when you actually spend over $1000 on aftermarket wheels of your choice

Love the progress Ryanfett!
The carbon fiber pieces look amazing

 

Yep that's a good point ^ and thanks man!!

 

Very nice! The dead pedal was one of my first mods.

 

The issue is recommended tire size for the 8.5" wheels. The 8.5" size, as we all know, was only offered in 04 and from there on onwards Acura switched to 8", no idea why, I guess due to this sudden change the recommended tire size was never adjusted.

If you call your local acura dealer, check with local tire shop or check with tirerack they all recommended 235/40/18 tire for the 8.5" wheels. Depending on what brand you go with that can leave out 1/4" to 1/2" wheel sticking out from the tire. Thats the main reason why most of the 8.5" look like they have been to hell and back.

245/40/18 is the ideal size, I have seen some folks go as far up as 265.

 

Car is coming along great!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

^Nice Shot!

 

Cool picture, Ryan.

 

love the pic!

 

Ugh Im jealous. lol. After I have my fun with the automatic TL-S, I see myself looking for and owning a 6-speed. Even if it takes a long time

I have owned two 7G Accord 6-speeds, so I know how much fun they can be. Driving and modding them. lol

 

haha yeah I gotcha. They're definitely becoming harder to find that's for sure.

 

Maintenance update! Finally ended up doing the sc check valve delete mod along with the gm synchromesh friction modified transmission fluid. I decided to just buy a new sc and do the mod on that one. With my help of my dad, we got the c ring out in no time. Also, we installed the SS clutch line and then re bled it. We had planned on replacing my master cylinder but had no idea how hard it is to get to it. If anyone has any tips, let me know. I only took a short drive around the neighborhood but so far so good.

 

Damn dude, hadn't seen this thread yet, but nice job! Love what you've done with it every step of the way! I'm jelly of those CF pieces, real stuff just looks so good.

 

It's looking good, keep it up man. The real cf looks so good!

 

Thanks man! Not gonna lie, I've gone through your thread a couple times now and absolutely love your TL. Pretty sure one of your shots is my wallpaper on my one computer ha


Thanks dude!

 

I'm installing the clutch line tomorrow any tips or advice to make it go smoother? Did you go from above or below? Did you think the clutch line was worth it?

How much brake fluid was needed for the bleeding?

Nice maintenance!