24no7

iTrader: (2)

more please!

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

Looking good man, congrats! I'm going to have to look into vinyl for the grill, although the paint is holding up pretty well.

The spacers will make you so happy!

JonBeast

iTrader: (2)

Fast progress man...I got my TL July 2010...ur definitely ahead of me on the mods, I need to kick it back into gear.

SharksBreath

iTrader: (33)

thanks. i have yet to do the rear, where the license plate is. i have the vinyl, just no time. maybe this weekend.

that's what i'm always thinking to myself too...

thanks!
since you have NBP, the vinyl is a perfect match IMO. i'd say go for it if you can. it was my first time working with vinyl, and i took everything apart from the grill. it took quite a while, heating up vinyl, applying pressure with fingers, stretching, heating, cutting, etc etc. but in the end, i'm glad i didn't rush through it.

yessss i can't wait until the spacers get in. i'm dropping the car this weekend, and won't have spacers till mid week...so that kinda sucks but i'll just throw them on the day they get in.

i've been spacing things out mostly...or so i thought?

after another month or so, i'll have to chill out with the spending. plus, it'll be winter time. i'll just keep putting some money away until spring rolls around/tax returns.

next spring will be coilovers, unless i find that my drop/handling is adequete after this weekend. a-spec kit, and starting to look into performance. v3 jpipe, pcds, atlp quads, ur pulley, etc.

CLtotheTL32

iTrader: (3)

^Nice plans! Watch out for those PCDs though. The guy who I bought my ATLP Base from, he had intake, j-pipe, PCDs, race pipe, and exhaust, and it was raspy as hell. He said that the PCDs were the main reason why it sounded raspy. You might want to look into a high-flow cat instead of totally deleting them.

SharksBreath

iTrader: (33)

yeah i've heard that too, i remember some thread around here that had a proper itemized list/sequence of what to add to tone down the rasp. i believe a dynomax resonator was used in there somewhere...i'll have to look around for it tho. something about, how to tame the rasp?

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

Look in the stage 3 threads...they are the dynomax...that's what I have. I only want a J pipe...but will wait till the funds are there. Test drove a 5.0 Mustang tonight to tempt fate, but no dice...I still dig the TL more.

Car looks great...drop it first...then spacers second...sometimes you put too much on your plate for one modding session...lol...although at this point I could probably swap suspension on my car in under 3 hours.


J.

ps...did a great job with the vinyl..especially for a first timer. I need to figure that out...so far, no chipping on my paint job...but it's not as perfect/glossy as vinyl would be OBVI.

SharksBreath

iTrader: (33)

TL>5.0 i like the TL better...all around. but i bet it was fun to drive.
i found that thread about taming the rasp. i'll make sure i follow it to a T come spring time.

yeah, can't wait til tomorrow for the drop. i feel like a kid at christmas. i know what you mean about doing tooooo much at once. this car has become an itch i just cant scratch (in a good way of course)

ideally, i'd like to put spacers on at the same time as the suspension, just bc i'll have the wheels off n all...but...spacers won't be here til next friday.

patience is key with the vinyl. the hardest part was when i got to the wrap around the "ACURA" symbol...many many curves there. vinyl just doesn't wanna make the turns you want it to. but persistance paid off, now i just need to wrap the back.

SharksBreath

iTrader: (33)

alright, yesterday i installed the eibach prokit springs on my type-s stock shocks. the install went great, no problems, and i am happy with the look. it's subtle and moderate at only 1"...nonetheless, i didn't want to put too much tension on the stock shocks. i love the way it looks now, it's amazing what a slight drop will do to the vehicles appearance.

i'm going to firestone today for the lifetime alignment deal. i am still waiting on 20mm spacers for rear and 15mm for the front. so i will have appropriate pictures when everything is said and done within the week hopefully. for now, heres some pictures i took during the install.


*removed bottom back seat*

*removed entire back seat*

*seats weighed more than i thought. here they sit with DIY directions from the forum*

*car on the lift with all wheels off*

*my favorite tool that day*

*spring compressor ftw*

here's some before and after shots of just the wheels. i'll get actual quality shots with my nikon after spacers are put in.

BEFORE

*rear*

*rear*

*front*

*front*

AFTER

*rear*

*rear*

*front*

*front*

sorry for the iphone pics, but that's all i had at the time. i'll pick a nice sunny day to do this car justice, but until then, here we are.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

awesome brother!!!!

SharksBreath

iTrader: (33)

just took this pic at work, not the best, but gives you a better idea of the look.

24no7

iTrader: (2)

nice!!!

now leds please hajaja

Acc20yrs

Nice drop!!!

Steven Bell

iTrader: (2)

Good lookin' drop Shark!

acura_dipset_tl

iTrader: (40)

Nice subtle drop. Good job man.

jwr0ng626

iTrader: (1)

def nice drop! nice spring compressor too... looks beefy! haha

sac2006TL

iTrader: (1)

Nice drop! Hope you got a good deal on those springs?!

Subscribed to your thread. Car looks like it is coming along really nice!!!

VQPower37

perfect drop, any plans for wheels?

SharksBreath

iTrader: (33)

ahhh...sorry, i'll get them up next update. keep forgetting...

thanks

yeah i met up with this guy from the forum and he hooked me up. thanks for pulling up a seat, sac.

i wish. i don't have the funds right now for new wheels. as much as i'd like to, it wouldn't be a good idea. i'm going to try to have something picked out by springtime. for now, stockies will have to do. altho i don't mind the way they look all that much.

*OK, after the drop, went to firestone for alignment. got the front camber/toe set as close to 0.0 as i could. so the front is good.*

the rear, however, is a different story.
left camber is -1.95
right camber is -2.40

toe is good at 0.00

so...looks like i need an ingalls rear camber kit. what do you guys think based on those numbers? any advice?

anywho, i posted a WTB ad in the black market so if anyone has a complete set to get rid of, let me know.

Sandals

iTrader: (2)

It's strange why the camber is so different on either side.

You should get camber kits soon, you won't be burning through tires quickly so just get them when you can.

If you don't know what I mean, Toe kills tires very quickly but camber not as much.

CLtotheTL32

iTrader: (3)

Congrats on the drop! Go ahead and invest in the camber kit. It beats the hell out of constantly replacing tires.

SharksBreath

iTrader: (33)

i thought it was strange as well. if you look at the car from the rear (on a lift) you can clearly see the right rear tire angles inward a bit, thus creating inside tire wear. i def don't want that, these are brand new tires.

thankyou. bought one yesterday! should be here next week. spacers and camber kit to be installed next weekend.

NCTL05

iTrader: (9)

Quote:
Originally Posted by SharksBreath
was the ingalls camber kit hard to install? any pointers?

It's not hard to intstall. Just read the instructions and match up your parts correctly. There are two different length tubes and two different sized bushings.

One tip for you though. Once you get the nut off of the toe adjustment bolt keep turning the bolt 4-5 complete turns to break loose all the mud and rust. Unless you do that you might not be able to knock the bolt out even with a hammer. That happened to me. That was the only bolt to give me trouble.

I posted this in another thread, but I didn't realize you had your own.

SharksBreath

iTrader: (33)

very cool, i'm glad it's a simple install. thanks for the tips.

also, after installing the rear camber kit and front/rear spacers...does anyone know what i should have the algnment shop set everything at? should i just get the camber, toe for front/rear set as close to 0.00 as i can? or is there any other specs i should think about?

thanks everyone for all your help.

NCTL05

iTrader: (9)

I don't think that the front camber is adjustable without a kit. Did you you say you were getting a kit for the front too?

Personally, 1 degree of negative camber won't mess up your tires and you'll still have decent handling. If you want more handling go with 1.5 degrees of negative camber, but your tires will wear a little quicker. Any more negative camber and you'll be out of spec and you're tires will wear incredibly fast on the edge. You don't want it set at 0 because the car will feel disconnected from the road and less confident in the turns.

Toe should be 0.00 front and back.

SharksBreath

iTrader: (33)

ok so i ordered the rear ingalls camber kit. part#38725.

i've been reading that people with 07-08 type-s' are having trouble with the install of this kit. the item says it fits 04-08 acura tl's, so i hope i don't have a problem. can anyone shed any light on this?

also, i assume you need a ball joint separator for the camber kit?

lastly, after adding spacers, i may need to roll my fenders. does anyone have any advice on this? i know a fender roller would be ideal, but i do not have one or know anyone that does. any other methods work? i hope i don't have to roll fenders, but i know the possibility is there so i want to be prepared for it.

NCTL05

iTrader: (9)

...if not, then I don't see why you need a ball joint seperator.

SharksBreath

iTrader: (33)

lol......after more research, all i need are simple tools for the camber kit. yesss....i can do this.

my front specs after the alignment the other day were :

-0.80 LEFT
-1.10 RIGHT

left is in spec, right is slightly out. should be -1.00-0.00. altho i don't think the .10deg will matter too much, correct?

NCTL05

iTrader: (9)

It's not terrible. Time will tell. Just keep an eye on your tire wear over the next couple weeks. Then you can judge for yourself if you want less neg. camber.

I am dropped on the nuespeed kit. My front camber is barely within spec. However I am still getting camber wear on the inside edge of my tires. I don't know why. I am still undecided as to whether I want to pay for a front camber kit (which isn't cheap) or just replace the tires when the time comes. Hmmm... decisions decisions.

SharksBreath

iTrader: (33)

i gotcha...thanks for your help the past few days. i'll let you know how everything turns out next wednesday.

ASASN21

Where did you get the Ingalls kit? I need to get one for next spring... my rear camber is close to -3.00 on both sides That's what you get with 9.5" +35 I guess.

As Sandals said tho, the toe being out of alignment is a much bigger problem for tires than the camber. As long as the toe is at 0 the tires should be OK.

SharksBreath

iTrader: (33)

i got it here. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...K%3AMEWNX%3AIT

send him a message and he'll sell them to you for $63 each.

that's true about the toe causing more wear, but still, my rear specs were just awful and i can't afford to replace tires all the time.

side note, dropped my car off at the acura stealership this morning at 7am to get the battery checked/replaced under warranty. it has been dead twice the past 2 weeks. i told them i needed it back by noon, they said sure no problem, it's now 3:30 and i haven't heard a word from them. the only reason i even went there was to get a free battery, i didn't really feel like buying one if i didn't have to. now, i wish i did just go ahead and buy one.

i hate dealerships with a passion that burns through me.

Sandals

iTrader: (2)

Thats weird why they could get one side in spec and not the other?

CubanLynx84

iTrader: (2)

I read somewhere here that you should wait a couple of weeks before you get an alignment so that the suspension can settle somewhat. That may be the cause of your front right being out just a bit. If it was good when you first did the alignment maybe the settling moved it out of spec.

On another note your list looks pretty good. And as for the resonator I've read members here using the Vibrant resonator with good results.

SharksBreath

iTrader: (33)

you mean the front camber? they couldn't...that's just what the specs are for each side. not adjustable w/out a front camber kit, but i'm not gonna worry about .10 deg. tire rotations will be often to check wear.

yeah i'm anxious to see what the alignment sheet says when i go back next week. we'll see what happens.

thanks on the vibrant res, tho i already have a dynomax 24215 that i bought when i planned to do a stage 3 exhaust. then i realized what a waste of money that was, so i'll save the resonator for next year when i start doing some bolt ons.

SharksBreath

iTrader: (33)

ok so i went to install the ingalls rear camber kit and wheel spacers last night...here we go...

as far as the ingalls install...you get 2 control arms per side, 1 large n 1 small. i got the lower lateral link/control arm off with no problem, and put the new adjustable smart arm on no problem.

here's where it got tricky...i went to take off the rear control arm (the larger arm) and the nut that holds the adjust bolt in place WOULD NOT BUDGE. the problem here was that the nut was seized into place from the factory specs. the only way to get that bolt out, was to use a big fuckin hammer. well i tried the hammer idea, sweat pouring, emotions running high, and that fuckin bolt would not budge. so i then tried the same bolt on the other side of the car, same deal, would not budge an inch.

so...i'm a little pissed off. i was planning on taking the car to firestone today bc i got the lifetime alignment. the tech there told me if i get the rear camber kit installed, he would torque it to the proper specs. so now i have to call firestone and tell him that he needs to install the one arm on each side, and possible replace the bolts bc idk how you're gonna get them out without torching them off.

we'll see what they say, hopefully he's cool about it and says no problem. but that's never the case lol...

if anyone has any advice for me i'd appreciate it. regardless, i'm taking it to firestone this afternoon. the tech n i are pretty friendly, he's a honda guy so i think i might have a good shot at not getting bitched at when i call them this morning.

*here is the rear control arm adjust bolt i'm referring to*


*ingalls kit*


*ingalls arm compared to stock*


*15mm/20mm ichiba v2 wheel spacers*


*20mm spacer on*

RonJonTL757

Looks good Bro!! Cant wait to see it in person in Jan at the Meet!!

SharksBreath

iTrader: (33)

went to firestone yesterday evening to have the tech *hopefully* put the toe arm on each side in the rear. this is the arm i couldn't get in myself bc the cam bolts would not budge whatsoever. i went to honda to get the replacement cam bolts beforehand. i had a feeling we'd need them, and we did...also, if anyone is installing this rear camber kit, go to honda to get the bolts (part#52387sdaa00) they're $7 a piece VS acuras price of nearly $18 a bolt.

so he started with a hammer, wouldn't budge. so he broke out the sawjaw, cutting away at all sides trying to free it loose, nothing. got the air tools, trying to knock it loose from all angles, nothing.

he ended up cutting the bolt eventually, took him about 2 hours. the problem is that the bushing around the cam bolt is real thick compared to the actual bolt itself, thus causing it to become fused and seized more easily. he hacked the thing to death and i was impressed by his determination. i realize most people wouldn't even attempt to do this, but he managed to make it happen. he didn't even charge me for it but i told him i'd pay him after i come back and he gets the other side off, it's the right thing to do. bc we ran out of time, i'll have to go back next week when he has time to do the other.

with the one side installed, he adjusted the camber and toe on the right rear. I had already installed the camber arm on the left side, so he adjusted that too. the only thing left to install is the toe arm on the left side (the pain in the ass arm).

he spec'd everything that he could. the ingalls camber kit will adjust accordingly, just a twist on the threads till you find your mark. it's pretty cool watching it on the alignment machine.

idk how a lot of people got this install to work without a lot of labor. had i known it would have been this bad, i would have gotten a different kit if it made a difference. nonetheless, the ingalls kit is quality stuff. i'll be happy when we get the other side in and i'm done with it.

specs currently
FRONT LEFT
camber -0.75
toe -0.00
FRONT RIGHT
camber -1.10 <-
toe -0.00
REAR LEFT
camber -1.00
toe 0.16 <-will be fixed next week
REAR RIGHT
camber -1.00
toe -0.00

*cutting away*


*tag team'n*


*stock arm*


*theres the pain in the ass bolt, all hacked up finally off*


*after it was all said and done, we took the cam bolt out back, and well...you know the rest*

CLtotheTL32

iTrader: (3)

Damn what a pain in the ass! The shop that put my camber kit on had no problems whatsoever with that bolt and my car is 4 years older than yours is!

My front camber is out of spec too. Hopefully I'll get some adjustable ball joints to fix that problem.

ACE32TL

iTrader: (3)

funny i had the exact same issue when i had my ingalls rear camber kit installed. The shop called and told me they had to torch those 2 bolts off and have 2 new bolts overnighted from the Acura. $45 for 2 bolts lol.