Dude, well done!


About a month or so ago, Anil and I did a lot of the same thing. We put on a front camber kit, new brake pads and rotors at all 4 corners and new brake lines in front.

 

Thanks Steven, definitely a good feeling putting new brake components in a car! I'll probably have to look into putting new fluid and possibly lines soon before winter arrives

 

Hey guys! It has been over a year since I've posted an update about the car and I've finally found time to do so. I must say this year has been a great (but expensive) year for my TL-S! Also I noticed I haven't been that active on the forum lately but I hope to change that.

First things first, the car received a well needed paint correction. I purchased a Griot's DA polisher followed with some Meguiar's compound and polish solutions and finished the car off with some Chemical Guys X-Seal Sealant as well as another coating called Sonax Polymer Net Shield. It took around 8 hours to complete the job but I must say it was well worth it in the end. The scratches before really dulled the paint & now the WDP really pops and shines in all types of lighting.


Some pics of the prep-work that took place.

Now the car finally got some much needed maintenance done this summer which included:
Timing Belt & Water Pump service including cam/crank seals, oil filter seal & oil pump seal to take care of a small seep that I had ever since I purchased the vehicle
Front brakes were done again as my Centrics had developed a vibrating sensation and I was able to snag a set of OEM rotors & pads off a local for only $300 which is a good deal considering they're about $700 at the local Acura dealership.
One of the keyless remotes were replaced at the dealership since it had become faulty & it was annoying AF having manually lock/unlock the vehicle lol.
The car also had both power steering O-Rings replaced because they started to whine like a MF shortly after the timing belt service which didn't take too much effort or time.

Now that all the maintenance was taken care of, it was time to begin on the fun....



I had finally ordered an exhaust I've been dreaming about long before I even purchased the TL - ATLP Non-Res cat-back exhaust. I was lucky enough to order as they had a batch finished up and had a few units that were unspoken for. Although this hit the wallet pretty hard, I must definitely say I do not regret it one single bit and love the exhaust to death. Its really nice to hear the car roar and turn a couple of heads when I come passing by some people haha. I was about to go for the RV6 HFPC & J-Pipe combination but after labour it worked out to be a little more expensive than the exhaust which is why I decided to purchase the catback this summer. The guys at HeelToe were amazing to deal with and it is definitely not my last time I deal with them.

At this point, I thought that was it for the car this summer but then something came along and I just had to bite down on it...

I stumbled across a set of 18 x 8.5 A-Spec rims for a deal I could not resist! The wheels are in good shape besides a bit of chipping from a shitty job the tire shop did putting the tires on from what the seller told me. I definitely plan on getting them refinished in the winter to possibly the same grey or maybe even hyper silver... not too sure yet. Also I plan on getting some TPMS sensors for these wheels to get rid of the annoying information light as well as some new rubber as these Sumitomo's are just noisy and don't perform nothing like my Yokohama S-Drives. Oh also I should mention, the tire set-up on these rims are 265/35R18. With that said, I was stupid excited to get them mounted on my vehicle before the winter hits.














The car sits incredibly well on this tire size & I loveeeee how the a-specs look on it. Just plain mean. Also these rims are 1000x easier to clean since the spokes are bigger and there are less of them compared to the waffles lol.

Anyways that has been all the car has seen in the past year. The car is just a tick under 155,000km and the car has not skipped a beat at all. This car has been phenomenal and I indeed to drive this car hard time to time (I don't thrash or beat, but I have my fun). This car has truly been amazing and I hope it continues to be the trooper it is. Hopefully in the next year it'll receive some refresh in the suspension and possibly a little more low because I would like to trim about an inch to make it less monster truck-ish or possibly complete the full exhaust on the vehicle. Thanks for viewing everyone! Hope all has been well.

 

great updates and glad to see you stop by again! the car really shines after the paint correction and i just also did a 2 stage paint correction on my wdp type s (great minds think alike?!).

my vote is to go hyper silver on the aspecs i think that would look super classy

if i can offer any suggestions, it would be for you to jump on an aspec kit ASAP. there are less than 10 kits left in the entire USA for wdp and they are going really quick. if you think the wheels and exhaust set off the car, wait until you get the kit...it will look straight up mean! and this is coming from someone who held off on the aspec kit for 8 years and finally pulled the trigger last year and i regret that i did not do it when i bought the car new in 2008.

can't wait for more updates!

 

+1 on the aspec kit addition. But I gotta say, car looks amazing with the aspecs. Crazy how a stock car can look so good.

Question about you running 265 tires.......if your at stock height do you rub at all?

 

Yeah I've seen on a couple of TL's with hyper silver a-specs and I think it looks really sharp and makes the wheel look a little bigger since the barrels are a lot more prominent. Haha how much better is it with the paint correction? Definitely great minds think alike. Most people think it won't make a difference on white cars but I've definitely gotten a lot of compliments post-correction on how crisp my paint is now.

That's something that has been on debate for a while now. I was thinking of maybe getting an 04-06 front lip on my TL-S since I think its a really unique and subtle look as I've seen it on a local TL-S. I was going to purchase a kit this summer too but instead I decided to take a trip to LA & San Fran this summer. The A-Spec kit might be on my list next summer but I would preferably like to lower it first since I'm not too sure if I'll like the kit at stock ride height lol.

Thanks man! I really think the wheels set it off nicely. It makes the car look a little lower and fills in the fenders nicely.
I do not rub at all since the car is still on stock suspension. If you look closely at my pics you can see there's still a healthy amount of clearance between the fender and tire both front and rear. Only downside to the 265 tires is that it's slightly unstable in straight line since it catches all the grooves and imperfections on the road (also the tread pattern of the tire exaggerates this too) which is common for any car that rocks a wider tire than stock.

 

ATLP and Gunmetal A-Specs ftw! Looks great

 

i don't think any kits will be available by next summer but that's just speculation. the TL is now a very "affordable" car to a new crowd of owners and they have been buying kits like mad.

white has the least dramatic effect from paint correction but man it looks amazing! your car looks super crisp

 

I cringe every time I hear someone say San Fran...... I think most of us Northern Cali people do. LOL

Car looks good though, once you lower it, you'll love it even more.

 

Thanks man! I remember looking at various videos of your old TL on youtube far before I got my car haha.

Ugh, is it bad I kinda hate that the TL is becoming very "affordable"? I see way too many riced out 3G TL's that are dripping in plasti-dip and are poorly maintained. Some of the posts I've seen on here the past couple days are pretty cringeworthy too lol. Hopefully the new owners don't have the change to purchase the a-spec kits that quickly.

LOL, my apologies. I swear I say the entire name in person, just got lazy over the interwebs. & Thanks man, that's definitely going to be the case. Modifications are a slippery slope but I still want to keep my car as OEM looking as possible. Hopefully I can find a coilover that'll only drop the vehicle a maximum of 1-1.3 inches.

 

It’s all good... just giving you a hard time.

 

Looks great-don't wait another year for the next update!

 

Little update for the TL-S:

The aspecs I purchased last summer were not in the best of shape so I decided to get them powdercoated in hyper silver, which I do not regret one bit. I also did not like the Sumitomo's that were on the rims as they were super noisy and didn't handle that well at all. I decided to go hard or go home, & purchased a set of Michelin Pilot Sport 4S's wrapped in 245/40R18. Here's how it's looking lately.






Currently the car is sitting at almost 165,000km & has been a pleasure besides one thing - the clutch starting to slip . Its still good on a day to day basis but WOT from 3rd to 4th, the slip is noticeable. I plan on replacing the clutch, flywheel, RMS and throw-out bearing with OEM Acura bits. I have debated going aftermarket, but I do not want to risk having to pay double the labour if there are issues with an aftermarket clutch/flywheel.

Also I plan on refreshing the suspension sometime in the summer so I can prepare to lower the car if time and money allows. I've been looking at Tein Street Basis to maintain a good quality ride, plus I'm not looking to "slam" the car and destroy my bumper and fenders.

Thanks for viewing everyone!

 

 

Once you set it though, you'll never touch them again!
I love the PSS...best tire I've ever ridden on.

 

 

The tires are phenomenal, I'm absolutely in-love with them. The ride quality, braking and handling characteristics are amazing and really has transformed the way the car drives. It has been a little cold in my area so I have not been able to see the tires in their prime temperatures. I can only imagine the aforementioned must be a lot better in summer temperatures.

I hope so! I want to get it right the first time so I'm not constantly having to bring the car to the shop to tinker with.
This is correct haha. The issues with PSS were its treadwear and its wet handling/braking. The inner tire's compound is a harder compound that makes the tire perform much better in slightly colder and wet conditions from what I've been told.

 

 

its actually last longer than the PSS also.

 

Looks good. Hyper silver is definitely a solid colour.

 

Love the new colour!

Any plans to add spacers?

 

Looks outstanding....

 

Thanks!
I hope they do last me quite a while, as these definitely hit the pocket real good lol

Thanks man! I'm super happy how it turned out, I think it looks great against the white paint.
Thanks! I wouldn't put spacers on the car until I lower it. From what I was looking at, I'd probably go 15mm front & 20mm rear to make it sit nice a flush.
Thank you sir!

 

LOOKIN' GOOD!

 

I was tempted to try the 4S but so far I've been happy with the PSS.
Plus, I only have one car that really "needs" the PSS...
although I bet the S2000 would be awesome on them too. Maybe when I need tires.

Looks great though, loving that hyper silver!

 

jeez, you might as well ask her weight and age!
no class!

 

Wheels look great! How much did it run you to powder coat them?

 

Spent about $450 give or take, but typically the place I went to charges extra for hyper silver powdercoats + reassembling the centre caps. Ended up getting a discount bc they do business with the dealership group I work for.

 

Does anyone here know if you use plasma led in the day time running lights location , will you lose ability to use high beams ?

 

you will not...our low/high beams are D2S...which are all one bulb.

 

Thank you Sir.

 

I've been pretty MIA from the site for a while since I've found myself pretty busy with a new job these days but its time for a little update that happened a few days ago.

I decided to purchase a trade-in 07 TL base as a winter beater/daily use since I want to keep the TL-S fresh in its current near-showroom condition - especially after all the work that had been done to the car starting from clutch replacement, front end suspension refresh, ceramic coating with Adams Polishes & the entire LED upgrade including front/rear turnsignals with switchbacks in the front, license plate lights as well as all the old bulbs in the interior of the car which made a huge difference - pics will be coming shortly hopefully.

I got this particular TL for $4500 & it required nothing to have safetied & certified to be put on the road. This car was a one-owner, meticulously maintained example with only 137km... best part of all it had the timing belt job performed just a couple of months ago which was a huge push to jump on this offer. The only issue with the car when I got it was the noisy power steering but it was all fixed with replacement of the two o-rings.

Here's a pic of how the daily is looking - not bad minus the somewhat hazy headlights which I'll get to soon. Also don't mind the fact the Type-S has base wheels & the Base has Type-S wheels lol.
One thing I've noticed about the base TL after about a week of driving it so far is that its quite a bit softer than the Type-S & its absolute dog shit on gas compared to the 6MT lol.

 

nice update, I am glad I am not the only 3G TL nuts in this community lol. You are right about the Base softer than the Type S that why I bought 2 of them for DD. Oh did you feel the lack of TQ when full throttle?

 

Damn for 4500 CAD thats a steal man!
Question about your switchbacks.....judging from pics it looks like you didn't modify the headlights at all......which switchback bulbs did you go with? How's the match with the factory D2S bulbs?

 

Yeah I definitely feel the lack of torque - I used to own an 03 Maxima & that thing felt a lot peppier off the line even with a 4spd autotragic lol. Honestly I wasn't looking for a 3G TL as a beater but it just happened to be a good deal & its nice to get into something that's already familiar so you can prevent shit from going south lol.
Yeah especially since this car retails for about $8500 from what I see on autotrader - definitely my best deal yet.

The switchbacks I used were these - I didn't modify the headlights it was just a simple bulb upgrade. I also installed resistors front & back to get prevent hyperflash. The bulbs I use match the factory HID's very well which makes it look very OEM. Also one benefit I noticed was views at the front sides of my vehicle was much better at night due to the bright LED's. I definitely recommend replacing all bulbs in your car to LED to make everything look updated as well as for better visibility for yourself and others.

I'll get some pics soon of the switchbacks/LED's soon.

 

 

Thanks for that! What do you mean by resistors front and back? Did you upgrade rear turn signals as well?

 

Resistors are these clamp like pieces that go onto the existing turn signal wire so you do not get hyperflashing when you install LED turn signals in place of regular halogen bulbs. You can also replace the OEM flasher with an upgraded one but the upgraded flasher was on backorder for 6 weeks & I didn't wanna wait that long. & yes I did upgrade the rear turn signals so everything finally matches the turn signals in the mirrors.

I tried uploading a video showing all turn signals in action but it looks like I may have to upload it via youtube to show.

The upgrade is definitely worth the effort & money - I think all in for all LED's inside/outside & for the resistors I spent about $60. Took me about 5 hours to do everything with the help of a friend. The biggest bitch was taking off the front bumper since it was my first time & squeezing your hand through the fender liner is not comfortable at all.

 

Okay gotcha. Im curious to see the video on this because I definitely will order the switchbacks. Not sure if I care to have the rear turn signals upgraded as they simply will show red in the tail lght right?
Also, did you remove the front bumper so you could wire the resistors in? I thought those things were fairly small and could be done through the engine bay?

 

Yeah I'll upload it soon when I have some time. Trust me, you'll want to upgrade the rear turn signals even though their just red because it'll match the LED brake lights & its a nice vivid red that updates the look of the car completely along with the other LED turn signals - plus it takes only like 5 minutes a side.

I removed the front bumper to wire the resistors in properly & because its a bitch to get the bulb to seat right in the socket without visually looking at it. I'd imagine those bulbs are nearly impossible to get to from the engine bay - only the DRL's & HID's are accessible from that area IIRC.

UPDATE - video link https://drive.google.com/file/d/1V9t...ew?usp=sharing