Cbronze_06TL

I would like to get your second opinion on suspension for 2004-2006 TL.

what do you think about A-SPEC Suspension vs aftermarket suspension (eibach,tein,koni, etc) without compromising the drops, stiffness and ride comfort?

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

I mixed and matched!

I have the koni yellows paired with the aspec springs!

callahan

I say go with xlr8 new coils (link in signature), full adjustable and if you get in on the gb they are hella cheap.

happyboy

What....you didn't like my first opinion?

hp1kw

If you are looking for comfort, ride, etc. the A-specs are what you want. You won't have a slammed car, but you also won't have to worry about a speed bump or steep driveways. It will definitely sharpen up the handling of the car (had them on for a while) and offer a very slight drop. Also, they can be found for less $$ than the XLR8 setup, think $300. I have had both the A-spec and the HT-Spec coilovers, and I'm actually considering putting the A-Specs back on.

callahan

a spec is nice, i guess it just depends what u want. I like being able to adjust height and dampening.

TLtrigirl

iTrader: (1)

what are you looking for???? comfort? handling? drop? budget?

there are A LOT of threads on this topic. everyone will give their own biased/subjective opinion of what you should put on your car. the key here is what do YOU want the suspension to do???? its YOUR car and YOU need to be happy with whatever set up you decide on.

coilover adjustability is nice, but in all honesty are you really going to re-adjust it once you've found the "sweet spot" for your comfort. not likely. some people adjust the dampening which is fine. height adjustments will require an alignment to save you from eating through tires (change the geometry in height= require alignment). get the drop you want, ride comfort will vary, and handling will improve, BUT $$$.

you want looks ie drop? get some springs. least expensive.

aspec was tuned for the TL....subtle drop and a great upgrade for improving handling without giving up too much comfort in a DD.

other spring and shock setups...no adjustability but most likely improve handling and give you a drop much greater than aspec, but lower does not mean better handling, just like stiffer or firmer is better.

read up...if you're performance oriented you are looking for balance between the suspension, your tires, your sway bars.

if you want looks....then slam away.

good luck!

Cbronze_06TL

any differences between MT and AT A-Spec suspension?

since Acura dealerships are offering 3 types - MT, AT and Sport.

TLtrigirl

iTrader: (1)

i believe right now aspec is offered in base model AT, base model MT, and type-s aspec kits. though they may have lumped the base AT and MT aspec kits together (since there is not a huge demand in them...and the car is old). some dealers may not even know this info. you may want to speak to a few and see what the concensus is. when i bought mine i spoke with the dealer that sold them to me and then i spoke with my home dealer (my home dealer seemed to know a little less). keep in mind a lot of times the parts guy at the dealer only knows what his computer will tell him in terms of specific parts for your specific car (yr, model). best to speak to a parts manager and see what he says.

the primary difference between MT and AT aspec....differenct transmissions weigh different (so front springs will be slightly different). the AT weighs more by a little. also the MT weight distribution in the car is slightly different.

this is why so many guys who have AT get MT....so they get slightly more drop in the front. again bearing in mind that the kits were tuned for specific characteristics of the car (MT, AT, or type-s).

performance wise you will get the same "feel" in improved handling (this is all subjective of course, but in either kit you WILL notice a difference in ride and handling...at least you should).

JD TL-S

iTrader: (1)

Acura A-Spec coilovers do one thing- Make the car handle better, you can barely tell the car is lower, maybe 1/2". No thanks.

IMO Tein SS are the BEST. I lowered my TL about 1.7" front and back, adjusted the damping, added a Progress 24mm rear stabilizer bar---AND---WOW---TOTALLY AWESOME

TLtrigirl

iTrader: (1)

aspec suspension is not a coilover set up. it is a full shock and spring assembly. coilovers like you have are adjustable for height and dampening.

and you get almost a 1 inch drop with aspec not 1/2 inch.

you wanted a drop for looks and got some improved handling...and got a few other goodies. yeah for you.

some people don't or can't go lower b/c of scraping issues (if you care) or ride issues if the car is DD.

OP-like i said...everyone will have an opinion on what is "best" (usually their own set up)...you need to determine what is best for your situation and needs/wants out of the suspension as well as your budget. everyone has a certain way of wanting their car to feel (firmness) and handling (turns and corners). this is subjective. i'm not dogging coilovers, i'm just trying to get you to think about your choices from an educated stand point. good luck.

TLtrigirl

iTrader: (1)

"correction*** ok...aspec is a type of coilover...its non-adjustable...just never heard them referred as "coilovers"

hannamand

I called the local Acura dealer about prices on the A-Spec and Came up with the following:
Front Shock $67.57
Front Spring $146.93
Rear Shock $210.30
Rear Spring $138.52
Add all that up and x2 for both sides and you come up with $1,126.64 +tax

Compare that to a TEIN setup:
Street Basic$545 (Not EDFC Compatible)
Street Advance $607 on eBay (Might be EDFC compatible?)
Street Flex $900 on eBay (EDFC compatible!)

EDFC is pretty cool, active stiffening of the dampeners on the fly, so if you're cruising down the road and hit a bump it's soft, but if you throw it into a hard turn, brake, or hard accelerate it stiffens up the appropriate side.
(TEIN - Excelerate Performance - European, Exotic and Japanese Performance Specialists!!)

So for my money it looks like TEIN is the way to go, for the money.

sockr1

iTrader: (5)

it's only the edfc active that changes as you drive...and the street advance is EDFC compatible

install and thoughts here on the system:
https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-t...review-923959/

i also know someone selling a brand new edfc kit (not me)...if you want to save some money, send me a PM for his number (i don't know him personally but i talked/texted him thru the install only to have his wife hate his setup so he took it immediately off haha)

BreezyTL

iTrader: (8)

I am buying his coils and strut bar, EDFC is still available! Super nice guy to deal with!

sockr1

iTrader: (5)

i'm glad you guys worked out at least the strut bar and coilovers, i feel bad he's down so much in the hole from his purchase but glad he got some of it back with your guys' transaction.

someone needs to jump on that edfc, it's such a great system and one of my top 3 mods i've done to my car!

BreezyTL

iTrader: (8)

I would have purchased the EDFC too, but I don't think my car will last long enough to have the cost justified! Hoping I can find a newer TL and swap when that happens. Then I will kick myself in the rear! Priced so well, it was hard to pass! Definitely shoot him a message for the EDFC if you are interested!

hannamand

Well, I pulled the plastic panels that cover the front strut towers over the weekend to confirm that I had the six bolt tops (found a set of A-Spec shocks springs, for $200 but they only had four bolts) and it looks like the EDFC isn't going to fit with the DC Sports aftermarket strut bar that's on the car (no hole in the center to be able to mount the stepper motors)..

Looking at pictures of the OEM strut bar I don't see a place where the stepper motors would mount there either though... question to anyone that's actually installed the system on a TL:

- Does anyone have a picture of how the stepper motors for the EDFC system mounts on a TL?
- Did you have to replace the strut bar front/rear, and if so, what did you use?

And possibly the most important:

- Did the system EDFC really make a difference? I'm looking online and seeing a set of TruHart Street Plus for half what I was looking to spend.. or a Truhart air suspension, which is more than I wanted to spend, but everything I've heard about air is that it really fits my needs best.

sockr1

iTrader: (5)

^^ look at the thread link I posted haha. It has everything you're looking to get answered

hp1kw

I know you already bought the TEIN setup, but I'm not sure how your dealer got those prices for the A-Spec setup. I paid $625-ish on E-bay for a complete (AT) setup. Just throwing this out there in case others come looking for info.

hannamand

Next month... too many bills to pay this month. From your install thread it looks like I need to find a different tower brace too.

hannamand

I actually haven't bought the Tein yet... I'm over $1k for the parts I want, so I"m glad July has three paychecks!

... and I seem to have confused everything with my weekend post:
- A-Spec Not from Acura, (four bolts not six on the front tophats) got an SPAM eMail, from eBay, showing $208.
- Acura local Parts Dept quoted me $1,200~ (I threw away the notes because I knew I wasn't going to go that route).
- HeelToe.com has TEIN Street Advance setup for $649, add another $268 for Type-S Tophats (assembled) and that takes it to $916
(I'm hoping HeelToe is a sponsor, because they have the best price and website for finding parts I've seen so far)

sockr1

iTrader: (5)

^^ if you're going to buy top hats, might as well just buy the tein flex for the same price since they come with "top hats". you'll get the top of the line tein coilover for the same price as a top hats/street advance price. and heeltoe is a vendor!

if you really want to save money, reuse your top hats, it's free to rent a spring compressor and a pretty easy job to move the top hats over from oem to tein, just takes some muscle and patience

hannamand

^^ Thanks for the tip, no sense tripping over dollars trying to save dimes., I wonder what the ride height difference between the two is? I actually need it to sit up high(er) than it does now (it has lowering springs on it now) and I'm scraping in daily driving.

sockr1

iTrader: (5)

^ try emailing tein usa directly, i've talked with them about a lot of the items in the past and they are pretty quick to response (day or two). just ask them for recommend ride heights for both systems. long story short, i went with tein flex because it was what they recommended if i was trying to get more comfort out of my setup (because the preload won't change no matter what height you're at aka independent preload).

i just took a quick look at their website and tein flex has the largest range meaning it can drop a lot but can also be dropped less compared to street advance. tein flex has a smaller recommended drop value which seems to fit your needs but you should send them an email and see what they say