vpasla1

Hello all,

I've done a search and found lots of information but nothing pertaining to what I'm looking for. I have a 2004 5AT TL, and my struts have 255,000km (158,500mi) on them so they're due for a change. I would rather get something a little stiffer than the stock suspension, without going too stiff.

My main requirement is that I can't have too much of a drop. It's a daily driver in Canada and there's lots of snow in the winter where I live, and in some of the areas they don't throw salt since we're close to a lake so they'll just put sand on the roads for traction, but we end up having some pretty deep snow that I have to drive through. Also, I don't want to re-use my springs and I would rather purchase a full strut that would be a direct bolt on.

I was looking at the A-Spec suspension (08W60-SEP-201B) but as most of you know it's pretty much not available anymore. If anyone has any idea where I could find a set (Canada or the US), I'd be interested. The half inch drop combined with the stiffer suspension would be ideal.

Since the A-Spec is unavailable, I was thinking of going Type-S suspension used on the 07/08. I read that any 04-08 suspension was interchangeable on our cars, but I asked a couple of vendors on the site but they told me there were different part numbers dependent upon VIN Number in those years. If anyone could shed some light on the changes and if these would work on a 2004 that would be great. Also, would it be better to go with the 5AT or 6MT suspension on the Type-S? If someone could help me with part numbers (or full kit numbers) as well it would be appreciated. Also, what Sway Bar end links would I be looking to order? Are they the same across 2004-2008?

I did look at aftermarket coilovers but I haven't seen any that will drop less than 1 inch, so if there are any alternatives with a smaller drop, I would be interested.



Thanks.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

any 04-08 suspension is swappable to yours.

the main two parts that need to be the same are the mounting ends. the top mounting end has to match the TL's mounts. same thing with the bottom of the shock. the bottom mount has to match up with the TL's bottom mounts/control arms.


so, since they DID NOT CHANGE the design of the shocks throughout the years of 04-08, they are all swappable.

I really think you're over thinking it.
at this point, it really doesnt matter if its a six speed or automatic suspension....
if you're set on using an oem set, any 04-08 will do.

another route you can go; is grabbing coilovers. this way you can set the height to whatever you want. I have coilovers and set it up to look like stock height

zed88

I'm happy with the aspec I just installed on my 06. The type-s would also be fine and is not quite as stiff. The small drop should not impact your ability to get through snow or plowing action in my opinion (chicago snow so not as much but still plenty). You don't need to change your sway bar links, though the Moog ones are cheap and robust if you want too. Just cut the old ones out with a sawzall and save yourself the time.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

the moogs dont offer anything that the OEM's dont, as both are spherical joints....

vpasla1

@justnspace, Thanks for the detailed reply. Any set will do for sure, but I have a preference towards stiffer than base. I was just worried because the vendors were saying that they couldn't guarantee fit. I wasn't aware coilovers were able to be set to stock height. The minimum drop I saw on most of them were over 1 inch. Which is too low for what I need. What coilovers are you using?


@zed88, That's why I was hoping to find a set of the A-Spec suspension. The half inch drop, combined with a more stiff setup would have been ideal, but I just can't seem to find a set anywhere.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

Some coilovers are full threaded bodies, which means you can raise it pretty high!


I'm rocking the BC Racing coilovers. namely for a couple of reasons. BC allows you to order custom spring rates. this is cool if you know what you want out of your car. I know that I wanted a balanced car, handling wise. I'm assuming Acura chose pretty close rates from front to back.( Acura doesnt release the spring rate info)

I bought spring rates that I thought would be close to what acura chooses. I have to guess because again, Acura doesnt provide that info.

I read Honda News from top to bottom to gain insight, it throws in words like...."Type S suspension 22% stiffer"

so, if I had to guess, the spring rates acura chooses are somewhere between 300-400lbs/inch.

I chose to do 12kg up front and 10kg in the rear.

here is a crude conversion chart:

kg/mm to lbs/in
-----------------------------
16 = 896
15 = 840
14 = 784
13 = 728
12 = 672
11 = 616
10 = 560
9.0 = 504
8.5 = 476
8.0 = 448
7.5 = 420
7.0 = 392
6.5 = 364
6.0 = 336
5.5 = 308
5.0 = 280
4.5 = 252
4.0 = 224
3.0 = 168
2.0 = 112

as you can see, 12kg is about equivalent to 672lbs/inch and the rear is about 560lbs/inch and I chose a near equal balance with the front getting the stiffer spring.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

the 2nd reason why I bought BC coilovers is because it is a full threaded bodied shock.
this means, I can keep the car like-stock looking while maintaining stock suspension travel.


this was important to me because I didnt want to be hitting the bump stops nor did I want the control arms to hit anything

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

and the last reason why I bought BC's were because they are rebuild-able.

if the shock blows, send it in to BC and they will fix it for a fee, of course.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

oh and one last selling point for the BC's. they are a monotube design. rides very comfortable.

vpasla1

Thanks for the very detailed reply @Justnspace. I've decided to go with OEM because this car is also driven occasionally by my parents, and also because I can save about $300 by going OEM. Since I also need to do the engine mounts, and the $300 difference in price will pay for those.

Since I'm not able to find the A-Spec suspension anywhere, I've decided to go with the Type S Suspension.

The part numbers I'm finding are as follows:

Front Left Strut ----51602-SEP-A42
Front Right Strut ---51601-SEP-A42
Rear Strut ----------52610-SEP-A18 or A19

I'm not sure why there's two different part number for the rears. Also, is there any bundle part number like the A-Specs had?
I also read that the Top Hats were different on the Type S. But that they would fit in any 04-08 TL. My understanding is that these parts would come with the assembly pre-assembled including the top hats. Insight would be appreciated.

Thanks!

sockr1

iTrader: (5)

i have oem type s top hats for sale if you're interested. they are in great condition and don't have many miles on them.

https://acurazine.com/forums/car-par...p-hats-937515/

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

yes, if you buy the part # listed, it will come with the top hats pre-installed

vpasla1

Thanks! Should I be looking into an upgraded sway bar since I have the 17mm one that came on the 5AT? I was doing some reading and I have seen mostly positive results, but I don't plan on driving the car too hard either. I was reading the 22/24mm bar can make the car tail happy.

6spd-GERCO

If your not driving at the limit or hard I would not get a 22/24mm rear anti-roll bar. It is a nice way of increasing your spring rate in the rear, but on uneven surfaces you will loose some ride quality. If you drive hard, get it, but be very careful when testing it at the limits. A stock TL-S rear bar would be a nice happy medium upgrade to pair with your TL-S Springs & Shocks.

vpasla1

That basically summarizes what I was reading. Especially since I'm not looking to upgrade the front stock sway bar. I think I'm going to go with the TL-S sway bar. From what I understand, I'll need the following:

TL-S Rear Sway Bar: 52300-SEP-A11
Rear Sway Bar Bushings: 52306-SEP-A11 x 2
We re-use the existing brackets.

Does that sound right?

Thanks.

csmeance

^ agree, you can find the shocks only for a lot cheaper. I bought used base shocks for my TL with 160K on them for $100 in the black market section. Rented a spring compressor tool from autozone for free and used it to swap out the shocks only.

vpasla1

Thanks for the quick reply. I figure the Type -S rear sway bar will definitely be the right balance.

I haven't had a chance to go to my local mechanic to have him inspect the engine mounts and struts. I figured it would be a good idea to get it all checked before I order everything. That does sound a lot cheaper, but I may just order the whole units regardless because my current shocks have about 160k mi on them. The last thing I wanna do is replace the springs and then the shocks develop a leak in the next year or two and I have to take apart everything again.

Cardy420

Has anyone heard anything about NEO Motorsports Coils?

I was thinking on getting a set, as I can get them onsale, cheaper.

2004 Acura TL - 244km

vpasla1

Just an update to this thread, I ended up sourcing a new set of OEM suspension assemblies for a third of the dealer price, so I went that route. I also replaced the front and side motor mount, they were both two pieces, I replaced the upper transmission mount but I couldn't really tell if it was gone bad or not. And I ended up upgrading the rear sway bar with the one from the Type-S with the bushings. My struts had about 260k km on them. I can't pinpoint how much of an upgrade each item did since I did them all at once, but definitely noticed an improved drive on the TL. I also changed the APP sensor a week or two prior to this work as well. Definitely worth it!