arw321

Hi Guys,

I'm a new member here, looking to purchase a 2012 TL SH-AWD with 6-speed manual transmission in the very near future.

I've always loved the look of Honda's OEM lip kits however I have not seen the new TL kit in person.

I've seen some pictures posted on here, and I know that many aren't sold on the design of the rear lip. The front and sideskirts definitely look great.

I'm planning to buy white (black is great, but way too much work) so of course I've spent a lot of time staring at Stew4HD's photos (https://acurazine.com/forums/4g-tl-photograph-gallery-296/wait-over-bwp-sh-awd-advanced-home-814611/).

I think the rear portion of the kit looks good from a side profile, and even a rear 3/4 angle - the creases to seem to follow the cars body lines. What I'm not sold on is the look of the rear lip(s) from directly behind the car.

I feel that the car looks incomplete with the front lip and side skirts only, so I'll be going with the full kit or nothing at all.

Are there any other photos floating around of other cars with the complete kit? I've searched and haven't had much luck. Even Acura doesn't publish any decent photos of the kit.

I'm hoping that the rear portion will grow on me, and I'm quite sure it will.

What are your opinions?

Thanks,
Adam

Steven Bell

iTrader: (2)

Welcome to Acurazine, Adam. The Aspec Kits from Acura are popular, but the front part of the kit looks like an afterthought to me. It doesn't come all the way around the front of the TL. They look like "Snap-On" side pieces.

RonJon (a vendor here on Acurazine) was making a kit. I'm can't remember where he was in the process, but you might check on the 4G Community and see his thread about it.

Stew4HD

I would suggest trying the front and sides of th eOEM kit only and mud flaps on the rear. I think that the mudflaps would break the line enough to not miss the rear pieces of the kit.

I agree that the back looks great from the side and toards the front, looking back but from the rear.. the kit looks like crap. I was hoping that the look would grow on me but it hasn't. I try to not look at it from the rear because the pieces look sooo out of place and just scabbed on. If it wasn't so expensive, I'd remove the rear pieces but I am pretty sure they drilled a hole in the bumper and that would be costly.

Sadly, RonJon is getting out of the body kit business and we are stuck with the POS rear portion of the kit Acura made.

ferrcad

Stew,

I was thinking the same way... Maybe this spring put the front and side lips on and leave the factory mud flaps only on the back... I have the mud flaps on now... The back is what turned me off on the kit... You are right they drill holes in the back to mount the the pieces...

weather

ARW321....I am almost 100% sure you must have seen the updated pics of mt 2012 TL. I have a white one like Stew4HD but like you, could not get my head wrapped around the rear lip. I went with the front skirt, the side skirts and the rear mud flaps and the photos are in my thread (in the photo section). Trust me when I say that in person, it looks MUCH better than in the photos and quite happy I took that route. If you want some additional photos done or certain angles taken, please feel free to ask. People here have been VERY helpful and if I can return the favor, it will be my contribution to Acurazine...

arw321

Wow, thanks for the warm welcome everyone. I really appreciate your input. This has been a really tough decision.

Stew4HD and Weather, it would be VERY much apprciated if you guys could post a shot or two from directly behind the car. That's the angle that I'm not entirely sure about with respect to the lip kit, and I've love to compare the rear mudflaps only against the rear lip.

There HAS to be someone that loves the look of the '12 rear lip. I just can't see something that is that poorly received making it to market... Which is why I figured the look will grow on me. Stew, your response has definitely made me second guess this however I really appreciate your honest opinion.

Thanks again!
Adam

Stew4HD

http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/i...4-06170837.jpgI don't have access to the pictures from work to post but wanted ot comment on what you siad about the release of the rear parts. I was an early buyer of the '12. Only a few on here had one and I think I was about the first to get one with the kit. The first time I saw the OEM kit for the '12 was when i picked my car up. Acura didn't ask us for our opinion nor do they want to hear our opinions.

As I mentioned before, I'd take off my rear parts and toss them but I'd need a new bumper... maybe I need to get bumped from behind.. but only enough to require a new bumper!

http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/i...4-06170837.jpg

potmilkz

there is just something about the rear that throws it off..

but i do like the slim center garnish and the small reflectors.. oh and the tail lights =)

TiggaMan909

Agreed!

jspagna1

Totally agree. The 2012 OEM kit looks great minus the rear pcs. Just go with the mud guards in the back. The rear design looks unfinished to me.

Edward'TLS

If we can witness the pre-MMC 4G "Power Plenum" TL made it to the market, the out-of-place-looking rear aero piece is nothing in comparison.

weather

Hey ARW321 (DAVE).....I do have partial pics of the rear of the car in y thread but as you said, not a perfectly dead on shots. I will take some pics tomorrow evening for you (as its raining and dark outside now and my car is in the garage) and I will post them so check back here in about 24h from now and you will have some pics here for you.

Stew4HD has a gorgeous TL and was my inspiration for my TL too....and so did Treblig who has only the mudflaps in the rear. We are a great bunch of people here and we'll do anything we can to help our fella TL owners.

weather

ARW321...Hey...I won't be able to do the pics today afterall but hoefully, by tomorrow I will be able to do them. Something came up that I won;t be home until quite late this evening. Sorry about that....They will come, rest assured. If you want me to e-mail them, send me a PM with your e-mail adresss.

Acurrat

Stew4HW – thanks for your pics. It looks great. Yesterday I have ordered a complete aero kit from my local Acura dealership. How long did you wait for your kit? My dealer again told me that it will take about a month. No surprise, I am still waiting for my car to be delivered. I placed my order on September 03, 2011 and car is still not here. Who knows how long it will take for these parts to come.
PS
I am also wondering if anybody purchased and installed a RonJon grill kit for 2012 model.

weather

If it wasn't for the twisted and corrupted sense of humour we have by our members here (myself included), I'd offer to rear end you but that would sound so wrong on so many level *LMAO*

On a serious note though, I still wouldn't even replace the bumper even if money was not an object....Nothing beats an original paint job regardless of how good the body shop claims they can do a job.

Edward'TLS

Just for comparison, I ordered my silver 2012 TL in March (the same week that Acura launched the MMC TL), and got my car in mid-Sept.

However, my full aero kit is estimated to arrive in mid-Jan 2012, which is another 3 months' wait.

Go figures.

Agree. No matter how good the body shops are, nothing beats the adhesion quality of the OEM's multi-coat, multi-bake paint finish.

Acurrat

Thank you, Edward'TLS.

weather

EDWARD'TLS....I still shake my head as to how long you had to wait for your TL! That is what I call dedication and its even worse having to wait for your aerokit. Kudos for your patience, I think I'd have given and would be driving a used Pinto by now

weather

Hey Dave, as promised, please find a few additional pics from the rear of my car. Some are straight on and some are slightly angled so you can see the flaring of the mud guards. I do apoloagize the colors are a bit off as the weather is pretty cloudy outside and I only had the car partially out of the garage. If you need more shots, don't hesitate to ask.

Edward'TLS

Weather, after seeing your pics and others, I have now changed my mind to drop the order for the pair of rear aero pieces.

I thought I could get use to looking at them directly from the back of the car, but still can't.

arw321

Weather: Thanks so much for posting pics! Your car looks great. I wouldn't say that it looks incomplete at all without the rear pieces. This makes my decision very difficult. What I will likely do is have them bring in the kit but not install it until I see the rear pieces mocked up to get a better idea. That's not an Ontario plate hiding behind there, is it?

Edward: I'm surprised that your kit is taking that long to obtain. This makes me a little nervous. I expect to be finalizing everything on Tuesday and am curious how long it will take them to track down a car for me. I'm not in a rush (i.e. mid November would be great) so I'd almost prefer to order one as opposed to a dealer transfer. We'll see what happens.

Stew: For what it's worth, I think your car looks great. Rear lip or not. I think the rear lip is growing on me.

Thanks again!

Adam (not Dave, but I've been called worse.. )

Edward'TLS

Arw321, if you're getting the white color, it shouldn't be as long as for my extreme case.

It's just that Acura released the silver color just last month, after much delays.

But white has been available since March, and according to Honda, Acura North American production is almost fully ramped up. It's all come down to dealership allocations now.

Stew4HD

Thanks, the rear parts aren't hideous but could stand some kind of change.. I like the look from the side for sure

Aruca_3.2

Picked up '12 TL with the aero kit. It looks pretty good on black.

Edward'TLS

oh yes, much better in black color.

Just wonder what's it gonna be like in silver.

weather

ADAM...OMG, I feel so bad! *lol* I am not sure how I came up with Dave but anyway, I am glad you enjoyed the pics. EdwardTl....I can appreciate your resistance to the rear kit. No qiestion that on the darker colors, it looks much better because the seems where the pieces end just blend better but its not as good on the lighter color.

I will say that I hesitated alot too because I love the rear piece when viewed from the profile of the car (Stew's pics) but its the rear angle that I just can't get over either. In my opinion, the rear flaps gives just enough flair to finish the rear while not creating a controversy. I did the same thing, ordered the whole kit and then had them put the front and side skirts. Then I had them hold the rear pieces on the car and then just the flaps and for ME, the flaps were the way to go. The car looks very well balanced and even the guys at the dealership were quite surprised by how nice just the flaps looked.

Here are a few other pics fron a semi side to give a balance look and to make you drool more












ARUCA3.2...Your TL is AMAZING and that last picture you have is just simply stunning! I need to get some nice pics done of my car. Next spring for sure!!

BTW....ADAM....Not Ontario plate but Canadian plates

Edward'TLS

Today, I just went past a Charcoal-colored 2012 TL with full aero body kit. The rear aero piece looked very nice indeed on the Charcoal car.

I guess both Black and Charcoal colors sort off blend out the aero piece with the bumper nicely, since darker colors can't show much surface details.

This makes me having second thoughts whether to ditch the rear aero piece or not.

Acurrat

It looks like finally this Thursday I will be getting my Graphite Luster Metallic (charcoal) TL. I will post pics without and with full aero kit when I get it (might take another month).

Jimmmer

Edward, I ordered my 2012 TL aero kit from AckTL05 for a fraction of the price of the dealer in Alabaster silver even after being shipped from the U.S. It came in within a week!
I am following Weather's lead and will only put the front and sides on with rear splash guards. The install is taking place this week. I'll try to get some pics up next weekend.

Edward'TLS

The parts computer in my Canadian dealership indeed showed Jan 2012 as the available day for the Alabaster Silver areo kit.

I guess the US are getting all the goodies way before us Canadian, as always.

I'm looking forward for your pics.

under9hell

nice man please do post pics I have the same color and been thinking about getting the full kit.

arw321

Well, now I have another problem. I think I've decided to go with the full aero kit however now I can't decide if I want to go with black or white.

The white, in my opinion, looks so much nicer in person than in any photos I've seen as photos don't seem to bring out the "pearl" in the paint.

Aruca3.2, your car looks amazing in black. Your photos alone were almost enough to completely change my mind about white and simply buy the black SH tech with 6 speed manual that I test drove (the fact that there is one sitting on the lot makes it even more tempting).

I'm extremely picky about my cars, however this car, more or less, will be daily driven. I enjoy detailing cars regularly however I'm just not sure if I want to deal with the headaches that come with a black car - but man, when they are clean, nothing beats them.

Regardless or the colour I go with, the car will be receiving a full clear bra (front edges of hood/fenders, mirrors, headlights and full front bumper) which should save the car from 95% of stone chips. However, on a beautiful sunny Sunday I'd probably rather be riding my motorcycle or spending time with my baby girl vs. cleaning/waxing and obsessing over black paint. Decisions, decisions...

Thanks again,
Adam

weather

Hey...I am sure that you will not be disapointed with leaving the rear skirt out, especially if you are getting a lighter color. Which color are you getting by the way? I am glad to see that my pics helped you make the decision. Like I said, its hard to get a full appreciation until you see it in the flesh.

ARW321.....I agree with you 100%!! The pics don't do the Bellanova White Pearl any justice but its nice you have seen it in the flesh so you know that in advance. I certainly ain't a professional photographer nor use a high end camera and explains the poor color on the pic. Now I will be the first one to say that a Black car looks awsome when nice and clean BUT OMG, I had to wax a friend's car the other day and NEVER will I ever get one. I am a perfectionist and you see so many swirl marks and even when you wax, its a harder color to polish than white....if you are obsessed like I am, you will regret it. NO OFFENSE to black car owner, I agree it looks very classy and elegant, but I just couldn't handle it. BEST ADVICE I can give you is follow your original idea and don't make a decision based on current availability, you may regret it down the road. I have learned that its always best to wait and get what you want than just rush to get a quick fix and then regret it later on....now if you really like and want black, then go for it but if white was your real desire, stick with it As far as the aerokit, the best advice I can give you is again, order the whole kit and get them to install the front and side skirt and THEN.....get them to hold the mud guards ...check it out, then get them to hold the rear skirt and see which one you will like best. You will be amazingly surprised how well balanced the car looks with front/side/guards in the flesh. Best of luck!!!

For what its worth, I was out in town cruising in the evening and you should have seen the stares I was getting....This TL is a sharp looking car and needs to be seen to be appreciated. I am not sure why these F***g Acura are soooo darn ugly in pics compared to the real life. I have seen a few good looking pics such as ARUCA3.2, that third pic he's got ALMOST made me regret not buying a black one (I said almost *LOL*)

ARUCAT3.2...I just noticed in your bottom most picture, funny how you just parked the car in such a location that the lamp reflection is perfectly aligned with your shark fin and makes it look like you have a goofy antenna *LOL* You couldn't have done even if you tried, funny how flukes like that happen *LOL* Doesn't take away from what I think is one of the nicest TL pic ever! There is another one out there and I can't seem to remember who's but it appears to be close to a GYM or something, again a darker color and a perfect shot of a TL. Some of yo uknow how to take good pictures....Almost makes me wanna model for you guys - I could use a few good pics of myself *LMAO* (PS....Clothes will stay on! HA HA HA)

arw321

Well, I pulled the trigger yesterday. I decided to with the white, SH with tech and manual transmission.

When I was wandering around the showroom they had a white ZDX and a white TL sitting inside and I noticed a bit of a mismatch between the colour of the bumpers and the body panels.

I understand that this is a common problem due to difference in materials (?) or possible flex agents that are added to the bumper paint however it seems to be a little more noticeable on the lighter coloured cars.

With that said, I suspect that the lighting in the showroom likely made the slight mismatch a little more noticeable than it actually is in normal sunlight. I didn't notice much of a mismatch when looking at the cars outside.

As they are locating a car for me or possibly ordering one, I do have time to change my mind about the colour (although I doubt I will).

Weather/Stew - are you aware of any difference in colour/shade on your bumpers vs. the sheetmetal components?

Thanks again guys, looking forward to getting my new TL.

Adam

Stew4HD

There is a slight difference in shading between the parts. WHite is notorious for that. I even notice it with the mirrors and the shark fin on the roof. It isn't bad enough to piss me off but I do see it.

Aruca_3.2

Thanks Adam! It took me awhile to decide what color to get, but all my cars are black so I couldn't resist lol!



LOL!I never noticed the antenna picture till you mentioned it! It does look like a goofy antenna haha!


Congrats! Post up pictures when you get it!

Edward'TLS

Aruca_3.2, you're gonna be one very busy man washing the many black cars in the winter.

Black color is notoriously hard to keep sparking clean.

Aruca_3.2

I know! Winter is just around the corner too, but I'm used to it now.

arw321

Aruca3.2: Nice collections of cars you have there. I absolutely love black cars. You are a brave man - three black cars in winter - good luck with that.

Weather - I took your advice and asked the dealer to not install the full kit until I can see it and decide. I can tell you that the look of the rear pieces seems to be growing on me, and I'm sure they look much better in person than in pictures.

I'm getting exciting about the car. I'm likely a month or so away (at least) from seeing it and it's likely going to spend a lot of time in my garage this winter (I don't like the idea of putting a brand new car through a winter the first few months of it's life - call me crazy). I'll be sure to post lots of pics.

THanks again guys.
Adam

weather

Hey Adam, you have nothing to apolagize...in fact, I will tell you that you are very normal compared to me. My car NEVER goes out when the roads are wet, rain or snow. You would be amazed if you saw my cars at the end of their lease, the underneath have never been sprayed by wet rads, the suspension is brand new, the rotors and calipers are like in showroom condition and my mileage is usually 1/3 of what my lease allows. Whoever gets my car at the end of my lease gets a sweet deal. Now I know...I am nuts but for me, my car is my pride and joy. Can you tell I have no kids?!