Aesthetic/Performance Mods on 2012 TL SH-AWD Elite (Advance)?
 

Just picked up a 2012 TL SH-AWD Elite (Canadian version of the Advance) in Graphite Luster Metallic last week. Already been looking on here to get ideas for aesthetic mods. Thinking of doing the following:

• OEM Aero Kit
• Roof Spoiler
• Color match grille and trunk accent
• Debadge everything but the Acura logos front and back
• 20" Vossen CV3's on Hankook Ventis V12's
• Maybe a light smoke on the tail lights

Any suggestions or constructive criticism on any of the above? Don't know much about the tires. I have seen decent reviews. These just happen to be the tires that my Vossen dealer is pushing.

Other than the aesthetics, does anyone have any suggestions for performance mods? Whether it be suspension/handling, horsepower, exhaust, intake, brakes, whatever! Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

sounds like you know what you're doing.
and dont need us!

Well, I guess I have you fooled!! I can pick up on the aesthetic stuff that I like pretty easily, but I virtually ZERO experience with any performance mods on cars and don't have much knowledge. This is the first car I have owned that has been worth putting any money into!

Nice pick up and welcome to Acurazine!

Sounds like most of the other TL's on here lol. It'll turn out nice. Coilovers are a must in my opinion. Most of the members are running Tein Super Streets. But, they did just release the Advance which is the newer version. Unless you just want springs, H&R is the way to go. As for power. Not much you can do to gain HP until they drop. Tune but you can always buy intake, exhaust, j pipe and cat deletes to free up a little power. It'll sound like a beast too.

Can't wait to see the final outcome.

there are only a handful of bolt-on available for performance..

jpipe
exhaust
pcd
tb spacer
CTE intake

maybe a pulley..

and even then, it wont make your car considerably faster at all. they help open up and let the engine breath better, but thats about it. (makes for a mean ass sounding 4G!!!)

P.S. throttle body spacers are garbage, as any air tuning is done in the intake manifold and not before it.

yet people still waste their money on it.. i personally didnt touch my engine yet.. nor do i plan to.. makes virtually no sense to fork out money for performance mods without being able to tune it.. only thing i got was an exhaust which was purely for aesthetic and sound purposes... cant see a j-pipe..

there is gains to be had out of the J engine. just not at that 4G chubby weight.

Since, hondata released a tune for the 07-08 TL's, we've been seeing more engine builds. higher compression with reground cams will net supercharger gains, ALL N/A!

but with basic bolts on such as exhaust and jpipes, there isnt much gains. a meaner sound is all you will get.

Thanks for the input guys!! Much appreciated!

I will look into the coilovers. I am looking for a happy medium between comfort and handling. I won't be tracking it or anything. Just want a badass looking, comfortable car, with a mean sound and enough balls to have some fun with. This thing seems to handles beautifully as it is. Are the Tein Super Streets a fairly smooth ride? Or are they built more for neck-breaking handling? My goal is to have a bit of a drop without sacrificing (or even improving, if possible!) the comfort of the ride.

As far as lowering is concerned, does anyone know roughly how much drop I should have front and back to close the gap if I am riding on 20's? I don't want to overdo it, as I would still like it to be practical. I don't want to have to worry about avoiding speedbumps all together.

Does anyone know if there is some concern in running a staggered setup with the AWD system? I was considering 9" in the front and 10.5" in the back, but this would be a slightly larger wheel diameter than stock in the back. I have read that this can cause some issues, but I have also seen others with the same setup. Is this risk negligible? Or is this something I should avoid?

On another note, should I be opening up new threads for all these questions!? haha I don't know about the etiquette on here yet!

if you open up a new thread with all your questions, you'll like an ass, because every one of them can be answered here.

about the coilover and specific drop question...
the beauty of coilovers is that you can adjust the height to whatever you want.
so, if you feel that its too high, lower it.
if you feel that its too low, raise it.
there is no specific answer, as its a personal preference.

also, most coilovers have damping adjustments. at full soft, most of them will act and behave like your stock car.

Perfect! Thanks! Any thoughts on staggering with the AWD?

negligible, people have done it without any problems.
Disclaimer** I have a 2006 TL that only came in FWD and wouldnt stagger my FWD. have no idea if it will mess up your AWD system, but have seen people on here do it without problems

As long as you keep the rolling diameters of your tires the same (or close to it) you'll have no issues with the AWD system. I don't have a staggered setup I'm just regurgitating info I've read on AZ.

Look through some of the build threads and you'll get a good idea of tire specs that work.

I had the Tein SS coilovers on my 3G TL with the EDFC (electronic damping force controller, which allows you to change the damping force while in the car) but I was always driving and never really messed with the EDFC. Now Tein has released an Active controller which will automatically control the damping force while driving. This is based on G forces or Speed (if you buy the extra GPS sensor). Buying the GPS sensor allows you to use both G force and Speed or just speed to calculate damping force. This new active controller can be used with the Tein Advanced coilovers (or any Tein coilovers that support the normal EDFC).

As Justin said you can always raise or lower your car based on personal preference. I will be getting the Tein advance with active EDFC & GPS unit when I decide to get a new suspension (might happen this summer). Then I may raise the car in the winter and lower it in the summer. I will also be buying a Firestone lifetime alignment (costs between $120-$180 US dollars, idk if Canada has Firestone), so anytime I do decide to adjust the suspension I can get it aligned for free.


Here is the info on the Tein Active Controller:
http://www.tein.com/products/edfc_active.html

Best price I have found so far for the complete Tein set up is from HeelToeAuto, which can be found here:
http://www.heeltoeauto.com/tein-susp...roductid=66690


As for performance mods, I am fully bolted on (other than ported runners which I will be doing soon) but as stated above the best way to get your $ out of these mods will be to tune. Hopefully Hondata releases a flashpro unit soon, you can join the thread here:
https://acurazine.com/forums/4g-tl-performance-parts-modifications-295/excelerate-performance-poll-hondata-tune-4g-tl-904114/

Your aesthetic mods list looks great!

I would recommend a progress rear sway bar which will help tighten up the rear end while cornering (this can also be purchased from HeelToeAuto or XLR8, many other places carry it also).

Welcome to AZ and happy modding!

I'm sure potmilkz will chime in now about the progressive rear sway bar.

yea fuck that.. dont get it.

^lol.
butt butt...

Here is the thread about the rear sway bar issue that pot had:
https://acurazine.com/forums/4g-tl-tires-wheels-suspension-298/torn-rear-subframe-due-24mm-rsb-i-knew-coming-901987/