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Never owned a car that was described by so many acronyms.
4G TL SH 6MT AWD LMK BRB
or whatever.
I bought mine in March 2021.
I always kinda wanted one...and decided to look.
On my 2nd day of browsing Autotrader, I came upon a fresh trade in with super low (50K) miles.
It was so fresh that the ad didn't even have photos yet.
It was being sold by the same Acura dealer that it was originally bought from...and serviced at all it's life, every 5K miles on the dot.
1 owner car from the Alexandria VA area.
I'm in the Chicago burbs, so I couldn't go see it myself. So I called the dealer who said that the car was a fresh trade and that they hadn't settled on a price yet.
"Well...idk man tell me a price, I'll probably buy it", I said.
The sales manager blurted out a price so ludicrously low that I had to have him repeat it like I didn't hear him.
I asked for them to send me some photos; which they slowly obliged to do.
Look at the photos this man sent me...the resolution has not been altered.
I SMH'd at his terrible photos as they came in.
I was having brunch at the time.
French toast, to answer your next question.
I called back, and went ahead and bought the car over the phone anyway, while making joking remarks about his photography.
The salesman never responded to my request for additional photos all week.
The night before my flight to go pick up the car though, he sends me these gems.
I asked very few questions:
Has he ever taken photos of a car before, or maybe seen an ad with photos at any point in his career as a car salesman?
Why is the car now wearing different wheels?
I received no good answers. But I had a flight to catch in the morning so I fell into a deep and peaceful sleep instead of worrying about it.
I'll save everyone the details about my comical experience with the dealer the morning I flew in.
Long story short...I bought the car and started the drive home.
Chicago --> VA --> Chicago in 1 shot, non stop. Easy peasy.
50,008 miles!
Here's the only shot I took of the car on the way home. Kept wondering why it looked better than other TL's I'd seen.
I then realized that the carfax had a line about "installed dealer accessory". The sideskirts are the optional aero ones. Cool.
I was secretly extremely happy that they put the stock wheels on. I took the hideous 20's in the car with me and planned to sell them when I got home.
*COOL STORY ALERT*
The OEM wheels were stored in a basement by the PO. He swapped them out almost immediately after he bought the car.
So they were preserved in almost new condition. The tires were "brand new" 9 year old rubber.
Check out the "0712" DOT dates.
This find kept getting better and better.
I got the car home that night and went in for a zesty drink.
I've had the car about 1.5yrs now and I've done quite a lot with it.
It quickly became to be one of the best cars I've ever owned.
I'll continue to post slowly on what's been done to it since I've bought it.
I doubt it will be super exciting for anyone, but the car was a remarkable find that I wanted to share.
That's so cool! Looks like a great find even though the pictures are ass. Am I correct scratching my head that it has the side skirts but not the front or back parts of the aero kit?
Good story. Those aftermarket wheels are absolutely terrible, glad you went back to the stock 18s. And yeah, as mentioned it's weird that they put the side skirts on but not the front or rear bits.
You have chosen correctly to share your laughable experience with us, as it's made for an entertaining story. I'm ecstatic that you found this gem in the manner that you did, because I bet that must've been a thrilling ride from start to finish. Initially, I wanted to know how much you paid, however, I then determined that it didn't matter. In my opinion, the value proposition these 4G 6MT's offer, in turn, makes a "price" null and void at the end of the day. In the past 1.5 weeks that I've owned my own 6MT, I feel that the car has provided more value than the price I paid for it. My journey that has brought me here and now along the way, has made me appreciate this car so much, that it makes me feel that I own the best vehicle product which I have owned to date.
I purchased my first Acura/Honda product in March of 2021, with the purchase of my previous 2007 Acura TL Type-S 5AT. It took me 4 months of searching for a Subaru BRZ until this car "landed in my lap," essentially. Within the first month of ownership with the Type-S, I felt that I had a car that valued more than what I paid for it. 5AT with no LSD always led me down the rabbit hole of: "hang on, how much better could the 6MT with LSD truly be?!"
I purchased my second Acura/Honda product in May of this year, 2022. The second hunt took about 3.5 months until I came across my next car. This time, I believe that I upgraded to the next level, a 2012 Acura TL SH-AWD 6AT. I immediately felt the same feelings of value proposition as the Type-S, especially when realizing that the SH-AWD, was improved in every single facet, over the Type-S. At first, the 6AT annoyed me with the automatic first to second gear shifts. Over time, I understood why the design was chosen, have accepted to live with it, and also became accustomed to it. However, it still led me to: "with the press release differences between the 6AT, and 6MT, just how much better could the 6MT truly be?!"
I purchased my third, and current, Acura/Honda product earlier this month, November 2022. This most recent hunt took just under 3 months until I secured myself a car. At long last, a dream actually coming true. I'm not certain how many were produced, however, it has to be quite few from the searches I've conducted online. So now, I own a 2011 Acura TL SH-AWD 6MT in Mayan Bronze over Umber Brown. In my opinion, this is the sexiest color combination, and the one I find the most sophisticated. I had to bring the car up to par, and I can happily state that it indeed is in tip top shape at the moment. I have began pushing the limits of the 6MT, and the improvements do live to be true. With all of the little changes added up, over the 6AT, the 6MT is enhanced in every single driving dynamic. At least, that's how I personally feel from my experience thus far.
So, @BROlando , I can relate to how you feel about your car. I feel the same exact way about mine. I find it impossible that I would ever sell the 6MT, in this moment. I have only one car that has lived up to the terms of "never selling," and it has been my 2004 STi that I've owned for over 12 years now. Back in 2009 and 2010, when I worked at an Acura dealership, I lusted over all of these performance Acura models that I've personally experienced in the last 1.5 years. A story that began in 2009, and finally reached its happily ever ending in 2022.
The appreciation that I have for these cars is insurmountable.
That's so cool! Looks like a great find even though the pictures are ass. Am I correct scratching my head that it has the side skirts but not the front or back parts of the aero kit?
Yep, it just has the aero sides and nothing else. Strange thing to do for sure. But the aero sides kinda work fine by themselves (IMO).
From how the Carfax reads, it looks like he was getting some maintenance done and decided to get the skirts.
I have no idea what would compel a person to walk into an Acura dealer for an oil change and go, "y'all got those side skirt?"
Originally Posted by vertigo2
Good story. Those aftermarket wheels are absolutely terrible, glad you went back to the stock 18s. And yeah, as mentioned it's weird that they put the side skirts on but not the front or rear bits.
Lol yes, when I first bought the car, I didn't know the stock wheels were also available.
I started shopping for wheels right after I bought it.
When he sent me the photos of the car with the stock wheels, I was super happy about it.
It got even better when I saw that the wheels were almost flawless. Also loved hearing the story about how the PO stored them in a cellar for 8 or 9 years instead of using them.
Originally Posted by Ascension
So, @BROlando , I can relate to how you feel about your car. I feel the same exact way about mine. I find it impossible that I would ever sell the 6MT, in this moment. I have only one car that has lived up to the terms of "never selling," and it has been my 2004 STi that I've owned for over 12 years now. Back in 2009 and 2010, when I worked at an Acura dealership, I lusted over all of these performance Acura models that I've personally experienced in the last 1.5 years. A story that began in 2009, and finally reached its happily ever ending in 2022.
Right on man. 4G's are super under-rated. Everyone loves the 3G TL - and rightly so since it's a fantastic car.
Unlike the 3G, the 4G is not a car that is instantly good looking to most people.
The 4G is also large and imposing looking instead of sporty.
I personally love the way the 4G looks. Admittedly, though, coming to love it is definitely something that comes from really liking the car itself.
But the 4G has so many cool features but still retains old-school drivability.
I don't like new cars because I don't feel like I'm driving them - and very few new cars with "premium" features are available in manual trans.
So this car (although I'd never driven one before buying it) seemed to tick all the right boxes.
A little back-story about what lead me to buying this car...
6 or 7 months before buying it, I came into a really sudden need for an actual car.
I had to be in NYC for an extended period of time on a moment's notice. So I needed a car to get me, my bicycle (always my main mode of transport when I'm in NYC), and my work stuff out there.
Which means I had to borrow my wife's station wagon and start driving to NYC.
But my wife needed to have a car while I was gone. So at a gas station OMW to NY, I looked on auto-trader and found a 2012 Infiniti G37S at Acura of Peoria.
No, not Peoria IL. Peoria Arizona.
For those of you who don't know...the G37S only comes in Manual and RWD. Perfect.
Everything looked good - it was a 1 owner, clean carfax, low mile super clean, rust free west coast car, always serviced at Infiniti Beverly Hills.
Also listed for a price that looked like a mistake, and also a fresh trade-in lol.
I bought it and asked them to ship it to my house (obviously, I hadn't gotten to test drive or see it).
This is the screen-shot I sent my wife after I bought the car.
Anyway, when I got home a couple months later, I got a taste of the G37S.
RWD and manual are an unbeatable combo.
Driving this car was a blast.
I felt bad driving it in winter because it was so clean, but man was it fun having a RWD on snow tires. Such excellent skids.
My gripe was that the usability of the car was as bad as a E46/E9x 3 series (the car that seems like it heavily inspired the G37S).
I drove it for about 6 months and realized I really didn't like it.
The interior was a little useless, basically. I was so used to having super useful Hondas that I couldn't deal with things like this.
Look at the useless cup holders and tiny ass center console.
Other Small things added up too...
The car had like 3 clocks in it. None of them were synchronized and none of them changed automatically when entering a new time zone...but the car had GPS (???!!!!)
lol...great driver's car, but not well thought out in a lot of ways.
So I bought the TL for it's ergonomic interior, massive cupholders, and generally better build quality and refinements.
I had never driven a 4G TL before I bought it...but had sat in a few new ones back in 2012ish.
I took my first ever drive of the 4G TL in what was to be my future car.
It was everything I wanted in a daily driver.
The cup holders were as massive as I remember.
The center console could fit an entire center console within it.
The shifter feel was excellent.
The clutch feel was exactly right.
It drove like a big RSX-S.
It was way way slower than the G37S, but that's something I could give up.
It was obviously a lot less "athletic" than the G37S, but the AWD and shock tuning really masked how much less athletic it actually was lol.
Basically, the perfect overall car. Pleasant to drive, sporty enough, and tons of usability.
And the stereo system is excellent.
The clock situation is hilarious. My wife's 2020 CRV has a similar issue, the one on the digital dash is always off from the clock shown on the infotainment screen through Android Auto.
The clock situation is hilarious. My wife's 2020 CRV has a similar issue, the one on the digital dash is always off from the clock shown on the infotainment screen through Android Auto.
I told myself I wouldn't drive the TL until the G37 was sold.
Luckily, I was able to sell the it easily, within a day or two of posting it. Some dude was happy to own it and I could tell he was excited about it.
With that sold, I could now start getting the TL ready to drive.
First things first...I do the really strange thing I do whenever I buy a used car. Disassemble and disinfect the keys with alcohol.
And what should we do when we sense germs?
There were also a couple of things I needed to fix.
When picking it up at the dealer, I noted that the rear spoiler was badly faded to the point where it was pitted. Yikes.
It was really strange that the old spoiler was so beat up. The rest of the paint was in excellent condition, with very few swirls.
The Carfax had repeated reports of "Vehicle detailed" on it.
A lot of stuff was showing as "discontinued" or "long term backorder" at Honda/Acura dealers...including this spoiler.
I was getting ready to fix and paint the existing one when I stumbled upon someone selling a genuine Acura pre-painted one.
I jumped on it.
The box showed up to my door looking like this. Good thing nothing was damaged!
Took off the old spoiler and cleaned up the trunk lid a bit....
New spoiler put on...
I also tried my best to clean up the headlights. They had some sun-fade.
They turned out decent, but not perfect. When the lights were turned on, the sun damage was more visible. Not much more I could do.
I tried ordering some new headlights from Acura...but the dealer cancelled my order and told me they were discontinued. So I'd have to keep searching and come up with some.
A quick wash to make myself feel better....
And a trip to the tint shop
Ordered some new floor mats from Acura to replace the custom ones with the PO's name on them.
Next up was to do a whole grip of maintenance on the car.
I've heard a lot of "my J37 burns oil" stories...I had driven it about 2K miles since I bought it...and it hadn't burned any oil at all.
I hate to be wasteful, but I wasn't sure what kinda oil the dealer had put in there, and I was going to be changing the rest of the fluids anyway, so I just went ahead and did it all.
Engine oil and filter
MTF
SHAWD fluid
T-case fluid
Cabin and engine filters
Front brakes
I got a kick out of seeing how many drain plugs this has. I wasn't sure if they were all the same, so I labeled them as I was pulling them.
Also changed the brake/clutch fluid.
The car drove great with all the freshness.
The brakes I chose were fan-tastic. However, the byproduct was that they created a massive amount of dust lol.
This is how much iron comes out of them after about 2-3 weeks of driving (the purple stuff is iron remover/wheel cleaner)
Still cleans up fine.
Last things last...
The HXMXM that the car came with were perfectly fine, tread wise. But the were dry rotting from being old and the rubber just wasn't grippy anymore.
So I grabbed a new set of Michelin Pilot AS4.
I was torn between these and the Pilot Sport 4S, but I went with the AS for a few reasons.
We recently put a set of these Pilot AS (All Season) tires on my wife's car's summer wheels to replace her old Pilot Super Sports and I ended up really liking them.
I hadn't actually bought an All-Season tire for about 10-15 years prior to getting these Pilot AS.
They drive pretty close to how a summer tire drives. But they don't do the annoying things that summer tires do when it gets really cold here in the fall.
I figured if I decided to drive this car in the winter, I'd buy a 2nd set of wheels with snow tires (same thing we do with my wife's car).
I'm sure the AS would work fine in the snow...but...no tires works like snow tires.
But snow tires was a problem for future me...since we were just getting into the summer when I bought these and for now, I was loving ripping around on these AS4's.
I bought them at Costco...so they were inflated with nitrogen. I like that mainly because it would prevent corrosion from happening to the beading surface of the wheels.
I had a career event coming up and had a long-term opportunity on the horizon.
I agreed to everything but wanted to take a lot of the summer off before I started so that I could travel and also take it easy for a while.
The traveling started with a road trip out west with my wife, which would put us in Vegas on Jul-4.
Everything was loosely planned and we'd take mostly off-highway routes so that we could hit up hiking spots and scenery.
The TL was a champion along the way. It drove so well through everything. It was comfortable, quiet, effortlessly climbed elevations, and got decent enough MPG along the way.
We even ended up on a sandy road out in the middle of actual nowhere...and the 4WD was able to get us over a sand covered hill and the F out of there.
Sketchy!
Loving these posts, man. Great stuff. I almost spit coffee all over my monitors when I saw the customized floor mats by the previous owner with his name on them.
Loving these posts, man. Great stuff. I almost spit coffee all over my monitors when I saw the customized floor mats by the previous owner with his name on them.
Thanks for the encouragement!
Originally Posted by echodigital
Great story! The car is in great condition.
The key for our car is really fragile but this maybe an option:
I am in Canada so you can search for it via amazon.com.
Yeah, the finish on the key fob is really stupid. I did buy the replacement fobs from Amazon hoping I could get some additional life out of them...but it all flaked off in a few months lol.
I shoulda bought the cover you posted too.
It was a goodass summer.
The trip out west and all it's views...
Really being in the middle of nowhere....
A 3 day track weekend in Michigan, in a camper with friends.
And a trip to Hawaii for another friend's birthday
These, and a few other adventures brought me to the end of the summer
I had ordered some parts for the TL while I was doing all this running around and decided that I'd install them.
OEM lip from Acura of Peoria and new Genuine Acura headlights that I was able to find at a dealer wholesaler....
My existing headlight bulbs were OK...but were 9 years old, and I really like the Osram Nightbreaker...so that's what I bought.
I also replaced all the running lights and brights.
Wrapped the headlights to keep them fresh
Decided to ceramic coat the car too...
Pre-wash with dish soap...
I then picked out any paint chip anywhere on the car and marked it with a piece of blue tape. There must have been about 1000 of these bastards.
I filled them all in with touch-up paint and 2K polyurethane clear.
Then wet-sanded and polished each one.
Here it is...paint corrected and polished, ready for coating.
Look! No more (obviously) visible paint chips!
Cleaned and coated the wheels too
Finished up...didn't take the greatest pictures afterwards.
It was a goodass summer.
The trip out west and all it's views...
Really being in the middle of nowhere....
A 3 day track weekend in Michigan, in a camper with friends.
And a trip to Hawaii for another friend's birthday
These, and a few other adventures brought me to the end of the summer
I had ordered some parts for the TL while I was doing all this running around and decided that I'd install them.
OEM lip from Acura of Peoria and new Genuine Acura headlights that I was able to find at a dealer wholesaler....
My existing headlight bulbs were OK...but were 9 years old, and I really like the Osram Nightbreaker...so that's what I bought.
I also replaced all the running lights and brights.
Wrapped the headlights to keep them fresh
Decided to ceramic coat the car too...
Pre-wash with dish soap...
I then picked out any paint chip anywhere on the car and marked it with a piece of blue tape. There must have been about 1000 of these bastards.
I filled them all in with touch-up paint and 2K polyurethane clear.
Then wet-sanded and polished each one.
Here it is...paint corrected and polished, ready for coating.
Look! No more (obviously) visible paint chips!
Cleaned and coated the wheels too
Finished up...didn't take the greatest pictures afterwards.
love the write ups. Im an Adams addict as well. Applied the graphene Cermic coating a few years ago. Holding up well.
@BROlando , when I worked at the Acura dealership, it was connected to an Infiniti dealer as well. So in turn, I also have a soft spot for some Infiniti models. It just so happened that I found deals on the Acura models before the Infiniti ones. The cars that I'd be interested in owning, and experiencing, are:
love the write ups. Im an Adams addict as well. Applied the graphene Cermic coating a few years ago. Holding up well.
Good to know it holds up! I truly hated completing the process lol.
I actually had to do it twice, because the first time it turned out streaky and high spotted (my first time ever applying a coating).
The 2nd time though...it turned out flawless.
Originally Posted by Ascension
@BROlando , when I worked at the Acura dealership, it was connected to an Infiniti dealer as well. So in turn, I also have a soft spot for some Infiniti models. It just so happened that I found deals on the Acura models before the Infiniti ones. The cars that I'd be interested in owning, and experiencing, are:
@BROlando , wow, I was actually just researching my pedal options during these last few days. Did you end up going with the TSX Special Edition pedal set? I -REALLY- want whatever pedals you have, especially because they grip better than the stock ones. This type of design is on my STi, and I also converted my TDI pedals with ones from an Audi TT, since they're the same type of design.
Winter 2021 was right around the corner and I had just gotten new tires and a 4WD car.
So then I made the next logical choice....
To not drive the TL in the winter. Kinda stupid...but the car was so clean and the road salt ruins everything.
Plus, I had just bought a truck which I figured I'd drive all winter, despite the crippling MPG.
The TL also had developed a massive rattle upon startup (timing belt tensioner had failed).
So even though it had only 60K miles almost on the dot...I decided I was gonna just replace all the timing components.
This is how it would spend winter.
Here's all the new timing components ready to go in. Honda/Acura dealers must love me.
Replacing everything was a breeze....except the stupid rear cam seal. I had to 3D print a seal pusher.
It was designed to bottom out on the cam face when the seal was pressed in as far as it needed to go.
And since everyone loves to see old vs new stuff...
Here's the tensioner that caused this whole ruckus
Old tensioner vs new.
Old water pump vs new.
Pretty cool machining marks on the new pump.
And old vs new pulleys and bolts. The shop manual stated to replace the pulley bolts...so...new bolts.
New vs old plugs
My Ingersoll cordless impact was getting a bit old and it wouldn't remove the crank pulley bolt.
So I grabbed a new Milwaukee impact. I love it...except that it weighs about 17 million LBS.
The Ingersoll was a nicer tool in a lot of ways. I'll miss it.
I took the opportunity to clean everything I could get my hands on while this was all apart.
Cleaned the belt covers and under-tray with dish soap and then silicone spray....
Cleaned and coated the mount with polyurethane POR15
The mount brackets were nasty...so I acid dipped them
The acid revealed that the bracket that bolts to the engine is actually magnesium.
Magnesium tarnishes into a grayish hue after acid dipping it...so I polished all that stuff off quickly.
Fresh. Too bad nobody's ever gonna see it.
Well...except you lot.
I replaced any crappy bolt I could find with nice new ones.
Example..
*Pro tip*...clean the rear cam cover and really clean the threads on the circled boss (use a tap and a little grease).
This is where the battery post screws into when you go to release the tensioner. Don't just pull the pin on the tensioner and let it snap open, BTW.
It all went back together like a breeze.
I forgot to buy this one motor mount bolt (you're supposed to replace it).
I started realizing that the bolts you need to replace are the ones with Hondalock on them.
I...guess I could just clean the threads and put new Hondalock on it...
wow! look at that shiny mount!
says nobody
All buttoned up...
That was way easy. Good thing I had more stuff I wanted to do
I ordered from the strut king website. Try calling them to see when they'll have manual ones back in stock.
Thanks!
I emailed them. I hope I can get my hands on a set because they're perfect. Do you happen to have any other modifications that would classify as OEM+, such as the pedal set?
I ordered from the strut king website. Try calling them to see when they'll have manual ones back in stock.
Thanks!
Originally Posted by Ascension
I emailed them. I hope I can get my hands on a set because they're perfect. Do you happen to have any other modifications that would classify as OEM+, such as the pedal set?
I emailed them. I hope I can get my hands on a set because they're perfect. Do you happen to have any other modifications that would classify as OEM+, such as the pedal set?I suppose I should also consider these: https://www.ultimatepedals.com/acura...ual_deluxe.php
Nope, the only mods are the tints, the Nightbreaker headlight bulbs, and the pedal covers.
Originally Posted by vertigo2
Respect
Thanks bruv
Originally Posted by BreezyTL
You ever want to sell, Im just to the north of ya. Let me know! Minty
Originally Posted by TLbullet
I have 48k on mine and Acura convinced me to do the tensioner too. Glad i did! U are def someone id buy anused car from. Great work.
ha
I actually got the inspiration to post this because I submitted an Autotrader ad. I had dug up all these old photos and memories.
The ad said it posted, but...just didn't. I asked Autotrader about it and they said they had no record of my ad even though I received a confirmation email.
So I figured that was a sign to keep it a little longer. I was on the fence about getting rid of it anyway.
While it was up getting the timing belt service, I slowly took note of anything out of place.
I hate rusty or worn looking stuff. I feel that freshening up the small things goes a long way in the overall look of the car.
Nobody knows why it looks better than it should...but it does.
I bought a few bolts to replace any rusty ones I may find in the suspension or body. I prefer yellow zinc. I love gooooooooooold
The brakes were looking a little beat and weathered, so I took the brackets off and
Took them apart
Acid dipped them
Let them soak in a bucket of acetone for 24hrs,
And then painted them up with this stuff called "Rust Bullet". It's a moisture cure polyurethane...but it's chemical and UV resistant like it's a 2K paint. Not a chemist, so not sure how that works.
But it works!
I made sure I painted it on super thin so that the grain of the metal would show through. I just wanted them to look as close to the factory coating as possible.
I did the calipers and rotors as well. I didn't want to remove the calipers....so I just 3D printed plugs for the pistons, boots, and bleeder nipples.
I did the rotor hats too.
I replaced the pads with Stoptech Streets. I really wanted the Sports...but they don't make Sports for this car
I also serviced the rear parking brakes with the factory recommended M77 Dow Corning grease.
A little bit of this goes miles...so...in case you ever use it...use less than you think you'll need.
I also POR'd the rear subframe, shocks, swaybars, etc, and dust shields to freshen them up. And I coated the fender lips in a super thick brush-on 2K polyurethane...not sure why...I wasn't driving it in the winter...but...whatever.
Anyway, here's how it all turned out
The excess paint would obviously just come off via the pads.
I found that the tie rod ends had cracked boots....not sure why.
So I bought new boots and hardware from Honda.
**pro tip! When loosening tie rods that you intend to keep, always use a backup wrench (circled in red below). You'll find wrench flats on the tie rod ends...that's what they're there for.
If not, you're really putting a lot of stress on that joint by using it to hold the torque of the nut.
I also found that the tie rods were kinda crappy looking. So...same thing. Acid dip and clean up.
I replaced the grease inside the ends while I had the boots apart.
The OEM grease actually looked fine...but...I had it apart, so why not.
This "PTFE" type grease is probably as close to what the OEM's use for these type of joints that have polymer bearings and metal balls.
Don't use the amount of grease I have in the 3rd photo lol...it's just for a representation.
Bored yet?!!
well...
I used 2K clear and a little stainless steel powder to try and replicate the stock finish on the tie rods.
Check out some of the new hardware too!
I also hit whatever I could (spindles, forks, LCA's, axle shafts, etc) with black POR-15.
Nice clean wheel barrels!
I also removed all the bolts from the front and rear suspension to coat them with anti-seize...or replace them if needed.
Especially the alignment bolts.
Anyway, that was really it for the winter.
I couldn't wait to drive the car in the spring....
@BROlando , why did you decide to list your car for sale on Autotrader initially?
In a couple of days, it will be a month since I brought the 6MT home, and I've cruised 2,000 miles thus far. In this moment, I can NOT imagine getting rid of this car, ever!
Thanks for the story and pics. My '10 has about 68K miles on it (same color as yours) and I have zero interest in getting a new car to replace it in the foreseeable future.
After sitting all winter, I saw a couple of dribbles of oil on the floor where the car was parked.
I know I didn't spill anything while doing the T-belt because...idk...I would for sure know if I spilled even a drop of anything.
I looked up by the oil filter housing and see a buncha oil!!
I didn't take any photos that day...but decided the leak was slow enough that I could drive the car while I waited for parts to come in.
Stupid oil leaks
But I had the medicine....
Unfortunately also noticed this!
I had just hit a dumbass pothole the other day.
So when I saw the brown splash.... I knew it was a broken LCA bushing.
I looked on an Acura parts site, hoping they'd sell me just the bushing.
When I saw they don't....and then saw what an LCA costs...a single tear rolled down my cheek to show the world that I'd felt pain, as I clicked "buy"
The box came in kinda beat up....
Coated the new arm in POR-15 black and clear.
oh yeah!
I also got something cool for once. I was planning on fixing the LCA when I got home when I found out that RV6 HQ was super local and OMW home from work.
So I stopped and grabbed a J-Pipe.
I noted that the under-brace was looking a little gross. So I degreased it and then shot it with some 2K Epoxy.
This paint is pretty cool. It's 2K, in a spray can, and also has non-finite pot life. The pot life of regular catalyzed cans is like...a couple of days usually.
Be careful with it though! Wear a respirator and mask/cover anything in the vicinity that you don't want overspray to get onto.
Anyway, here's the J-pipe fitted.
It went together remarkably well. The fitup was easy.
I soaked a rag in brake cleaner and wiped the whole thing down before/after I installed it.
This will prevent any residual oils from manufacturing or from your hands to discolor the stainless when it gets hot.
Here is how the car sits today....
These were the photos I used in the Autotrader ad.
A little review of the J-pipe.
I'm not sure how much HP it makes.
RV6 claims 14whp on their site. But I noticed that the exact same dyno chart image is used for another product on their site lol...so maybe just a double-post error?
There's definitely more power, though.
There's more usable torque, more importantly. The car feels more lively and ready to go.
Like I said above, the fit and finish were stellar. Nice welds, nice fitment, nice gaskets. Dude includes fresh hardware and all the spacers needed for the subframe brace.
The sound is really what I was after. It's perfect.
It's got a little more sound to it, which is pretty much exactly what I was looking for.
When you start the car up, there's a faint smell of less catalyzed fuel (the J pipe deletes the 3rd CAT).
But it's barely noticeable.
Once warmed up, the car smells virtually the same as it did with the CAT.
Plus, now when my car's parked on the street and I hear a sawzall in the distance...I won't be too worried.
@BROlando , why did you decide to list your car for sale on Autotrader initially?
In a couple of days, it will be a month since I brought the 6MT home, and I've cruised 2,000 miles thus far. In this moment, I can NOT imagine getting rid of this car, ever!
I love the car...but that's kinda the issue lol. It's so damn nice that I worry about anything happening to it.
I thought about getting just a straight up generic car. Like...one that had nice features (mostly nice stereo), but was completely just an appliance.
Like a K5 Kia or used Lexus ES or something.
Inexpensive, no soul, I could machine wash it, park it anywhere fearlessly....and if an actual truck full of feces fell from the sky onto it...I would just go to the vending machine or whatever they sell them at and get another one.
Or selling it and just having 1 less car.
I was also about to store it for the winter and thought...meh, maybe I'll sell it instead of storing it.
But after the autotrader ad fell thru, I just never got motivated to post it up again...and then realized that I'd really miss the car if I did sell it.
I also realized that the oil is still seeping - probably because the oil pump needs to get re-sealed.
I gotta say...these cars are kinda shitboxes lol. WTF with all the leaks?!!
So far I've had a leaky tensioner, bad alternator, leaky VTEC solenoid, and leaky oil pump!!
But I say that in a really endearing way. It's a fantastic car.
And mine doesn't burn a drop of oil - which apparently is rare for these cars (shitboxes!!)
So no rush...I'll hang on to it for now.
Originally Posted by JM2010 SH-AWD
Thanks for the story and pics. My '10 has about 68K miles on it (same color as yours) and I have zero interest in getting a new car to replace it in the foreseeable future.
Nice! I've found that these are under appreciated cars. This gen is a total hidden gem. They put so much cool engineering into it and it's a ton of fun to drive.
The sound is really what I was after. It's perfect.
It's got a little more sound to it, which is pretty much exactly what I was looking for.
To be more specific...
It sounds so cool when you start it up initially. It has a really aggressive startup puff.
The noise and slight amount of reverberance it sends through the cabin makes throttle blipping for downshifting, and part throttle acceleration so much more satisfying.
The sound is in no way intrusive...it should have sounded like this from the factory.
I love the car...but that's kinda the issue lol. It's so damn nice that I worry about anything happening to it.
I thought about getting just a straight up generic car. Like...one that had nice features (mostly nice stereo), but was completely just an appliance.
Like a K5 Kia or used Lexus ES or something.
Inexpensive, no soul, I could machine wash it, park it anywhere fearlessly....and if an actual truck full of feces fell from the sky onto it...I would just go to the vending machine or whatever they sell them at and get another one.
Or selling it and just having 1 less car.
I was also about to store it for the winter and thought...meh, maybe I'll sell it instead of storing it.
But after the autotrader ad fell thru, I just never got motivated to post it up again...and then realized that I'd really miss the car if I did sell it.
I also realized that the oil is still seeping - probably because the oil pump needs to get re-sealed.
I gotta say...these cars are kinda shitboxes lol. WTF with all the leaks?!!
So far I've had a leaky tensioner, bad alternator, leaky VTEC solenoid, and leaky oil pump!!
But I say that in a really endearing way. It's a fantastic car.
And mine doesn't burn a drop of oil - which apparently is rare for these cars (shitboxes!!)
So no rush...I'll hang on to it for now.
Nice! I've found that these are under appreciated cars. This gen is a total hidden gem. They put so much cool engineering into it and it's a ton of fun to drive.
The only person who has been allowed to work on my cars is a close friend, who also happens to be a Master Technician at an Acura dealership. From his experience, a super majority of Acura's have a leaking oil pump seal. From the three Acura's that I've personally had, all three of them had/have an oil pump seal leak, including both of my 4G TL's!
I understand your reasoning, and yours truly looks like one of the top 1% well kept cars. I really hope that you ultimately decide to keep it, rather than sell it. Right now, I actually want another 6MT! I love mine so much!!!
If I could've afforded this 2011 6MT brand new in 2011, I feel like I would've purchased it, in retrospect! I have yet to purchase a brand new car, and all of my previous cars have been used. $42,385 in 2011 would mean ~$45,775 OTD, or close to it, which would mean roughly ~$60,600 today. That's essentially what a brand new TLX Type-S costs OTD today.
The leap from 6AT to 6MT feels drastic, now that I've experienced both. I'm not saying that the 6AT isn't superb, though. The SH-AWD 6MT rekindled my spirit after the 2007 TL Type-S 5AT, and the 2012 TL SH-AWD 6AT. At the beginning of both of those two experiences, I felt that I didn't need a manual transmission anymore since I still had full control of the gears. However, I feel like I became a manual transmission Nazi yet again after the 6MT.
11-24-2022, 01:19 AM
loving the progress and the detailed steps you've posted!
