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Hello everyone!! I've been on the site a while, but still consider myself new since I only picked up my first Acura in August 2019. Took FOREVER to find a nice example with a manual somewhere driving distance from NC where I live. I always loved the 3GTL's but recently got my heart set on the 4th Gen with all it's uniqueness and being the last of it's kind... (hopefully the teased Concept type-S has a manual option 🙏. I might make a post later regarding my buying experience story from the personal seller, I think it's a good one, but that's probably not what any of you are here for. Anyway, on to my TL which I absolutely love...!
Bought the car August 10, 2019 with 54,000 miles on the clock. List of current Mods on the car:
- MDX 19" Option "Sparkle Silver" Wheels (from similar year, I checked when I got home and they are legit, Enkei stamped flow formed OEM wheels)
- TEIN Super Street Coil-overs
- SPC Rear Camber arms
- XLR8 V2 J-pipe (removes 3rd cat)
- P2R Throttle Body Spacer
- Dynamat lined doors and trunk
- Raceseng Sphereology Hybrid shift knob (awesome bit, love this knob)
- Rear window upper spoiler, unknown brand.
- 09-11 Exhaust tips
- 35% window tint
Future Mods...?
- keep going!
You have to start with a fill-up pic, right??
Made it home and the TL displaced my '04 Si from the garage
Gave the bay a good cleaning and wipe down. Was happy that the previous owner still had all the plastic bits. 303Protectant is an excellent product, highly recommended
At the beginning of September I picked up my first addition to the car, WellVisors vent shades. I really like how they have the chrome bit that continues the stock window trim in an uninterrupted way. I noticed a few other 4GTL owners had them and when asked, I got nothing but great reviews. Very easy to install. I've had them on the car now for a little over 5 months and I am very pleased. No whistling or weird noises and they solidly mount to the door frames in the tracks. Good stuff, worth the price.
Oh my...
a 4G thread. I'm digging it.
I fell in love and stayed true to my 3G roots but a part of me would have not minded getting into the 4G ShawtyWD with a Manuel.
I think you did great, you know your shit...you know good products and you take great pics. I'm sub'd for sure...looking forward to
checking in.
I had an electron blue EP3, myself...I sometimes wonder if I'd still be happy in one...I miss the dash shifter for sure.
I love the wheels and if it's about the coilovers...I have the super streets on my TL and they are going on 150K miles on them...
on 2 different cars and they are still smooth and not leaking. I was told that model was still made in Japan at the time.
Oh my...
a 4G thread. I'm digging it.
I fell in love and stayed true to my 3G roots but a part of me would have not minded getting into the 4G ShawtyWD with a Manuel.
I think you did great, you know your shit...you know good products and you take great pics. I'm sub'd for sure...looking forward to
checking in.
I had an electron blue EP3, myself...I sometimes wonder if I'd still be happy in one...I miss the dash shifter for sure.
I love the wheels and if it's about the coilovers...I have the super streets on my TL and they are going on 150K miles on them...
on 2 different cars and they are still smooth and not leaking. I was told that model was still made in Japan at the time.
Thanks man! 🙏
I'm planing to keep the EP3 around for my kids... but I still drive it at least 40% of the time and on rainy days. Trying to keep the TL as nice as possible. Yes, the dash shifter is a nice talking piece to anyone who rides in the car, so different I love it... hahaa. The 2 cars are a nice dichotomy to each other and are great at delivering a different experience if I drive one for a few days and then switch to the other.
The previous owner said he put the TEIN SS's on right after he bought the car. So that puts them at just over 8yrs old and at 57k miles now. And yeah, they still ride great! I've adjusted the compression a little stiffer to my liking and have had no issues, still dry and no leaks anywhere that I can see anytime I am under the car. I believe these are rebuild-able if they ever do develop an issue.
I'm way behind in starting this thread (and it's my first attempt at one, never really dumped much money into modding a car before) but it was time. I have a small backlog to get caught up as I have time to upload, hope you enjoy my process! If nothing else, this thread will help me keep track of things as I plan to keep the TL until I can't fix it anymore.
I can verify the coilovers were made in Japan, previous owner still had the factory suspension in the box. Dude was the perfect person to buy the car from 😁
Last edited by bigwavedave25; 04-12-2020 at 12:52 PM.
Also in Sept '19 I picked up my favorite mod to date... XLR8 catback exhaust system.
I researched youtube endlessly for 4GTL exhaust clips and also went through the 4G Exhaust thread on this site at least 10 times, haha. Nothing against ATLP or the Endless kits, I considered both at the beginning, but the more clips I heard the more they sounded like your typical J-series v6 exhaust... nothing from what I could tell that made their sound unique. The XLR8 kit on the other hand really stood out to me. The only thing that made me hesitate in buying it was how loud it seemed compared to the other full kits on the market at the time. I LOVE the sound that Vibrant Performance mufflers and resonators make and almost tried to piece together my own kit, but I don't have any contacts with a good local fab shop so I kept with buying a ready made kit. I had never had a loud car (unless you count the rusted off Dynomax muffler from my old '98 Ford Contour v6) so I was a little concerned because this would still be kind of a family car for us.
So, found as many sound clips as I could of XLR8 exhausts and researched all I could about the kit. I found out they designed/spec'd the kit and sourced it from BillyBoat Exhaust, who has been making race and muscle car exhausts for over 25 years. They make some awesome sounding kits for Corvettes, V-Spec Caddys, and Mustangs etc... how could you go wrong? After reading BBE's process that sealed the deal. I think it gives the 4G an exotic tone (sorry, please indulge me on this), definitely not the typical J-series sound IMHO. After all that I didn't care how loud it would make my car, it was the one for me... I had to have it.
Everything was in order so that weekend I went ahead and installed the kit. It went pretty smooth for the most part, but I wouldn't call it an easy install. I fought with everything for about 2 hours before making the decision to remove half the exhaust and modify some brackets so the pieces would hang properly. There were 2 hanger brackets that I had to massage into position, 4lb sledge hammer did the trick nicely. After modifying the angle on those two hangers I was able to get the muffler tips lined up perfectly on both sides and the connection points cleared the rear frame with enough room not to rub. The box arrived a little beat up, so I assume maybe the hangers got a little bent in the process, no big deal really. Slip joints can be a pain to seal, had to go back and adjust one of them to eliminate an exhaust leak.
I had noticed a rattle from the exhaust under initial takeoff and thought it could be the J-pipe rubbing on the front cross brace. This was in fact the case, previous owner didn't install any spacers there and I only had 2 fat washers (not enough stack up) so I took my sledge and beat a flat spot in the cross brace to clear the J-pipe. Problem solved and I haven't heard a single rattle from the exhaust since.
Stock exhaust removed from the car
Beautiful welds on the exhaust and the J-pipe had bronzed quite nicely. All XLR8 stuff is stainless steel, inside muffler cores and out.
My car isn't slammed, I have about a finger gap vertically between the tire and the wheel arch on 19" wheels with a 40 profile, but I have scrapped the low hanging mid-pipe before. So I tightened up the TEIN compression setting to keep the car from dipping on bumps and I also stay away from speed bumps now.
BOOM. Love the Oval-tip finishers, another thing unique to this kit. All the other brands have round tips. XLR8 does have a round tip option though
Thanks, stay tuned! I would love to score the A-spec kit, but may have to wait on that one given the economy
(unless you've already seen my IG, cat's mostly out of the bag there on the more recent stuff, haha)
Danger ahead...😁
Last edited by bigwavedave25; 04-12-2020 at 06:07 PM.
And another of a trip to the airport to pick up my wife. Found an underpass and I had her meet me in the hourly garage, best place to pick up someone from the CLT airport... no waiting in the arrivals line 👍
That's awesome, man...
trust me, I have a rotation of cars at my disposal and the polarizing difference between driving all of them is why I keep them around. I love it. I never am bored of what I will drive.
EP3 I had just put the HFP kit on with wheels and then I totaled the car while working. I was so upset...I replaced it with an RSX-S but it didn't feel the same.
I know what you mean on researching and making the J series sound good...I always loved ATLP/XLR8 and didn't know it was BBE that made them...very cool.
I have RV6 all the way back from the precats and I love how not raspy and deep mine sounds.
That's awesome, man...
trust me, I have a rotation of cars at my disposal and the polarizing difference between driving all of them is why I keep them around. I love it. I never am bored of what I will drive.
EP3 I had just put the HFP kit on with wheels and then I totaled the car while working. I was so upset...I replaced it with an RSX-S but it didn't feel the same.
I know what you mean on researching and making the J series sound good...I always loved ATLP/XLR8 and didn't know it was BBE that made them...very cool.
I have RV6 all the way back from the precats and I love how not raspy and deep mine sounds.
Love the shots...keep em coming!
Aw that sucks about your EP3! And very interesting to hear you say the RSX-S felt different, I have been curious if I were to swap the EP3 for an RSX down the road if it would be an improvement or mostly the same, just with a stronger motor. I will say after installing the Whiteline 24mm RSB in the Civic, the handling flipped to pretty neutral now. I can actually get the rear to kick out if I try hard enough, haha. I never felt that before in the 13 years I've owned this car, she was an understeer monster with that horrible geometry design. It's for sure one of those cars that fits the saying "fun to drive a slow car fast" 😄
If the TL didn't already have the XLR8 J-pipe I would prefer to have the RV6 one. There is nothing wrong with the one I have, but I really like the RV6 stuff. One day I'll talk myself into getting the PCD's...
I swapped from PCD to HFPC in 2016...sold the car to a buddy then bought it back a few months back.
LOL...let's just say I have PCD again after 60k miles and 3 years.
Yeah, Richie makes some good shit.
Well, RSX was certainly better in every regard but maybe it was a gone too soon and not my choice feeling
losing the true hatch, the suede seats and the damn shifter up on the dash. Loved both of them though.
EP3 I got shitty gas mileage in too because it was so slow I was always heavy on the throttle.
Story time:
One fine evening in September, my son and I went to eat burgers for dinner. I think my wife and daughter were out of town visiting family or they would have been with us. I scored a nice spot in the parking garage adjacent to the restaurant and immediately started thinking this would be perfect for a nice exhaust clip when we finish and return to the car. We get done eating, walk around a bit, head back to the car, and I set up my phone to take a quick video. I jump in the car all excited and start her up. I then immediately get smacked in the face with the foulest stench I have ever smelled from this kid, diaper time included! I look over at him and he is in tears laughing his butt off... rolls down the window and starts trying to fan out the stink. I tried to save the video and make a few revs, but the smell was too much to handle and I had to bail out. You can hear him laughing in the video, good times... 🤣🤣🤣
#prouddadmoment
In November, I finally addressed tightening the parking break. The thing had gotten to where it was almost pulled vertical before it would get tight. The book calls out for it to be 6-8 clicks and I was at more like 14, haha! So referencing the repair manual I dove in.
Picture of the fine adjustment access cover, those clips are blind access, wanted to share in case anyone attempted this so they would know where they are located.
Here is the rear adjustment. The book says you can access it through the hole in the rotor, but I wasn't having much luck. So I pulled out the best tool made for removing those pesky screws and a few taps later the rotors were off.
. Now I had a great view of the mechanism and could tell how the adjustments affected the brake shoes. Neat design how the sprocket and spring work together to give tension and retain position. Sorry for not cleaning the area first before snapping the picture. I didn't take another after cleaning, guess I was tired and ready to have it all back together. I have a mechanical mind and blind adjustments don't really satisfy me, I like to take things apart to see how it all works! 😁 With the rotors back on, I was able to make the major adjustments in the rear.
Nov '19 update, tire time.
Found the inside tread on the rear tires was pretty much down to the wires so I had to buy some tires. Not having a ton of extra cash after buying the exhaust I wasn't paying for similar Pilot Sports, so I went with a nice mid-range tire that has worked well on our Accord - Sumitomo HTR A/S P02 [245/40R -19 for the TL]. I like how quiet the tires are on the Accord AND they provided a nice rim protector lip in that size of 225/50-17 so I assumed this would be the same for my larger size on the TL. Bought the set on a Black Friday deal and a week later they arrived. That curb protection looks nice and deep...
I also treated all 4 tires inside and out with a good coating of 303Protectant and let them sit for at least two weeks before having them mounted.
Took them to Firestone to have them mounted and balanced, also bought their lifetime alignment ($170) since I just got the car and plan on keeping it. Picked up the car and I had NO RIM PROTECTION AT ALL!! What happened?? Really doubt it was a bad install, because all 4 tires looked exactly the same on the wheels. All I can think is that the tires do not scale the same in width a they get larger. Definitely lost some tread width at this size compared to the same sizes as the Michelin's that came off the car. I'm not happy about this!
I've read that different brand tires of the same size can fit differently, but I did't expect it to be that drastic. Especially since my 50's had that nice protrusion. Guess I should have gone with 255/40's, I would prefer to have a little more meat anyway. Next time 👍
Where did you buy them..
a lot of places online will give you a refund for fitment "issues" aka no rim protection...
I'd at least call.
I got them from SimpleTire. I doubt they would do anything being it's 5 months later now, but thanks to covid I've only driven 900 miles since install.
Super clean car, love what you've done to it. I really like how your exhaust sounds. And that video of your kid doing the Street Fight hadouken to push out his fart smell gases is gold lol
Super clean car, love what you've done to it. I really like how your exhaust sounds. And that video of your kid doing the Street Fight hadouken to push out his fart smell gases is gold lol
Thanks, I appreciate it! Yeah, my boy is a real character sometimes. 😁
Christmas 2019 Update:
Woot woot, Ktuner!! Took advantage of HeelToe's holiday sales and picked up Ktuner V2 for the car. To help tie in all current and future mods together as well as give a little boost until I have it properly tuned. I know nothing about how to tune a car, but I plan to try and learn as much as I can to at least understand what all the fuel tables and data etc are saying about the car. So far I've only flashed one of the stock maps, Tune2: for Jpipes. Playing with the LED's was fun, at least those make total sense... hahaa
Token first photo when I still hadn't changed any of the readouts to suit my needs. Too excited to have the thing.. haha.
mann those MDX wheels on the TL look sweeet! Keep up the progress
Thank you! Yeah, I wasn't sure about them when I first got the car, but they have grown on me. Nice that they are OEM by Enkei, but even with their M.A.T. process they are still a little heavy at around 25-26lbs. Which I guess is pretty good considering they weigh the same as the stock 18's and are 1" larger and 0.5" wider.
04-11-2020, 07:49 PM
. I might make a post later regarding my buying experience story from the personal seller, I think it's a good one, but that's probably not what any of you are here for. Anyway, on to my TL which I absolutely love...!
I was told that model was still made in Japan at the time. 
