Hondamobilemechanic

As title says, had a custome downpipe made for my tlx. Sounds great imo and picked up some power as well.

Matthew937

Thanks for showing us. Being a honda mechanic what are your thoughts on the long term reliability of the car when it's tuned with a downpipe?

Hondamobilemechanic

I have installed many down pipes and have never had any issues. Tunes are a different story and can many times lead to premature issues if the tuner/owner is chasing numbers. Make sure your tuner when you chose one is reputable and makes it as safe as humanely possible. There’s are great tuners out there and horrible ones. Lastly remember anytime you start modifying cars at any given moment anything can happen.

dmski

Wow, great gains with a simple mod. Acura could have avoided so much hate with a simple downpipe. I

leomio2.0

Very impressive results. Somebody needs to get a tune on one of these things and see how much can be extracted from this engine. I would love to eventually see somebody put a bigger turbo on there and see where the power ceiling of the drivetrain lies. If they can start putting down some decent numbers, they may convert some of the naysayers ... myself included. Of course, that won't erase the urge to want to kick a lot of these Honda/Acura fanboys in the teeth ...

Hondamobilemechanic

sure but the epa wouldn’t be happy about it lmao.

Hondamobilemechanic

in due time it’ll happen. I bet a year from now a lot of people will feel differently about these cars once people start realizing the potential. Either way everyone is entitled to their opinion as long as it’s a respectable debate. Like you said can’t wait until engine management is available along with an upgraded turbo. 👍🏻

alpha0

4.8 sec 0-60 without launch control is pretty good. I wish TLX-S was around 4.5 sc 0-60 (without launch control) and this is a step in right direction.

Nexx

13.08 quarter! what happened to the high 13's the car mags were quoting? surely a simple downpipe cant improve performance that much. If Honda knows how to do one thing well is build engines. Simple downpipe and tune, it looks like high to mid 12's will be no problem.

WTF.Acura

The accord 2.0t got faster after a few thousand miles was put on the car that could be the case here.

Nexx

I have read that as well. Very well could be the case.

Hondamobilemechanic

that was full “launch mode” which is a very bland launch. With a real launch control it would be a few 10ths quicker imo

Hondamobilemechanic

to be fair my best time was a 13.45 stock and a 13.6 pass from 99-102. But yes the downpipe definitely made some power or freed up I should say.

Hondamobilemechanic

The passes from/after the downpipe was less then 100 miles apart. That’s not the case

CheeseyPoofs McNut

These guys are working on a few things as well:

04WDPSeDaN

iTrader: (1)

Congratulations OP on being the 1st to pave the way for future mods for the TLX-S. I have a lot of respect for you for being legit and accomplishing what other(s) who have the ability to do the same, have not done so..

This goes back to my comment made in this section a week ago. When the 3rd gen TL came out and some wanted to turbo their TL's (2007-2009), they didn't sit around waiting for a company to produce a bolt on kit. One member, Rodney made his own kit and figured a way to tune it. This guy was just a member here. Not an Acura engineer or a performance shop owner. Just a car enthusiast who like many others, paved the way for new modifications. Thank you for being the 1st to make shit happen and document it, unlike most who keep brining up hp/tq and 1/4 mile figures but aren't actively looking for way to get to those claims.

Hondamobilemechanic

thank you for ye positive feedback. I learned quickly if you rely on others to innovate or start making parts that it’ll become a paint drying watch session and literally go nowhere. The only company at this point showing interest in this platform is power rev racing and heel toe. Hopefully more will jump on board soon. As far as documentation I like to keep track to see what works and how affective it is. I can’t make it to a dyno or track regularly so this will be my best way to document.

04WDPSeDaN

iTrader: (1)

Getting on the rollers would be the most ideal to see gains but we already know what the TLX-S puts down stock, so it's not hard to figure out the gains with your custom downpipe (rough figures). Downpipes and tunes are always the best way to gain power.

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

Very cool to see the natural progression of the type S...
At some point fast is fast enough for day to day driving...
I'm not a big number chaser but I do like the drive to feel
exciting, and that it looks like it does.

KB1Spec

iTrader: (4)

So you mentioned "Tuned". What is you take on let say a throttle controller like a Sprint Booster or Pedal Commander? Would you recommend a Throttle Controller vs. a K Tuner or a JD4 Tuner?
I don't necessarily track it but would like an extra power. I was considering a down pipe but heard to get optimum gains, I need to get it tune which I needed either a K Tuner or JB4

Thanks

F23A4

Looks really good man. PM me when you guys are headed to the track (Island or Atco); would love to tag along. (Instagram: Acuraman68)

Hondamobilemechanic

thanks, yeah not everyone has same goals which is fine. My goal ultimately is make it a reliable 11second car. 👍🏻

Hondamobilemechanic

no it’s either gonna be Ktuner or Hondata for me.

as you can tell there are gains to be made with just the downpipe although to take full advantage a tune would be ideal.

Hondamobilemechanic

consider it done. Just sent you a request 👍🏻

F23A4

Accepted!! Looking forward to meeting you and seeing your work in person.

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

I feel that way as well about the 11 second car...basically almost have that in my single pulley S4 right now but it would be cool to have
the same thing in a Honda platform.

leomio2.0

Is Hondata even venturing into this market? They don't even have a tune for the 2.0T TLX and have stated they will not be offering one. I would assume their justification is due to cost:profit ... seeing as they do offer for the RDX which sells substantially better than the TLX. But at the same time, I feel like people who buy TLXs would be far more inclined to tune their cars than somebody in an RDX. I guess time will tell ...

leomio2.0

It's nice that they're doing stuff like this, but how involved a lot of their mods are and the cost:power is just foolish. A ported TB isn't bad, nor is a midpipe ... but cylinder heads and porting the intake manifold? Thanks, but no thanks.

Bigger turbo, downpipe, tune and maybe a drop-in K&N style filter (or well engineered CAI) and call it a day. Maybe a catback, but the cost of one is probably going to be stupid for nominal gains. Maybe if someone offers an axleback exhaust it will be cheaper and offer similar gains. Just as long as it isn't absurdly loud and doesn't drone on the highway. Regardless, with just a bigger turbo, DP and tune ... you'll have the option to make enough power to rapidly start breaking things in the drivetrain, especially since it's Honda we're talking about.

Hondamobilemechanic

It’s possible they won’t ir not for a while but one can hope. As you said it’ll be a business decision for them and one I can’t argue with.

Hondamobilemechanic

it’s cool that they are doing it but yeah I’ll be ok with bolt ons and upgraded turbo. I’m not trying to test engine apart unless if needed because of some sort of failure, only at that point would I consider upgraded heads but I like that they are working on it.

F23A4

Yeah, it seems that way. Here's the extent of my exchange a while back: LINK

As circumstances can change, stay tuned. (no pun intended)

BEAR-AvHistory

SB & PC don't add any power they just change the mapping of the pedal so the set ECU thinks its pressed further than it is. Tune adds power because either piggy back or flash its spoofing or changing the instructions the ECU has for limits on various functions like boost limit, spark advance curves, fuel flow etc.

To Hondamobilemechanic:

Nice to see someone actually doing something other than wishing & hoping. Goes back to the early days of Hot Rodding when you even had to modify the stuff from people like Edelbrock, Holly, Clay Smith etc to get it to work in your setup.

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

I don't know but I rode around in the ktuner beta nsx and you guys are in for some fun with oem turbo engines

04WDPSeDaN

iTrader: (1)

OP,

Are you in NJ?

Hondamobilemechanic

yessir

KB1Spec

iTrader: (4)

Yes I have a SB because they send me a prototype to test out. I don't mind a sudden acceleration on it. I just don't really wanna mess around with tuning the ECU since California just pass a new emission law that if they detect any tuned ECU regardless you reflash it back to stock it will not pass smog. And I have a friend works for Honda HQ where some owners of Civic Type Rs or Accord 2.0Ts tuned there vehicle and doesn't know what they are doing or overboosting causes there engine to blow. So I am somewhat hesitant to do any ECU tuned. I was very close to get at JB4 but on the website it is still a Beta version.

Legend2TL

Very nice downpipe you fabricated! Thx for creating the video and results.
Is it 304L or 316L, and did you reuse the OEM flanges and flexpipe?

ELIN

Nice job, OP!

04WDPSeDaN

iTrader: (1)

I'm in North NJ (Bergen County) and use to be an ASE certified master technician. I worked for Acura, BMW, Mercedes and a private shop before leaving to run a business. We should get together and shoot the shit sometime. I hope you and your family are safe and didn't suffer any damages from the storm two days ago. It's almost unreal in NJ. Looks like a war zone with a mix of walking dead scenes.

Hondamobilemechanic

i didn’t fabricate the downpipe it had idea and was able to find someone to execute. Sorry if it wasn’t clear.