Kimcheebowl

Greetings fellow Acurazine members,

I've been lurking for some time on this forum. Mostly researching and looking for other fellow enthusiasts in the Northwest. I just completed some work on my car, so I figured I would officially introduce myself and share pics.
I'm from just outside Seattle, WA. I work for Microsoft. Been a car enthusiast for all my life. Started young with the hot wheels and match box cars, then evolved into the import world in the 90s. Dream car was the 99 B16A Honda Civic Si, but ended up with an EX and had some mods done. But when I entered the work force, that progressed into 2000 Audi A6 2.7T, 2002 Audi A6 4.2, 2005 Cadillac CTS-V, 2008 Honda Civic Si Sedan, and then the 2012 TL. All of my cars were modded in some form, turbo kits, coilovers, exhaust, dyno tuning, brakes, wheels...you all know how it goes. The receipts keep stacking up.

Now my whip. This is my 2012 TL SH-AWD with factory aero kit. I'm finding out, this aero kit is being referred to as the A-spec. Purchased it brand new in 2012, it's been out of warranty for some time, so I figured this was the right time to start "fixing" stuff. Only has 43K miles, so to some, it hasn't really been broken in.

Just had the following done. Big shout out to Bruce @ EndlessRPM for selling me the parts and talking me through my options. Honest and straight shooter. That's who I like to do business. Big shout out to Spencer @ Kirkland AutoWorks in my neck of the woods for the honest and affordable labor to install my parts.

Tein Street Advance Coilovers
EndlessRPM J-Pipe and Full Cat Back Exhaust
19" TSW - that I purchased 2nd hand from another fellow TL enthusiast in my neck of the woods. I don't know the exact offset (I guess I could have look inside the wheel before mounting) but to me the fit is just right.

Love that the wheel gap is gone. Actually prefer the ride on the Tein SA coilovers, better than stock. This is with the dampers set to full 12 clicks for max stiffness. Decided against 20s, lots of bad roads and pot holes in my neighborhood and found the 19s for a really good deal.

Hello again and looking forward to meeting other enthusiasts in the Seattle area.

Cheers,
Jin

teh CL

iTrader: (1)

Looks clean. Auto or manual?

KarKraze

Looks nice !!
Please share your thoughts on the Endless Cat back.

dopeboy1

In my completely unbiased opinion, you made a good choice on the TEIN and TSWs.

Pair of TLs

Howdy Hi :gheywave:

Dats a nice whip you got!

losiglow

iTrader: (1)

I'm not usually a fan of white cars but that TL looks pretty sharp. I like the height.

How do you like the ContiProContact's? I was thinking about picking some up when my Extremecontact DWS 06's wear out. They have better treadwear I believe. But the grip with the ExtremeContacts is pretty stellar.

Kimcheebowl

Thank you. Auto. My days with manuals are limited. My wife doesn't know how to drive a manual.

Kimcheebowl

The ContiProContacts aren't terrible if you're ok with fast wear. I'm a long time Michelin fan, for sheer grip and performance. The ProContacts have proven to be rather quiet on freeway and local driving. Being that it rains a lot in Seattle, also very sure footed. No tram-lining either. However...the reason that I would never buy again - The tread wear is bad. 15,000 miles and they're already at 4/32 tread. I would stay away. My next set will be going back to Michelin.

Kimcheebowl

I'm super happy with the Endless Catback and J-pipe. Turns out the Endless Catback is a private label by Magnaflow. So immediately, that told me there is high build quality. This also told me, that it's likely going to be a quiet system, as opposed to a custom built. My conversation with Bruce @ Endless confirmed this. I have a 20 month old daughter and a wife who just doesn't understand gearheads like us, so I had to err on the side of quiet anyways. Bruce persuaded me to get the J-pipe, to help smooth out the sound. I can't tell you what my exhaust sounds like without the J-pipe, but I'll take Bruce's word for it.

I've had a few V8s in my life with teeth rattling and head numbing exhaust set ups. So there was a part of me that wanted to ensure that I could hold a very normal conversation in my vehicle at all speeds.

I get some low level drone, that I would consider drone that's in my ears between 1500-2400 rpms - so the main rpm band when putt-putting around town. But anything above 2400 rpms, you get a sweet and smooth European-esque 6 cylinder baritone note. It's very pleasing. Quiet in the cabin, but loud enough outside that I can still trigger car alarms in the parking garage. (my scale of drone goes from low to high - noise in my ears --> chest vibrating --> head numbing --> teeth rattling)

If you're goal is loud, then I've read the XLR8 exhaust is the way to go.

As far as power - with a Japanese NA motor, sure freeing up the breathing will net some top end power, but it's really all so negligible. My old CTS-V had a fully built Lingenfelter 427 transplant, headers, exhaust and that was loud and fast.

Kimcheebowl

Hi dopeboy - I just cruised through your posts and now I get the "unbiased" reference. I wasn't able to locate a post regarding the rear diffuser. Where did you purchase this? I am very interested.