Trentimus

I definitely will, if anyone shows interest. I plan to do the fender wells when I get my coilovers in. So, I can do a piece by piece

I'd be more than happy to if that's something you'd be interested in

Celeshot

Please do. I'm interested in getting some dynamats but I've never performed any DIY with cars. If a lot of dis-assembly is required, then it better work well =)

spdandpwr

yea, agreed. please help us out

Trentimus

I definitely will do then.. the most difficult thing will basically be taking the panels off.. there is no shop manual or any information as to how this is done. (at least I couldn't find anything) But, I did this type of stuff for a long time.. I have never broken a panel before.

It looks like our doors come off in 3 pieces with about 3 screws, the window switch, the armrest (it's soft and leathery), then the main panel.. I assume this will be the most difficult part for most of us so I'll try to be thorough with pictures and walk throughs.

Give me a few days/weeks before it gets warm again and I'll start work on it

Speed, what do you think next... Coilovers??

spdandpwr

I want to get the RV6 pipe and flashpro first. Since I have the sway bar, I'll want to focus on mastering the handling of the car before I decide to lower it...

On a different note, had my first snow storm yesterday. Had to put the car in second gear and plow up a hill at 20-25 mph, lol. Stock tires aren't too great. I'm pretty sure the plastic pieces on the bottom of the car took a thrashing from the snow as it was pretty tightly packed.

Trentimus

Is that a Mercedes across the road? My fender wells were FILLED with black ice.. so much they were blocking the tires so I had to pour water on it and hit them out with a scraper really quick.

I got a picture of my ILX COVERED in snow lol I need to put it on a photo site so I can embed it.

What do you guys use?

spdandpwr

Post image is the best place to go...it gives you a direct link and my images seem to last a while.

Regarding the car in the background, it's actually a Toyota Corolla...the lighting makes it look like a C300, lol.

spdandpwr

Speaking of inclement weather, I need a new ice scraper. The current one I have hasn't been working very well. Its funny that my ice scraper worked well when I was living at my old house, but I guess up here (I live further north) the ice sheets differently on the car?

Trentimus

I'll try it out.. hmm

Toyota anything looks like something else in certain lights and angles.. DAMN IT!

Get a powered Ice Scrapper (with the heater built in)

spdandpwr

which one do you have in mind? I can't find anything good online...and the prices on google shopping are insane ($250!?)

robtroxel

Trentimus;

You have the door panel removal about right. I would invest in an inexpensive plastic door panel prying tool to help dislodge the door panels easily. Another important point is that the inside door opening latches and door locks are cable operated (at least they are on the Civic). Save yourself some grief and do not disconnect these!..just let the door panel hang on a bucket for support while you are putting in the sound deadener. Other wise you have to readjust the cable clamps to the latches and locks work properly. A suggestion is to use 1/2 sheet foam/aka quality high density carpet padding for this job since applying Fat Mat type material means you'd be putting the sticky side of the of the material over the plastic rain film that covers the internal access points for the door mechanisms. While you have the front doors open, check out the speakers. They were so chintzy on the Civic I replaced them too with some speakers that properly fit without any door panel alterations. I'll bet what we have on the ILX is not much better, but you can judge that. Crutchfield.com has the best fitment guide.

Thanks for taking on this how-to with pictures. I'll be glad to send you pictures of what I have done on the back floor and trunk/wheel wells for the ILX.

Trentimus

Definitely, I typically just disconnect harnesses, and that is it. I will be removing the plastic film, but to each his own on that. The rear seat just has those pressure buttons underneath and I'll end up covering under it.

The speakers I rather not fool with just because they're powered by an amp.. there is no telling what the actual RMS is of the amp to properly match with a decent set of speakers. But, yeah I am sure they're cheap paper speakers, like most stockers.

My first round of sound deadening will be the 4 doors, under the rear seat and spare tire.

Then I'll do the fender wells and pillars. It's still entirely too cold for me to get to work on this so stayed tuned. Anyone with suggestions as to where to cover or maybe what to do in those areas while the panels are off, feel free. I am also thinking of doing what Lexus does and shove some very very thin foam-like material between the plastic contact pieces. Basically when you go over rough roads or bumps it reduces that plastic rattle.

Trentimus

http://www.buy.com/prod/heated-auto-...ngId=168470064
I don't wanna hear, I "never did anything" for ya.

Lol, I wonder how it works? I live in TX so we get like.. 3 total days of potential frost.. never needed one.

spdandpwr

Thanks! I'll consider it. I didn't get frost this morning, just windows that were frozen shut I think the only way the windows could've been frozen shut is by water leaking into the door panel....hmmm, maybe Deathknight was right, again.

Trentimus

HA what was he right about before?

Did you try doing the circulate button where it reuses the heat? I never try to roll my windows down in the ice so I dunno? If he's right I'll personally punch myself in D***

spdandpwr

He might be right about the windows not creating a proper seal and allowing water to leak in. If that water froze, it could be the reason why my windows won't / didn't open

opboarding

I could never live somewhere that cold with that much snow and ice. Its a pain in the ass having ice all over your car.

spdandpwr

gives you a reason to cuddle

Trentimus

Well... at highway speed I hear a lot of air coming from the windows sometimes.. damn.
I AGREE. Ice is gross

The heat gives the ladies a reason to wear bikinis... or nothing at all!

spdandpwr

how'd I not think of that

Colin

What is this "ice and snow" you all speak of?

spdandpwr

this fun stuff:

spdandpwr

Even the affluent partake:

Trentimus

I can confirm I have this issue... I took my car out in the rain this morning at 5am.. It sat in the garage from 5:35am to 9pm.. Rolled down all windows, rolled them all up.. Visible water on front 2 doors, entirely. The rear driver side had a single water spot, the passenger rear came up dry.. I examined the weather stripping and the window.. If you put pressure on the window (even lightly) it completely moves.. Which is normal but every car I have ever owned was a lot tighter, even a 2001 GMC truck is tighter to pressure and more up against its weather strip.. It seems as though from the factory we either: 1) didn't get the proper weather stripping 2) didn't get thick enough windows 3) they didn't adjust the windows properly... I am gonna ask the dealer to check it out, if they try to brush it off ill ask them to prove its not faulty.. You should be able to remove the inner door panel and spray water on the otherside to see if any goes down into the door.

Compare how the front windows line with the lower weather strip in comparison to the rears and/or another car.

This would explain it sounding like a hole in the window at highway speeds... Shame on Acura. Hopefully they do a recall.

spdandpwr

Gosh darnit...one thing after another...seriously.

spdandpwr

I traded my ILX 2.4 for a hybrid on Saturday, the MPGs aren't too bad. I got 41.3 on a 58 mile trip in the snow

4cruizn

Just a loaner or for keeps? Nice MPG!

spdandpwr

haha, no I'm teasing. I got that from my 2.4

I need to bring my car in for service this sat so maybe ill get something then

tsxinva

Shouldn't tease. That is what my mileage has been like w/ the hybrid. Actually this time of year with the heat blasting, it's more like 39 mpg. But still happy with it.

pabarile

I figured you were as I didn't think the hybrid had a 7100 RPM redline

When we meet my step son's father to drop off my step son for the weekend, the route is perfect for good fuel economy. It's about 35 miles round trip, and i always use the MID's trip b to record it. I routinely average a little bit over 40mpg on this route w/ my 2.4 as I'm able to go around 50 mph and there's very little traffic and/or lights.

spdandpwr

Yea, I got that mpgs with the heat on and the stereo up pretty loud.

spdandpwr

I'm pretty sure I could do better without the heat on and if it weren't snowing. Then again, I'd have no excuse to go that slow if there wasn't any snow

pabarile

haha. My highest was 43.6, but it took quite some effort (and i think i hit maybe 3 lights on the whole trip). I find i can do better with the pedal myself than with cruise control if the road is totally devoid of traffic; i'll let the car slow down on an incline and speed up on the downside of the hill, with a constant pedal pressure the whole time.

spdandpwr

I find putting it in Neutral when going down hill allows me to build more speed up so I can hit hills without having to go back on the gas to sustain speed. It's funny how if you're careful with your speed, this car gets really good mpg....and I thought 30mpgs was good. I was shocked when I saw the number on the display.

FYI, coming back home I averaged 32.3...lol I was in gotta get home mode.

pabarile

Yeah, i was surprised as well when I started seeing over 40mpg on this particular route. I find this car does very well on highway trips or routes that lack a lot of stop and go type of driving (long stretches of 45-50mph on backgrounds make for excellent fuel economy). If i do all around town driving, there's just too much traffic/stop and go driving around where I live to even get to 30mpg. I had one tank with 0 highway miles and it took some effort to get 26mpg at the end of the tank. But most of the time over the course of a tank, i get in a few trips that boost my mileage

Trentimus

Lol it's incredible what you can do at <40 mph in high gear haha I was at the 35+ MPG during the little ice experience here in Teyhass

spdandpwr

Trent, wanted give you the following from a suspension tech guy I spoke with:

The stock Civic (ILX) understeers quite alot. You are right that it will change the balance, and from a purist performance view, that's a good thing because the stock civic is a pig when pushed really hard. So, adding just a bigger rear swaybar is actually important to making the car faster through the turns.

Many people will opt to increase front and rear together to keep the balance the same, and it will make the car feel better and corner flatter, but it will be slower through the turns than if you just increased the rear bar.

Trentimus

excellent info. So basically you'd be making better speed with just the rear but the front added in will make it more firm.. probably feel more confident. Where, I am assuming you'd take on similar characteristics to a RWD car with just the rear... HRM... One could always buy both and try just the rear first then play with the front on.

Trentimus

I am just curious, what do some of you guys do for work? You don't have to say anything you're uncomfortable with but I think it's cool to see what type of people come together in communities like this. I am a mortgage underwriter.. boooorrring.

pabarile

For my day job I'm a software engineer. I also run a wedding/portrait photography business with a friend on the side.