Hey guys, new RL owner here. I've only ever owned Acuras, from a heavily modified TSX to a toned down RDX with Volk GT-7's and a reflash. I've just picked up a NBP 2009 RL and I'm already trying to set my roadmap for modifications

I've noticed that there are a lot more 05-08 Acura RL/Honda Legend aftermarket parts...from coilovers, intake/exhaust, and a lot of Mugen pieces too. My question to the community is if there are any compatible parts from the earlier RL's pre-facelift.

I am mostly interested in exterior accessories (lip kits, visors, etc.), performance parts, and select suspension pieces (camber kits and sway bars) except Coilovers because I am planning on running an Accuair bag setup.

Thanks in advance for all of your input guys!

 

:ibyouboughtthewrongcar:

Welcome! The '05 RL has very few mods to begin with. The MMC (09+) has practically none. We use the 2009 sway bar to upgrade the 2005. There is no camber kit. The bumpers are completely different, so a kit will not fit unless you have JDM connections. No one makes exhausts that we have seen here. We have never seen a legitimate chip for the ECU, and while there are some intake options, they will likely decrease performance. Acura engineered this car very well (as of it were a flagship ), and there is little juice to squeeze out with forced induction.

You are going to have to custom modify almost everything but wheels and and an intake.

 

^just want to add, with Forced induction(custom turbo), you can squeeze out a LOT!

but it will have to be custom! $$

 

Oops. It should've read, "There is little juice to squeezed out WITHOUT forced induction." Yes, a turbo will put you in 400 hp territory.

 

You can find a thread here from a couple years ago from a guy who invested about $10 large to have a skilled vendor install a supercharger under the hood -- it was the identical unit to the one offered for the previous generation TL-S. Worked perfectly and didn't even create emissions problems. Only rub was that you had to do some disassembly every time you needed to replace the battery.

Consensus seemed to be this was a better route for this car than a turbo. As 007 said, chips are not viable for the RL.

 

I don't remember that part. Turbos are generally more efficient than superchargers, and I can't recall a turbo'd RL.

 

turbo's require complex tuning, superchargers are much simpler when it comes to tuning. The RL's ecu can't be tuned plain and simple so far. Hondata supports the TL-S J35A8 but apparently not the RL.

 

yes and no.

the comptech kit has a inefficient styled blower. (a rotrex system would be better)
in addition to this, the MP62 blower is VERY undersized for the TL's 3.2l engine.
pairing it to the J35 in the RL only yielded about 50-60 extra hp.
Remember, this styled supercharger takes about 40hp to make that extra 60hp because it is belt driven.
in addition to this, this type of blower heat soaks the intake tract and people are plagued with early fuel detonation.

its imperative to have an intercooler or meth while running the Comptech S/C
Tuning is another big thing.

the J35 is tunable!
probably took Hondata lots of programmers and man hours to figure out how to write the software for the TL's.

 

Thank you all for the input! Despite the consensus of people saying in other threads that this is the wrong car to modify, that just makes it a fun challenge in my aspect

I have JDM connections through my previous job at StreetLightz and can get any JDM parts for the car at cost, but now I have to catalogue which ones are available.

Since most off-the-shelf options are out of the window, I guess the first step would be suspension (to hold me over until the AccuAir setup) "IF" the Tein CST coilovers from 05-08 will fit the 09...Can anyone chime in on this?

Performance-wise, looks like I'll be doing some custom work....

Thanks again for all of your input guys

 

Turbos Aren't Really That Complex Theres Just A Lot Of Extra Electrical Tuning For Turbos. You Can Accomplish The Same Thing With Manual Boost Controllers Waste Gate Springs Fuel Pressure Regulators Changing Injectors And All That Your Hardest Part Would Be Piping All The Extra Components Under The Already Crowded Hood. Yes I Have Been Thinking A lot About Doing A Turbo Set Up On My RL, And Decided Id Rather Spend The Money On Making It Look Sexy!!

 

I have to ask, Mr.RL. Why don't you only use one capital letter per sentence (excluding proper nouns)? It is really hard to read your thoughts.

 

As opposed to most of us using none at all? Here we go

 

Sorry to go off topic, and I'm not trying to nit pick or be a grammar Nazi. It's just that he has a lot of useful information, and his contributions to the community are easier to digest if he uses capitals properly or to your point, not at all. He did a great job here on 11/5. Regardless of the other errors, it was just easier to read.
I couldn't have said it better my self.

 

^from what I can gather, he's a tech/mechanic.


mechanics are like doctors for your car.
no one can read their handwriting.

 

what about any of the audio stuff from the 09+?

 

Do you mean is it backwards compatible? No, or at least not obviously. I know they changed the harnesses.

 

I think the forum reverts to that when you use all caps. I could be wrong though

 

NO REAL REASON, IM NOT REALLY USED TO TYPING AT ALL EXCEPT AT WORK.
WHICH IS ALOT MORE BROKEN. SO FROM NOW ON SIR I WILL PROPERLY DOUBLE CHECK MY SPELLING AND GRAMMAR AS TO NOT ENRAGE THE GRAMMAR NAZI MR. 007spy

 

^see, what I mean. He's a surgeon with cars.
as long as we can get the gist of what he's typing it wouldnt matter how he types.

-the white knight

 

He has already moved on to something else shiny, dont sweat it.

 

it reverts everything except after periods to lower case. Like this and yours^.

 

WHAT DO YOU MEAN a

 

I'm a , c'mon.

 

 

:grouphug:

 

yes the Tein CST coilovers will fit the 09

 

Good to hear since I went ahead and ordered them already

So far, 20" SSR GT-3's are on with BFG G-Force T/A KDW 245/30/20 rubbers, however these are just interim wheels (VIP Modulars will be custom built for the car). Once the coils are in, we will be doing a full US Air bags kit with Accuair E-Level management and likely fit the trunk with both options of running a stealth setup or a custom hardline, hardwood setup in the rear.

Performance-wise, I've contacted RV6 about using their PCD's and J-Pipe to adapt to the 09+, and I've also put the Mugen KB2 Quad Exhaust on my list of parts to order as well. I'm also going to try and contact the dealership that SC'd the KB1 RL with the Comptech SC for the TL to try and see if it would be viable to adapt to the KB2.

Thanks for all the input so far guys, hope you all had a great new year.

 

Start a build thread in the Photograph sub-forum! (With pics of course.)

 

The build thread will come soon, but just wanted to post somewhat of an update here

- PCD's are here, and Rich at RV6 says the 05-08 J-Pipe is the same as the 09+ save for an O2 sensor that needs a bung fabricated, so once these become available again I'll be getting that ASAP.

- I had the Tein CST coilovers on order, but managed to track down some of the "Harmonic" coilovers that the guys over in Japan are running so that at least in the time between running static and bagged, I can be a bit lower than the CST would have let. The Harmonics won't be here for another few months or so.

Mugen Visors are installed on the car and they look great...Also, the Mugen Quad-Exit exhaust has been ordered and will be here in 2-3 months as well.

- 3000k HID's were attempted to be installed in my fogs, but a flicker and inconsistent ignition caused me to uninstall them and search for either a relay kit or a higher quality HID kit (any recommendations here?)

- Rear window spoiler is here (not sure if I'm going to install this yet) and the rear decklid spoiler is here and has been painted, although I will most likely have this molded in the next few months. Anyone in the Bay Area have any solid shops that would do this job at a good balance of quality and value?

- This week I'll be ordering the JDM headlights, so if anyone who needs any RL JDM parts, shoot me a PM and I can see what prices my proxy can get me on your specific part.

 

I had the Xtreme HID Slim kit and the flicker was terrible. When those died, I moved to a set of used Morimoto 3Five, and they work wonderfully. I highly suggest them.

 

I will be selling my Morimoto 3000K HID kit with relays (no flicker and consistent fireup only about 50 hours on them) and my RV6 Long tube jpipe. They are coming off the car tomorrow. PM if interested