When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
So I did my research and I've been wanting to get my hands on these "infamous" RL cams to swap into my motor. My car is a 100% bare bones stock 07 Base A/T. I put my car on the dyno at my job to keep track of my progress as I tinker with the car. My official bone stock numbers were 214whp @ 205ft lbs which is around what these cars make. Eventually my local junkyard finally got a 07 Acura RL SH-AWD (J35A8) in their lot; perfect opportunity to get these "alleged" best OEM cams for our cars and it only cost me $42 lol. I got em and installed em and the numbers after were averaging 228whp over 4 consecutive runs and peaked at 230whp @ 212ft lbs. I was kinda shocked especially without a tune. I was expecting around 6-8whp at the most. Best $42 spent lol. So things to note for those that are interested in doing this cam swap; The cams are a direct install nothing special is needed. The RL and base TL cam gears are the same i used my stock cam gears with these RL cams. Im also still using my stock valvetrain (Springs & valves). Also when you are going to do cams you have to check your valve lash and adjust if needed. I found that a few of the exhaust valves were on the really tight after swapping cams so you want to make sure you adjust them and not just drop em in and go. I measured both sets of cams in a very ghetto/ backyard way kinda way and noted the RL cams net a bit more lift than the stock J32A3 by using a smaller base circle. Anyway onto the pics.
My trusty dusty J32A3 Auto. Official 100% Bone Stock numbers Jackpot! Sad to see it in here. O well out with your cams! Validity $42 power sticks lol Checking to see how hollow these cams are. .....definately hollow Stock J32A3 Cam on the left RL J35A8 Cam on the right. Yea the base isnt hollow Always check your valve lash with the motor cold. I.E below 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Before and after dyno. (Orange is before cams blue is after cams)
Verdict; if you can get your hands on these cams for a decent price go for it! It was well worth it for me
Last edited by fullboost833; Apr 10, 2020 at 01:23 AM.
In addition I researched the temps and humidity on both days I did the before and after and both days were around 81-83 degrees Fahrenheit at around 58-59% humidity
Eventually my local junkyard finally got a 07 Acura RL SH-AWD (J35A8) in their lot; perfect opportunity to get these "alleged" best OEM cams for our cars and it only cost me $42 lol.
Nice work with the cam 'experiment'!
I've found some great deals at salvage yards! A few months ago I found a donor CL-S and purchased the complete stock air box system from the air flow tube all the way to the resonator; two complete rear shock assemblies; front and rear factory sway bars, front strut tower bar; 5 fuel injectors and 3 coil packs for around $150.
Thank you for adding meaningful insight to the 3G community!
Looking forward to you next move!
Yea man! It was just like pulling teeth to find definitive before and after numbers with the cam swap the only thing i found close was a guy with an Accord (J30) with TLS cams and i think he gained 9whp more if im not mistaken. I dont know if it's a good comparison to the J32A3 but hey i made ~15whp and 7ft lbs more with RL cams. Will that be enough to debunk the whole RL vs TLS cam debate? Irk but this was my contribution to the 3G community. Which I think it def needed it
I've found some great deals at salvage yards! A few months ago I found a donor CL-S and purchased the complete stock air box system from the air flow tube all the way to the resonator; two complete rear shock assemblies; front and rear factory sway bars, front strut tower bar; 5 fuel injectors and 3 coil packs for around $150.
Nice find! I actually very recently got my hands on a 3.7L intake manifold from a 2013 TL at my junk yard and got that. I have that on and a temporary intake pipe now and there are definately more gains with that. Im gunna do a before and after with that manifold combined with the cams. Im gunna say i may be close to ~240whp now going off mph. I did videos to record my progress of me doing pulls in Antarctica from 24-25mph to about 100mph and compared the videos side by side. With only the cams the car revved up faster and i was about 1-2mph faster. Now with the manifold compared to totally stock im about 4-5mph faster so I cant wait to see what the power is now. By the way I got the Intake manifold, throttle body and top plate for $82 so that's another awesome score!
Last edited by fullboost833; Apr 10, 2020 at 08:57 AM.
By the way I got the Intake manifold, throttle body and top plate for $82 so that's another awesome score!
That's a crazy good pick price for that IM package!
I can see from the picture above that that place is organized. Those are the types of 'pick n pulls' I like. Nice rows of acura's and honda's, all lifted up off the ground.
Originally Posted by fullboost833
I stated to Saving4aTL yesterday, who is in the process of doing a port job on a similar IM, that I'd never seen the inside of one of those newer TL IM's. Now here you are a day later with the same IM split open, as well. Check out his Rotrex thread, maybe a port job is on the agenda for you to help get those NA HP dyno numbers higher on your TL.
Thank you for adding meaningful insight to the 3G community!
Looking forward to you next move!
I guess not all people from FB group are bad after all, I knew I was recruited the right person.
Originally Posted by fullboost833
I opened my manifold up because it had a little crack in it that I needed to fix. So I did that and so far so good.
Lmao, Justin you need a Hondata Flash Pro since the 3.7 IM will giving you funky idle no matter how hard you trying to reset relearn method. The only way to get rid of it is getting it tuned, curse me out now and thanks me later lol.
Curious what all you needed to do to repair the crack? Did you grind and Tig weld or was it something simpler?
You're gunna laugh at this but really I just used a strong 2 part epoxy (3M Universal Adhesive Clear 08107) and then ultra grey over that. Let it cure for a day then I sealed up the manifold and let that cure for a day and voila! Lol i dont have monies to pay someone to "make it perfect" I just cared to make it work. Maybe down the line ill address it but for now im golden
You're gunna laugh at this but really I just used a strong 2 part epoxy (3M Universal Adhesive Clear 08107) and then ultra grey over that. Let it cure for a day then I sealed up the manifold and let that cure for a day and voila! Lol i dont have monies to pay someone to "make it perfect" I just cared to make it work. Maybe down the line ill address it but for now im golden
Lol hey it beats paying $300-$900 for the whole setup. I have a MDX spacer im itching to put on but im being disciplined and will wait to dyno the car now with the 3.7 manifold then do another comparison with the mdx spacer on. Going to have to whip out the angle grinder to make it fit under my hood though so there's more things in store for gunny to smirk at lol
Maybe it's just me, but if I'm going that much trouble for a dozen horsepower, I think I'd rather find a J35A8 and put the whole motor in.
To each is their own. I had the cams stored away for about 2 months now. I had a bad rear main leak that ive been procrastinating on doing until i decided to pull the motor and trans one weekend and do it. Thats when I did the cams.
To each is their own. I had the cams stored away for about 2 months now. I had a bad rear main leak that ive been procrastinating on doing until i decided to pull the motor and trans one weekend and do it. Thats when I did the cams.
Nice!
So basically, with your patient prudent planning, you 'killed two birds with one stone'. Taking care of a pesky rear main seal leak and then quickly buzzing off the valve covers to install the RL cams, all while the engine is out and readily accessible. This, in turn, makes the post cam install valve adjustment, you mention above, all the more EASIER. Now anyone WHO has EVER performed a valve adjustment, themselves, on a J-series motor, with the engine in the car, knows that it is doable; however, not fun. Especially on the human back! IMHO, I'd say that 'dozen' added horsepower was a pleasant incidental secondary reward for all the additional labor incurred for fixing the notorious leaking RMS that plagues J engines.
Nice!
So basically, with your patient prudent planning, you 'killed two birds with one stone'. Taking care of a pesky rear main seal leak and then quickly buzzing off the valve covers to install the RL cams, all while the engine is out and readily accessible. This, in turn, makes the post cam install valve adjustment, you mention above, all the more EASIER. Now anyone WHO has EVER performed a valve adjustment, themselves, on a J-series motor, with the engine in the car, knows that it is doable; however, not fun. Especially on the human back! IMHO, I'd say that 'dozen' added horsepower was a pleasant incidental secondary reward for all the additional labor incurred for fixing the notorious leaking RMS that plagues J engines.
Yea honestly it was just a perk to myself just to see what all the fuss was about regarding the cam debate. Like I mentioned in the original post I wasnt expecting to see 230whp pop up on the screen on the dyno without a tune. I was really expecting to see 219 or 220whp. Now that I know what these cams are capable of id do it in another car with the motor in. Plus realistically with the usual bolt ons i don't think you get much more than 8-12hp per part anyway. Cams should compliment every other bolt on and make them more efficient/effective.
Last edited by fullboost833; Apr 12, 2020 at 01:03 PM.
Im talking about parts with no tune. I know getting a tune will make a world of a difference but im not there yet since my wife is who mainly drives the TL lol
Update. So I know the main point of this thread is the cams but since I mentioned attaining the 3.7L manifold setup figured if just put the gains of that 2. I gained 5hp from the manifold with 3.5" intake piping. Granted i think it should be a little more given that today or at least right now as i unstrap the car off the dyno its showing 89% humidity versus the first to sessions when it was 59%. Id figure it would be more like 7-8hp gain if it werent so florida lol. Any who I gained 21hp for $124. Im happy with that 5hp gain 21hp gain from RL cams and 3.7L Intake manifold
you starting to talking about dollar per WHP gain, I like where this is going tho, on the other hand congrats you are now surpass stock AT Type S performance. 250 WHP is where the stock Type S MT sit, next goal lol.
Update. So I know the main point of this thread is the cams but since I mentioned attaining the 3.7L manifold setup figured if just put the gains of that 2. I gained 5hp from the manifold with 3.5" intake piping. Granted i think it should be a little more given that today or at least right now as i unstrap the car off the dyno its showing 89% humidity versus the first to sessions when it was 59%. Id figure it would be more like 7-8hp gain if it werent so florida lol. Any who I gained 21hp for $124. 21hp gain from RL cams and 3.7L Intake manifold
10% power gain to the wheels for the price of one month of cable and internet? Unheard of and awesome!
Even better, it's not just a gain at peak. Look at that area under the curve.
Thanks fellas. Im trying to do the most with the little bit I got. Dont have very many monies so I have to be efficient lol. Unfortunately my bottleneck now is the exhaust. So that would be my next step. Im gunna jump back on the dyno again next time the humidity isnt so crazy and see for sure what this manifold can do with the cams. Im sure the manifold can get me close to 10hp just going based off mph. Plus since im trying to be a broke scientist ill try to keep the pulls consistent. IAT, ECT, Ambient temp and humidity are all the factors im trying to keep consistent to show accurate gains and mainly of course the fact that im using the same dyno.
So I went on again just to see the absolute most I can get out of it. The humidity was still around 79% but it was a little cooler. Ended up peaking 239whp @ 207ft lbs. Dont ask me what happened to the 11ft lbs on that run all the others were from 236-238whp @ 213-216ft lbs. I hung up the towel and gave my wife back her car lol. Im done for now. So until i get another sweet deal on mods ✌
IMHO, I'd say that 'dozen' added horsepower was a pleasant incidental secondary reward for all the additional labor incurred for fixing the notorious leaking RMS that plagues J engines. 
