#ForcedInductionFamily - Project AWD Boosted Honderp

[Jake]

$18k for a TL-S? Holy crap. That's a lot of money given the age. They're neat cars though.

[WRXtranceformed]

Yeah man it's crazy how well they hold their value. And they are one of the more "timeless" Acuras imo in terms of looks, performance and comfort. It really is a fantastic all around car and still one of my favorites I have ever owned.

So while out on lunch break, I decided to swing by another tint / detailing shop that got a lot of really good reviews since he had not called me back in two days after I requested a quote. The owner sent I guess his wife out with us to look at the car and when I told her I just wanted the front two windows tinted to match the rear she said that we should really do all of them because factory tint doesn't block any heat transmission or UV rays. The owner then told me that he would be willing to install the Xpel and that the price would be "nominal". But nominal is not a number and they probably gave me six different price quotes in a matter of 10 minutes for the same work.

I thought the factory window thing was BS, and some quick googling shows a lot of sites saying the same thing...interestingly they are all window tinting sites. After some forum browsing (two different Ford forums and MDXers.org) I found what I was looking for...which was that he is full of crap. Found several direct correspondence notes from both the glass suppliers and the factory customer service reps, here's one from Acura:

"We appreciate your patience while we researched your UV protection inquiry.
The information we obtained is from the glass supplier and please be
advised Acura does not test nor certify UV ratings for window glass. This
information is being provided as a courtesy in an effort to address any
health related concerns and is not typically released to our clients. Below
you will find the approximate UV transmission rates which are rounded to
the nearest whole number in accordance with standards established by the
International Organization for Standardization:

front windshield and front door glass: 3%
rear windshield: 7%
rear door glass: 4%
rear quarter glass: 12%

Another from CarLite (Ford glass manufacturer):

The privacy rear door windows and backlite on your F-150 would have the following solar performance:

Visible light transmittance: 18%
UV light transmittance: ~ 7% (i.e. 93% of all incident UV is blocked)
Total Solar rejection: 61% (total solar energy that is reflected and absorbed and re-radiated to the outside)

As you can see above, the privacy glass already does a good job of reducing the amount of heat and UV light coming in the vehicle versus the solar tint glass. You probably wouldn't get much improvement with the addition of a film on those windows. Be sure to check your state and local ordinances regarding addition of darkening films to your front door windows as some states don't allow it or limit it to a certain minimum light transmittance.

This shop does some high end detailing and gets very good Google / Yelp / Angie's list reviews but I just did not get that good feeling I need when I trust other people with my car for the day. So the search continues for another shop I feel comfortable with.

[JPolen01]

Leave your car for the day for 2 windows and some clear film on the headlights? That shouldn't take more than 2 hours. Set up a weekend appointment and just wait for it if you are that sketched about leaving it at a shop.

[WRXtranceformed]

Yeah I mean it shouldn't take long, however they quoted it as something we would have to drop off at 8 and pick up at 5 (neither of which is appealing to drive to that part of town in both rush hours). What I am saying is I don't trust the shop in general when those are my first impressions.

[Steve85]

I actually looked at the previous gen a lot and even had Justin check one out for me. But at the end of the day, it was just a bit small and I was paranoid about the only turbo engine they ever made. Not that Honda can't build a great engine, it's just that it was a low volume vehicle with a completely unique engine.

I was definitely drawn in by the reviews and comments around the way it drives and often wish I would have gone for it. Look forward to seeing how this works out!

[WRXtranceformed]

Went on our first little adventure this weekend, here is where it took us...go to the edge of nowhere and then drive for another 20 miles :lol:



This was an old family farm and the road is rarely used and was pretty washed out (some 4-6" ruts). The car handled it like a champ. I was taking it pretty slow but the car seemed just fine. I'm just wondering if it would make sense to examine the clearance and consider taller tires or some kind of extra underbody protection. The gas tank has some protection but the oil pan and filter are pretty exposed. Here is a Temple of Vtec video that shows the underbody and talks about it: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZvwdmlTOL0&feature=youtu.be">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZvwdml ... e=youtu.be</a><!-- m -->

I am NOT trying to turn this thing into an offroad vehicle but I want to be cognizant of the types of places we are going to be taking it and the possibility of scraping something that shouldn't be scraped. I guess I have a few options, change the suspension, get bigger tires or see if I can fab up some kind of removable skid plate. I did some math on the tires I am considering as replacements and by bumping up to a 50 aspect ratio it might give me another .5" of clearance and would affect the speedo by 0.9 to 2.5mph at the speeds this car will be driven at. I may ask the guy who made my exhaust what it would look like to fab some kind of removable plate to attach to the subframe, that's probably the easy button. One guy on the Acura forums is looking into doing some kind of skid plate as well as adding some kind of air cups to the suspension. I hadn't thought about an air ride suspension which would be the best of all worlds but probably an unnecessary expense.

Dunno maybe I'm being paranoid but we were driving through some chunks of small logs and rocks and such and it would be nice to have the peace of mind that we wouldn't get stranded from a busted oil pan someday....especially if we are driving through snow and don't see it coming.

[Jake]

I wouldn't permanently raise it up or put taller tires on it... I think it'd look pretty goofy like that (and make the highway ride worse). Air lift is an interesting, if expensive, idea.

I'd start with a skidplate for the oil pan. That, plus recognizing where you're driving and adjusting for conditions, should probably do ya right.

[D_Eclipse9916]

recognizing where you're driving and adjusting for conditions, should probably do ya right.

+1. I modified my diesel truck to be a towing highway queen. It's stock low (very low for a heavy duty truck since the differentials are so big and low) and put highway only e-rated tires on in a smaller size.

This past week at the OBX I took it to the 4wd only beach and ended up getting stuck. The rear differential dragged the truck (you could see the differential cover imprint on the sand all the way with my wheel tracks) down and with small, highway only tires it ended up getting us stuck in the deep stuff. I was like well, a small lift and some bigger nice all-terrains and it would be a beast. That would be retarded.

In 2 years, first time I have used it really "off-road". Makes zero sense to modify 1x or 2x a year. Just pay attention and don't go in foot deep ruts. I was fine once I avoided the deep stuff.

[JPolen01]

In 2 years, first time I have used it really "off-road". Makes zero sense to modify 1x or 2x a year. Just pay attention and don't go in foot deep ruts. I was fine once I avoided the deep stuff.

This is what I came to say. If you wanted something to bomb over downed trees and through creeks you got the wrong vehicle. Don't ruin your cushy highway cruiser with goofy tires.

[SlimKlim]

Shit I say airbag it, it's not my money.

[Mike]

i think you definitely need to do all of this.

[V1GiLaNtE]

Just a thing to be aware of adding an oil pan skid is the weight and it's impact on your ride height as well.

I'm not sure how big the skid would be or what material you would be building it out. It's something to take into consideration if you add a piece of steel to the underbody of your vehicle. It could change a lot of things like your ride height, displacement of weight to your tires and handling characteristics.

My .02

[WRXtranceformed]

Yeah me Justin and Rex were talking about it while sloughing through PoE in Destiny. Justin thinks diamond plate would be fine. I can't see something like that making a big difference with weight and dynamics. I'm going to talk to the Honda techs the next time it's in the shop and see what their thoughts are on the idea, mounting points and material.

[navin]

Don't ruin your cushy highway cruiser with goofy tires.

Didn't you "stance" your accord... lolol

[JPolen01]

Don't ruin your cushy highway cruiser with goofy tires.

Didn't you "stance" your accord... lolol

Not a very good analogy. I would hardly call an Accord a "cushy highway cruiser". I also didn't buy a luxury suv and attempt to mud bog it.

[*insertusernamehere*]

Lol I think you need a project car, you want to touch things

[navin]

Don't ruin your cushy highway cruiser with goofy tires.

Didn't you "stance" your accord... lolol

Not a very good analogy. I would hardly call an Accord a "cushy highway cruiser". I also didn't buy a luxury suv and attempt to mud bog it.

I think I'm more amused that you're telling someone taller tires will ruin their car.. :thumbup:

[WRXtranceformed]

Yea just so we're clear, the aspect ratio on the stock tires is 45 and I was looking at a 50. I wouldn't be adding truck tires to the car, they're the same tire only an inch bigger in diameter.

[Jake]

I saw two of these things in silver yesterday evening.

You made the right choice getting black, it looks far better in a dark color.

[WRXtranceformed]

Thanks Jake yeah I promised myself I wouldn't buy another black car but since we narrowed it down to this one...but black or white were the only colors that really looked good on this car for some reason! I'm still not sold on the grille (my wife likes it) so I would like to figure out something there at some point.