Project: TL Type S

[WRXtranceformed]

definitely get some upgraded pictures Lee.

i feel the car ADD thing as well, but is there really anything you'd absolutely have to have right now? i think you said you're big on the C6 as your next project, i think it would work well for you to pay off your TL and then hit a C6 once the prices have really come down. lots of people buy them and you'll be able to have a pick of the litter especially if the C7 is on the way in 2-3 years.

how often are you hauling the big stuff? as long as you have a buddy with a truck who's cool to let you borrow it at a whim, keep using it 8) throw some brews his way sometime just for good measure. owning an SUV is fine as a second car but i wouldn't want one as my primary.

Paying off the TL and picking up a C6 is definitely a higher priority than having an SUV. I have friends who have vehicles I can always borrow so it's really not a necessity, but having had a truck and SUV in the past it's something I do really miss!

DJ maybe I'll ask the alignment guys to see if they can fix it. That's not a bad idea..

[WRXtranceformed]

So I stopped by the Acura dealership today and talked to the salesperson who sold me my TL. I wanted to at least see how much they were willing to give me for it. If they could pay off my car free and clear, I'd definitely consider upgrading.

I've got around 78000 miles now and they were stretching to give me $18k for it, which is about $4k less than what I owe on it. I test drove a loaded 08 CPO MDX. It was nice, had updated navi, entertainment package with rear DVD player / wireless headphones, power lift gate, adjustable suspension. It was still big and slow but it rode really well. Anyway, overall it would have bumped my payments up by over $200 / month which is not worth it for another used car with almost 50k miles...especially with how much I drive for my job and the corresponding decrease in my car value due to said mileage. I'm just not willing to take the hit in negative equity just to have the convenience of an SUV I want. So at least I know for sure where I stand...I'm running this thing into the ground!

My buddy is parting out his TL-S and I'm going to get his cleared / blacked out headlights we did together as well as his Progress rear sway bar. I figured I might as well have some fun with it since I will have it for a while

[.RJ]

Upgrade to a minivan? :lol:

[JohnC]

Upgrade to a minivan? :lol:

Slap an Acura badge on an Odyssey, no-one will know the difference.

[WRXtranceformed]

Haha seriously, Odyssey still has VTAKK!

Business Development Manager called me today, said they're trying to rework the numbers. They're going to have to dramatically rework them to get me close to what I was looking for haha. I was hoping they'd just want to move some units and I could capitalize. And they are, but it's good to at least know where I stand. I REALLY don't want to have a depreciation hit on a car that I'd owe $15k more than I do now, because there's no way I could ever get rid of it if I wanted to again. I'd be way too far under.

Stick to the original plan Lee, pay it off and mod it up

[HAULN-SS]

or sell it, buy some cheap RWD V8 goodness, and mod that up for less than the cost of the depreciation hit

[WRXtranceformed]

or sell it, buy some cheap RWD V8 goodness, and mod that up for less than the cost of the depreciation hit

I would, but I need the extra space. Especially trunk space for sales stuff, that was one of the biggest requirements for me to pick up an SUV. The trunk of the TL has jussssttt enough space for all of my samples.

The next RWD V8 thing I'm going to get will be a vette once this is paid off.

[HAULN-SS]

-cough- My MCSS trunk has enough space for at least 4 sets of golf clubs. That's what cheap, v8, and goodness I meant.

[Mike]

yeah, he'd sell a shit-ton of homes driving a turd.

[WRXtranceformed]

Yeah haha, I'm not trying to downgrade in terms of amenities. I spend more time in my car "office" than I do in my home office, so it needs to be comfortable and have the stuff I want.

Sitting at the dealership right now getting some service done. A friend of mine is a service tech at one of the local Honda dealerships and I made friends with one of the service advisors, so I love bringing my car here... always get hooked up. For the first time I decided to try the next grade up of Amsoil for my car. I picked up 5 quarts of the 100% Synthetic 0w-20, which is pricey stuff. It ends up working out to around $8ish per quart shipped even at preferred pricing. And that's not even the most expensive / highest end version. The "Signature Series" 0w-20 is like $10+ per quart :evileye:

Because I put so many miles on my car I get kind of obsessed with gas mileage and oil change intervals. I'm trying to find the perfect combination to max both out while keeping my car at the highest performance level. I ALMOST pulled the trigger this time around on Amsoil's EA oil filter which is by far one of the best oil filters available, but I couldn't justify the $14+ price tag for a freaking oil filter. So I've been sticking with the Purolator PureOnes (~$7ish) which have very high filtration but marginally decreased flow rate. My last change I used Amsoils extended life 5w20 (XL) so I'll be comparing the mileage intervals to see which one stacks up.

I typically switch over during the hot summer months to 5w30 for the added heat protection on the internals, but the car is noticeably more sluggish with the heavier weight oil. The factory calls for 5w20.

New headlights, fog light bulbs and rear sway bar will be going in this weekend. I swear I'll try to get some pics once it's all washed up. :mrgreen:

[Dave]

My god, you're at the dealership a lot. F that noise, the oil change on the TL is a peice of cake; I can't believe you're paying people to do it even if they are your friends.

And you're seriously talking about paying $54, after a discount, just for the supplies to do an oil change? Where's the payoff? Are you doing oil analysis to justify it?

[WRXtranceformed]

My god, you're at the dealership a lot. F that noise, the oil change on the TL is a peice of cake; I can't believe you're paying people to do it even if they are your friends.

And you're seriously talking about paying $54, after a discount, just for the supplies to do an oil change? Where's the payoff? Are you doing oil analysis to justify it?

The last time I was at the dealership was for my last oil change / brake pad replacement I used to change the oil on all of my vehicles and I am well aware of how easy it is. However I now have a huge scar on my wrist from where I gashed it bad replacing it on my Tundra, so it's no longer worth it for me to get under my car and get dirty for something I can pay $20 in labor to get done. With materials ~$47 and labor at $15 or $20 whatever it is, I'm okay with the cost when you compare it to what many luxury car normal maintenance intervals entail. :mrgreen:

I did an oil analysis after my last change (or maybe the one before that) and I will be doing another one after I dial in the oil that goes for the longest interval. What I found was that the Acura MID was pretty much dead on in terms of when the oil needed to be replaced. Basically the idea is to make sure the oil that works at the longest interval is not allowing excess wear or heavy metals to be present. The payoff ultimately is to find the oil / filter combo that provides the longest change interval with the least amount of wear on my engine. Since it looks like I'm driving this car into the ground, I want the engine to see only the best lubrication. From my experience with a bunch of other oils, Amsoil is the only one I run in any of my past 3 vehicles due to its cold start protection, its ability to provide superior gas mileage (which as mentioned I have documented) and its ability to strongly resist burning between changes.

[Steve85]

AAhaaahaaAAHHH...I clicked on a project thread and was rerouted to an Amsoil infomercialpost!!

[.RJ]

$15-20 is definitely worth not spilling oil on yourself and then hauling it down to advance auto.

[CaptainHenreh]

$15-20 is definitely worth not spilling oil on yourself and then hauling it down to advance auto.

+1 I pay 30 bucks to get my oil changed (With a motocraft oil & filter) and if I do it 5 times I get a sixth one for free.

Yeah, sure, you guys can do it.

[D_Eclipse9916]

After seeing my parent's allante crankcase after they had theirs changed by someone else, I will NEVER let anyone change the oil on my cars unless im watching them do it. They had legit never changed it even though they said they did. My first car had to be gone within the first few times I drove it. Then had to buy my own. In which case I might as well do it myself. Takes legit 10 minutes to change oil and i get to sit in my own garage drinking a beer while it drains instead of a crappy chair in a mechanics office and dealing with ignorant people. Plus the advantage of being able to look around the front end promotes greater change of catching something.

At least for me in Northern Virginia, (I am lucky to have a nice garage), it saves me time, money, effort, and I dont have to deal with idiots and possibly them messing something up. You probably end up spending more time dropping/pickin up the car than it takes to change it on your own. But then again, the GSX, SC, and BMW are incredibly easy to change oil on.

[.RJ]

Most cars are really easy - I dont even need a jack and I have a truck bed to transport the oil back to advance auto in. Its still not worth my time, and a full dealer service history will help at resale time, whenever that is. $10-15, I can do it during the week and not take any time off work and get free coffee.

[ScottyB]

So I've been sticking with the Purolator PureOnes (~$7ish) which have very high filtration but marginally decreased flow rate.

you may want to look into NAPA gold filters as well. the are Wix sourced and very high quality. i bought a batch for the xterra from fleetfilters.com for a good price.

[WRXtranceformed]

So I've been sticking with the Purolator PureOnes (~$7ish) which have very high filtration but marginally decreased flow rate.

you may want to look into NAPA gold filters as well. the are Wix sourced and very high quality. i bought a batch for the xterra from fleetfilters.com for a good price.

Interesting you brought up NAPA gold, I actually picked one up (I bought a NAPA gold air filter as well because I knew it was made by WIX) but returned it and opted for the PureOne again. There wasn't really any good reason for it because I know WIX filters are good. I think it's because the WIX filters use a "glass-infused cellulose" media which is basically cardboard. If I remember right, the PureOne uses a synthetic media, correct me if I'm wrong though.

[ScottyB]

the NAPA is a synth media as well, it's not organic. i'm still hunting for a tech data sheet but when i was looking at filter data i recall seeing that information. i don't know about the silver or pro-select filters though, only the gold.