h4qq

iTrader: (1)

to my fellow AZ'ers - I greet you with peace!

I've been on these forums for a couple months now and have yet to be unimpressed by the amount of knowledge and expertise that I can find on these forums - so I would first like to express my thanks for all the advice from everyone here

I've had the TL since '04 (it is an '04 model), and have never thought twice about the purchase. Originally the family had plans to buy the previous TL, but we decided to wait it out for the next model, and boy were we happy.

So what started the TL binge? The good ol' fender bender with a crazy lady story. 5 MPH into my front bumper and she even had the guts to claim whiplash and "soreness" a week later - even the insurance people laughed.



So from here, I decided that it's time the TL was given some respect, especially after 6 years of never failing to impress.

I was able to get the TL to become a test car for Heel Toe Auto, dubbed as the "HT-Spec TL". I've been working close with Heel Toe ever since, and I must say the quality of service and experience is awesome. Marcus is very knowledgeable and really knows how to cater to a customer's driving needs - I highly recommend !

So let's begin.

Suspension

Coilovers: HT-Spec Damper Kit - Function & Form Autolife Type 2







Difference between stock and coilovers:


Before coilovers:


After coilovers with 2" drop:




















We also did some test fitting of some 255 tires on the front wheels just to see clearance if anyone is interested: (before coilovers)


Rims/Tires

I decided to go with some Goodyear Eagle GTs, ultra high performance tires - I love them - perfect around corners at high speed.

I've always loved the Volk TE37s, but always found them to be too expensive so I found some replicas in matte black and went with them in 18x9 with +41 offset, also added some red lugs for some added effect

















Roof Spoiler / Deck Lid Spoiler

Ebay is awesome. Why? Would you be willing to pay over 300 dollars for a deck lid spoiler? I didn't think so. If you do, then...you could have bought five N64 games instead (at their time of release of course). I got both of these bad boys for less than half of the price of an OEM deck lid.





Before installation of spoilers:


After installation of spoilers:









Turned out pretty good, although I think I might need to reinforce the deck lid spoiler with some better double sided tape, just in case.







So, during this time, something very interesting/shocking happened to one of the family's cars. The good ol' camry. RIP.

Story: Dad drives to Albertsons/CVS shopping center - enters CVS, after a few minutes he hears on the PA system "green camry outside on fire" - he runs out and sees this:







Firefighters said it was an electrical fire that started around the battery area. Poor ol' camry, it was quite faithful since '98.

We replaced it the weekend after with a new Honda Accord

Headlights

JnC's work is perfect. I went with the following specs:

-Blacked Out Version 1
-Painted Matte Black -Removed Diffuser
-ZKW-R Lenses

-LED Switchbacks v2
-Resistors
-Sylvania SilverStar Ultra Fog Light Bulbs









Switchbacks in action:


Brakes

Went back to Heel Toe Auto for the brake job.

I decided to go with the HT-Spec Sport Brake Package: Stage 2, with the following specs:

-Racingbrake UP Front Rotors
-Racingbrake HP Rear Rotors
-Racingbrake ET500 Front and Rear Brake Pads
-Fastline Performance Stainless Steel Brake Lines
-Motul RBF600 Brake Fluid


(All four rotors are the same size in real life lol)

Say goodbye to the old:


Say hello to the new:


Rear Rotors Installed:


A look at the coilovers:


Awkward inverted sideview of rotors:


Semi-blurry picture of brake lines: (all these pics have been taken with iPhone )




The TL at Heel Toe:


Front Rotors Installed:


Draining the brake fluid:


Tires back on the car:




Cold Air Intake

After we finished up with the brakes, we decided to install the CAI as well:


Extreme Expert iPhone Photoshoot









Upcoming Plans:
-ATLP Exhaust System
-ATLP Race Pipe
-ATLP J-Pipe
-UR Pulley
-HT-Spec Chassis Brace Set

Glad to be apart of the AZ community

STEVEN05

wow ur car look good. save up for the volk.

h4qq

iTrader: (1)

thanks! hm...of course it's better quality, but for all that money and no performance upgrade, I think I would rather not =/

either way I lost a whole lot of weight...those stockies were ridiculously heavy

h4qq

iTrader: (1)

also forgot to add the following for future plans:

-Blacked out grille
-Powder Coat calipers gunmetal or zinc/gold
-OEM Door Visors
-Flame Treated Slanted Cut Titanium Exhaust Tips (with the ATLP Exhaust System)

JMooSeR

iTrader: (2)

Looks amazing! I have always loved the blacked out look you are/will be going for! Keep it up!

05TLdcc

this thread has soooo much win!!

cept' for the camry. not so much

Chessie724

Nice. IMO subtle, custom, accent mods are better for the TL than loud, gawdy, over-the-top mods. It's not a Civic. Good work.

Type Steve -O-

Looks sweet! Keep up the good work!! Lol

jwr0ng626

iTrader: (1)

wow all those shots w/ the iphone? nicee haha

Steven Bell

iTrader: (2)

H4-that's a hell of a transformation! It's amazing what a little "kiss" to the front bumper will do for "Mod Fever". I like everything you've done here-Yoeman's work-for sure. The red lugs are a great touch too!

BlueAc

iTrader: (2)

Loving ur mods! Your car looks great...

How's the ride on that suspension? I've been waiting on it since forever!

h4qq

iTrader: (1)

thanks! yeah, the blacked out (i've heard the term "murdered" look on these forums lol) is definitely what I wanted to go for, but I still wanted to keep a touch of the red to create some contrast.

lolll I guess you can only truly appreciate the win if you experience the loss?

agreed, thank you

thanks mate

lol yeah, the 3GS too, not the 4 (which has HD). there's actually also an app for taking HDR pictures for the 3GS and 4. You hold the iPhone really still and it takes two pictures, one that's darkened, and one that's super bright, and then it merges the two creating a high quality picture, it's quite interesting..

Thanks bud lol I might have to disagree with the term "Mod fever" though, I would call it "Mod Syndrome" lol

thanks lol i know it's been quite awhile since HT has announced the testing of it, but it's turning out pretty well. the ride is awesome, it gives that german feel to the car - which is also another reason why I wanted to go with the Chassis brace because I couldn't get enough of the feel, I highly recommend it - the price is not too much, but of course not too little, it's a quality product indeed. we have another revision that just came in that we gotta test out, I will keep you updated

HokAy

nice NBP! and it looks like alot of people are favoring the matte finish to those wheels lol. did you need to roll fenders or pull them for it to fit?

jjashaa

iTrader: (23)

i like everything! even your upcoming plans!

cjTL

iTrader: (2)

Car looks great. Tastefully done and the rear decklid spoiler makes such a difference. I'm a sucker and have the OEM one.

Love the wheels too. I would have no problem buying replicas and not paying a couple grand for some wheels.

h4qq

iTrader: (1)

thanks actually I didn't have too because I went with the +41 offset. when i did the brakes they came with a 2mm spacer, I might bump it out a little more with another 2 or 3mm spacer.

man i'll be honest, I've been digging your avatar since the first time I've seen it on these forums haha I think you're around the OC right? I'll be seeing you around, and on the socal caravan hopefully to acurafest

thanks bud, I definitely agree I just draw the line at trying to think you have the real ones lol the guy at the shop I mounted the wheels at said he knows a guy that can give you the VOLK stickers for the wheels, I said no thanks haha

Type One

wow everything you did is nice and your futute plans are also very good!

CLtotheTL32

iTrader: (3)

Damn nice progress! Your car looks awesome!

It looks like I'll be picking up the same decklid spoiler you bought! I've been wanting one for a while but can't justify spending $300+ on an OEM one. Would you mind posting a link to which one you got?

Oh and @ "Extreme Expert iPhone Photoshoot"

Carlitos30

iTrader: (1)

fk sexy bro. congrats....

ck0811

looks amazing; i usually don't like black on black but there's just something about this one ;]
i'm excited to see everything else you're going to do with it!

Red Voodoo

Looks like great progress!

Sandals

iTrader: (2)

Can post a link to where you bought the two spoilers or the name of the seller.

Caiman

looks great!

h4qq

iTrader: (1)

thanks

thanks man! yeah let me find it real quick...

Link: Painted Deck Lid from The Spoiler Store

there ya go also make sure to reinforce it with some extra/stronger double sided tape and specify the color you want!

thanks bro, your avatar is legit

thanks a lot! lol it's usually really hard to convince the people that don't like the black on black look, so that means a lot



it's on ebay! check out the The Spoiler Store.

thanks mate

Papayon

Wow!!!..looks amazing....i love the blacked out look...mad props!!

guitarplayer16

iTrader: (8)

Right when I saw the first few pics (with unmodded headlights) I thought your car looked albino.

Then I saw your blacked out headlight pics then it looked sooo sexy.

durlin

Great documented thread, Car looks good with the all black

h4qq

iTrader: (1)

thanks man!

lol, an albino NBP - thanks

h4qq

iTrader: (1)

appreciate it durlin I'll keep it updated!

NBPacuraTL

iTrader: (1)

After the JNC headlights, I loved it! Very nice. The only thing I'll probably say is that I think you should have went with a slightly more aggressive fitment on the wheels, but besides that,

EmjayTL

Well done!

Blazing GT

beautiful

NCTL05

iTrader: (9)

Not even a fender bender. More like a bumper thumper. Your car looks good murdered out.

VQPower37

car looks really good!

Dat Boi Ralph

iTrader: (1)

Car looks clean bro

h4qq

iTrader: (1)

appreciate it

the thing about the fitment is that I first originally purchased the wheels with +15 offset, I took it back to the shop and put the rim on the car (without the tire mounted) and realized how much I would have to roll the fenders - it was sticking about an inch out from the body of the car. so I decided to just go back to +41 and just use spacers, currently there are 2mm spacers on the car, but I'll most likely bring it out to 5mm, we'll see





haha, I still need to get it fixed =( HT is going to try a new bumper/grille mod, so we are going to use it as kind of a test bumper.

thanks!

thanks man

BlueAc

iTrader: (2)

Keep me posted!

LTxArucAx60

iTrader: (9)

Nice progress man, and def nice NBP!

acura_dipset_tl

iTrader: (40)

great progress man, car is looking real good. Keep up the great work.

JnC

iTrader: (12)

Awesome awesome progress I know this has been said many times but if Darth Vader ever had a TL it would look like yours . Any plans on getting the grille pieces painted flat black??