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My Profile Member List Garage Search Welcome HT_wrenchin Honda Tuning >> Wrenchin >> Project {{{TSX}}} Recap Aesthetics Power Project TSX First < 1 2 3 4 > Last Author Post TSX-Proj. Anti-JDM? Well, not really, but we did use a bunch of parts not made over there
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Anaheim, CA
You know you've got a problem when your daily driver-the car you got so you'd have something reliable to get to work in-turns into your next project. It's happened to our editorial lackey twice. Michael Arpon bought his '07 TSX so that he could tear his Si hatchback apart and not have to worry about when it got put back together. The Si currently has no engine in it-its ITR powertrain is being rebuilt-which makes owning a car like his CL9 TSX all the more sensible. That is, until he began tearing into the TSX.
It isn't all that bad though. Each of the TSX's mods were completed with an afternoon's worth of labor, which meant down-time for the daily driver was minimal. Upgrades like the Eibach suspension and EBC brakes, which we covered last time, took a few hours to slap on but the car was back on the road for work the next day. But having a reliable daily driver has just as much to do with driving convenience as it does minimal time apart. Driving a slammed-to-the-ground Si sitting on Mugen RnRs just waiting to get stolen is neither relaxing nor soothing-at least not all of the time. Ah yes, this is where cars like the TSX come into play. Not having to worry about important things like driveways, speed bumps, or parking spots is the care-free state of mind that only a true enthusiast can appreciate. Never mind all of that though, Arpon wants to build something new.
The TSX has already been lowered with Eibach springs and Koni shocks and is sitting on 19-inch Ron Jon Devotion III rims and Bridgestone Potenzas. The two-inch drop did much for aesthetics but, once the Ron Jons were slapped on, the rest of the car looked a bit wussy. Acura's A-Spec body kit helps with this. The OEM kit, which we picked up from our local Acura dealership, includes front and rear bumper aprons, both side skirts, and fits like it came straight from Honda. That's because it did. Everything's included from the double-sided tape to the screws. All we needed was a screwdriver and the kit was as good as on. It was so easy, even Arpon could install it. Of course, if you wanted to go full-blown A-Spec you'd also have to get the rear wing and 17-inch rim-and-Michelin combo, but we didn't care about any of that stuff. Complementing the Acura-issued body mods are yellow-tinted fog lights from Password:JDM. The lights include everything from a complete wiring harness and relay, to a switch, switch bezel, and a bunch of hardware. If you've already got the U.S.-spec fog lights, you can chuck most of this stuff. Under normal circumstances the lights would bolt right up and plug in, but the A-Spec kit's fog light housings meant we had to fabricate custom brackets to space the lights slightly forward. It's not a big deal and it saved us from some fairly large gaps. The Accord Euro R body kit was an option Arpon considered but, hey, this is the anti-JDM build after all and everyone knows that Accord Euro Rs are of JDM descent.
The TSX's K24A isn't wimpy, but when you pair it with a 3,300-pound chassis it leaves you wanting more. A cold-air intake, a header, and an exhaust system are the most logical places to go looking for more horsepower so that's where Arpon started. The combination consists of a K&N cold-air intake, a DC Sports 4-2-1 ceramic-coated header, and a Skunk2 stainless-steel cat-back exhaust system. Each mod takes less than an hour to install and, when paired together, is good for nearly 30 extra horsepower-even on a slushbox-equipped K24A like Arpon's. Best of all, both the K&N intake and the DC Sports header are CARB legal, which means guys like Arpon won't have to dodge the cops everywhere they go. Of course, everything bolted up as planned and comes with everything we needed for a trouble-free install, like exhaust gaskets, hardware, and hose clamps. Arpon wasn't looking for much power-wise-he's got his hatchback for that. He was more interested in the more aggressive exhaust note and a few new shiny parts he could polish in his spare time. But Bisimoto Engineering's Dynapack surprised him. With just basic bolt-ons the K-series pushed out 201.4 hp, more than 28 hp than before. Best of all, horsepower and torque gains are obvious across the board. Even with the supplied Skunk2 silencers, we still gained nearly 24 hp. Not bad for a daily driver.
