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11' TSX Thoughts...

14K views 58 replies 5 participants last post by  Vogenitz69 
#1 ·
Hi Guy's,
My name is Bill and i recently purchased my lovely 2011 TSX k24 Auto w/ 19k Miles on it. Ive been driving it around a little over a month now and absolutely love the car. Great balance of comfort and performance for a stock car! Now that I've had it for a while I've decided to look forward to modding it.
My all time favorite things to build are sleepers. An example might be my Ford Ranger. 300HP 5.0 v8 5 speed with a quiet true dual exhaust, pieced together street-friendly aftermarket suspension components. Always a surprise off the light...
I'd really like to do something similar to my ranger with my TSX. Ive already decided on the CT Supercharger for the power. Planning on running between 8-10 PSI for a good balance of power/reliability.
The real reason i posted in this section, however, is to ask opinions on my ideas on a set uo..
Since the stock tires already slip a little off the line and when spiriting through corners i thought with a supercharger it would only make sense to have as much traction as possible. I plan on running 245/45R17 Michelin Pilot A/S 3's up front. These are a tad smaller than stock diameter but obviously wider. For the rear i want to run 235/50R17 Michelin Premier A/S which are a tad taller and wider than stock. This is going to change the departure angles a tad and also change up the weight distribution as well (more weight on the front tires). To combat the exaggerated rake the new tire set up will cause, id like to drop the rear a tad. Maybe not full out springs since i don't want to sacrifice any ride quality, but a great candidate (i hope - opinions appreciated) would be higher quality shocks. Ive been looking in to the Koni Sport (yellow) adjustable shocks. With these id like to put the rear on the lowest setting and the front on the softer/neutral setting. Making the car sit either stock height or maybe a 1/4 inch lower.. What do you guys think of this set up? Think it will fit my needs without much or any negative compromising?
 
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#43 ·
Ah. That may just be a downside to the Tein. They lack mid speed and low speed damping. The ST-X has a better profile for that by far. Lowering the preload on the spring may help. I dialed any excess movement out by setting the damper at a happy medium.

How come you didn't go for the adjustable Tein SA's?

I was torn between Tein SA's and H&R SP's when I was replacing my ST-X. I'm pretty happy with the SA...but they could be a little better. Too bad Bilstein doesn't make any damper force adjustable options for these cars.
 
#44 ·
I decided on the street basis because they seemed to be pretty proven in the market and reviewed well. Honestly the bumps are unbearable. It still rides 10x better than stock and I've read that the rear has a sweet spot I just haven't really played with them since install. I've been too busy with work. If bilstein had made products for this car id probably own all of them. They make amazing bolt on shocks and could only imagine their Coilovers
 
#45 ·
I believe H&R SP coilovers use Bilstein shocks. The downside being that they're zinc plated like most german coilovers. Idk if they just don't use salt on German roads? I also wanted something with adjustable damping...which the H&R SP doesn't offer.

I looked hard for Bilstein PSS9 coilovers for the TSX. I was hoping I'd find them for the euro market and be able to buy them from an overseas vendor or something. But no luck.
 
#46 ·
Update:
In the process of tuning with Vit Viper to accommodate for the downpipe and the 93 octane gas I use regularly. After 2 revisions I can definitely feel a difference! My supercharger funds are rising, so I'll be updating this as things start to get ordered. I have a shop lined up to help out with install as well.
Along with the supercharger install I'm planning on upgrading a few other things, majorly, the brakes. I'll be bumping up the front to some 12.8" 350Z rotors & RL 4 piston calipers and upgrading the rear to 12.3" Honda Pilot rotors. I plan to use EBC red stuff pads all around and paint my calipers red for the look.
This might not shorten my stopping distance much if at all, but it will help eliminate brake fade and disperse heat a lot better resulting in a safer hard braking and preventing warping.
I'll also be throwing on a rear sway bar and changing out the inner axle shafts to heel'toe's upgraded version (they eliminate the vibes while accelerating and are rated for 500hp)
Cosmetically I've set my heart on a pair of Spirior tail lights. I love LED's and the horizontal dash look. To compliment the calipers and tail lights I'll be adding on a Type-S badge where the tech package would be on the tailgate.
There's probably more to add here but you'll see progress as it goes
Here's a pic after a bath



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#50 ·
The car that I have them installed on is a first gen. The brackets work for the 1st and 2nd gen cars. The cars share the same calipers/brackets up front.

I used an "Wearever" Advance Auto rotor for a 06 350Z with brembo package. I used a promo code I found on retailmenot.com. ....shopped online...picked up in store.

I would have shopped at Rockauto and got the rotors for less...but I wanted them same day.
 
#52 ·
You'd need to shave like....a couple mm or so off the entire caliper. The outboard plane of the 12.8" rotor contacts the caliper.



FFC brackets are machined so that they place the caliper about 3mm further outboard. This centers it on the 12.8" rotor's offset.

Why don't you just want to use the FFC brackets? They're less expensive (or the same price)...and they work, right out of the box.

I have a set of used fastbrakes brackets if you want them. With hardware. $65 shipped.
 
#53 ·
I do want to use them! Fast brakes had just emailed me back and I was trying to figure out why his bracket wouldn't work and he finally explained it (sort of). I ordered the FFC brackets yesterday!
& thanks to another member I have a set a rear brackets already!


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#54 ·
Officially ordered all the components of my RL/MDX brake upgrade.

Went with Centric Blank rotors all around. 12.8" 350z brembo up front and 12.3" MDX rears.
Ordered EBC red stuff for all 4 corners and ordered stainless steel brake lines as well.
Should all be here next week or so and I'll have it installed the next week.
While I was at Home Depot I grabbed some extreme heat black paint as well to paint up the RL and stock calipers. Should be a nice clean sleeper look when finished




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#57 ·
Update: Front brakes installed! What an amazing difference in pedal response and overall braking smoothness. Only downside so far has been a slight decrease in acceleration, mostly from stop lights, however once you're rolling at cruising speed the car no longer decelerates as quickly simply because the added rotational mass. What I've also noticed at high cruising speeds (above 45mph~) is the ride is a lot less jumpy. It seems that the front end seems a bit more planted, possibly because of the added rotational weight, who knows.

The issue that screwed this brake job over is that the rear brake kit will not work on a second gen despite being told the parts 'bolted right up'. No, they don't. So currently the rear is unchanged aside from the stainless lines and red pads. Honestly doesn't feel like I "need" larger rotors back there.
 
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