Daily Driver

Mike, the owner of this 2005 Acura TL, is a cool guy.  I scheduled this shoot on the day before Thanksgiving, and it was a nasty, wet, dreary day.  Honestly, I half expected him to cancel; I figured that there was no way someone would come and stand in the cold rain while I took pictures of their car.  Especially not one this nice…I love cars like Mike’s.  He has chosen to go with an OEM+ look, trusting Acura’s well paid designers, by installing the A-Spec aero pieces, and using other Honda original pieces around the exterior to round out the look.  The finished product has that effect where you can’t easily point out what makes it look better than all the other TL’s, but you are absolutely certain that it does.  For me, that’s the holy grail of car modification.

Once you get past the exterior however, and check out the amazing stance and wheel setup, it’s obvious that this TL has left subtlety behind.  Lowered on Tein SS Dampers with EDFC, Mike has dialed in an incredible stance, completing the look with a set of AME Shallen MX’s with the diamond machine cut finish.  The wheels are a perfect match to the Acura paint.

This TL is Mike’s daily driver.  And that doesn’t mean that it’s his only car, and that he scrapes around the dirty streets of Georgia because he has to; he also has a SEMA featured Honda Element that is gorgeous.  I love the fact that when he steps outside each morning, he’s faced with the decision of driving a comfortable wagon with a full custom sound system, or slammed sedan with stretched tires, and he chooses the latter.  That’s just awesome.

Mod List

2005 Acura TL, Base-Navi

Exterior:
-07-08 Base Tail Lights
-05 Accord Fog Lights
-Cleared headlight housing with ZKW-R swap
-Phillips 85122+ D2S HID Bulbs
-A-SPEC Front Lip
-A-Spec Side Skirts
-A-Spec Rear Lip
-OEM Trunk Lip Spoiler
-eBay Roof Spoiler

Wheels
-AME Shallen MX, Diamond Machine Cut finish.
-F: 19×9 +25, Yokohama S. Drive 225/35r19
-R: 19×10 +25, Yokohama S. Drive 235/35r19

Suspension
-Tein SS Dampers with EDFC
-Skunk 2 Front Upper Control Arms
-SPC Rear Camber Kit
-Ingalls Rear Camber Kit
-Comptech Rear Sway Bar
-RV6P EDFC Compatible Upper Strut Bar

Stereo
-JL 12W3v2 in a custom fiberglass enclosure
-JL G1700 Class D Monoblock Sub Amp

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