[suisunca]

Finally got some pictures!

You can see the HFP wheels, HFP suspension after 1500 miles, V6 rebadge, 2010 tails, mud flaps, and 5% 3M tint on these front and side views:

And you can see the debadged look, no-spacer HFP suspension and wheels, 2010 tails, blacked-out tailpipe faces, blacked-out muffler face, and blacked-out bumper skin below the styling crease in this back view:

The bumper skin black out was an idea that I settled upon when my colour of choice was ASM. Yet, when I ended up with PMM, I stuck with the black-out plan because the body shop would change my tail lights in the process. Plus, it does make the back end look less imposing, I think. Butt-lift, of sorts! (If only a real butt-lift were as easy as painting the butt flat black! Plastic surgeons would go out of business.)

Not visible are the OEM trunk tray, all-season mats, and OEM stainless door sills (not illuminated). Nothing further planned. Maybe tailpipe tip replacement. Hate those tumours at the back of the car. Tried Pilot and TSX tips but everyone at the dealership rejected those looks. :-(

 

[suisunca]

Very nice! I really love the V6 rebadge! This might actually be the first car I ever get tinted.

Personally, I hate the V6 on the side and also dislike the new grille.

i like the rims and the V6 on the side. that should've been standard on all V6 models.

Now you just need to ditch the v6 on the side and do something with that ugly grille.

HA HA! I knew this rebadge thing would both get love and catch flak! Seems like a 50-50 split between love it and hate it right now.

Eh, I actually don't hate it. It flows well with the body, not like it was just slapped on. The guy at least put some thought into it. lol. But I'm not necessarily for or against it.

Yes, this was thought through. The owner of the body shop and I, along with three of his body guys, spent a good 15 minutes together talking about and trying out how and where to place the badges. Eventually we decided to follow the body crease in front of the door.

These guys work on EXPENSIVE cars (there was a F40 in the store with its back end torn apart), and their skills are amazing. Having one of this group decide where to place the badge was good enough for me. I know if I get sick of the look, I can always pull it off. Only 40 bucks for the badges.

 

[suisunca]

Now you just need to ... do something with that ugly grille.

Personally, I ... dislike the new grille.

I, too, HATED the new grille when I started to look at the car some months ago. Did my homework about switching it. 2010 bumper skin and grille would both be needed to reverse the look; add the paint job and the project would get expensive, so I decided on just the tail switch initially. Maybe the grille will grow on all of us 2011 owners.

Why didn't you add these pictures to the thread you already started with the same title?

Couldn't figure out how to add pictures to the start of that thread. After much angst, just created a new thread. Apologies if that was poor form!

 

[suisunca]

that shadow you speak of just gives off too much of a sunken look imho and it almost makes the tire not look so apparent at the top of it. I guess it's all about perspective. with the sunken in tires and rims it makes the car look top heavy. like a fully stacked woman TnA wise but with chicken legs on the bottom, holding it all up.

I agree with you that the sunken-in tires look horrible, particularly from behind. For the last couple of years, each time I have been behind a coupe, especially the ones with 225 tires on 17 wheels, the car looks bloated above its wheels. The stacked-TnA-with-chicken-legs analogy is hilarious!

Yet, even though I think about spacers, if not at all four corners, at least the back pair, my tech of twenty years has flatly rejected the idea. I adore the guy; he is the smartest car guy I have met, and if he shakes his head, I don't argue. So no spacers for me.

 

[suisunca]

:yes::thmsup:

What we think should matter!

Thank you! In such a forum, it is but inevitable that we each have different tastes. Discourse is healthy!

I guess you can put with the group that actually thinks the 2011 grille looks 1000x better than the 2010...also the "fugly" tails also grew on me...but again, and as always....Each to his/her own.

That "fugly" tail would NEVER have grown on me. The lines of the previous year's lights actually match the creases on the car; the 2011 lights are merely blown out and slapped on, matching nothing on the car. Not sure why all car makers are finding it stylish to puff out their head-lamps and tail-lamps. Maybe they would do better to find a solution to the hazy deposits that form and dull out all these plastic lamps. My twenty-year-old car still has shiny glass head-lamps on it. Go figure!

 

[suisunca]

The 2008-2010 grille won't fit on the 2011 unless you change the front bumper too?

No, the grille will not fit by itself.

Did you have it built, or was the dealer able to find it on a lot somewhere?

Dealers in Northern California had thrown their hands up in defeat; they could not get the car I wanted (in silver or metal) from any other dealer or from the factory. I located three in the LA area and only one dealer was willing to talk below MSRP. I flew south to get my car.

 

[suisunca]

I'd also like to know. suisunca, did your tech give reasons why he doesn't like spacers? And which body shop do you go to?

I'm not too sure about the v6 emblems but I like everything else. How's the ride with HFP suspension and the 19s?

My tech rolls his eyes if I insist he do something that he does not want to see! When I get the look, I have learned to not press for reasons. I can ask him the next time I meet him. I know from experience that his reasons are always spot on. (The first time I got the look was in 1992, when I asked him to install one of those huge tachs with externally mounted shift-lights on my Integra. We were both a lot younger then!)

The body shop I use is Tomlinson's in Auburn, CA. Filled with certified car nuts.

As for the ride, I can't comment just yet. I have been driving the car rather timidly. After 20 years in the Integra, I have been absolutely intimidated by the Accord's size. I don't quite know where the corners and tire patches are, so I have not pushed it. Plus, its higher beltline makes it hard to look around as easily as my other car. I need more seat time.

 

[suisunca]

That's what I found in Canada... factory is making their last batch of 6/6's.. mine didn't make the cut.

So.. waiting for the 2012 to come in.. production is expected to begin August/September.

I had been told exactly that. The tsunami would impact the production of the MT of the 6/6 which is sourced from Japan, and that by the time the MT production went back to normal, the factory would be ready to switch to the 2012 model year. The two dealers who helped me with the search both said that I should grab what I found, or I would have to wait for the 2012 model, and likely would not see discounts below MSRP on the new model until the new year rolled around.

 

[suisunca]

Damnnn 575k miles! Same motor? Either way... very impressive.

Truth be told, the motor got warped at 300K because of a blown radiator. These Integras are known to gobble radiators every 100K miles; mine is on its sixth radiator! There is a long story behind the deal, but I got a brand new (NOT rebuilt) motor from the dealer/Acura at dealer cost (about $3500; install on the house.) The warped motor had minimal wear when it was examined, and my tech had told me it would easily have gone another 300K if it had not got warped by the overheating. The car has been babied, with each service being performed at the same dealership where it was purchased for the two decades I have owned it. It is an association built on mutual faith; such integrity is hard to find.

 

[suisunca]

My debadge was done by the body shop that painted my rear bumper and switched my rear lights so I am not sure I can help. But this forum has plenty of suggestions so read around for details about flossing and such.

(You'll see what I am getting at when you find the posts about using dental floss.)