Crystal Black Pearl

"interstate366, now In The Industry" (interstate366)
07/24/2018 at 21:16 • Filed to: acura tl, Type-R

It’s a good color, Brent. Found a random CTR while out with friends tonight. It and the TL are somewhat related...both CBP, have “305" HP, made in a Honda factory outside Japan, have six gears, and are frequently criticized for their looks but praised for their performance. The similarities end there.

DISCUSSION (10)

Stapleface > interstate366, now In The Industry
07/24/2018 at 21:38

As an owner of a Crystal Black Pearl car myself (15 Civic), I have to say eh. I honestly don’t think the color is all that special. Sure, it looks great for the 30 seconds it’s clean, but those moments are so fleeting.

And really, Honda? Crystal Black Pearl? It’s black, that’s all.

Side note, how’s the paint holding up on the Acura? It’s really thin on my Honda. Wondering if they lay it down any different for the luxury brand.

interstate366, now In The Industry > Stapleface
07/24/2018 at 22:25

Given the choice, I would have picked the gorgeous Fathom Blue Pearl, but it wasn’t available in 2012 and the only 2013-14 I found with it had an accident on record so I passed on it. I do like CBP, definitely looks best when clean. The paint’s holding up really well. Sad to hear that the facelifted 9th gen Civics still have the thin paint issues...was hoping Honda had wised up to that by then.

Kinja'd!!!

Nibby > interstate366, now In The Industry
07/24/2018 at 22:56

crystal black meth

interstate366, now In The Industry > Nibby
07/24/2018 at 23:15

gethelp.gif

Stapleface > interstate366, now In The Industry
07/25/2018 at 07:33

Yeah, Honda makes some fantastic blues

As for the paint, it’s kind of disheartening. My wife’s 2010 Corolla with 110k on it has less paint damage than my ‘15 Civic with 55k on it. Oh well, it’s an economy car, I guess I shouldn’t expect world class paint. In a perfect world Honda would have offered the Civic SE that I got in an actual color (not just varying shades of greyscale) and the paint issues would have been less noticable.

interstate366, now In The Industry > Stapleface
07/25/2018 at 14:25

Yeah, they tend to do good blues, blacks, and whites. Their reds like to fade to pink prematurely. My Prelude is also black (Nighthawk Black Pearl, which CBP replaced around 2008-9) , though it technically has a blue paint code.

CB > interstate366, now In The Industry
08/01/2018 at 11:28

I sold my CBP TLSHAWD6MTTECH and bought a CBP CTR less letters, more fun.

Differences are many but the one surprise similarity is the ride quality...honestly. T he CTR is nearly as compliant * in comfort mode* as the TL - though slightly less attractive. In the flock of ugly ducklings I have owned I think the TL is probably one of the more attractive offerings. They still catch my eye.

Care for tip? Cover the beak with 3M gloss black vinyl. Looks great.

...and do look out for that prop shaft bearing, mine went out and it was a costly replacement.

interstate366, now In The Industry > CB
08/01/2018 at 12:16

Awesome. I’m definitely a huge fan of the CTR, but it was just outside my price range. I could have possibly afforded one at MSRP, but I’d have been putting all of my spare money after bills into my car payment and I didn’t want that. I also was leaning towards an automatic and I did specifically want the Advance package with the TL, which wasn’t offered with the MT. I had a 6MT 2nd gen TSX before the TL. They’re physically similar, especially inside, but the TL is a lot better at everything with the obvious exception of fuel economy. I typically see one or two other 4th gen TLs a day. There are at least two at my brother’s apartment complex, possibly 3. One is a nice blue pre-facelift AWD and the others are FWDs. There is, surprisingly, a vastly noticeably different exhaust note between the J35 and J37 ...the J35 sounds rather plain while the J37 sounds much more fierce, even in stock form.

Good to know about the beak. I was considering blacking it out anyway. Definitely keeping an ear out for the prop shaft too, so far so good. I got a CarMax warranty for that very reason. Any other life support tips? I need to get the airbag recall done so when i go to Acura if there’s anything else that needs to be done I’ll try to take care of it all at once.

CB > interstate366, now In The Industry
08/01/2018 at 12:55

I also have a 2nd gen TSX, found a nice high mileage wagon from Texas of all places. Directly comparing the two (TL and TSX) the TL is noticeably more comfortable - size and ride quality, the rear seat of the TL is genuinely a nice place to be. I can’t say the same about the TSX . Also love the 3.7L note. I previously had a R idgeline with the 3.5 which was a bit tame until I put a K&N cold air intake and had RV6 fab up the first J-Pipe which fixed things in the sound department nicely. Personally I think the 3.7 is underrated in terms of power. I drove a 2017 SH-AWD TL when I was evaluating my recent purchase and found it be down on fun when compared to the 4th gen 6MT. It could have been the trans but it actually felt like it had considerably less power.

As for life support tips - definitely replace the a irbags. Since I had both the TSX and TL at the time of announcement I was slightly fearful of a fender bender. Initially the wait was 6-12 months for replacement parts. I think they were both done in about 5. Now I imagine every dealership has a fair few parts on the shelf. The prop shaft bearing were more commonly replaced in areas that salt their roads...nothing much can be done about them because they are a sealed unit IIRC..

I agree t he features in the Advance we re definitely compelling... but I really like manual transmissions and a third “fun car” was out of the question . That being said I think there are a fair few updates and modifications available for the AT. Based on your fleet, I imagine you’re active on Acurazine and Honda Tech forums but if not I’d check them out. Lots of people have posted about the “software update”. I never really looked into it but it supposedly fixes hesitation.

Ultimately I missed the fun and thus it brought me back to the CTR...which is amazing. I was able to find one for MSRP in September of last year for what it’s worth... Up next I think we will be replacing the TSX SW for an RDX SH-AWD at some point . this K20C 2.0T is a great engine.. feels properly quick even in a little SUV.

interstate366, now In The Industry > CB
08/01/2018 at 17:06

Some parts of the TL are definitely more comfortable than the TSX was. The TSX had black leather, which, in a place where it’s routinely over 80 for at least six months of the year, gets old quickly. The TL has a light beige (Taupe?) interior, which is much better, even more so with the Advance’s ventilated seats. The back seat is a bit more comfortable, yeah. Definitely roomier. A TSX wagon was on my short list to replace the sedan as well, and I’ve had a couple TLX loaners in the past 6 months. The FWD V6 version was very disappointing but adding SH- AWD brought it to life a bit more. It had some advantages over the TL (definitely more fuel efficient), but yeah, overall the TL felt more at home for me. I definitely prefer a real parking brake and shifter, and you’re right that it feels faster despite having a gearing and weight disadvantage compared to the TLX. And it definitely sounds better.

I have read about the AT software update, and mine is in the VIN range that would be covered by it. I’ll ask about it when I go to Acura for the airbag recall. The prop shaft issue seems to have finally been fixed in 2013, when Honda gave the updated one a new part number. Mine is a 2012, which would mean it may end up being affected. The AutoCheck report that came with it said it was originally from Florida, and there’s a window sticker from an Acura dealer in northern Virginia where it had been a CPO car in 2013, so it likely hasn’t seen much snow. But I definitely am going to keep an ear out for that telltale whine.

I’d exclusively owned manual cars since 2012 until I bought the TL. I have a Prelude that will serve as the car that I drive when I want to row my own now. Driving manual in city traffic every day was getting to be a nuisance.