SP Rides: Special Delivery

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BY MICHAEL KITCHENS

Name: Bobby Valera
Age: 23
Occupation: Dad
Hobbies: Cars
Year, Make, Model: 2005 Acura TL
Color: Custom Black with Purple Pearl by #KNCAutoWorx
Engine/Transmission: D.C. Sports cold air intake, Competition Stage 2 clutch, lightened flywheel
Exterior: A-Spec front lip, R-Style rear windows visor and trunk lip, OEM window visors
Interior: Clarion double din receiver, Rockford Fosgate P3 subwoofer and Rockford Prime amp, Junction Produce neck pads and pretzel
Suspension: Form & Function type 2 suspension
Wheels: ESM wheels @ 18 by 10 inches front and 18 by 11 inches rear with 1-inch adapters 5×114-5×120, Saffiro SF5 225/40/18s, Brembo BBK, drilled and slotted rotors

As a kid, Bobby Valera would always go to the racetrack with his uncle. These trips would revolve around watching his uncle’s ’91 Civic SI rage down the one-fourth mile. We’re talking low 11-second passes on full slicks and killer reaction times. As with any child his age, Valera was duly impressed and in no time Hondas became his passion.

Since then, he’s owned over twenty-three cars, so maybe “passion” is an understatement. For starters, he’s only twenty-three to begin with, so you do the math — that’s a whole lot of Hondas! Through all of this, there’s been a slow evolution to a higher form of Honda. For the longest time, Bobby spent most of his time modifying Civics and Integras; the types of cars that are economical yet can be made to be extremely fast. 

When Valera got his 2005 Acura TL his passion turned into pure ecstasy, even compared to his laundry list of other works. In truth, the Acura TL is a luxury car with the performance to match. From the factory, it’s already putting down 270HP on the base model alone. Combine this with lush interior and decent handling, and it’s no wonder that it was the best-selling luxury sedan at one point in time.

 “The car is an upgrade,” said Valera. “I fell in love with the six-speed. The power is there (and) the looks.” With the help of his fellow crewmembers from Agile, Valera wrenched on his ride with the local, friends-only car club that revolves around hanging out and helping one another.

They worked to make the Acura’s exterior clean and sleek while featuring an A-Spec front lip with R-Style rear window visors and trunk lip providing additional accents. The windows are further upgraded with blacked out visors as well. The entire body has been repainted in a “not just black” form of purple pearl flake to stand out a little from the crowd.

Performance has improved in several categories thanks to a DC Sports cold air intake while a Competition Stage 2 clutch is mated with a lightened flywheel for more get-up-and-go with the six-speed manual transmission.

The sounds are not neglected thanks to the pumping Clarion double-din receiver that spends its time pumping through a Rockford Fosgate P3 and Prime amp. Interior-wise, Junction Produce is represented through the neck pads and pretzel while the shift knob has been swapped out for a purple bubble version.

In a bold move for Hawaii’s bumpy roads, this ride is static and rolls low on Form & Function coilovers with 18-inch EMS wheels staggered at 10 inches in front and 11 inches in the rear. Saffiro SF5s provide the rubber for the road.

Finally, the entire setup is pulled to a stop thanks to a Brembo BBK drilled and slotted rotor setup.

Valera currently hits the roads in his Acura TL as an occasional cruiser and while it’s not exactly Initial D, it certainly hits the spot in more places than one. 

ORIGINAL CONCLUSION: [Currently this Acura is his occasional cruiser while also “repping” as a special delivery vehicle for his girlfriend’s Tambry & Mochi startup business. It’s not exactly Initial D, but it certainly hits the spot in more places than one.]

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