PRODUCT DETAILS
BC Racing BR Series Coilovers - 1996-1998 Acura TL (First Gen, UA1 / UA3)
Here's a car you almost never see built. The first-generation Acura TL was Acura's mid-90s near-luxury sedan, and it came two ways: a four-cylinder on the UA1 and Acura's smooth 3.2 V6 on the UA3. It flew under the radar when it was new and it's practically invisible in the scene now, which is exactly what makes a clean, lowered one so cool. Nobody expects a first-gen TL to be the interesting car at the meet. Drop one properly and it absolutely is. These BC Racing BR coilovers are how you take a comfortable, forgotten 90s Acura and give it a stance and a ride nobody's seen on this chassis.
Built For The UA1 And UA3
This kit fits the 1996-1998 first-gen TL on both the UA1 and UA3 chassis, so whether you've got the four-cylinder or the 3.2 V6, this is the set for your car. It bolts up the same either way and gives you full control over how the car sits and drives.
What The BR Series Does For Your TL
Acura built this car soft and tall, tuned for a cushy ride rather than corners, and thirty years on those factory springs are tired on top of it. That combination means a car that leans, floats, and sags. The BR Series fixes the stance and the sloppiness together. You get 30 clicks of damping, so you can keep it comfortable for cruising or firm it up when you want the car to feel tight and connected. Ride height adjusts at the base of the coilover instead of winding the spring down, so you can sit it low and the shock still keeps its full travel to work with.
The springs run 12kgf/mm up front and 6kgf/mm out back. That heavy front rate is on purpose, because this is a nose-heavy sedan, especially the V6, and a firm front keeps that weight flat through a corner instead of letting the car heave and push. The result is a TL that stops wallowing, turns in when you ask, and finally looks like it's sitting on its wheels instead of hovering over them.
Drops Up To 3 Inches
This kit gives you up to 3 inches of drop from stock, which is a serious range for a sedan like this. That's the beauty of coilovers over lowering springs: you're not locked into one fixed height. You can set a mild, tasteful drop that keeps the car practical, dial it all the way down for maximum stance, or land anywhere in between and fine-tune each corner so the car sits perfectly level. Whatever look you're after on this chassis, you can reach it and adjust it whenever you want.
About The Top Mounts
This kit uses RS type mounts, meaning rubber up front and rubber or reuse-OEM in the rear. On an older near-luxury sedan you actually enjoy driving, that's the right choice. Rubber keeps the road noise and harshness out of the cabin so the car stays comfortable and quiet. There's no camber plate built in, so front camber stays set by your factory geometry. If you use that full 3 inches of drop and want to correct camber, plan on adding alignment parts down the road.
Working On A Car This Old
Be realistic about what you're getting into, because these TLs are pushing thirty years old and parts are scarce. Before you touch the suspension, look hard at the bushings, ball joints, and hardware, since seized bolts and crumbling rubber are the norm at this age, not the exception. Refresh what's worn while you're in there. Then take your time, set the height even across all four corners, and get the car on an alignment rack when you're done, especially if you've gone low. Do it right and you'll have a classic Acura that sits gorgeous and drives tighter than it has in decades.
BC Racing has been building coilovers since the early 2000s, and the fact that they even make a kit for something as rare and overlooked as a first-gen TL says a lot about who they build for. They support the oddball platforms most companies ignore. The BR Series is the kit that made their name, affordable and proven, and it brings that quality to a car that almost never gets this treatment.
Who This Is For
This is for the person who ended up with a first-gen TL and realized it's a blank canvas nobody else is working with. Maybe it was cheap, maybe it was handed down, maybe you just like driving something no one else has. Either way you want it low, level, and looking like something intentional instead of a tired old sedan. Refresh what needs it, bolt these on, get it aligned, and go be the only one anywhere with a slammed first-gen TL.
Fits: 1996-1998 Acura TL, first gen (UA1 four-cylinder / UA3 V6). Spring rates: 12kgf/mm front, 6kgf/mm rear. Drop: up to 3 inches lower than stock. Top mounts: RS type (rubber front, rubber or reuse-OEM rear). Damping: 30-way adjustable. Variant: Standard only, no extreme low offered for this application.
1996-1998 Acura TL