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Car Forum / Acura Cars / April 2007

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TL Type S

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Tom Simchak - 09 Apr 2007 16:55 GMT
Greetings---

I am considering buying a new TL Type S, and I'm looking for some input.

I've scanned through the messages on this group, but there's nothing
that came up on this particular model.

I'm looking for real-world experiences with this car...build quality,
performance issues, reliability, etc.  I realize that Acura only
reintroduced the Type S this model year, but maybe someone on this group
can fill me in.

Thanks.

Tom S.
Houston, TX
Roger - 11 Apr 2007 21:23 GMT
> Greetings---
>
[quoted text clipped - 12 lines]
> Tom S.
> Houston, TX

I've had one a bit over two months.  Overall, I'm quite pleased.  About
1 mpg less than my "04, and it had a rattle in the rear going over
bumps.  Dealer said this was an issue, and replaced the rear struts with
a factory rev. 2.  That fixed 95% of the noise.  The factory and dealer
are aware it's not a total fix, and the rev. 3 will be installed when
available - all under warranty.

Esthetic-wise, I'm not a big fan of the red-light dashboard motif
(preferred the blue one), but you get used to it.  The back-up video cam
is really nice.

Good luck.

-- Roger
NJ Vike - 13 Apr 2007 20:17 GMT
Excellent vehicle and Consumer Reports, Motor Tend, Car & Driver have given
their thumbs up on the TL. I just purchased one several weeks ago and cannot
believe the amount of headroom this car offers. It's quick and the seats
provide great support. The car gets great gas mileage to boot.

Take one for a test drive.

Good luck

Ken

Signature

"Now Phoebe Snow direct can go
from thirty-third to Buffalo.
From Broadway bright the tubes run right
Into the Road of Anthracite"
Erie - Lackawanna

> Greetings---
>
[quoted text clipped - 12 lines]
> Tom S.
> Houston, TX
Robert Peirce - 14 Apr 2007 21:05 GMT
> Excellent vehicle and Consumer Reports, Motor Tend, Car & Driver have given
> their thumbs up on the TL. I just purchased one several weeks ago and cannot
[quoted text clipped - 23 lines]
> > Tom S.
> > Houston, TX

I took the car for a test drive and was disappointed in the amount of
torque-steer.  It really need SH-AWD.  I also thought, that while the
brakes were great, the peddle feel was a bit soft.  That could have been
the particular car I was driving.  Straight-line it is very quick.  Just
don't try to use it for hard cornering.

Signature

Robert B. Peirce, Venetia, PA  724-941-6883
bob AT peirce-family.com [Mac]
rbp AT cooksonpeirce.com [Office]

Dean Dark - 14 Apr 2007 22:57 GMT
On Sat, 14 Apr 2007 20:05:12 GMT, Robert Peirce

>I took the car for a test drive and was disappointed in the amount of
>torque-steer.  It really need SH-AWD.  I also thought, that while the
>brakes were great, the peddle feel was a bit soft.  That could have been
>the particular car I was driving.  Straight-line it is very quick.  Just
>don't try to use it for hard cornering.

It sounds to me like you could be ready for a (gasp! shock! horror!)
*rear* wheel drive car.

Fact is, in anything larger than a very small car, front wheel drive
just doesn't cut it on the performance front.  All wheel drive is a
bit better but it's different and at the end of the day all that all
wheel drive on a front wheel drive platform is doing is compensating
somewhat for the shortcomings of front wheel drive scaled up to a
larger and more powerful car being driven by someone a bit more alert
than your grand-dad.

Toyota and Nissan have realized this over the past few years in many
models in their Lexus and Infiniti lines.  BMW and Mercedes have known
it for years.

It's time for Honda's Acura brand to catch up.  I *really* wish they
would.  And don't talk to me about the NSX and the S2000, I'm talking
about the mainstream bread and butter stuff.
Signature

Dan.

Robert Peirce - 15 Apr 2007 23:08 GMT
> On Sat, 14 Apr 2007 20:05:12 GMT, Robert Peirce
>
[quoted text clipped - 22 lines]
> would.  And don't talk to me about the NSX and the S2000, I'm talking
> about the mainstream bread and butter stuff.

I have a 1977 MB (RWD), a 1999 NSX (RWD), a 2000 Prelude (FWD) and a
2006 RL (AWD).  I have some knowledge of what I am talking about.  
Torque steer is pretty well tamed in the RL, and it isn't too bad in the
Prelude.  It could be handled in the TL-S as well.  The problem is
getting more than about 200 hp to the ground in a FWD car is fairly
difficult, but it can be done.  Look at what Real Time Racing has been
able to do, as well as that team that keeps winning in British Touring
Car -- Hareford or something like that.

Signature

Robert B. Peirce, Venetia, PA  724-941-6883
bob AT peirce-family.com [Mac]
rbp AT cooksonpeirce.com [Office]

Dean Dark - 16 Apr 2007 01:10 GMT
>> It's time for Honda's Acura brand to catch up.  I *really* wish they
>> would.  And don't talk to me about the NSX and the S2000, I'm talking
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
>getting more than about 200 hp to the ground in a FWD car is fairly
>difficult, but it can be done.

So why bother with FWD?

There never has been a *really* good FWD performance car of any decent
size, and IMHFO there isn't likely ever to be one.  I'm on my second
NSX now, and it's closest to the most perfect car I've ever driven.
I'm saving up for an F430 (though an F355 may be more within my
reach...) and if that ever happens then I expect even the memory of
the beloved NSX will be eclipsed.  I bought an '04 TSX new for a
runabout and it was a damned near faultless car - apart from the
*wretched* FWD yukkiness when you stepped on it.  I sold is a year
later with less than 10K miles on it.

The fact remains that FWD sucks big time in the performance car
market.  There just ain't no gettin' around it.
Signature

Dan.

Tegger - 16 Apr 2007 14:10 GMT


> So why bother with FWD?

Because it's cheaper and lighter to build.

Signature

Tegger

The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ
www.tegger.com/hondafaq/

Tom Simchak - 16 Apr 2007 20:44 GMT
>  
>> So why bother with FWD?
>
> Because it's cheaper and lighter to build.

OK, what I'm hearing here is that the main complaint seems to be
torque-steer.  I drove a Type S over the weekend, and the torque-steer
was not that pronounced, at least to me, and yes, I put the pedal down a
couple of times.

What I was hoping to see were more comments about things like
build-quality, bad ergonomics, etc.

Tom Simchak
Law Offices of Thomas G. Simchak
5424 Katy Freeway
Houston, TX  77007
(713) 864-6822 [TEL]
(713) 864-6592 [FAX]
Dean Dark - 17 Apr 2007 00:29 GMT
>OK, what I'm hearing here is that the main complaint seems to be
>torque-steer.  I drove a Type S over the weekend, and the torque-steer
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
>What I was hoping to see were more comments about things like
>build-quality, bad ergonomics, etc.

Those are things you can find out about from places like Consumer
Reports magazine.  The more subjective things like "how much fun and
enjoyment is it to drive?" are a bit more subjective and that's where
opinion rather than fact kicks in.
Signature

Dan.

NJ Vike - 16 Apr 2007 21:33 GMT
What do you propose they do with people that live in states where FWD or AWD
are needed? Should Acura add AWD to the TL?

Signature

"Now Phoebe Snow direct can go
from thirty-third to Buffalo.
From Broadway bright the tubes run right
Into the Road of Anthracite"
Erie - Lackawanna

>>> It's time for Honda's Acura brand to catch up.  I *really* wish they
>>> would.  And don't talk to me about the NSX and the S2000, I'm talking
[quoted text clipped - 21 lines]
> The fact remains that FWD sucks big time in the performance car
> market.  There just ain't no gettin' around it.
Dean Dark - 17 Apr 2007 00:33 GMT
>What do you propose they do with people that live in states where FWD or AWD
>are needed? Should Acura add AWD to the TL?

States where FWD or AWD is *needed*??

No.  I think that people such as you describe should learn how to
drive.  That's, I'd say, 85% or so of the problem.
Signature

Dan.

NJ Vike - 16 Apr 2007 21:32 GMT
I believe the Infiniti G6 might be a good example. Most FWD cars I tested
had the torque steer. I don't know how an AWD vehicle can suffer any Torque
steer though.

Ken

Signature

"Now Phoebe Snow direct can go
from thirty-third to Buffalo.
From Broadway bright the tubes run right
Into the Road of Anthracite"
Erie - Lackawanna

>> >I took the car for a test drive and was disappointed in the amount of
>> >torque-steer.  It really need SH-AWD.  I also thought, that while the
[quoted text clipped - 29 lines]
> able to do, as well as that team that keeps winning in British Touring
> Car -- Hareford or something like that.
Tegger - 16 Apr 2007 13:58 GMT
> It's time for Honda's Acura brand to catch up. I *really* wish they
> would.

Don't count on it. Honda is run too much by the enviro-weenies these days.

Note their absolute refusal to consider an engine bigger than 3.5L or six
cylinders.

>  And don't talk to me about the NSX and the S2000, I'm talking
> about the mainstream bread and butter stuff.

The Ridgeline?

Signature

Tegger

The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ
www.tegger.com/hondafaq/

Dean Dark - 17 Apr 2007 00:43 GMT
>>  And don't talk to me about the NSX and the S2000, I'm talking
>> about the mainstream bread and butter stuff.
>
>The Ridgeline?

Isn't that AWD?
Signature

Dan.

Tegger - 16 Apr 2007 14:06 GMT
 

> I took the car for a test drive and was disappointed in the amount of
> torque-steer.

You can't ever get rid of torque-steer completely in any vehicle driven by
its front wheels. It's inherent in the design, and the more powerful the
car, the more the torque steer.

My '91 Integra has equal-length halfshafts (for torque-steer reduction) but
you still have to hold on well to the steering wheel on aceleration from a
standstill. That took some getting used to after all the RWD cars I had
previously owned.

Consider a powerful car without equal-length driveshafts or any other
attempt at reducing torque-steer: the Pontiac Sunbird Turbo. I drove one of
these in 1991. This piece of crap had torque-steer so BAD it wanted to
shoot right into the ditch when you floored it. The Integra was much better
behaved.

Signature

Tegger

The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ
www.tegger.com/hondafaq/

Michael Pardee - 17 Apr 2007 00:25 GMT
> Consider a powerful car without equal-length driveshafts or any other
> attempt at reducing torque-steer: the Pontiac Sunbird Turbo. I drove one
> of
> these in 1991. This piece of crap had torque-steer so BAD it wanted to
> shoot right into the ditch when you floored it.

So, what was the problem with that? Oh, that's right... the driver goes in
the ditch too.
Tegger - 17 Apr 2007 00:56 GMT
>> Consider a powerful car without equal-length driveshafts or any other
>> attempt at reducing torque-steer: the Pontiac Sunbird Turbo. I drove
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
> So, what was the problem with that? Oh, that's right... the driver
> goes in the ditch too.

And so does your insurance...

Signature

Tegger

The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ
www.tegger.com/hondafaq/

NJ Vike - 16 Apr 2007 21:31 GMT
Rumor has it that SH-AWD might be available next year.

Signature

"Now Phoebe Snow direct can go
from thirty-third to Buffalo.
From Broadway bright the tubes run right
Into the Road of Anthracite"
Erie - Lackawanna

>> Excellent vehicle and Consumer Reports, Motor Tend, Car & Driver have
>> given
[quoted text clipped - 34 lines]
> the particular car I was driving.  Straight-line it is very quick.  Just
> don't try to use it for hard cornering.
Nobody - 24 Apr 2007 15:49 GMT
Tom Simchak <not.today@thankyou.org> wrote in news:hltSh.2470$zC.1881
@newssvr22.news.prodigy.net:

> I'm looking for real-world experiences with this car...build quality,
> performance issues, reliability, etc.  I realize that Acura only
> reintroduced the Type S this model year, but maybe someone on this group
> can fill me in.

The TL Type S is new this year?  I could have sworn I'd seen them in the
past...
John Horner - 24 Apr 2007 16:30 GMT
> Tom Simchak <not.today@thankyou.org> wrote in news:hltSh.2470$zC.1881
> @newssvr22.news.prodigy.net:
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
> The TL Type S is new this year?  I could have sworn I'd seen them in the
> past...

The higher performance type S went away with the introduction of the
current TL design in 2004.  The S designation came back for 2007.

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