2snail

I had a crazy thought today. Would it be possible to put the stock 4g tl sh-awd suspension into the tsx v6?

Now the question, is why not go with coilovers or other aftermarket options? Well I have coilovers now, megan street coilovers and yes they are pretty cheap example of a coilover system, but I really love how balanced the suspension on my wife's 2012 tl shawd is. I know the awd system is part of why the car feels so balanced, but the suspension tuning really does feel much better to me. It feels sporty yet comfortable over bumps. Now I know the suspension has been tuned for the weight of the tl and the tsx has a different curb weight. Counting the driver roughly 160-170 lbs and any passengers the weight ends up equal to the awd tl.

TL Weight:3,962 lb (1797 kg) 3,975 lb (1803 kg)
TSX V6 weight: 3,680 lbs

So, i would totally be up for experimenting with this, if i can get my hands on a used tl shawd suspension. I might see if there are any salvage tl shawd in my area and try that.

I compared the parts diagrams from oemacuraparts, and while the part numbers are different, the overall assemblies appear to be identical.

here is the 2012 tl shawd front shock assembly diagram:


and here is the tsx v6 front shock assembly diagram:



The rear tl shawd shock diagram:



The rear tsx v6 shock diagram:


here is a link i found regarding the suspension specifications on the tl shawd from honda news:
2012 Acura TL - Chassis - Honda.com

and the specific text about the suspension:
FRONT SUSPENSION

The Acura TL front suspension is double-wishbone design with coil spring, damper and stabilizer-bar rates tuned for performance handling— while simultaneously retaining a flat, comfortable ride. Stamped-steel upper and cast-iron lower control arms hold a forged-steel steering knuckle, with the upper arms attaching to the unit-body via special low-vibration pivot bushings and the lower control arms attaching to an aluminum box-section subframe via specially tuned pivot bushings and hydraulic compliance bushings. The subframe is connected to the unit-body via special vibration-reducing mounts. Nitrogen-charged dampers with special blow-off valves, coil springs, a stabilizer bar and a tubular steel shock tower brace complete the front suspension system.

REAR SUSPENSION

The TL's multi-link rear suspension is similar to the system found in the Acura TSX. Like the front suspension, the independent rear suspension features stamped steel upper A-arms with increased roll center height, while two steel tubular links and a single toe link provide the lower control. The lower links are mounted to a floating sub-frame that reduces the intrusion of noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) into the TL cabin. A forged-aluminum knuckle, nitrogen-charged dampers with special blow-off valves, coil springs and a stabilizer bar complete the rear suspension.

The rear suspension geometry controls camber gain 40-percent better than the previous TL while the body rolls during a tight corner, keeping a larger portion of the tire footprint on the ground for improved traction. Along with the TL's lower center of gravity, a higher rear roll center contributes to reduced overall body roll.

SH-AWD® SUSPENSION TUNING

The TL SH-AWD® has unique suspension tuning including special coil spring, damping and stabilizer-bar rates, and even special subframe mounting dampers— all tuned for flatter cornering with reduced pitching motions under acceleration and braking. The system is also specifically tuned for the all-wheel-drive vehicle dynamics, as well as for the unique P245/45R18 and P245/40R19 tires fitted to the TL SH-AWD®. As a result, the TL SH-AWD® feels even more nimble than the front-wheel-drive TL during aggressive cornering.

"BLOW-OFF" DAMPER BYPASS VALVE

All models of the TL make use of dual-stage hydraulic "blow-off" suspension dampers with specially integrated bypass valves. The purpose of this feature is to provide maximum damping for large inputs and reduce the damping for smaller inputs. This in turn gives the TL sharp handling performance while simultaneously filtering out unwanted road imperfections.
The TL SH-AWD® 6MT has unique dual-stage hydraulic "blow-off" suspension dampers that receive fine tuning for use with the 6MT model based on its lighter weight and more aggressive handling capabilities. The front dampers for the manual transmission equipped TL incorporate 5-percent more tension damping during low piston speeds to generate improved turn-in feel. In addition, the front dampers generate 14-percent less high speed compression damping which helps improve ride quality.

JDMaccord3.5

No, it's not only the weight you have to consider, keep in mind how large the TL is compared to the TSX.
In addition to that, I'm pretty sure the TL spring/shock system is specifically tuned for the TL SH-AWD.

You may try and they could fit... but I'm not so sure about the drive, feel, safety, etc

BROlando

You could just buy a better suspension for your TSX?

If you really want to try out the TL SH AWD OMG BBQ suspension, then you can remove them from your wife's car and try them out. Or buy a used set to try.

I would STRONGLY suggest measuring the suspension travel at the least. I would suspect that your car will sit up high.

High speed blow off valves aren't rare, BTW. And they activate after overwhelming the damper. I do see that they added rebound and took away some high speed compression...which would lead to more comfort without losing body control.

Koni does this for a lot of Honda shocks. Reduce bump...make it slightly digressive. Add digressive rebound.

How old are your Megans? Try easy stuff first:
Add preload to your spring. Add about 5-10mm at a time and drive to see if ride improves.

What are you using for damper settings? Is the suspension harsh? Or floaty? Or both?

2snail

the megans are about 4 years old now. I have the rears on full soft, but i feel that the rear spring rate is pretty harsh. Maybe i need to order some softer springs for the rear. The front is good. I know that coilovers in general will ride on the firmer side compared to stock.

As far as preload, the way i set it up on all 4 corners was to loosen the spring perches and tighten them up until they touched the springs and if i was able to barely spin the spring in between the perches the preload was 0.

With higher preload will this increase the bounciness?

BROlando

Ehhhh the stock TSX shocks suck. Its not uncommon to improve the ride with quality coilovers.

Did you adjust preload to 0 with the shocks assembled to the car? Because that's a pretty big issue...and may be the cause of your discomfort.

The full soft damping is probably not helping either.

2snail

ill try increasing the stiffness in the rear from full soft and see how it drives.

as far as preload setting to 0, when i did the adjustment i had to jack up the corner i was working on as i had to remove the wheel to be able to access the spring perches. With that in mind, the corner being adjusted wouldnt be compressed as it was suspended by the jacking point. According to the megan racing website, they recommend 0 preload. What amount of preload have you run with success, im willing to try going with a preload higher than 0.

BROlando

You cannot reliably set preload ON the car initially. Initial preload should always be on a bench.

Your bushings and suspension arms will bind and compress the spring, giving you an artificial number.

I can almost guarantee that if you remove the shock/spring from the vehicle, you will have play between the spring and top hat.

I would take them out and re-set them to 0.

Then I would drive it.

Then I would add 5mm of preload at a time and see if the ride improved further.

Idk how low you are. Make sure that the added preload doesn't allow too much travel. Too much available compression travel will cause your wheels/tires/control arm to hit the chassis on big bumps before the shock bumpstop is active.

Touchaclass

Suspension will definitely fit. Think you would have to swap out front tophats. Ride wouldn't be better tho. Rear would be ridiculously stiff bc it's set for weight of and system. That swap is usually done as upgrade on the accord Crosstour. They don't sell for much I don't think but you can sell it on the black market and put toward tsx suspension. I'll be looking for that oem suspension in the spring prolly