RDX10

Yes, as of yesterday at 4:30, I am finally an official member with my own RDX. I searched long and hard for this bad boy with tech! Got SO CLOSE to purchasing an MDX elite, but thankfully got this instead. Truth be told, I haven't gotten to drive it yet because I have to wait till tuesday to insure it and register it....I shall then post a full personal review.

mrgold35

Congrats!! I still love to drive my 08 RDX after almost 6 years and +120,000 miles. It is my weapon of choice when running around town.

Jdrum1

Years? Miles?


I still love my '09. Even with 150k miles, it drives like a new car.

I washed, clay bared, and waxed it yesterday (in addition to leather cleaning and 303 on the plastics).

Aside from the door dings and rock chips that come with 150k miles, it looks great.

Kaputnik

Congrats RDX10!

NBP is my favorite color. I did a clay, two step polish with the dual action, and finally a sealant. It went from dull w/swirl marks to gorgeous. The blue sparkle pops so much now it looks like a dark midnight blue in the sun.

See this great DIY on NBP paint:

http://www.detailedimage.com/Ask-a-P...-pearl-part-1/

RDX10

Thank you, I am VERY happy. Can't wait to drive it!

07 with roughly 90k miles, I wanted the stiffer 07 suspension. I spent like 6 hours waxing, washing, clay baring, vacumming it, the whole 9 yards lol.

It looks NBP but really it is RBP. I will attach a touched up pic to show. Also I think I can follow the same steps as NBP.

Also know how to flip the pics? Why did they come up sideways?

Kaputnik

^^ RBP is a great color. Somebody has one on the campus where I work. Post some pics, I'd love to see it all cleaned up!

RDX10

I love it, I didn't even know the RDX came in this color. That is how rare it is. Seems like 90% of rdx's came in that brown-grey or grey-grey color. Then it goes black, white, red, and lastly this color in terms of rarity.

I will post more pics soon, just haven't had much time to take it to some nice scenic places.

RDX10

So I have gotten a chance to drive it around quite a bit now and really like it, I will split my personal review into sections.

Looks:

Everywhere I go people are checking out my RDX, I have gotten MANY compliments on it so far as well. Friends and family love the interior and I personally find it very well done and I really like those blue ambient LED's that shine down on the console. My console cover was torn as expected, I used the DIY on here and changed it to a new one. Honda has always known how to make good seats, and the sports seats are amazing, the bolstering is not too aggressive, but feels like a glove to me.

Ride and Handling:

I find the ride actually really good, I don't find it even mildly harsh at all, it has a good satisfying weight to it when going over road imperfections. There are zero suspension knocks or rattles or squeaks. Handling is also really good, except when cornering, I feel like the steering wants to kick back and I have to fight it, taking it to the dealer to get it looked at, I suspect bent control arm or tie rod. Something I found AMAZING, was I took a really sharp turn yesterday and on dry tarmac, managed to swing the tail out...so the SHAWD must have sent the 70% to the one wheel during that application. Very unexpected on a FWD based cross over.

speed:

The turbo boost is highly addictive, I added a can of seafoam and have been using that as an excuse to drive like a hooligan and hoon the RDX....it has been an amazing driving partner. I only wish there wasn't that slight throttle lag, but overall not too bad at all. It has been impressing everyone who has ridden with me. The throttle is surprisingly easy to modulate, some reviews called it peaky, and I simply disagree.

Future wants:

The sway bar upgrade, 20 inch vossen cv3 wheels, and last but not least, hondata or flashpro.

mrgold35

I would go for Hondata or flashpro AND ETS intercooler as a minimum. The extra HP and faster spool time will improve drive-ability and has a nice side effect of improvement of mpgs. You can feel the HP increase on the butt dyno in winter with the ETS intercooler.

RDX10

My intercooler has MASSIVELY bent fins as a factor of the imho poorly thought out top mount design, I need to replace it for sure soon. Leaving it till next summer, along with the 20" wheels and hondata. I plan on ordering the rear bar tomorrow hopefully.

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

wouldn't 20" heavy wheels be counter intuitive on a car with small displacement turbo?

Congrats on the car, man...sounds like a great purchase! I always see MDX but have to double take when I see an RDX. I might do a little research on the only turbo honda!

I look forward to more updates!

RDX10

Yes and no, yes if they were heavier, but no if they were lighter. But my purpose is for looks, and better cornering with fatter tires for better traction and less soft sidewall to flex.

Thanks man, I love it so far. Only 2 complaints are that I wish it wasn't so loud, and I wish the suspension was more germanic vs being more "japanese?" in nature.

It is much rarer for sure, I plan on keeping it for a couple years at least and then selling and buying an MDX, I want something that still handles decently, is cheap to repair vs a german suv, and is more luxurious. The rdx easily outhandles an mdx, but the rdx can't touch the mdx luxury.

Kaputnik

Have you driven a second gen RDX? After that, the 1st Gen RDX definitely feels more like a german sedan to me.

For me, 20" inch rims look too big on the RDX. The wrong wheel style can look downright goofy due to the tiny rotors. The handling might be fun - but the additional ride harshness and maybe noise too? All just IMO of course.

I'd like to find the optional 19" Acura wheel that was available in the polished silver look.

Yumcha

Congrats on the new ride.

mrgold35

My RDX is the loudest compared to my MDX or TSX. All three vehicles have Conti DWS tires which make much less road noise compared to OEM; but, still louder in the RDX. My RDX is the best fun factor to drive because of the turbo TQ, smaller size, and sh-awd. The only thing holding the RDX back in the 5AT. It can be in the wrong gear and slow to accelerate if you don't use the paddles and/or sport mode.

I also had to learn to drive the RDX differently compared to my TSX (with A-spec suspension+Progress RSB). Sh-awd only works with engine power or you just have a top heavy CUV hitting the corners. I usually downshift to slow, get the rpms up for faster turbo spool, slowly add power to ensure sh-awd stays engaged during the entire turn, and then pour on the power when I start to feel the G-force to help rotate the RDX out of the corner.

I can't drive my MDX like the RDX; but, the MDX can handle pretty good for her size. I don't think there are very many full size +4500lbs 7 passenger SUV within $10,000-$15,000 of the MDX that can handle the curves (especially the 10-13 Adv model with larger front/rear stabilizer bars and magnetic struts/shocks). I still leave a lot of trucks and SUVs on the curves in the MDX when the road get curvy.

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

Curious and only because I've got them on my S2000 and your comment about the suspension not being germanic enough rang out in my head...

have you looked into if H&R Street Performance Coilovers are made for the RDX? My S feels overdampened like a German car and I fuckin love it!

Anyway...thanks for the review...great information!

RDX10

No I have not yet driven it, but I imagine the suspension is like that in my father's santa fe that I drove a couple times, soft and squishy and loose.

The way I describe a German ride is firm, but heavily damped. Very tight, no rattles, and not at all harsh. They seem to be able to tune in such a way that zero harshness reaches you, yet zero float. The RDX has zero float, however small road inperfections easily upset it. Tiny imperfections are felt and god forbid I hit an ashpalt heave, straight to the buttox!

I agree, 20's can look too much on something so small, but it also really depends and also I like the sort of wide angry tall look they give something so small. The 19's are actually awesome and I love the black chrome sort of finish they have. I would take them for sure.

Thank you!

I agree road noise is for certain an issue, but I think my issue is running 50% worn winters in the summer and not the car itself. The 5AT can be rather frustrating because in certain times, no matter how hard I push the loud pedal, it simply takes its' time to go. Thank god for sport mode and the shift paddles (though wish they were slightly larger).

I don't doubt that the mdx can't handle as well as the rdx, but I imagine it can do rather well. Hoping to get the 2013 mdx loaner when I take my rdx in on wednesday for service and try it out on the very windy road we have here. I WISH the RDX had the megnetic ride control, would be amazing.

I believe they do, along with BC racing as well, however I really am not a fan of lowering suvs, I would be ok with a 1" drop max, but I think both kits are like 2.5-3.0".

I think you totally got me, it is that crazy amazingly overdamped feeling I attribute to German suspensions.

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

Well...I doubt their starting point for lowering are 3"...on the S2000, I could easily raise it up to stock height if I wanted.

Do not go BC or any other twin tube design if you want the german feel...

read up on it, but I really think the H&R Street Performance will make you happy.

RDX10

Shoot, doesn't look like they make it at all. And I think the s2000 is rather low as it is, so it would be possible to raise the sport springs to stock height, but not so with the rdx.

On a related side note, the 2011-13 kia sorento sx has dual flow dampeners, I am wondering if it would be possible to retrofit those in. It also has similar ground clearance to the rdx, but I don't know if the suspension geometry is the same.

Big V

safe driving!