sandlakeont

for those who are now owners of the 2008 rdx, are you noticing any annoying turbo lag ???

cyrusthegreat

I have noticed the turbo lag with my 2008 RDX as well but it doesn't really annoy me, I'm OK with it.

XIS

A search on turbo lag got me 382 results.....




It is a subjective issue. I feel no lag, but I feel it kick in nicely. What does that mean?



(with all thes cool little smilies, you'd think there would be a dead horse being beaten)

visuelz

My dad hates it. I would like it if there was more boost =]

SinCity

Yes.....a lot compared to my '07 GTI. Stockwise, the two vehicles are comparable 0-60 and qrtr. Feelwise, the GTI is more linear.

XIS

I wonder if the GTI being 900 lbs lighter has anything to do with that?

batman

Probably. The only time lag bothers me when I really hit the gas.

mau108

put it in sport mode and flip through the gears your self.....after all it is a honda it wants to be redlined :P

phoward_15

Pardon my lack of engine knowledge but what does it mean when it is more linear? What are other variations and how is that different than linear?

MMike1981

drive the CX-7....then ull know turbo lag. the RDX exhibits some lag in a small amount of situations, catching the VTECH turbo off guard is alot harder than i thought it would be......the acceleration response, when compared to other turbo's, is more like a normal engine than a turbo unit

johnny99

I think I get more lag from the auto transmission than from the turbo. If I really didn't want any lag, I would have gotten another stick shift.

LukeaTron

He means a linear torque/hp curve. What you get with turbo engines is weak output at low RPMs then when the exhaust starts pushing the turbo sufficiently fast there's a short range of RPMs where the power output increases very fast followed by a smoother, linear increase in power in relation to the RPMs. Typically this problem is more pronounced with higher boost turbos. A more linear engine will have smoother transition from off to on boost. A laggier engine will accelerate slowly then suddenly produce a lot more power and accelerate much harder. This can present problems if the power comes on at an inopportune moment such as the middle of a turn.

For a daily driver, a more linear power band is obviously desirable.

cose25

......did I just read VTECH...?!?! put your phone down mr mike...

MMike1981

eh? im not sure im followin...if the reference was wrong sorry i-vtec.....

phoward_15

Luke - Thanks for the explanation. I'm hoping to get my RDX next month and this will be my first car with a turbo engine so I don't really have a lot of experience. Based on my research, there is a little lag on the RDX but not as pronounced as some cars/suvs. Thanks for the info.

LukeaTron

Yeah, the RDX is a low boost turbo. Low boost turbos have smaller impellers that are easier to spin up since they have a lower mass and thus less inertia. A larger impeller is able to collect more energy from the exhaust gases but react slower since they're heavier.

kaereachi

I noticed some turbo lag when I test drove the '08 RDX, particularly in starting up from a stop. It bothered me at first, but all the other goodies the RDX had to offer made me buy one anyways. Now that I've been driving it, I don't notice it at all. There's no doubt that there is turbo lag, but like with any car, after driving it for a while you get used to it - and with the RDX, you find that sweet spot where the turbo just kicks in, and it's easy to control it and get a nice smooth acceleration. And I'm proud to say that I've smoked every X3 I've come across at a stoplight.

datnvan

Coming from a Lancer Evo boosting at 23psi, I can assure you that the lag on the RDX is miminal. There is some lag but the variable turbo does exactly what its supposed to minimize. Now, the lag you may feel has more to blame on the drive by wire system I think. Throttle response is excellent but at times it does feel like the car takes an extra second or two to really power up (the first 1k miles or so). If you've driven a Mercedes then you can kinda understand what I'm saying. I guess it's programmed to prevent wheel spin on low gear aceleration and minimize drivetrain shock. With my RDX having about 7K miles on it now, I really don't notice it any more. I've just learned to step on the gas a little bit more. Believe me I've chirped the tires many a time.

SinCity

LukaTron: Thanks for explaining "linear". I did not subscribe to this thread earlier.

DatnVan: If I recall, EVOs has the "hell on wheels" boost coming in later at higher rpms. Is that correct?

datnvan

stock evo has max 19.5psi around 3700 and tapers down to 15psi by 7k. mine was modded so I hit max 23psi around 3100 and had no taper all the way to 7800. in essence I spooled earlier and held boost longer. but as soon as boost hit, you would be up to 7k rpm in no time and have to shift. when I first got it modded it really did feel like hell on wheels. boost hit so early it would surprise even me. god I loved that car, but interior was shitty.

scottRDX

I find that VSA is excellent in the snow and wet, but tends to be overly intrusive in dry conditions. By disabling VSA you will notice much quicker acceleration and reduced lag. Also, my RDX has about 8500 miles on it, and it feels like the engine is loosening up nicely, more responsive and less lag.

Just remember, every turbocharged car has lag, some more than others, and people either love it, or hate it.

-Scott

mau108

I definitely notice everything getting better as the car is aging. Except the fuel consumption :P

Then again the RDX sees 90% city driving and 10% hwy.

JGard

I agree that the lag isn not bad in this car at ALL. The anti-lag system they've built in which allows close to max boost at low RPMs and partial throttle is quite impressive.

and yeah, if you want to feel lag, drive a CX-7, or even a 2.0L WRX (the newer 2.5L turbos have much less lag).

SinCity

Agreed about the CX-7 lag.

Boon

Having never driven a 4-banger or a turbo, I felt the lag, and didn't like it at first. It is pretty slight though and I don't really notice it anymore. The only time it does bug me is doing a left turn from a stop. That kick (it feels stronger during the winter for some reason) still catches me off guard sometimes and it feels like I have to wrangle the RDX for control for a second or two.

ltngbg99

No problem with right turns?

guavatone

I notice some lag with a 2008 and the 2007s I tested had smoother acceleration.

Is it possible the 2008's are tuned differently?