Hello Group,

I have two questions regarding the performance of the RDX. The first being how well does the all-wheel drive perform in winter conditions? I live in New England where snow storms are usually in the 6 inch area. How well does the RDX handle with stock equipment in snow less than 6”?

Second question pertains to summer conditions. With the A/C at full blast do you see a performance issue with the small engine? I know the turbo will perform when needed but I am more interested in any degrade in performance when the turbo is not engaged, normal cruising.

Thanks,
Wayne

 

As noted in reviews they said that the system has be "Adequate", and I'm sure the stockers will do OK in the snow. The AWD Works as only 90 percent up front and 10 at the rear until slippage is detected, not the best system for snow, but better than FWD or RWD. Most here have said the A/C was fine, and some have not, very few, and others site a very loud A/C Fan from the Engine bay.

 

Not exactly true. No slippage has to occur for torque to be transferred to the rear wheels

 

The AC unit in the RDX has approximately dbl the power of a TL. The RDX has a 160 watt motor/ condenser and a 120 watt motor in the subfan compared to the TL which has an 80 watt unit. Since i bought my truck, there has been no heat the RDX cant contain...i live in RI/MA and the humidity has been a level above disgusting with temps around 100 throughout this summer. the RDX is cold right off the start.

 

but that happens to all cars in term sof AC.
slightly less power, in terms of using AC when driving. So you can't rite off start w/ the factor as just RDX, without considering the fact it happens to all vehicles.

 

I drove my RDX with stock Michelins all last winter. We had at least 4 major blizzards, never had any problems. I am from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and we get lot's of snow.
Only winter complaints:
(1) Back-up camera gets crusted with snow or dirty water in melts
(2) Ice build up on rims can cause hi-way shimmy. You need to keep the insides of the wheels clean.

Rusty

 

I'm also from the Northeast and the Rdx handled it with ease. The stock michelins also provided excellent grip in those conditions as well so no complaints here

 

I drove my RDX last winter with stock tires and I had no problem. As long as your tires are relatively new, you should be fine in winter in New England. But if you want absolute winter control then you may want to consider winter tires. They will give you more confident in driving in snowy weather. I bought my wife a set of snow tires for her civic, it made such a hugh difference driving in snow. (compared to her few year old all season tires..)

 

I too am contemplating winter tires for my RDX. But it looks like the RDX will do great with all-seasons too. I can't wait until the first snow storm comes in so I can test mine out! By the way, we have had our first day of snow in the mountains

 

Yeah, I'm actually wanting it to snow here in Indy for the first time in a long time just to see how the RDX handles in inclement weather.

As a sidebar, I spent six months out in Denver and had the most amazing time while out there. Your state is unbelievably gorgeous and the poeple are just about as friendly as they come.

 

Exactly... Obviously some people don't own the car and thus do not have the exact information about the way it really works.

The RDX SH-AWD is predominantly biased to the front wheels during initial start from a stopped situation (~ 90% F, 10% R). But the car display will clearly indicate that as the car builds up speed, it changes to almost 50:50 distribution of torque. Under acceleration again, the torque distributes more to the front wheels again. But all this is under dry conditions.
If the RDX is driven in slippery conditions (e.g. snow), the 90:10 torque distribution upon acceleration from stop no longer applies. It is truly an AWD system, and not the "on-demand" system that is found in say the CRV or RAV4.

 

Thank you for the explanation mav

 

Well actually, it works just a little different
Under hard acceleration, power can be transfered up to 45 percent to the rear, only when accelerating through a turn can 50 percent be transfered to the rear wheels.

I was wrong in my original post, I was thinking of something else at the time.

 

I believe it is a maximum 55%/45% split front to rear and that can occur under hard acceleration from a stop even on dry pavement, not just wet pavement.

When accelerating hard through a turn up to 100% of that 45% to the rear can be transmitted to either the right or left rear wheel depending on the turn.

Under normal cruising as you and Mav stated it is 90% front 10% rear I believe. I have seen some conflicting information in different places but I believe that is what Acura states.

 

Yes the 55/45 split from a stop is on any surface condition, however when accelerating in a turn it can be 50/50 and 100% of that 50% can be diverted to either of the rear wheels. This is from the Acura site, so it should be the most accurate/up to date. I really don't know for sure with all the conflicting information.

 

IMO
Anwser to question 1 RDX handles great In the snow. I lived in Chicago this past winter and did not have a problem. At the end of may I moved to SWFL where it is pretty warm and have Very little loss of power. FYI just set the temp at 67 and rdx will be very cool in less than 2 mins.

 

Thanks, I stand corrected. I see that info on the USA site but could not see it on the Cdn site. Overall I guess it is not that cut and dried anyhow as there are a lot of factors that come into play that this system uses to send power to the front/rear and or independent rear wheels.

All I know for sure is those that don't make use of the paddle shifters to downshift manually going around corners, through curves at speed will probably never really know what this vehicle is capable of. It is a whole different experience imo.

 

To the OP. The RDX handles really well in the snow. Last winter we had several blizzards here in the Denver area and I had no issues with the car. In the summer I haven't seen much of a difference in the performance with the A/C running full blast.

 

Thanks everyone for your posts. I appreciate you taking the time to answer my questions.

 

I was thinking about how the SHAWD works, and thinking that it might be a whole new ballgame if I start braking before the turn then accelerating through it, to allow the SHAWD to kick in, vs. braking before and during the turn, wherein the AWD won't be an advantage. Is that reasonable logic?

 

yes thats the whole point of shawd

 

I do the braking before the turn but I just let it coast during the turn and then accelerate out. Do we need to accelerate during the turn to activate the SHAWD?

 

SHAWD (on an RDX) sends a maximum of 90 of torque to the front wheels while sending a minimum of 10 to the rear OR a minimum of 10% to the front while sending 90% to the rear.

It is also quite capable of operating anywhere in setween these Max/Min ranges, fort example 50 to the front and 50 to the rear.

 

When accelerating the RDX sends a MAXIMUM of 45 percent to the rear, never 90, and what I said in that post was wrong I was thinking of something else, read down a few posts and you will see how it works.