chrisalberts

Personally I'd love to be able to do that trick that they do in Formula 1 cars of turning the car in its own length. I'd llike to know how they do that - I am sure it's fairly brutal as you have to completely break traction. Perhaps impossible in a front wheel drive car too.

As for the TSX, I test drove one at the weekend, and did find that while it handles curvy roads just great, it doesn't turn on a dime. There are ways to drive that minimize the impact of a larger turning circle though, and it wouldn't stop me buying one. Plus, I'm very spoiled because my daily driver is a very short, rear wheel drive ultimate driving machine and it turns on a dime and then some.

C.

TinkySD

yeah the tsx is no turn on a dime machine. The trade off has been made...maybe a little too far. It doesn't bother me though as i've never had an issue manuevering it. This is another case where FWD vs. RWD do make a difference.

akuma007

let's see:

mitsubishi lancer evolution - 38.7
mazda 6s - 38.7
volvo s60 - 39.0
volvo s80 - 39.0
audi a6 - 38.3
bmw m5 - 38.1
bmw 7 series - 39.8 to 41.3
mercedes-benz s class - 39.7

acura tsx - 38.1

The regular lancer has a turning circle of 33.5 feet, so maybe there really is a price to pay for different suspension, wheels, tires, etc. i do realize that not all of these cars are competitors to the TSX, but evidently there are more than a few very fine cars with a turning circle greater than or equal to the TSX.

TinkySD

I think this is the place for killer to insert the 0wn3d pic

Iceman

Bor-ing. Where is killer when you need him?

Who gives a fuck????

zircon

Rb1 - can you explain to us, yet again, what the problem is? As someone else sad, if you don't like it, don't buy it.

JaTe

arent u turns illegal anyways u would still need to do a k-turn to keep it legal.

larchmont

RB needs Nav -- bad!

I do agree that turning circle is important.

But I think TSX's is fine. Then again, I'm coming from TL-S, which was worse.

Akuma's examples were interesting, esp. regular Lancer vs. Evo.

RB was obviously mistaken about TSX's turning circle being worse than all others in its class. (Hey, we all make mistakes, is my philosipyll...)

rzee

OK, rb1, in your case, you would keep your car to the right side of the lane, let the car go further out into the intersection while keeping your car straight, turn the steering wheel all the way left before making your turn.

Go rent a bigger car and try it, it will work because even if the turn circle is wider than the road, you can still use the side street as a buffer.

OK, lesson's over, nothing to see here..

Sarlacc

RB obviously just cant drive a car for sh*t

acuracxs

Audi A4
Lexus IS 300
BMW 3 series
all of these have tighter turning radius.

acuracxs

dude you think you are the greatest driver in the world ?

when it comes the to turning radius, their is not skill involved just turn the steering wheel until it locks. If the car is rated at 38 feet turning radius and you in a 37 feet radius, no matter how skill a driver you are you cannot complete it without going on a curb or hitting something, three point turn about does not count.

Sarlacc

right cause youll find me saying that very line too.
i never said that, but i am a very good driver and i know make a car do what i want it do within its given limits. and no one said anything about a 3 point turn, there are ways to compensate a mere 12 inches. read the board im not the only one who knows how to drive their cars.

finalheaven

I currently drive a 00' Maxima and i had no clue what the turn radius was. I looked it up and it is 35.4. I thought my maxima was much bigger then that but i guess not. I think the TSX being 38 will be a slight nuisance but not really. I was able to do all U-turns with my maxima without doing a 3 point. I do not know if the TSX will be able do it but i guess i'll find out when i get one.

rb1

Well, let's summarize, as I'm not a post whore...

1. Is this a running change? My rant was based on the original 40 ft specification, and my test drives seem to confirm a very large turning circle. If they have reduced it, I'm glad. The original 40 ft specification was clearly "worst in class"

2. TSX owners are now putting themselves in the same class as the BMW 5 or (more incredulously) 7 Series?? At any rate, if it's now (or was) better than the Mazda-6, that's clearly fair game. Kudo's to Acura. Mea culpa (sounds of munching on crow feathers in the background).

3. I raise the white flag on the physics lessons (how folks thing they can make the U-turn if less space than the turning circle is actually available is beyond me, and inches DO count when parallel parking in tight spaces.).

4. I don't concede the point that you can't reduce the turning circle without affecting high-speed handling. Surely there are ways to just let the wheels turn further without adversely impacting handling dynamics. For example, the A4 is an excellent handling car with a 36.4 foot turning circle.

5. Finally, to folks who live in congested urban areas with little access to "the twisties", maneuverability in jammed parking lots and side streets is important and this is not a trivial issue. If it's not important to you, fine, but it's not really fair to criticize those of us for whom it is an important consideration.

rzee

OK, just a couple of points I'll make in my 1001 post.

1. I have never seen any literature published by Honda/Acura that said the turning circle is 40ft. It was printed in the brochure as 20ft, which is obviously wrong, and people just took that number and multiplied by 2 assuming that it was the radius.

2. People here did not make up how big the TSX is, EPA rated the car as midsize, which is in the same class of the 5. If you don't believe me go check.

3. Audi A4 is not a very good handling car in it's bone stock form, with small tires that give you the 36.4ft circle.

Now let me move towards p2k!

rb1

I was thinking more in terms of intended competition than EPA size designation. EDIT #2: The 525 and 530 turning circle is 37.1 feet. The 540i is 37.4 feet. Have to choose the M5 to get the answer you want. Seems like cherry-picking the data...

(Oh, and regarding the A4, every review I have read of it has commented on it having nice, stable handling)

EDIT #1: Regarding the "20 foot" thingy, it was so obviously wrong that the dealers had some separate sales literature that actually had this figure in bold type compared with BMW 3, A4, etc. as though it was somehow better.

donutchow

yeah, it takes SO much skill to turn the wheel to one side......

fdl

U turns are perfectly legal (in Ontario anyways), unless there is a "No U turns" sign.

akuma007

the Mini Cooper and the Toyota MR2 spyder are two of the smallest, lightest, narrowest, shortest cars sold in the U.S. but they have turning circles of 35.0 and 34.8 feet respectively. i was fairly incredulous. but they're both considered excellent handling cars. the 91-95 Acura Legend and 98-00 Lexus LS400 both had a turning circle of 34.8 feet. both cars are considerably larger and don't handle as well as the Mini Cooper or MR2.

the Lancer Evolution has the exact same turning circle (38.7) as a Ford Expedition. who would have thunk that a freaking Expedition could make a yooey as easily as an Evo? what i'm getting at is there hasn't been a proven positive correlation between turning circle and vehicle size and/or handling.

there are also other variables involved in making a successful u-turn. such as the angle the car is at at the start of the turn (you don't want to be parallel or facing inward to the lane if you have a large turning circle) and also the speed the car is going during the turn and of course making sure the steering wheel is turned all the way before you even start moving into the turn. these things do make a difference. anyway, 3 feet should not be a deal-breaker.

ClutchPerformer

That's what I don't get. How much skill does it involve to turn a steering wheel until it can't turn anymore?

STL

I think what he is implying is that rb1 might not be getting far enough to the right before turning the wheel left to make that left U-turn. Not using all the space alloted could very well make the difference between a clean U-turn and a 3 point turn.

rb1

Well, I thought I was very clear on this point, but you might be right about the interpretation. (Then again, didn't I make the point in my "scenario" in which I was asking about the required "skills" that the car is already on the right side of the lane and that there was no more available space to the right. ). I also pointed out that there is a curb on the opposite site of the road, which rules out using side-street space etc.

Anyway, not much point in continuing to flagellate an expired equine...

Solowist

Sorry for bringing up an old post again but I am looking into buying the TSX and I'm coming from a RSX which has a radius of 38.1 I believe and now that I read this and says it's 38.1 for the TSX. Are there any other RSX drivers that switched to the TSX? that can compare how they turn? I wish I could test drive the car to where I always have to make a sharpe turn but we have no acura dealers in the area.

Great car though

Dan Martin

Nice resurrection!

The turning circle is big but I navigate a tight underground parking garage every day with little difficulty.

joerockt

I dont know what your talking about. I can make a fast, sharp u-turn with out blinking my eyes in the TSX. What more do you want? Do you plan on driving around in small circles all day long?

Besides, Kurt explained it and I'd rather have a performing car then a car that can drive around in small, little circles all day.

ClutchPerformer

joerockt

:blaze: Woah, just realized that was from 2003...Oops...

ClutchPerformer

If both cars have a turning radius of 38.1, then wouldn't they turn the same?

rb1

Sorry, but the TSX won't clear the opposite curb on a U-turn from the center lane on a standard 4 lane + center turn lane road. Not even close.

(Hey -- cool pug you have there... )

dom

Fooled by another old thread. I thought it was from August of this year.

ClutchPerformer

Mine does. Maybe the lanes are wider here.

joerockt

Dude, I make a u-turn to get to work every morning. I make a u turn from a left signal to a two lane road. It clears with lots of room to spare. Maybe your driving an imitation TSX? Not sure, but I thought all TSX's were made by the same company. Not sure why you cant make that turn...

Thanks for the complement on my pug, I'll be sure to tell him

rb1

Not sure how (unless you are at an intersection). Standard lane width in most states is 12 feet, which leaves you about 4 feet short. (Some our lanes here are only 11 feet).

Sheesh, it's close enough with my 32.8 foot turning circle.

joerockt

Where is "here"?

I talked with a transportation engineer at our company and he said that the standard lane widths are approx 10 - 12 feet. And given the size of the tsx + the turning radius, we could make a model in AutoCAD using AutoTurn to show it making that turn. But I dont think I can talk him into doing that

ClutchPerformer

Wisconsin.

joerockt

Isnt the RSX a bit shorter then the TSX? If so, then the RSX would be able to make a tighter turn.

joerockt

I talked him into it...

So, he will model a left turn to a 2 lane road (using 10 ft as the standard) and 38.1 as the turning radius.

Probably have it tomorrow, Im sure you all cant wait

ClutchPerformer

It probably is shorter, but isn't the turning radius a measurement of the radius of the acutal turn made? Wheelbases, etc. shouldn't matter if you're only looking at the aftereffects.

Edit: Can't wait for the AutoCAD.

PWPTSXER

who gives a RATS ASS ABOUT THIS TOPIC..

tell me things that are actually IMPORTANT about the changes for 05!!!