obviously most of you will say yes because thats what you drive but answer as best as you can

i love everything about this car... EXCEPT that it is a front-wheel drive

this is the only thing stopping me from getting one of these. it sucks that honda doesnt offer any RWD cars. they have AWD but even the new TSX doesnt have the sh-awd.

anyway my question is: does it drive like a front driver?
- torque steer (probably not an issue with just 205hp)
- cornering - how well does it run through corners? is there understeer? whats the cars limit?
- handling - how well does it maneuver? is it an agile car? what about quick lane switches? or having to avoid something on a split second?
- does it feel nose-heavy or is it more balanced? i hate the way the TL and accords feel really heavy in the front

ive read a bunch of reviews and a bunch of different threads on different forums but havent gotten a real answer. id like to know this before i go out on test drives otherwise theres no point

 

Hello. Welcome to the forum.

-There is no torque steer. Only 200 hp and only 166 ft/lbs of torque. I have an automatic car. Don't know about manual.

-the car is very agile. The steering is razor sharp. I am very happy with it. It is the best handling car i have ever owned. I have owned older acuras and hondas. This cars beats them all. It hugs the turns. There is a 5 point rear suspension that helps greatly in the turns. Also, i have avoided numerous items that i have suddenly encounterd on the road that i would have hit had i been driving any of my previous cars. I drove a 2009 Acura TL once. It was faster but the TSX feels a lot better. It is just agile and nimble.

Go and test out several TSX cars. You will not be dissappointed if you value handling and nimbleness over speed and power. If you want pure power, look somewhere else. But if you want durable, reliable, dependable transportation that if fun to drive every day and has convenient space for passengers in the back and good trunk space, the TSX deserves some of your time.

Look at the 2005 thru 2008 models.

By the way, Honda has made rear wheel cars in the past. The Honda S2000 was rear wheel drive to the best of my knowledge. Good luck in your search.

 

great reply. thanks!
i dont care for power as much as i care for handling/cornering.

regarding the bolded part: well, if youve driven a balanced RWD car it could completely change your view on handling and cornering.

although, the TSX was said to beat the prelude SH in handling and the prelude SH was known as the best handling FWD car ever.. which makes me want the TSX that much more

 

I have experienced a small amount of torque steer, but not often, and not too bad.

I haven't driven the car to it's cornering limits, so I don't know how well balanced it is, but it feels very good within the limits.

It's the best handling car I have ever driven, has better acceleration than most cars on the road, and still returns 30mpg. I'd get the 6-speed.

 

I saw you post this question on the TSX Club forum, (I responded about RWD handling vs FWD and the Prelude handling comparison).

Sounds like you'd love the car. I agree with the Redpoint: The 6 speed is great...look up Car & Driver's reviews of the 1G TSX...they raved about it, too.

 

If you would like even better handling on the TSX, the 'best mod for the buck' is a Rear Sway Bar (RSB) - there are 2 models recommended by others on this forum, and they are manufactured by Comptech or Progress. You can search the TSX forum here for more detailed info (including a DIY). I did this for my 2006 TSX auto (I purchased a Comptech), and I will say it is indeed worth the time and effort to replace the stock RSB.

BTW, one of my previous drives was an '85 RX-7, a nicely balanced RWD car. Putting a RSB on the TSX brought the fun back to handling.

 

llwtsx: Funny, I had that same vintage RX-7, too. It was a fantastic handling car.

Question about your RSB: Did you have to reinforce the mounts? I've seen some posters here say that the added force of turns taken with a beefed up RSB has sometimes caused broken mounting points.

 

I call my 06 5AT TSX a 4 door coupe. I have Progress RSB + A-Spec suspension + Conti DWS tires + lighter weight after market rims. I went with the A-Spec because it still rides like stock with less dive/squat/lean. A big plus was the drop was only about 1-1.25 inches all around and it keeps my wife from hitting curbs (A-spec body kit also).

Even with the 5AT, the TSX can hit the curves pretty good. The 205hp is more than enough 90% of the time because you can carry so much more speed in/out of a corner compared to other cars with 25-50% more HP. This engine has zero problems running up to redline and i-Vtec(ing) all day long. Unfortunately, any blue haired grandma with a V-6 will get you on the straights.

One vehicle that impressed my with its corning ability is our RDX. I have the Eibach springs + lighter rims + Conti DWS tires + Hondata. You can really feel the sh-awd rotate the rear end on a tight corner like it is on rails. The RDX leans a little less because of the sh-awd adding more power to the rear wheels. Having Hondata, I have a lot of TQ to bump my speed to +80 mph pretty quick when I exit (speed limits are 65-75 mph in NM). The big disadvantage is getting 19-20 mpg average compared to 26-28 mpg in the TSX with the same driving.

 

Proud owner of a 100% stock 06 tsx. It has been on 3 cross country roadtrips and numerous trips from nc to nj/pa and back. Gets excellent gas mileage with more than enough power.

 

1g tsx is so good that I bought another one after going through several cars.

had a '05 TSX from 2005 ~ 2007. last year, I bought '08 TSX as a daily and have Infiniti FX35 for wife's/weekend trips.

 

I drove RDX several times as a loaner and that thing can take corners really well and can stuff bunch of stuffs with rear seas folded down. Almost bought one but went with FX35. This thing is a beast on corners (lowered one H&R and full set of GT-Spec braces). Bad thing is bad mpg as well. 15~16mpg in the city and barely 21mpg on highway. Good thing I have a TSX which gets +32mpg on highways.

 

No, I haven't reinforced it.

From my recollection from reading the other threads about the topic, it appeared to be a 2004 issue. On the 2004's where the mounts are bolted to, the subframe was thinner metal (reportedly). I also have not lowered my ride or modified the suspension which may also put additional force on the subframe where the RSB mount points are. In any case, I watch it closely.

there was an excellent thread somewhere on this forum done by a (mechanical) engineer who did some analysis (and the math) on the forces generated by the suspension mods. I recall that the take away from the discussion is that all the suspension mods add up and could possibly generate issues on the subframe.

As I said, I watch it closely.

And I miss my RX-7 - I wish I had kept it as a second car and just put the time and effort (and $$$) to keep it going strong. Then again, I use to burn through tranny's - clutch was OK (only 2), but 3 tranny's in 189k miles - 3rd gear was a definite weak spot, and it ran very hot. A better/separate tranny cooler would have been one of my additional mods if I had kept it.

 

A little more on the rear sway bar issue: the problem is not model year related. The cars that were effected had a Comptech rear sway bar, and the plastic (non-rubber) sway bar bushings seemed to be the cause of the problem. They transfer too much of the sway bar energy to the bushing mounts (instead of absorbing it), and this can result it the mount cracking. These episodes were a few years ago, and I haven't heard (read) anything about it lately. The problem may have since been rectified, but I for one wouldn't use a Comptech bar even it was given too me.

 

Thanks for the illuminating information. That all makes sense regarding the sway bar and mounting points. (Thanks for the info on the Comptech bar, Simba.)

The thing that keeps me from jumping is that I've also read here that some people are not convinced that a thicker RSB adds that much real change...but others are sure that it does. Perhaps it's worth a try since it does not cost much.

I miss my RX-7, too. My problem was not the transmission, (though I did need a clutch replacement after it was 12 years old -- not bad in my book.) The issue I've noticed with my RX-7 and some others that friends owned was the rotary engine seals. After so many years, they start leaking and replacement is fairly costly...at which point the car is not worth much. Apparently it's a common problem inherent in the rotary design. But, boy what a smooth engine and a well-balanced, lightweight car.

 

I have a new 2012 TSX - my 25th car in 50 years. My wife says it's the best handling/driving car we've owned. I think my 2004 Mazdaspeed Miata was probably the best I've driven, but the TSX is certainly no worse than second place. It feels more under control in the twisties than my 92 Corvette did. Haven't noticed any torque steer as with past front drive cars. I did drive a 2013 TL for a few days recently while the TSX was in the shop and neither the wife nor I thought much of the way it drove and felt compared to the TSX. I don't drive to the limit these days (well, maybe the speed limit), but haven't noticed any understeer and the car feels pretty agile at 70-75 in the Interstates. My only gripe with the car (base, not Tech package) is that the LCD screen with the radio and climate control info is extremely hard to read when wearing polarized sunglasses and if you have the moonroof shade open on a sunny day, you'll likely not be able to read it at all. The TL I drove with the tech package did not have that problem and I suspect the TSX with the Tech package wouldn't either.

 

I found the write on the RSB issues - read for yourself - page 6 has some of the writeups that I recalled:

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...=671942&page=6

And yes, the internal seals on the rotary eventually leak and the engine needs an overhaul (near the end, my engine needed that done). Back then (er, '95?) it was about the same cost to have someone, who knew what they were doing, either rebuild it or replace it altogether with a crate motor from Mazda. I didn't go that route and just replaced the car.

 

Interesting discussion in that thread. It appears that the Comptech bar is the one to avoid, (as Simba mentioned, as well.)

Thanks again.

 

For the Rear sway bars, Comptech is the one not to buy because of the bushings creating noise no matter how you try to cure it.

On my '05 TSX, my first sway bar was Comptech. Caused usual problems and decided to replace it with the Progress rear sway. All the issue with Comptech resolved and mount did not torn even with harder race setting.

Later I upgraded TSX with '07 TL-S. First mod was Progress rear sway bar and lowering springs. Again, sway bar was set on harder race setting. About 25k miles riding on thicker rear sway, rsb mount broke off. Basically it ripped off from the subframe. Took the car to the dealer after swapping back to oem rsb and luckily they replaced the "whole" rear subframe under warranty.

Now with '08 TSX, I went with Progress rear sway again (one of must have mod) and now I set it up on street (soft) setting with the fear of rsb ripping off although it did not happen with the TSX I previously owned.

 

I've had the comptech bar on my 05 for over 100k, with bushings it came with. No problems here, but I also don't live in a climate where my car's undercarriage will deteriorate easily (if that matters).

As for this convo about handling, I have an RSB, A-spec suspension, and Hankook V12 Evos on there currently, and I couldn't be happier. RWD vs FWD is really just a mindset change to me. This car's MO isn't about hanging its tail out, but it rotates and communicates really well. Cloverleafs are pretty fun and you can keep up or pass many cars (on 2 lane cloverleafs of course) that aren't expecting you to do so.

With my old all-season tires, I was able to break traction on sharp turns pretty easily and control it. With my higher rated tires, its higher limit makes it harder to do the same thing, but its still gradual and controllable. I guess some of that really depends on the tires, but the chassis and suspension are up to the task.

The car does best when your goal is to carry speed through the turns. It is very efficient at keeping its momentum, which is good because the lack of torque won't make up for mistakes. Drive it right, and its very rewarding.

 

wow i forgot about this thread
good stuff here
probably get RSB and coils