a TL from the Honda Challenge at Mid Ohio

 

Not as hot as this Integra:

 

smokin!

 

they have yet to see one of those in the ECHC, the most recent make/model i saw when i was at summit was an S2000...

 

I like that lip!

The car looks mean yet comfy.

 

, the hook looks vented. as ricer as it might be otherwise, it looks great on a race prepared car.

 

That is awesome!!!

 

Wow!! That looks nicely done!!!

 

That car looks huge to me. Like a land yacht.

 

I'm with fdl on this one. The TSX is already considered a boat and the TL is even bigger. No offence but with that money spend I could build a much faster car for track.

 

On top of that, it is racing with much nimbler, lighter cars (modified Civics, ITRs, S2000s, CRXs with engine swaps) on road courses, and its only advantage is total hp. but weight to power wise, maybe not the best. probably not as great on the corners as others in its class either.

 

I would guess its sponsored some way or another. Its hard to justify it since its easily the most expensive car in the field, and its so new and beautiful, you know it'll get banged up.

 

Anybody else think the wheels are hideous?

 

Damn stickers..

 

Yeah wheels are like spiderwebs... horrible!
I also think the scoop in the hood (probably nonfunctional anyway) looks bad, too...
And that wing! ugh!
I like the front spoiler though.

 

heh...I didn't even look that closely to the rims the first time... I think they should go with 5-spoke gunmetal w/polished lip rims

 

Those rims are :ghey:

Seriously, that thing looks like a battleship.

 

I thought that the race is called Honda Challenge, when did it change to "overweight yacht racing"???

It's hard to see it from that picture, is the sunroof still glass? Or is it metal? If it's still glass, I wonder how it can pass tech.

 

 

Still not feeling it!!!

 

I don't like it. The wheels look tiny.

 

The rims look like 17" Mugen rims. They do look a tad small on the TL, but overall, the car looks nice. Wing has to go though.

 

Looks like they've put some work on the aerodynamics, as can be seen with the hood extractors. They're probably looking to capitalise on their strength: straighline speed.

 

what were they thinking? A wing that huge... the back is big and heavy enough

 

for some reason not really feeling...i'm guessing it's focus is performance not looks...i think

 

Dammiit Dan, at Mosport they have Civic's in the Honda Challenge and in Mid Ohio they have TL's? We got ripped.

 

This car isn't about cruising, it's a race car.

First about the weight, I guarantee that this TL weighs less than our TSX, probably 200-300 lbs less. Second, those wheels are mugen wheels and they're as common in Japan as SSR Comps are here. They are very strong and lightweight which is exactly what you want on a race car.
Third, the wing is very functional and it's obvious that they've put a lot of effort into the aerodynamics of the car.

I don't know what all the bitching is about the car, it looks very well sorted to me. It's not like they're asking anyone to buy one.

 

The civics were fun though!

 

yup, yup. we have a friend who has been slated to drive in the East Coast Honda Challenge for the past 3 years and i have had the distinct pleasure of incidental familiarity with the series, so all of the questions relating to too many stickers, rim choice, wing choice are interesting to me. (fwiw, this is the series that jaje is planning to run in once he certifies through the NASA program).

this is a car that is configured to race, so for the most part, almost every mod is made for that purpose, including the wing. this TL has 1/3 of the stickers that you regularly see on HC cars, and in fact a couple of drivers in ECHC are having problems finding space on their cars for sponsors' stickers. on a class basis, this TL is being pitted against the NSX and the s2000 and some hybrids, so i'm thinking that it may not do so well b/c it is going head-to-head with other models with possibly better weight-to-power ratios--particularly the hybrids in the H1 class who have lower minimum weights--and probably handle better.

i don't know about the rim choice, but i have a hunch that they were looking for something relatively light b/c like someone said, this thing is a boat and they probably needed to reduce as much weight as they could.

knowing just a little bit about the series, i would prefer the Civics myself, particularly the Sis. but that's just me...

 

I have more info on this TL. A friend of mine was at the race in Mid-Ohio. He told me that this car was one of those pre-production units. The serial number was something like 000004 (I think I have the correct number of zeros). The car is owned by Honda, the drivers are employees who work in Honda at Ohio. They were running 255 tires all around. My friend also told me that it finished 4th or 5th in H1.

BTW Dan, those wheels are NOT Mugen. They are the first generation Enkei NT01. Several years ago, this wheel was one of the most common wheels used in Japanese race cars. Enkei made some changes to this wheel and they now are called NT03+M. http://www.enkei.com/HPSpecPAGES/NTO3+MSpecs.html

 

thanks for the correction vwong.

 

that would make sense, I was reading an article the other day that said all preproduction cars must be destroyed a certain date after each was built. so might as well put it to good use while its still around.

 

Sorry Dan but I think I'm going to have to disagree with you. Most people are bitching cause I think they would rather spend their time and money onto something that has a better foundation. i.e Type-R. Don't get me wrong, the TL is a nice car. FOR THE STREET but not for track. You're also right about that TL being lighter than our TSX if the TSX was stock. I'm sure if the TSX is gutted like that TL, it should be just as light if not ligher.

 

I don't doubt that the TSX could be lighter. The RTR guys took out 800 lbs from the stock TSX and added 300 lbs in safety equip and other goodies but it's still 500 lbs lighter than stock.

I still think that a race-spec TL would own a race-spec TSX on the track.

The mercedes CLK is hardly a lightweight street car but this car rocks:



There are plenty of other big cars that translate into nice race vehicles. Look at the A6 for example. I guess the only odd thing about the TL is that it's FWD.

 

I want to see this TL's interior

 

You can kind of tell from the first photo that it's stripped and a rollcage has been added.

 

But with all that money spend and put it all into a typeR. I'm sure the typeR will turn out better

 

If it is a factory car from Honda, they race it for a purpose: a window for publicity. The Type R will do nothing for TL owners. A TL may sway a few undecided peoples' hearts over to Acura.

 

Yeah cause the TypeR has pretty much proven itself and Honda has too much time and money so they could afford the best!!!
But as for someone like me who'son budget 24/7, I think I would put the money into something that has a better foundation.

But that's me.

 

That makes perfect sense Jeff, the Type R is a fantastic race car.

It takes a lot of work to make a TL competitve but I'm sure it can be fast in full race form.