jproy

I went to King Acura in Birmingham AL this weekend on a road trip and teat drove the new '04 TL6. I was extremely impressed with what I saw and had previously been upset that I did not wait for this car to be released before purchasing my '03 CLS6. I don’t feel this way anymore. I now feel much better. I think that the driving experience is very numb. I took the car up to 100mph on I-459 and the car felt like if a strong cross wind blew hard enough we would be blown off the road. The steering was very lose/vague and the car did not feel well planted. At high speeds the car felt very unsteady. My CLS6 seems to be much more responsive to steering inputs as well as throttle application. At 130 mph in my CLS6 everything is solid and the car responds immediately to steering inputs. The brake peddle feeling on the '04 TL6 was like that of a '99 Chevy suburban. I had to push the peddle down about an inch before I even felt that the car was beginning to decelerate. My girlfriends '02 TLp drives better than the new TL. In my CLS6 as soon as my foot touches the peddle I feel deceleration.

What do you guys make of this? Has anyone else experienced the same thing? If you own a ’03 CLS6 I strongly encourage you to test drive the new '04 TL6 and would love to hear if you disagree or agree. Any opinions are welcome here.

The '04 TL is a nice car and boasts great performance numbers but by the seat of the pants it just doesn’t do it for me at this time. I think I would rather buy springs, headers, intake, big brakes for my '03 CLS6 and call it a day as opposed to buying a new ’04 TL.

IMO,

Jim

blader

Hm your like the only guy to give a review like that on the TL6. everyone else was amazed by it. as far as the brake pedal goes on the CL .. I don't know bout your 6 speed .. but my brakes SUCK. even with the stainless steel Comptech lines.

turbowhat_RENAMED

the steering and FWD is the only thing i complain about my car (04 TL 5AT NAV)... the only cars i would have rather gotten are the S2000 or a Mustang Cobra....

It handles very well tho, even with crappy steering (vague so you dont feel Torque Steer)... the FWD is the bigger problem as far as sportiness, id much rather have a RWD car.

It is very stable at high speeds however, i have taken it up to 140 and it was very stable, even with the horrible (HORRIBLE HORRIBLE) stock EL42 Turanzas. It still felt stable.

jproy

Bladder,

I am very amazed by the '04 TL and I do think that it is a huge leap forward for Acura. I do think that once you nail the brakes at say 70mph and above the actual braking is horrible on my CLS, almost scary. However I do think that the initial peddle feeling is better on the CLS6. I do agree with you that overall the brakes on my car do SUCK. I think the peddle feels better on my CLS6 before fade, etc. kicks in than on the ’04 TL.

turbowhat,
I never thought about the fact that Acura might be hiding the torque steer with the vague feeling of the wheel. It never occurred to me but I did not feel any torque steer during the test drive and I did push it. The car does handle well too, just vague in a straight line. I don’t mind the torque steer. I am used to it and appreciate good steering feedback. This is probably what I felt at high speed on the freeway.

I would still like to hear from guys who have or had a CLS6 and have test driven a TL6.

Overall, I will say that once into the brakes, they do feel much better on the ’04 TL. I just don’t like having to push an inch on the brake peddle to get a response. The build quality of the ’04 TL as a whole was defiantly in a class of its own compared to my CLS. The strait line steering feel and the brake peddle drove me nuts though.

Jim

EVANCRUZ

i will be driving an 04 tl6 monday. i'm curious now after everything i've heard. the 04 tl6 at acura of riverside has the brembo's on it. is this an option or is this standard for the 6spd?
i can't imagine the brembo's won't impress.
but i will agree with everyone on this forum about the stock brakes on the cl-tl's. THEY SUCK!!! I find myself not wanting to jump on them at all from fear of warping the rotors again.
the only other car i've owned with brakes this shitty was my modded 74' datsun 260z. solid disc in the front (no vents)= warp city. drums in the rear.
i will post my thoughts after the test drive.

i hit a trash can in my cl-s that was blown on to the 91 freeway by the santa ana's. have to have my bumper replaced, minor dent fixed on the fender... first damage....

jproy

The Brembos are standard on the '04 TL6

Chaptorial

So your CL is still bone stock and you still feel this way?

Hmmm I really need to get out there and test drive one. jproy what'd ya think of the TL's acceleration?

Chopsie

I want to go drive a new TL also, might go test drive some cars this weekend

jproy

Chaptorial, Chopper,

In all honesty the '04 TL6 is a great car. The acceleration is smooth and addicting like the CLS6. But smoother. The shifter is much smoother and feels a little shorter on the throws like the stick isn’t as tall. What killed me and ultimately caused me to write this review after lots of thought was the total lack of feedback from the steering wheel. The other thing that bothered me was how I had to push the brake peddle so far down before getting any response. Other than these issues the car is awesome. I just don’t think it is worth the 10K I would have to invest to get a '04 TL6. Go test drive it and tell me what you think. If you have a CLS6 I think you will understand what I am talking about. Other than these issues the ’04 TL6 is better in every way.

Chopsie

Chaptorial and I have 5 A/T's. I have driven CLS6 couple of times though.

Nitrotiger

i have the 04tl 6speed and the brakes are crazy on this thing an upgrade is a must over the cl i killed my brakes twice on my cl. if your going to do it get the wilwood set up i have that on my other car and they are killer

jproy

Nitrotiger,
I cant stand the brakes on my '03 CLS6. When I slam them and the fading starts, I sometimes wonder if they will continue to stop the car. They are definatly the worst part about my '03 CLS6 driving experience. Once I could feel the brakes working on the '04 TL they felt very good and solid. Are you saying they need to be replaced too.

F23A4

I dont know about the 6MT but in comparing the auto TL versus my auto Max, I also felt the way you did with regard to acceleration. It didnt have the low/-midrange pull my Maxima has but a second or two after flooring it, it felt plenty quick. Maybe I've just gotten used to how my VQ35DE can pull pretty hard under PT, not just WOT. (Gobs of torque will do that.)

That said, it does everything else great. IMO, the TL is underpriced @ $35G w/Navi.

Ray Khan

how much steering input are you trying to take advantage of at 130 mph?

And as far as but dynos go, they lie...especially when comparing 2 different cars as opposed to one car before and after mods. One thing I've learned is smooth cars don't feel as fast as they are. My car is putting down 244 whp and 255 wtq. It's power delivery is pretty smooth imo and it takes looking at the tach and speedo to realize what is going on. Same with a friend's RS6, the car is obviously very fast and torquey, but it's decieving as a 450 hp car because it's power delivery is pretty smooth and the car is so stable. I haven't tested out the 04 TL yet, but I plan too. I undersand your opinions though, You have a very nice car and you like it. Nothing wrong with that.

Nitrotiger

No i dont thik you need to replace he tl-6 speed brakes they are vented with the big ass calipers. all i ment if your going to replace the brakes on the cl-6 get the wilwood set up i have them on another car i own and they kicks ass!!! but if you can find a tl-6 brembo package go for it its well worth the dough. i hit my brakes a 130mph and this mofo stops and no fading at all. my cl cost 500 bucks before i got rid of it because thw brakes warp a 3rd time in 2.5 years. if the cl had brakes that work i would off love that car even more but my cl cost be some cheese!!

123456SPEED

I have a CL6 and drove a TL6 too. I found the TL brakes xtremely abrupt, ie, there was no gradual feel, it was all or nothing.
They grabbed very abruptly. Maybe they will wear in smoother on the car I drove. I agree on the CL brakes, already had new pads and rotors at 12k miles.

I didn't drive the TL 130mph, it felt silmilar to the CL, except the TL is more isolated. For a 4 door it's a great buy, but I prefer 2 doors. Didn't see that much difference in shifting or accelerating, the TL may be a little quicker tho.
If they make a coupe off this TL the only thing that would make me trade my CL would be more distinct styling, the CL is too bland.

Nitrotiger

i can say there is no lag on the tl at all on top end its sick. my auto cls use to keep up with the cl-6 if not pull on them no bs ran a few guys and they were like what the f**k and i know my tl will walk my old auto cl-s and that shit ran hard ask ZAPTA who has a cl-6

car_lost

the brembos are NOT standard.

n00dleboy

brembos are NOT standard...oh like what he said.

Nitrotiger

the brembos come on all TL-6 they are standard!!!

n00dleboy

...not in Canada they're not.

Nitrotiger

that sucks bro! i wonder why that is?

ex-prelude

Brembos ARE standard in Canada with the 6 speed. The 6 speed option is called the Dynamic Package, which includes Brambo brakes. Acura TL Brochure

Download the brochure from Acura Canada's site and check out the description of the Dynamic Package.

jproy

Brembros are standard on the 6mt '04TL. Im sure!

oonowindoo

u sure? i thought the brembo was in some kinda package along with the bodykit and rims...

Nitrotiger

nope i second that they come standard on all 6mt!!! i jave them and they are awesome

jproy

If you get the '04 TL 6mt in the United States, you get Brembos.

I dont know about Canada