Qatar

I dropped off my RL for service and steering wheel replacement and i was given a RDX.
I've had the car for two days and i'm loving the turbo pickup.
I personally dont think the increase in engine size to 3.7 will do much to the RL, drive a similarly MDX and floor it, the car takes it time to pick up speed.
Now i know Acura will take its time before moving to V-8. Why dont they just turbo charge the 3.7??
The RDX has what the RL and MDX lack, which is speed on demand, it picks up around 2100 RPM without any turbo lag.
I'm not a fan of turbo, but whatever makes the car move is fine with me.

lumpulus

Agree 100% PFFFFT to a V-8.

TampaRLX-SH

I'll drool for a turbo green diesel. A good balance of economy, emissions, power and the torque we would love to have. And if any engine manufacturer I would trust for such a complicated design and intelligent balance...it would be Honda.

neuronbob

Hmph. There is still no replacement for displacement. V8 FTW!

However, I could see Honda doing a turbo V6 first, ala BMW.

fstshrk

Neuronbob, you should drive a turbo diesel 535td if you get a chance or the new 335d coming to the US. There is nothing like the torque of a turbodiesel powerplant.

connolley

Yeah, and nothing like the smell of a deisel either. Unless they have since figured out a way to fix that since about 8 years ago when a friends sister had a VW TD

DoctorTuna

I completely agree. I had a 335xi for a 2hr test drive just yesterday and having 300lb-ft of torque on tap at 1500rpm is sensational. It is a visceral experience for sure. It does weigh about 250lbs less than the RL but you do have AWD on the 335 and it really does move, faster than I thought. Of course, not as well appointed for the price, and smaller inside but the twin turbo does wonders for the 3.0l engine. I would take a turbo 3.5/3.7 any day of week plus Sundays. The kicker too is that gas mileage is practically on par with my 05 RL!! Yes, go turbo!!

///M Roadster

I am under the impression that you are located in NoVA? If so, would you mind telling me which dealer you went to?

One local dealer quoted me 8 hours for A-Spec suspension installation and I was told that official Acura book hours was 6 hours. Other independant shops quoted 6 book hours as well with one willing to do it for less.

On turbo option, I agree. Anything that can make this car go about 14 sec flat for 1/4 mile will do. HP war is getting out of hand, but I think a respectible performance luxury vehicle should at least be at around 14 sec. As we stand, new Accord will outrun our RLs...

///M Roadster

335xi is near E39 M5 territory in performance...I know E39 M5 could run circles around RL in reverse (with a bit of exaggeration), so there is really no comparison between 335xi and RL

Qatar

Its Radly Acura.
Talk to Jeremy in the Service department or ask for Will.

DoctorTuna

No comparison WITHOUT a turbo. That's the whole point. I just used the 335 as my most recent experience, therefore a turbo version of the RL could be a viable way to increase performance while maintaining reasonable mileage. I don't know about M5 territory for the 335xi, I know it surpasses the previous generation M3.

///M Roadster

Radley Acura was the one I bought the car from and they were the ones that quoted me 8 hours.

Maybe the other Acura dealer who told me 6 official book hours was incorrect. Maybe other independant shops were incorrect too...I hope Radley was not trying to overcharge me cause this was my third Acura that I bought from them and I would be reconsidering about next purchase from them. The funniest part was when the service manager was trying to tell me how "difficult job" it was to replace suspension...he obviously did not know that I was no newbie in modding cars...I don't remember the name of that service manager though.

Sorry for off-topic.

///M Roadster

Well...considering 330xi outperforms RL in almost all performance aspects (NA vs NA with 330 having smaller engine), even if Acura put turbo on current 3.5, I doubt it will be comparable to 335xi, but it will be nicer bump in performance for sure.

Chas2

But isn't that what a turbo does? Force feeding more fuel air mixture to effectively increase displacement? I think the two stage Honda turbo, the BMW twin turbo, or the variable displacement Porsche turbo are all solutions to do this more gently than the traditional single stage turbo, so you have more "displacement" effect lower down in the revs, and yet can still keep up the demand at higher revs.

Not well explained, but you get what I mean, I hope.

DoctorTuna

Displacement EFFECT may be the key word there. The summation of cylinder size is unchanged, therefore actual displacement remains unchanged. Effectively you extract more torque and power from an engine of a given displacement, matching the power delivery of a larger displacement normally aspirated engine. But I digress, either way, I would have as much zeal for a turbo 3.5 RL as I would with a V-8 4.2, especially after sampling the 335xi.

iforyou

iTrader: (1)

I think it's called improving the volumetric efficiency. With a turbo/SC engine, it's not uncommon to achieve over 100% volumetric efficiency.

And in terms of speed, RL is in the middle in the Acura line up. TL (AT and MT) and RDX will smoke it. MDX is a bit slower, and TSX is much slower.

The 3.7L engine in the MMC RL is different than the MDX's engine, I believe there's VTEC at the exhaust side too now, which is supposed to increase low-end torque, which the RL really needed. The extra 200cc plus the VTEC mechanism at the exhaust side should improve the current lack of low and torque situation by quite a bit IMO.

VQPower37

OMG that is your RL!!!! ... i see it almost everytime i go to RADLEY. ur car is so sexy man i love how it is completely JDMed

rex.

hey qatar my name is fareed, this is my bois user name mine is decib3ls, but i am a new member so i wasnt able to pm you. i recently got an 06 rl from owning a 03 accord coupe, and i have 2 questions if you can help me out, i seen you have the amuse kit and was wondering do you have you aspec kit still? and if so would you be willing to sell it? and also do you know if the hid in your fogs needed a special relay? or was it a direct plug and play? because i know the 07-newer tl's fog lights flicker with hids..thanks.

BradleyDichter

How about Mercedes type supercharger with intercooler? Good low end grunt and no exhaust gas recirculation through our nice Acura engines. Pop that next to a 3.7l V6 and get some serious thrust out the back of rear-balanced SH-AWD. I'd go quad tail pipes to show it off.

Qatar

I'm driving a G35X at the moment untill my car is out of the shop.
I now know that the RL doesn' need a turbo charger. all they need is to follow whatever Infiniti did. I love that the G35 has power on demand at any given point at any time.
there is a huge difference in quality, compared not to the RL, but the TL. The G feels like a 2003 TL.
Anhow, i'm loving the power.

BradleyDichter

I prefer the 2009 RL looks to the 2008 G35x. Interior and exterior.

Qatar

I didn't mean looks.
I meant performance. The G35 is a beast.

BradleyDichter

G35x is cheaper than a RL too. BMW 528xi nicely outfitted is more in line on price to RL with a 535xi nicely outfitted more expensive but closer in HP. Maybe on par considering 4 years of maintenance worth about $2000. and it can be outfitted with lane departure warning which is better than collision mitigation, but active cruise control can be added too. No backup camera at BMW.

gcook

as long as it can get good gas mileage. For some reason the RL seems like a gas hog compared to the power it gets.. I wish we got more power for such low gas mileage..

BradleyDichter

It's the SH-AWD plus the lackluster 5 speed tranny that hurts the RL compared to other cars in this market segment (Infiniti M35x, BMW 535xi or Lexus GS 350 AWD)

06RL4Honey

My car is a 1992 3000GT twin turbo VR4, with still stock turbos and injectors. I am making about 380 hp with an ebc, and other mods. It spools up quickly due to the small turbo size. I am going to put larger turbos and injectors soon as i almost have all the basic power upgrades installed. Putting a turbo on the RL might not get you the power you would think. It would help at the top end, not much until boost kicks in. When i get larger turbos, they will lag more until they spool up.