I've been around some moderately twisty roads, and the most I've seen on the SHAWD indicator is 2 bars. During these turns, it was fast but little acceleration.

Does it take hard acceleration in a tight corner to get more than 2 bars?

 

To be honest, when I'm accelerating hard through a fast corner, I don't have the guts to take my eyes off the road and look at the MID. I'll have to get my wife or a buddy to check it out next time I'm trying to find the limit of the RL's wonderful handling (I haven't come close yet).

 

I think so, yes ... since it's measuring power delivery to that wheel, you're not going to be getting power without giving it some gas.

I think I've seen 3 bars (to both rear wheels) in straight-line acceleration.

 

To those os us without a RL

 

Yes. It will, but you must accelerate - hard. The car can handle well. When I was looking at the RL before I bought it, the sales guy told me to look at the MID instead of the road as he went into one hell of a wicked turn and it had 4-6 bars on the rear drivers side wheel. (I don't remember the exact count, but it was a lot more than I have done). I wonder if what he did will f with the break in period on that car. Sucks to be whoever buys that one.

 

There's an overlay of the graph we're talking about in the video in this thread:

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=706

 

Oh come on. I took picture of my gauges while going 160mph. and took video while racing a TSX on the autobahn at 125mph.

Yeah you do have to punch it on a corner. I think the best way to do this at low speed, is on a 90 degree corner, just gun it while you turn, for that brief 5 seconds you should see the bar go to the max or have a friend record video while driving.

 

you beat me to it. Good post.

 

Yes it goes more than 2 bars to the outside wheel...I've had it maxed and also close to max many times. Oh and yes, I think you need to actually be accelerating in the turn/bend (even at the start of it should do the trick) rather than keeping a constant speed before/during it.

There is a nice little bend on a road to my house and I usually punch it when I get to it and go like 50mph around it and I get the bars to the outside wheel...then I get to an intersection a bit after that and I punch it when making the turn and get the max bars there as well. The car is SOLID while doing all this aside from a little less body support in the seat than I woudl like. I wish the car ahd suede seat inserts like my former IS300 had...those seats gripped you like there was no tomorrow and I really wish the RL's seats were better at holding the body since the car's handling really does ask for more supportive seats.

I love how the car feels when you get the max bars on the outside wheel compared to how it is during I guess "conservative" driving. You can really tell it is doing its thing as the car just feels like it is on rails at this point. One thing about the RL is that during normal driving you can easily shortcome its at-the-limit ability since it handles quite differently when it isn't transfering the torque to the outside wheel and spinning it faster and well, it just feels like it can't be pushed as much as it can.

 

from Rob L "One thing about the RL is that during normal driving you can easily shortcome its at-the-limit ability since it handles quite differently when it isn't transfering the torque to the outside wheel and spinning it faster and well, it just feels like it can't be pushed as much as it can."

I've been fascinated by just how hard to have to push the car to get the SH-AWD to really do its magic. That racing clip shows just how hard pretty well. I think I've been up to about four bars, but NOT with my wife in the car.

The RL is much more capable of hard driving than I am.

 

hehe yep, same here. I go around this downhill S bend at a reasonable speed and it feels like the car can't handle it at any higher pseed but I know if I gunned it the system woudl really kick in and it coudl haul ass around it without problem. I really do feel that during normal/conservative driving the RL doesnt feel like it has the handling ability that it does.

It's a deceiving car in my opinion

 

I confess that I have mellowed in my old age. But, even if I were 20 years old again, I probably still couldn't find the handling limit of the RL.
I agree with RobL that the RL's handling is deceptive. I know for a fact that if I took corners in my Legend Coupe at the same speed as I'm taking them in my RL, that I'd be sliding all over the place and I'd probably be eating some curbs. It is just going to take a while for me to believe what the car can do and how easily it does it. The body roll and soft ride of the RL is what leads one to think that the car isn't capable of great handling, yet it just keeps going.

 

As smooth as the car is, it's easy to forget that it's a big, heavy car. It feels fine up to the limit, but once I start pushing it a little bit more, I feel almost uncomfortable with the stability assist. Throttle response is numb as the system intervenes. I am used to be able to control a car using throttle and steering, but it feels as if the RL doesn't require that much of either.

I don't know. I guess the system spoils me

 

If you're heading eastbound on Chicago's 90/94, and take the Ohio Street exit, there is a curve right, and then a curve to the left... I believe the recommended speed is 35 MPH. I stupidly, feeling confident, (and without any other cars around) took it at around 75 MPH. In the apex of the curve to the left, I could literally feel all four tires starting to lose it, and then I could hear all four tires screeching in protest...my girlfriend's face showed that she sensed it too...just as we did a brief four-wheel drift. I actually backed OFF the throttle, and maintained my steering angle, and trouble was avoided (there is a huge cement wall there if you leave the road...) I learned my lesson!

Now, if I didn't have the stock tires, if I had had the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S that I had on my previous car ('97 Mercedes E420), I think there would have been *less* drama, and maybe no noise from the tires. I'm almost anxious to wear out the stock rubber just to get back onto those Pilot Sports.

I wish Acura would offer a high-performance driving school of their own, geared towards getting the best out of this AWD system!

Randy