We had an ice and snow storm this weekend. First, a day's worth of mist followed by freezing temperatures and 10" of snow - a perfect playground to compare my wife's 2008 RDX to my 2009 RL.

Since both have SH-AWD and are nearly identical in weight (RL +160lbs), I thought this would be a fun comparison. I wanted to check a few things:

Braking: RDX has Conti DWS 235/55/18 w/500mi, RL has Bridgestone G019 Grid 245/45/18 w/3000 mi
SH-AWD + VSA: I've read that the 09 RL has slight modifications vs. previous years
Stability: How do they fair during turns and straights

To be clear, these were extremely treacherous conditions. There was a solid coating of ice covered by snow. I only drove on city streets, and kept it to 30mph max. So, how did they do?

Braking: This is more of a comparison of tires than the cars. I got each car up to 25mph and then mashed the brakes at a pre defined point. I was actually a bit surprised that the Grids did as well as they did, but the DWS won, ranging 10-15 feet shorter. IMO the DWS's are as close to a winter tire as an all season can get.

SH-AWD + VSA: This was a bit interesting. On the RDX, VSA seemed to kick in too soon, to the point where it could be tough to accelerate or try and correct a slide. The RDX just felt neutered with VSA on. I could see getting stuck in deeper snow because you couldn't spin the tires enough to keep moving.

The RL seemed to be more willing to let the tires break loose, which in these circumstances I felt was appropriate. Again, this is about as slippery as it gets, so spinning your tires is a given. You need to spin a bit to make forward progress or maneuver properly. VSA would still kick in, just not as often or early as on the RDX.

Stability: Both vehicles were very stable given the terrible conditions. The RL was a bit more prone to having the rear end slide during cornering. I am guessing this is due to the wider and less winter capable tires. However, the RL was a bit easier to correct once in a slide, likely due to the longer wheel base (+6in) and ability to spin the tires a bit.

Final Thoughts: Overall, if all equipment was the same, I would have a hard time saying one is more capable than the other. The slightly shorter wheelbase and extra inch of clearance would make the RDX a bit better for running in very deep snow. With 10", there were times that I could hear the snow scraping the underbody of the RL, but it was no where near hanging the car up - I could easily start from a dead stop without any more effort than the RDX. The somewhat more aggressive VSA/SH-AWD on the RL fits my taste a bit more.

I bought the RL specifically because of it's excellent winter configuration (and it's sexy) - these first runs in the snow have completely reaffirmed my decision.

 

 

CBP MMC. Nice writeup.


I had forgotten about those 2010 wheels. Are they 18"?

 

thanks for taking the time to type this up.

 

I seem to remember that the RL utilizes a more sophisticated algorithm for SH-AWD than all of the other Acuras.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/200724148237

i'm actually surprised i haven't seen any KB1 RL with those yet. Low price/oem quality is tempting !





tdurick : cool write up ! must be fun to have both available and be able to compare at home

 

Awesome writeup with great comparison.

Now get some snow tires and do it again.

 

I know! I do plan to get some Blizzaks on the RL. I ran those on my 03 accord, and it was an amazing upgrade.

 

No problem, it was fun. The recent thread about the RL sucking in snow (bad tires) inspired me to put some better info out there. Obviously, it doesn't compare the other AWD sedans, but the point is these are great winter vehicles IF you have decent tires.

 

I concur. I have had 2 RDX's and a ZDX and they have all been great in the snow and ice. Having said that I always run snow tires in winter for the best traction. Saves wear and tear on summer tires and I always have had another set of mags, oem for winter and the others for summer. Two looks, one for winter and one for summer and saves money switching for the seasons.

 

Got my RL back in march and just had a snow storm here, gotta say the SH-AWD definitely is amazing in the snow

 

It won't last once you actually get out on the road, but both cars look brilliant with just a bit of snow on the tires to show they've been out on the road while the body is still perfectly clean.

 

Judging by your results with the vehicles as-is, it seems like the RL would trounce the RDX if they were on comparable tires. The G019 Grid has never been praised for its snow/ice capabilities. The DWS on the other hand....

 

Me three OP. Just put my winter set on (Hankook icept evo 310 on OEM 17s) so I will be fine whatever but last year, i ran on Mich Pilot Sport AS with nearly 40k miles on them in the freak October snow storm which knocked out power to so many. Queens NY back to Essex County NJ in driving snow. Not one slip, not one slide. And i was doing 50 + most of the time when i was on the highway. The RL does pretty well in snow with the right AS tires. OEM Mich HX MXM4 was a different story though.

 

Yeah, the RL looks pretty nasty today

 

THATS NOT 10" - Thats what she said anyway ;-)

great write up, going to be ordering BS Turanza Serenity Plus for mine soon. My OEM are BALD, but the smow outlook for MD is bleak 5-10 vise 22 avg... Oh well, not complaining