LegendC

I feel bad that you guys are having so much trouble with your TCS. My 94 Legend was one of the first Ac's with the TCS system. It actually sits right in front of the throttle body and will cut the airflow when it detects slip. It works really well. We had our first big snow last weekend in Seattle and the car had great traction everywhere, even with 40 Series low profiles on there. I even climbed a very very steep hill that was covered with frost and black ice. I crept up the hill VERY slowly (about 4-5 minutes to go 150 feet) but I made it all the way to the top.

Acuraboy

For all you "Northern" city drivers you should be ashamed of complaining about the TCS system. Of course we would want the system to work exactly how it's designed to. In AC's case, maybe the system is defective. Nevertheless, for us to refuse to drive in the snow because our cars "suck" in it is just being a big wuss.
I remember driving my 1989 Toyota Supra Turbo during a snowstorm in Vermont several years a go. There is no way that a TL can be any worse in the snow than this car. I had very little trouble getting to my destination. Sure a little slipping and sliding but I was under control the whole time. It comes down to skill, being light on the gas when necessary, and properly using your ABS. If you're expecting the car to drive for you in these conditions, then maybe you should take winter driving lessons.

v_i_s_i_o_n

hunter001, thanks for the info .. yeah, sorry i didn't read up on the TL-S.

I'm happy with my TL couldn't really asked for anything more.

Was just making an open end general statement, wasn't meant to offend anyone.

slippin and sliding; nothing wrong with a little bump and grinding.. LoL

AC

I'm going to test drive NovaWhiteTypeS's CLS tonight and test out the VSA on ice. If it does what he claimed then I may trade the TL in for TLS for my wife. I just can't have her feeling unsafe. I thought about an SUV but she doesn't like those either. In any case, most of you are right, TCS will only do but so much. I guess I had a very high expectation for the TL considering that I think the TL overal edges my 540i. Ofcourse, naturally I was comparing the TCS to the ASC (BMW) and the Bimmer's was much better but hey the freakin car costs 20K more so somewhere in there, there better be a real Traction System.

Well, gotta go beat up on the VSA of the CLS and see how it does. Who know, I may be joining the TLS club soon!

ZodiakTL

our TCS is pretty shitty compared to other full blown systems, but I gotta say, that first of all it does help, i can take other cars off the line when there's only a couple of inches of snow, while they slide and slip sideways, and also, as far as BMW, yesterday when we got about 3" of snow here, i was pulling out of the garage and saw two 3 series bmw 99-01, slipping and sliding all over the street courtesy of RWD. Their DSC system works great, I drive my friends 00 323i every once in a while, and when its on, ur moving slowly but surely, but i gotta tell you, he got stock twice in the snow and guess whose TL has to push him out ... point is, if u want great snow traction get urself some blizzaks and a 4wd/awd, like an s4/3xi or an suv... i think our tl's handle great in a couple of inches of snow, but if u gun it, ur asking for trouble... thats why there are 130 car pile-ups like the one in D.C., cuz people dont know how to drive in teh winter...

just my 2c

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Aem Short Ram / Comptech Sway Bars / Comptech Springs / Custom Cross-Drilled Front Rotors / Alpine CVA-1005 Head Unit / Alpine G320 EQ / Alpine DVA-5205 DVD / Alpine NVE-N851A Navi / JL Audio XR653-CS 3-Way comps for the front powered by a bridged Alpine MRV-F407 amp / Boston Acoustics 5.5 ProSeries 2-Way comps for the rear powered by Alpine MRV-1002 amp / Dual 10" JL Audio W-6 sub powered by Alpine MRV-1005 amp / Two Alpine CHA-1214 CD Changers
Pics of my TL and Fun/Crazy Pics


<FONT COLOR="#800080" SIZE="1" FACE="Verdana, Arial">[This message has been edited by ZodiakTL on February 23, 2001 @ ]</font>

DeadSoul

So sell your goddamn car and get a bmw then. You people are a little bit outta control here. Maybe Im just saying that because its in the 80s where I live, but unless your a complete idiot, you knew what this car could do when you purchased it. I agree that the TCS on the TL is crap, but i already knew that... All it does is brake the front wheels under 25mph when they start to spin. I can tell you from experience that it does what it was DESIGNED to do very well. If you want something that will handle better in snow get a something with AWD period.

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Dead Soul
HondaMod.com - Admin

'99 3.2TL
Black/Parchment

drbeatty

Hmmmm. Snow. TCS. Redline? It doesn't matter if you are driving a TL or a HumVee. If you are driving in snow and your speedometer and tach are posting high numbers, but you are moving slowly, you are GIVING IT TOO MUCH GAS. I learned that years ago in driving school. If Acura had a DCS maybe we could tame some of the "drivers" that make the car sound worse than it is. If the TCS engages below 25mph, but the speedometer registers higher than 25, it will not work. There is a big difference between actual driving speed and registered speed. The registered speed (the speed the computer thinks the car is going) will be higher than the actual speed when the wheels slip. Since the car thinks you are going faster than you are, the TCS will not work properly. Take your foot off of the gas, bring the car down to a reasonable speed, and you won't need that "POS" TCS to save you...

hunter001

I agree with pretty much everything you stated.... in fact, no amount of gadgets in a car, be it TCS, VSA or whatever, can compensate for a driver's stupidity, in adverse weather conditions .... which is the reason, you find quite a few 4WD/AWD vehicles on the side of the road, during snow-storms, when those vehicles should have been able to cope with the nasty weather the best.... their drivers grow over-confident and forget good driving (assuming they have got AWD/DCS/VSA or whatever, to defy physics) .... they forget that driving in the snow is completely different from driving along a bone-dry road.... gadgets can only do so much.... they cannot replace the brain of the driver, during nasty weather.... my advice ? Slow down and drive according to the prevailing conditions.....

If it is a RWD vehicle, you have to be all the more careful (miserable handling when the weather goes bad)... a FWD vehicle is slightly better....AWD is the even better... but then again, a smart driver who is aware of the limitations of an automobile in nasty weather, is the best...

Just my 2c


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2000 Naples Gold 3.2TL/Navi - Factory Stock but with up-graded tires

Guest

at least you have your health right?

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AC

Yup, I have to be greatful that my wife was ok despite how scared she got. Apperently, Deadsoul must have not read all the posts and I think he took insult to the fact that our TCS STILL SUCKS A$$!! Yeah, bet it's great living in FL where it never snows. Unfortunately most of us in the mid atlantic/north don't have that luxury. I know that the TCS was a very small factor in helping me decide on the car, but still was a factor. I don't know about you all, but I don't read my manual from front to back like some of you may have. Yes, I already admitted that I assumed the TCS would do something that it was designed not to do. What I don't understand is if the TCS applies brakes then shouldn't my front wheels not spin then? If so, how did I manage to bring my speedo to about 50mph? Again, on roads with cars I would never do this test but I did this in my neighborhood to test out what my wife was saying when she told me that "the Accord is better than the TL in the snow". Now, common sense...ofcourse any front wheel drive car is going to drive better in the snow than rear wheel drive (ie BMW, Lexus, whatever). Our TL is a nice car and I expected a lot from it but I think as an owner of the car I should expect a lot from the car.

Old timer

There's nothing wrong with expecting a lot from your car. However, RTFM is still a good place to start. Then your expectations can be more in line with what the car was designed to do.

My .02

Guest

When I was shopping for a car in late 99 I narrowed my chioce to a TL or a MaximaSE. Traction control was an issue for me. Most salesmen at both dealers knew nothing about how the systems worked. I went with the TL realizing the limitations of the traction control. The Maxima has all-speed control like the RL/CLS. So far I havn't had any trouble in the snow with the stock tires which are somewhat narrow and should have better traction. By the way if you read the brochure for the TL is mentions that the traction control only works at low speeds

Guest

When I was shopping for a car in late 99 I narrowed my chioce to a TL or a MaximaSE. Traction control was an issue for me. Most salesmen at both dealers knew nothing about how the systems worked. I went with the TL realizing the limitations of the traction control. The Maxima has all-speed control like the RL/CLS. So far I havn't had any trouble in the snow with the stock tires which are somewhat narrow and should have better traction. By the way if you read the brochure for the TL is mentions that the traction control only works at low speeds

VTEC Animal

I thought it was under 17 mph or something like that....

VTEC Animal

I did a test once under dry conditions, turned the TCS off, lots of wheel spin at the line.... I consequently leave mine on.