[VTEC]TL

Damn those fockers are pretty quick. Here are the specs.

Supercharged 3.8L V6
240 hp@5200rpm
280 torque@3200 rpm
curb weight 3559 lbs.

I raced one from a light. I had 3 passengers in my car and he was an old guy by himself. He started regularly and then all of a sudden he gunned it and he chirped nasty through 1st. He then got a car length lead on me and we ran to like 60-80 mph and shut it down. I can't believe he did such a nasty peelout while moving in a 4 spd automatic!

How fast are these cars 1/4; 0-60?

3.2 TL

stock those cars are quick (i.e. 0-60 in mid 6s) and with a pulley....that is big trouble. I stay away from them. Just wait till later on when they come out with the v8 GTP.

tdoh

That's because they have all that torque (TL-S has 232 lb-ft torque). More low-end torque will go a long way in getting low 0-60 times.

All other things being equal, in general there is no way a car with less torque can out-accelerate one with more torque, at least when accelerating anywhere between 0 and 100 mph. Take the TL-S--it may lose a 0-60 race to another car (due to relatively less torque) but could quite possibly catch up to and perhaps even pass the other car if it were a race to let's say 140 mph (more horsepower up top). Or to put it in a somewhat different way, assuming that both cars had the same top speed but different acceleration characteristics, one car may pull away from the other but eventually there will be a point where the first car will no longer be pulling away; he may still be in front but he will no longer be putting any more distance between himself and the other car.

Keep in mind--there is a difference between "quick" and "fast".

Tony

Shoofin

I had a loaner GP GT when I had my car by Park Ave last time... it moves, i'll tell ya..
Ed

JZ39

I got my ass handed to me by a GTP from a 60mph roll one night and my car runs 14.6-14.7 at the track! He must've had some serious mods and it seemed in hindsight that he was kinda stalking around looking for a victim. Be careful.

SoundSpeed

Pontiac v6s pull pretty good. They have good low end power from my limited experience with them, and this was the N/A one.

y2ks2k

But its still a pontiac

RAdams

Excellent post!

I've seen several GTP's at the track (modded and stock) and they're pretty quick but not very fast. Some of them have smaller supercharger pulleys (and who knows what else) and pull 13.80's but are well under 100mph trap speeds.

I'd take my chances against a modded one up high, but from a slow roll all bets are off...

STAGED

First of all I want to say the Acura TL Type S is one superb and slick machine. They will sell plenty if they keep up this fantastic work.

Now the first ever test on a 3800 supercharged 6 in a performance mag is on my dad's '96 Bonneville. It's a slick package because in was one of the few years when the lightweight base Bonneville could be equipped with the blown 3.8L. Read 10/97 High Performance Pontiac and you'll see that the car got 14.525@94.1mph on a 2.09 sec. 60' with stock tires. Strangely, the 50lb. lighter Regals and Grand Prixs are a hair slower 14.6-low 15s@93 down to 90mph. That's because the intake on Grand Prix and Regals are much more restrictive than supercharged Bonnes. Either way, these supercharged sleepers have not just tons of low end torque but they have a loose torque convertors (3200 rpm stall) and the result is tire spin in 1st at will.

Anyways, there are tons of mods from free-flowing mass airs to intercoolers. Fastest is in high-12s@105+mph. But I also know that those cars are maxxed out when it comes to transmission even when stock. So aggressive driving with exhaust/intake will result in slippage sooner than later.

bigman

Go CLUB GP.com And you will see what these guys run and do. Small 90 pulley will give them about 30 more horses and about 25 more ft lbs of torque. Them things move if you want them to. Also they sell LSD's, tranny shift kits, and tranny coolers to help with tranny troubles. Be careful with the GTX's and their Ram Air set ups. MAn i almost baught one, but dealer service and car quality sux.

evolaerok

My brother has a GTP and just to see how his car does againest mine he asked me to race, we did three races. The first one I was neck and neck with him until about 90mph then after 90mph I stomped him! 2nd race he did a good launch and got in front of me and beat me all the way to 110mph.... the 3rd race was three weeks later after my CAI and now the race is almost dead even until 75mph when I pull on him way quicker....off the line he almost always beats me because of the supercharger...Remember though those things are fast with little adjustments here and there they can pull low 14's sometimes even high 13's....

Shyne

I raced a black 4 door wide track gp in the rain from a red light, I was amazed that the bit@h driving was keeping up almost to my rear passenger door...I had all wheel spin through out 1st and 2nd and I still came out on top, I thought she was gonna pass when I threw it in fourth but obviously the driving conditions were a little slippery so she slowed down...Shyne

Guest

Uh, what's your point ? A Corvette is still a Chevy, so I guess those suck too ? As far as I know Grand Prix's have been around for quite some time, and will be for quite some time longer, will the TL/TLS name be ? Keep in mind the Integra stayed for only about a decade, give or take a year. And remember Pontiac gave us one of the best musclecars ever made, the GTO.

tdoh

Yeah, but given that GM is getting rid of the Oldsmobile line in 2004, maybe it's just a matter of time before they do the same to Pontiac?

Tony

pianoman41

Yep. And Buick gave us the Grand National GNX and GMC gave us the Cyclone and Typhoon. Sure GM quality may be in the $hitter but every once in a while they lay a golden egg.

davlm

I own a 1997 GTP sedan. I've been lurking around here because I am looking to decide what to replace it with in a year or two. Most of what was said here is true, the GTP's have less hp (240) but more torque (280). Another site to check them out is www.grandprix.net. They can be modded to some pretty formidable power levels.

I can vouch for the fact that a GTP (which are all 4-spd automatics) can rip the tires BIG time from a 10-15mph roll. Must admit I occasionally put the fear of God into some of those coffee can muffler Civics with that trick. And mine is <almost> completely stock.

But I agree that GM quality still isn't what it should be. At 42k I've replaced the alternator and water pump already, and the dash has assorted rattles. But hey, a lot of car for the $22k I paid for it in 97.

I've always admired Honda quality and told my wife if they would just make a sport sedan quicker than my car I might just switch to the dark side I drove a TL-S and must say although it lacks the torque of my GTP, it certainly revs fast. And of course the interior was light-years better in the TL-S, as I expected in a $32k car built by Honda. Saving my nickels now, and looking forward to 2003/4.