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Has anyone noticed any difference in ride quality of Advanced vs A-Spec ? Trying to figure out if the Adaptive Damper and 16 way seats make any difference ? I love the exterior look of the Blue A-Spec but prefer the interior + features of the Advanced so not sure what to do.
Absolutely, The advance has Active dampers. When you change drive modes the suspension stiffens or loosens accordingly.
Comfort mode + LKAS + Adaptive Cruise feels like a Cadillac.
Sport mode feels comparable to the A-Spec standard suspension.
Sport + feels a little firmer than the A-Spec but not by much.
I drove the A-SPEC as a loner for 2 days, loved it. But you have to drive the advance to appreciate the difference. Especially in turning. It can go from riding on rails to allowing body roll to give more of that floating on a cloud feeling.
as for the seats... advance seats were smoother and softer 16 way adjustable + it shows up on the screen for the driver and passenger. That screamed luxury as soon as I saw that on the screen.
For me I'll have to wait for the Type S in 202X so I can get sport + Luxury.
According to the owner's manual, changing the drive mode does not change the suspension settings.
From page 427 of the manual:
Sport +
Adds to Sport to allow for increased performance by enhanced throttle response and changing the shift map.
Sport
Enhances vehicle response feel through decreased steering assist, heightened throttle response, increase SH-AWD torque bias and modified sound control.
Comfort
Minimizes driver comfort through increased steering assist.
Snow
Use when driving on snowy road surfaces
The only mention of the adaptive damper system in the owner's manual can be found on page 124 where there is an image of a warning message if there is a problem with the adaptive damper system...your vehicle will have normal damping ability without the adaptive damper feature.
Is this the same as the Acura Active Damper System from 2012 that uses a special fluid in the strut that reacts to an electric charge to change the characteristics of the suspension system? I don't know.
Last edited by bluntman72; 11-28-2018 at 01:59 PM.
Exclusive to the Advance Package, the Adaptive Damper System can adjust suspension stiffness changes in a split second, to both smooth the ride and sharpen handling according to driving conditions. This allows the RDX to remain soft and comfortable during highway cruising, yet firm when the road requires high-performance confident handling.
Using sensor data, each damper incorporates a continuously adjustable valve which raises or lowers damper fluid pressure and thus the speed at which the fluid can flow from one end of the damper tube to the other. This varying flow rate allows quick and precisely measured stiffening or softening of the damper motion.
The dampers can adjust from soft to race car-stiff in a matter of milliseconds.
Turning the IDS to Sport+ will bias the system toward more stiffness, though it still varies by road and driving condition.
The Adaptive Damper System is always on whenever the ignition is engaged.
Whether it is soft to start and stiffens up during each knob twist is possible. But a test drive will easily show you the difference.
It made a very noticeable difference to me.
From experience I can definitely say the 'mode' selector on the Advance trim also changes the suspension. I've tested this multiple times on the same rough road and the ride gets progressively stiffer when going from Comfort to Sport to Sport+.
I was set on getting the Advance but now that I’m shopping, I find much more ASpecs available locally. Is HUD enough to opt for the Advance? How about the active dampening? I prefer the Aspec aesthetically.
I was set on getting the Advance but now that I’m shopping, I find much more ASpecs available locally. Is HUD enough to opt for the Advance? How about the active dampening? I prefer the Aspec aesthetically.
I loved the HUD in the Advance but when it came time to put pen to paper I couldn't walk away from the A-Spec for the very same reason. Ride quality was the same in both vehicles on my test drive. Nice quiet and firm but forgiving. Almost went with the blue A-Spec but the black just stood out that day. I've had compliments everywhere it's been for accessories.
[QUOTE=97ws6;16340302]I loved the HUD in the Advance but when it came time to put pen to paper I couldn't walk away from the A-Spec for the very same reason. Ride quality was the same in both vehicles on my test drive. Nice quiet and firm but forgiving. Almost went with the blue A-Spec but the black just stood out that day. I've had compliments everywhere it's been for accessories.[/QUOTE
That’s more of the input I was looking for. Thanks.
A-Spec - better looking exterior + my preferred color of Apex Blue
Advanced - better looking interior with wood trim, expresso leather, Heads up display, Heated steering wheel, Heated back seats, surround camera
Not so much of a tough decision at all. Nicer exterior looks are mostly relative, and will quickly pass as newer models arrive with even better looks. But a nicer, comfier, and rich tactile interior stays with you all the time. It never gets old.
I was set on getting the Advance but now that I’m shopping, I find much more ASpecs available locally. Is HUD enough to opt for the Advance? How about the active dampening? I prefer the Aspec aesthetically.
I absolutely love the HUD, I find it much less distracting than glancing down at the busy instrument section. Others may have a different opinion but thats my 2 cents.
The Advance was my choice due to rough city streets which I got tired of feeling every bump in my BMW. When I am on the open road and enjoying the ride I put it in sport mode but when I am going to the grocery store I use the comfort. I really am loving my RDX Advance and the 16 speaker sound system is incredible.
From experience I can definitely say the 'mode' selector on the Advance trim also changes the suspension. I've tested this multiple times on the same rough road and the ride gets progressively stiffer when going from Comfort to Sport to Sport+.
I haven't noticed any difference in ride quality at all in any mode.
Don't know what to say - my wife even notices it from the passenger seat when I change modes. I assume you have an Advance trim?
Yes, Advance. The old MDX had a two-position button on the console that went from Sport to Comfort and it was a night and day difference. In the RDX, I don't feel any difference.
I have a particularly curvy road with bumps near my house. Switching from comfort to sport plus makes a huge difference. The bumps are much more pronouced and the car stays much flatter going around the curves
There is a big difference in comfort vs sport modes when driving on curved roads. It’s a big deal and I am glad because in comfort mode there is immediate body roll as you would expect with softer suspension and it’s not great when driving spiritedly. Sport mode immediately tightens up the ride and prevent a significant amount of roll and dive to the point it gets “sporty”, the steering gets heavier too. It’s pretty impressive. I owned a Audi S4 prior and it had selectable modes and I couldn’t really feel much change. The RDX is very noticeable. With all this said, it could be so much better if it had a button on the steering wheel that could toggle the modes vs the “big dash knob”.
I was thinking of just vinyl wrapping the side pieces. On my WDP, I think it would go a long way. I actually like the "chrome" on the grill. I wouldn't touch that.
The Advance is the way to go I find myself dialing over to sport+ when I need to merge but like the cushy ride most of the time. I only looked at cars that had the HUD.
As for color I have the dark gray can't recall the color and the wheels are almost the same color. not the best but hopefully you can see the color similarity
11-28-2018, 10:08 AM
