Hi:

I read an article somewhere on the net (still kicking myself in the ass for not saving it) but it mentioned that the 2006 TL will have an active anti-torgue steer mechanism.

Is this true and how would such a device work?

 

is your friend. I took a wild guess and googled "anti torque steer Acura TL" and got this link.

Or, I could have gone directly to Honda News.

 

Basically it's this. To reduce the torque steer, they uh...reduce torque in 1st & 2nd gear.

You can defeat this by turning off VSA. Not sure if I would want this or not...but thanks to Ron A for providing the link.

 

It reads:

"For 2006, Acura has taken steps to reduce torque steer in TLs equipped with a manual transmission. When the TL is in first or second gear, input from gear position, speed and steering angle sensors is used by the ECU to reduce power during acceleration, thus reducing torque steer. In first gear, torque can be reduced between 13 and 27 percent at full throttle, while in second gear, torque is reduced between zero and 10 percent. Torque output is reduced proportionately based on steering input--the larger the steering angle, the greater the reduction in torque. For those desiring maximum possible acceleration switching off the VSA also eliminates this torque reduction. This steering enhancement allows the TL to maintain the sporty, fun-to-drive character while providing more precise steering control."

 

Thats so lame, they simply modified VSA to further reduce power and effectively took some juice from under the hood during acceleration unless you reach up on the dash and disable VSA every time you start the car.

 

Wow...talk about removing the sporty nature of a car. Its like they neutered the TL

 

Yeah, if you ask me, a very dumb move when your primary competition (G35) has kickass torgue and horsepower numbers ON TOP of a year where your numbers DROP on paper due to a new SAE measurement scale and the G35's dont. I can forsee many people going with the G35 over the TL after test driving both and not knowing the TL well enough to disable the VSA to compare apple to apple.

 

Hmmm. Let's see. More sensors and more over-ruling the driver. I guess I'm not completely against that but to reduce torque steer (TS) it seems a bit backwards. What I mean by that is take VSA for example. In addition to limiting start-up wheel spin it can get you out of trouble if you get "loose". So if you get into trouble in a turn or extreme maneuver it can help out. But, TS, is really a start up thing that is completely under the driver's control. It is way different than hitting a slippery patch. Simply put, the car is what it is and just not accelerating as hard will reduce the TS. I have a wonderful active anti-TS system, my brain, feet and hands. TS is way overplayed anyway. It just isn't as big a deal as people make out of it. Anyone who has driven FWD cars for very long usually agrees.

Back to why I think it is backwards. It is a band-aid fix. Perhaps Honda thinks they have done all they can mechanically to reduce TS and this is all that's left. Typically engineers seek to fix root causes of problems rather than automatically/actively compensate for them.

 

I agree, torgue steer is overplayed, but it commands alot of attention because the magazines love to make an issue of it. and the magazines influence the opinions of buyers. i dont experience torgue steer very much nowadays anyway on the count of gas being so ridiculusly priced, I KEEP MY LEAD FOOTING to a goddamn minimum.

Bush, I if you read this, I supported you though the thick and thin, now BUILD SOME DAMN REFINERIES so that we can experience this famed torgue steer!!

 

did we always have side window defoggers?

 

Only in front wheel drive cars, because they help with the torque steer and rear wheel drive cars don't have the problem.

Why the would you ask that here?

 

i was reading the article and clicked on features... and i was looking for something new.

# Two 12v power outlets
# Front and rear dual beverage holders
# Door storage compartments
# Dual trip meters
# Maintenance Minder system
# Auto-off headlights
# Outside temperature gauge
# Side-window defoggers
# Digital clock
# Remote trunk/fuel door release
# In-trunk storage tray
# In-trunk shopping bag hook
# In-trunk cargo net
# Hand operated parking brake

because my side windows fog up like a bitch and when i turn defrost on it never helps on the side.

 

Well you the thread so let's end it here, but the only thing new on that list is possibly the In-trunk shopping bag hook, which may have been listed before but I am too lazy to look for it and it doesn't make much difference anyway.

Next time it would be better to start your own thread when it is something so diametrically opposed to the topic at hand.

 

I agree completely. Torque steer is not a huge issue to those who are used to driving FWD vehicles (at least not in the TL). This is not so much a "fix" for the torque steer as much as an attempt to lower the talk of TS in reviews.

It was like Acura came down to, "well we can't reduce the TS, unless we do the obvious and reduce the torque. Duh."

 

Something like this also adds more costs and more chances of malfuction. I am amazed that people are so overboard about safety features like this... It is like they never learned how to drive a car. I would recommend that everyone take a driving course maybe something like skip barber to learn how to handle a car.

One reason why the automotive purests will always perfer a rear driver.

 

the best way to eliminate Torque Steer would be for honda to get their heads out of there asses and build a damn RWD sedan (to which they could better compete with those they are trying to compete with)

 

Well, that's certainly a band aid sort of fix for this.

By the sound of it, they've simply reprogrammed the VSA to compensate for the torque steer which implies that the modification can be retrofitted to '04 and '05 6MT's by updating the programming in the ECU. Which suggests to me that anyone going into the dealer with a complaint about excessive torque steer might end up with their ECU reprogrammed.

Nothing mentioned about them doing such a thing, but also nothing stating that they can't either.

 

I totally, completely agree this is a LAME response to a problem no one is worried about.

And I have to say I'm continuing to be disappointed in the direction Honda is taking. Apparently, the Greenies have taken over there and they are more worried about fuel economy and emissions than they are performance ... at a time when performance has once again become a reality after 3 decades of vacation.

Just look around ... Nissan and Infiniti are churning out hp and torque, with no real penalty in economy. Even the Toyota Avalon (aaargh!) and the Hyundai Azera are getting hp. You can get a Chrysler 300 with a hemi. The BASE 'Vette has 400hp.

Fer cryin' out loud. Honda seems to be going the other way, and it's gonna find itself alone. Nice for Prius/Accord hybrid lovers, I guess, but I'm not one of those.

And now they suck torque away on takeoff. Geez.

 

Remember. It says it all depends on the amount of torque and steering angle. Straight line performance should not be affected. It should help you in the turns to keep you from losing control. Sounds like a good idea to me. Then again you can always turn it off.

 

I dunno, I expect a turn around. With rumors of a V8 for the next RL, and a V10 for the new NSX(although I think they should go with a flat 10). You are definatly right about the HP wars being back. As for the torque steer correction there should be a seperate shut off for that than the entire VSA IMO.

 

To say that no one cares about the "torque steer" in the TL is ridiculous. If you've read any of the articles about the TL 6MT, that's about the only thing any of the mags complain about. I personally only feel it in two situations (and not very often at that): turning onto a road under very hard acceleration and riding over very bumpy surfaces under hard acceration. The former might be controlled by the mentioned change; however, I'd be surprised if it made a difference in the latter condition.

 

The V8 rumors were squashed when Honda formally announced that it had NO PLANS to develop a V8 in the near future. They will concentrate on hybrids supposedly.

 

We don't know for sure how they are going to accomplish this. We all fear, "throttle control", and that's the likely approach. But could we be jumping the gun.

Maybe????????

 

Again, I have to argue, if a person is used to driving a FWD they will compensate. Torque steer is a characteristic of high-powered FWD. There is no two ways about it. I've driven a Maxima and loved the off-the-line torque. Of course, with the increased torque, comes...you guessed it, the increased TS.

Now magazines complain about it because they want to turn the TL into a RWD sedan and comparing the TL's FWD driving characteristics to RWD sedans. I for one, would not have purchased a RWD TL due to the fact that I live in NY and I need my car year-round. That's the way I look it.

Of course, I won't say that "no one" cares about TS in the TL. However, I don't and I think anyone who knows what they are getting into, shouldn't.

 

Torque steer is the nature of the beast. I have an 'anti torque steer' drivers license.

 

From Car & Driver article on the Pontiac Grand Prix GXP



Pretty good article on how they reduced it. Note this car has 255 tires up front and 225 in the rear. Yeah, I guess it performs better, but it's still weird.

 

the tire difference really wont correct torque steer, the different sized tires corrected UNDERSTEER... it basically give the car a more nuetral feel since the rear tires will have less traction then the front, allowing the rear end to rotate more...

this also makes it next to impossible to rotate your tires, especially if you buy directional tires....

 

Semantics. I said it is a problem no one is worried about.

Sure, the mags will complain about it, because they seem to see no reason a car should ever have FWD. They're RWD snobs IMO, and want to convey the image that they are always sliding out sideways taking curvy mountain roads at 10/10ths and doing big smokey burnouts at every stoplight. But the real world is a little bit more civilized place, and people just don't (can't) drive that way on an everyday basis.

IMO, FWD doesn't even make itself known in ordinary driving. It's only when you do a power start or really plow too fast into a sharp curve that you notice any difference, and even then it usually isn't something you can't adjust for. So the wheel yanks a little when you goose it ... it's not like it throws you in the ditch. And if you're hanging it out far enough on mountain roads to risk getting sideways, you'd better know your car pretty well, whether it's FWD or RWD. Otherwise, you will be in the ditch.

So I repeat: owners of FWD cars generally don't consider it a problem they worry about.

 

Thank you!

I'm glad someone gets it besides me.

 

Thats not true always. My maxima had quite a bit of torque steer and one day I had to get to the right lane from a stop so had to take off faster than normal...well I took off pretty fast just to make sure and I didn't expect the wheel to jerk so hard outta my hands...literally was inches from ramming right into the car next to me. It scared the heck out of me. After that, I was very aware of torque steer whenever I started out hard but was still annoying as hell...