Hey, everybody. I'm about to grab an '04 TL, but before I do I wanted to clear up a few things. The test-drive I took soon after the vehicle's release date was very brief and so my impressions ended up being somewhat half-baked. I did notice that the TL felt extremely solid, had pretty decent pick-up, firm ride, some hints of torque steer, and a lil road noise coming into the cabin. We recently bought an '04 TSX for my " financial advisor " and she's happy beyond belief with that purchase. Unfortunately, aside from build quality and looks the TSX doesn't float my boat one bit. It's not exactly a driver's car. Much less so that even the RSX. Right now I'm in a '03 G35 sedan which I'd be dumping because the running costs have gotten past ridiculous. On the plus side though, the acceleration, braking and cornering in this car are simply silly. We're talking $60K BMW 540i territory.
Anyhow, my main concern about the '04 TL has to do with torque steer, high-speed stability, braking and cornering. How badly does the steering wheel jerk when you aggressively exit a corner ? How well do the brakes bite ? Is the vehicle willing to " slide " into a moderate bend when using only engine braking ? What are the noise levels when travelling on a highway ? I too have EL42s on my Infiniti, and these suckers produce obscene amounts of roar.
Thanks
P.S. My dealer is offering summer tire/wheel combo for '04 TL consisting of 18" rims on S03s for $2995. Talk about highway robbery .

 

Okay first off, welcome to the Acura-TL forum. Finding this site has been a goldmine for me as well as others. I agree with your assessment of the TSX. It simply needs more HP if it's going to compete effectively with the likes of the BMW 3 series.

I'm surprised about your comments about the running costs for the G35. What costs are you talking about?

As far as the TL is concerned, yes there is a big difference between a FWD car and a RWD car. Once you get used to it, it is very predictable, just like any other high performance auto. I drove mine down to CA recently and it performed flawlessly. Basically, the car will go where you point it. High speed stability is great although I've only had it up to about 90. Braking is solid and the cornering is again very predicatable once you acclimate yourself from RWD to FWD. The steering wheel does not jerk at all when aggressively exiting a corner. The brakes are very good although the brembos would be that much better. The vehicle will resist sliding due to the stability control. As far as the noise is concerned, your tires will determine the noise level.

Don't go for the dealer pkg on the 18" wheels and tires. Buy the wheels seperately and go shop yourself for the tires. You'll save at least $500.

 

I was fortunate in that my salesman offered to allow me to ride without him so felt comfortable driving aggresively. Didn't notice very much torque steer. I felt that the TSX was a nicer drive, feels lighter and more maneuverable as might be expected. The TL had noticably more power, however.

I also drove the G35 and didn't like. The engine roar and the abrupt downshifts when accelerating ( I drove the AT) left me unable to appreciate the handling.

You probably need some comments from TL owners for more in-depth comments, especially about high-speed stability. Or you could test drive one again, that would also be fun!

 

Hey Vinnie,
The Bridgestone S-03's are the best Ultra Performance tire on the market right now, bang for the buck. I have them on my current car (225/45ZR-17 Front & 245/40ZR-17 Rear). You will be amazed at the difference a good set of tires can do for any car.

A good example happened recently the other night when I was going up 93N through the new tunnel into boston. I took that 2 lane exit off to Storrow Drive and had another car trying to ride my back bumper the whole way. It's a hard left, off camber, turn (posted 25 mph). So I accelerate up to about 55-60, and get over to the right lane to apex it just right. This guy, in his new 3 series, thinks he can hang with me and stays with me at about 50 feet off of my tail. Just as the corner starts to really cut hard, I can feel the tires digging in. They push, but have a reassuring feel that's controllable with the throttle. Anyways. I was at my limit and wasn't looking back, becacause it is kind of a blind corner, when all of a sudden I saw a flash. It was the 3 series headlights, and he was going out of control, see-sawing back and forth. I felt bad and hoped he didn't crash, but still laughed all the way to the Fenway exit !!

The downside to these tires is that they wear fast. My old S-02's lasted just under 20K miles !!


ps- I ordered my tires through Costco. They are the cheapest. And, they had a Bridgestone factory rebate for an additional $15 off each tire.


Good Luck


-Chad

 

Hey SLVR04TL6PD,

How much were those at Costco, and do they do the mounting/balnacing? If so, how much?

I assume these tires are not "all season"?

What did you do with the OEMs, and did you get the potenzas or turanzas OEM?

Are you going to go back to OEMs when the snow starts falling, or put on real snows?

I should be getting my car from Clair in Walpole within a few days, and am trying to figure out what I should do about wheels/tires. I'm actually look for some opinions if you have any.

I should probably just ride the OEMs through the winter and get a feel for them, but I'm trying to decide if I should get some high-perf. all seasons. I've been looking at tirerack to see what's out there.

I'm also considering, although this is expensive, buying 18" wheels and putting high-perf. on them and running them during the summer months, and keep the 17s with all-season or snows on them for winter.

I care a LOT about road noise, I like it quiet in the cabin, but I want to see how the stock wheels/tires and suspension perform.

Any thoughts based on your recent experiences? Sorry for all teh questions, I want to absorb as much wheel/tire info as I can.

Ryan

 

Hey Ryan-

I should have said it in the earlier post, but I am waiting as well for my 6 speed from Acura of Peabody. They told me that it is being built in Ohio on the 11th and should arrives a few weeks later.
I have the S-03's on my BMW right now, and am definetly going to get S-03's for next summer. I'm just not sure if I am going to buy steel wheels w/ snows for the winter yet. If I do then I'll put the S-03's on the 17" Acura wheels.
Having tried to drive my car in the winter last year with the S-02's, I almost feel obligated to warn anyone thinking of trying to drive with these tires in the winter not to. You'll spin the tires in an inch of snow and get stuck everywhere. Even just letting the clutch out slow without giving any gas the tires slip.
In the rain, the S-03's handle very well and have a slight,but predictable hydroplane feeling when hitting a big puddle by accident.
In the summertime, they are unbelievable! :worship:

I paid $174 each + tax for the rear tires 245/40 ZR-17
and
$147 each + tax for the front tires 225/45ZR-17

they charge $9 to mount and balance each wheel. Make sure you specify that you want them to stick on wieghts and not clamp them on the edge. Also ask a stupid question like " can your machine work on low profile tires without damaging the rim.." that way you can hint at the fact that you don't to get them back with any scratches.

Good luck

Chad

 

Thanks,

Please keep me in the loop as to the kind of luck you're having with various tires, etc. Once I get some road time with my car I'll report back. I doubt I'll do anything until the spring at this point anyway. I hope the Turanzas are good tires.

 

I'm picking up my '04 TL in 10 days from Clair Acura. How has your experience been with them? They gave me a pretty good lease price i think. Am I going to have problems with the stock tires in the snow? I'd be interested to hear your thoughts.

 

I originally had a NBP/Ebony w/Nav AT on order in with Clair the first week of October. I was told that the build date was Oct. 29th to Nov. 3rd, so I should be getting my TL by mid November. To make a long story short, I was checking in on the status of my TL, and the salesman nonchalantly changed the date on me as if he never said that mid Novemeber was the delivery time. I was shocked. So I pulled my deposit and went to Acura of Boston, and they gave me $500 off MSRP.

 

My Exerperience with Clair hasn't been so good. My Salesguy was a total ass, and I didn't enjoy my business experience with them.

The service people tried to charge me over retail for the all-season floor mats.

When I brought my car in for the vibration/rattling problems, they gave me a Kia for a rental, and then made it look like they were doing me a favor.

They didn't even fix my problems, not fully anyway. Its like they don't even care. I'm going to give them ONE more chance to make it right, then I'm going to Clair of Boston from now on.

Ryan

 

Hey Vinny Jones! Sorry this thread has spiraled away from your question, and become a "Clair" discussion...

The torque steer when accelerating out of turns is almost non-existant. I used to drive RWD Z cars before coming over to Acura ten years ago, and it was different at first but in practically no time I started really appreciating the tradeoff. I rarely miss RWD, and I love FWD even more when its raining out. No more fish tails, no more controlled skids...but I was much younger back then and I enjoyed all that action back then.

Granted, I live in Southern California so its not really a big problem having RWD, but I just love these Acuras and the "point and go" handling of the TL is great.

 

I apologize for getting away from the thread, and not to be a smart a$$, but Vinnie Jones hasn't posted to it in about a month. So I didn't think it would hurt answering some else's question, even though probably didn't belong here.