When it pulls, which way does it pull on the TL-S? Left or right? Is it a sharp yank or a fade?

 

I've felt it to the left, and it's not too sharp. Easy to control, not really severe on my TLS 6MT.

 

The 6 speed comes with an LSD correct? That should send power to both front wheels and eliminate or minimize the amount of torque steer.. Flooring it in your MT might be different than floring it in an AT o_O

I might be completely incorrect I dunno.

 

You're correct...but nothing can completely eliminate torque steer when you punch a 286 HP FWD car. It's there, but controllable and yeah, minimal.

 

<--- traded in TL, bought an IS partially b/c of torque steer

 

Sharp turns on bumpy roads shows up a little with the 6MT. Not a big deal as you learn when to expect it and hold the wheel a little tighter.

 

well torque steer usually pulls to the right....cause even though the tl-s has lsd, i believe it still has an intermidiate shaft on the right side axle...

 

It's most pronounced when the roads are wet. My TL-S 6MT will jump a little launching in 1st and then maybe going into 2nd if I'm really pushing it. Haven't really noticed it too much in dry conditions but it definitely does happen. You get used to it and start to anticipate it.

 

It should pull to the direction that gets more traction. If the left wheel gets more traction than the right it will pull to the left. It really shouldn't pull the the same direction everytime.

 

Reason I ask is that under moderate acceleration, the car fades to the left. It is not a torque steer type yank (I know what that is from my DSM back in the day). It is a pretty good consistant fade under acceleration that does not increase or decrease in magnitude. The car seems to track straight at constant speed down the highway w/o touching the wheel.

Wonder if it's a simple alignment thing or something more? I gave it a little while to see if it would go away or get worse. It has stayed the same. Did not accelerate too hard during break-in, so never became an issue. Now that I'm > 700 miles, I give it a little more juice now than during break-in and it experience it more frequently now. Will call dealer on Monday to see what can be done.

Pete

 

Update: Brought to the dealer tonight for a test rinde to see what is going on. Tech who rode with me has no idea, but he definately said it's not right. Dropping off on Monday for the day and we'll see what's up. I'll let you know what is found (if anything). They looked pretty darn stumped.

 

for me in toronto, most roads are slightly tilted to the right for water drainage. so for me, it goes to teh right more (weight would be off the driver's side wheels, and more on the passenger side wheels)

 

I have the 5AT, and I hardly ever notice it... it never pulls out of my hands...

 

I have a 5AT and when I really jump on it in 1st, it definitely pulls to the right. If you're talking true 'torque steer', then it will always pull in the same direction due to the difference in halfshaft lengths/weight, as 3rdGenHybrid has already pointed out. MT's are worse because there is no torque converter damping the effect, thus the decision to include the LSD in the new, more powerful S-type 6MTs.

Car and Driver famously ripped Acura a new one on this a couple of years back in a multi-car comparison test.

 

All 3G 6MTs have LSD. Not just the Type-S. And it is a known fact that car & driver writers don't like FWD. They try to drive FWD like an RWD by mashing the throttle, and then blame the manufacturer for what follows. The fact is they are just not the same animal. In my opinion, FWD is perfectly fine as long as the vehicle manufacturer engineers in good amounts of passive rear-wheel-steering (like Honda does).

If your smooth enough with the throttle on a FWD, torque steer is never a problem (even during performance driving). Now under-steer is a different story...

 

I stand corrected on the LSD - that was a good decision on Honda's part.

I personally find it disconcerting to have the wheel trying to yank itself out of my hands during high-rpm shifts when cornering. If I remember correctly, this was CD's main complaint, and I tend to agree with them. Whether or not this is worse than a powerful RWD car's tendency to have the rear end break loose and come around in the same scenario I guess is up to the individual driver.

I doubt anyone who regularly drives truly high performance cars will ever prefer FWD to RWD, or even consider them of equal status. RWD will always be superior at the limit because you are not attempting to steer the car AND put power to the ground with the same set of tires. Yes, the torque steer issue can be compensated for, as you point out, but it's still quite annoying. Again, I can't say that I disagree with them - RWD is better when driving at the limit.

 

Dropped it off for service this morning. After checking suspension and alignment, they swapped front tires. The pull went from right to left. Turns out there was a shifted belt in the tire (never heard of it, but oh well). After replacing tires, all was well. I have not driven it yet to verify it is ok (picking up tomorrow morning).

Side note: Rental is an auto '06 TL w/o NAV. What a POS. Sure, it takes the bumps better, but aside from that, blech. My old Atari had better graphics than the non-NAV model. I don't like the blue gauges. VERY glad I got the TL-S.

I will report back with final opinion after getting my cah back.

 

I have the 07 TL-S 5AT and there is a slight pull to the right but its nothing major

 

lol atari...i miss that thing....as for the shifted belt...its not un-common...its one of the main leading causes of pulling in NEW cars....you can get 1....or 4 bad tires....very unlikely you get 4....but shiet happens.... another important reason to rotate your tires...and cross rotate the fronts to the rears....

as for the tire pull....ive only noticed it in 1st and 2nd....and everytime its to the right....which is how it should be considering the half-shaft is longer on that side...power flow in the drivetrain is like electricity...takes the path of least resistance....since the shorter axle has more traction...the longer axle will spin causing the car to veer to the right...

 

true all 3rdgen 6mt's have lsd...but i believe in 2007....the 6spd isn't offered in the base model...only the type-s....and the auto tl-s is given the lsd..

 

Update: Picked up car today. They did an alignment (back rear was off a smidge) and replaced the bad tire. Car now pulls to the right. Guy at the desk kept saying torque steer. Rode with technician and he agrees it is a problem and not torque steer. Left car at the shop. Got another base model TL rental .

More to come later....

 

Did a quick check and this is what I found (take it for what it's worth).

07 Type-s AT: 41100-R36-000 DIFFERENTIAL ASSY


07 Type-s MT: 41200-PYZ-003 DIFFERENTIAL ASSY., HELICAL LIMITED SLIP

 

Update: A little more playing with the tires and the cah goes straight now. Plus, it feels 100x more stable. Curious as to what happens when the tires get rotated. I'll definately mark them as to which was where and see if the fade comes back afterwards. That is a ways away though.

I got a free water and 2 mints!

Wash & wax to come this weekend. Moleskin is here, so that will need to be applied. Phone call is in order to get tint appointment.

Gratuitous phoot:

 

The '07 TL-S has torque steer reduction built into the ECU. The greater the steering angle input, the greater the reduction. Works left or right. Road conditions would be the only variable that would favor either direction that I can think of.

 

The automatic eliminates it...

Of at the very least minimizes it to the point where it's not noticeable.