Cecilt

The sales manager of a local Acura dealer lives in my neighborhood told me a few weeks ago that the Type S TL has no torque steer. He knows I have a 6 speed '06 TL and even with the computer upgrade to reduce torque steer it still exists.

He said to come in and drive one and see for myself. I have not taken him up on his offer but I find it impossible to believe they got rid of it. Unless the engine completely shuts off if giving it too much gas

chfields

Simple answer is...FWD=Torque steer period!!

TLS_91331

the 5at seems to have less than the 6mt (DRIVE BOTH OFTEN).. like CHFIELDS said FWD, its always gonna be an issue..

csmeance

some members a long time ago 2005 said the -spec suspension with comptech RSB got rid of the torque steer alot.

260 HP

iTrader: (3)

I recently drove a TL-S 6MT with 30 miles on the odo. I can tell you that the car has much less TQ steer than my 05. Not too sure about 06 though.

Of course, if you are in tight turns and punch the gas, the torque steer is there and can confuse the inattentive driver. But on straight lines with mild or moderately agressive acceleration, the TQ steer is very subtle. Not absent, but very mild.

007TL-S

the dealer must be smoking some pretty good Gahnj

06AM6MT

1- I don't really mind the torque steer in the TL... it really is not too bad
2- He wants to sell you something )

Hardtimes

bs....but i still love mine

t7n7

he can be right... i mean... think about it... maybe they have a better software controlling it so if its forcing the steering to one side, it might transfer more power to the other wheel to prevent that.. etc.. who knows... just go drive it.. then let us know.

ggesq

iTrader: (1)

ask the salesman- when did the law of physics change?

MobyDickDog

We have a 2007 Acura TL Type S.

I guarantee you that it has torque-steer. No if, and, or buts about it. Period.


I described this characteristic to my wife before we finally bought the car. She has a 2006 Mustang GT and seemed to be a little concerned about this. I told here that she would not have a problem with it given that she drives it to the grocery store and back (figure of speech here).

Well, 2 days ago she got pissed with a driver in front of her and she floored it and changed lanes. My wifes eyeballs got big just after the torque-steer hit her.

She now knows what it is from experience.

Awesome car BTW!!!!!

terminex

The sales manager is on CRACK, or he has never driven it. PERIOD.

I love the car, but like any FWD car with good power yes, it does have torque steer.

If you can't deal with Torque Steer do one of the following:

buy a rear wheel drive car
buy an all wheel drive car
buy a front wheel drive car with very little power

Ken1997TL

It has torque steer but it is not objectionable IMO. Try driving a Maxima, which is Japanese for excessive torque steer.

ayethetiense

The most important thing to remember is that a car salesman knows less about the car they are selling then a blind man taking his driving test.

oldsnwbrdr

Ken, you are 100% correct. I rented a Maxima while in Vermont last December. I changed lanes and stood on the accelerator to pass someone, and the torque steer nearly ripped the steering wheel out of my hand. Seriously, I almost hit the car in front of me.

I have noticed this much less in the Acura though.

Adamo0926

TLS.....I'm glad someone posted this I thought I was nuts....lol. I just got my 2005 6mt back from the dealership and they had given me a 2007 5at for a loaner car. There is no doubt that my '05 6 speed has noticeably more torque steer than the '07 automatic.

Have others found that the TL 6 speed manual's have more torque steer than their automatic brothers and sisters ?

YeuEmMaiMai

I have a chance to drive an 07 TL while my CL type S was in the shop for a dealer paid repair...and I got on the throttle pretty good...VSA/ABS/Traction control does a very good job of reeling in any TQ steer no overly hard tugs on the steering wheel or anything like that.....

Legend2TL

There is one other thing that reduces torque steer dramtically.

Use two equal length driveshafts with no intermediate drive shaft (right side of TL has two driveshafts).

Equal length driveshafts do alot to minimize the effects of torque differential since the rotational torsion is equalized since both shafts are equal. The only practical way to achieve this is to have a longituadal placed engine and transaxle.

If you ever looked at driveshafts for transverse engine FWD cars, notice how the longer shaft is much thicker than the shorter shaft. This is to attempt to equalize the rotational torsion. It does not eliminate torque steer since the longer shaft is heavier causing a difference in rotational inertia. So the 2G and 3G TL's having equal lenght driveshafts but also a right-side intermediate shaft will still have some torque steer.

Unfortunately most FWD cars use the transverse engine/tranaxle approach since it makes for easier packaging. Audi and a few others have it, the Acura 2G Legend and the 1G TL also used it for the V6 engine. I've driven 2G Legend's and they have literally almost no torque steer.

kobi2002

my integra had an intermediate shaft and never had a torque steer problem, ever. My understanding of the shaft is that the way the tranny sits you have to have a shaft there. But the shaft is bolted to the engine or at least on my integra and the two axles where the same size. i do remember when guys use to do a gsr swap in the civics and used the civic axle, torque steer would almost rip thier arm off because the civic uses a short and long axle (no shaft)

Legend2TL

Think of the intermediate shaft as a "midway solution" between two unequal length driveshafts and two equal length driveshafts. The intermediate shaft will not have the angle effects of the CV joint thrust forces but will still add to the rotational inertia of the drivetrain. So in simple terms the intermediate shaft approach does reduce torque steer on FWD vehicles with transverse engines but it's not as good as two equal length driveshafts.

FWIW, my wife had a 86 Integra and I had a 89 Legend, both with equal length driveshafts with a intermediate shaft also. I could not detect much torque steer with either one, I also had a 86 Prelude Si that had noticeable torque steer and it used two unequal length driveshafts. I rented a Nissan Maxima once and it had the worst torque steer I could remember in a FWD car.

A friend who worked at a garage drove a late 60's FWD Oldsmobile Toronado. It had two equal length driveshafts in it's longitudal engine/transaxle layout (NO intermediate shaft), he said it had almost no torque steer despite the 300+ftlbs of torque the huge V8 put out. Now understeer with that car was another matter!

Converted

I just recently picked up a new TL-S, after owning all Subaru's... AWD, baby!!

Honestly and truthfully, I don't notice it AT ALL... I mean, you can tell there's resistance on the wheel under wide open acceleration, but it DOESN'T try to yank the wheel out of your hand, and turn odd directions.

I can honestly say, the dealer may not be purposely BS'ing you. If somebody asked me about the torque steer, I'd also say it really doesn't have any... in a traditional sense.

Granted, it's more sensitive to steering inputs under WOT, but like I said, you can floor it when you're hardly holding the wheel, and keep it straight...

And that was coming from a symetrical AWD system, with no torque steer. I was really impressed.

JPA3

I hardly notice it either, and this is my 1st FWD in years. Infiniti FX (2) and Pathfinder previous 3 cars, I was concerned about FWD torque steer and subsequent CV boot maintenance but the steering is good. My 1st car was a 74 Gremlin that with its 4 wheel drum brakes made automatic right turns on hard braking. My Dad's 76 Eldorado would go in circles without holding the wheel, and made right turns on hard acceleration, so this TL is a pleasure, hardly noticeable FWD.

123456SPEED

My 03 CLS 6MT has noticeable torque steer, and of course, it manifests at the worst times, when you have to make a quick accelerating maneuver, otherwise the car is pretty responsive and has plenty of power for me, but is spoiled by the torque steer.
I didn't know that about the Legends, my 95 coupe had the longitudinal engine placement and I never remember torque steer. Acura said the placement was for weight ratios, it put more weight to the center of the car.

Nykor

My last car was a eclipse turbo. That car had bad torque steer. New car is an S. This car has little or no torque steer.

I'm continually amazed when people whine about it here. I have a sneaking feeling most have their vsa turned off.

Bob289

Maybe the guy know nothing about the TL. When I went in to buy my 06 TL the sales person had NO idea how to pop the trunk. Spent a good 5 mins looking then went away to ask someone. Ok if you want to sell something you gotta know what the product is inside and out. It was very sad that I knew more about the TL then he did.

FriscoNick

I just read a C & D review of the TL - S and they said it had torgue streer.

rockyfeller

iTrader: (6)

I'm sure he knows all about it. Ask him if there is anything negative about the car. He only knows how to praise it. Dealers LIE! And this goes to prove they'll lie even if they're your neighbor.

mike03a3

If that's the case, I'd hate to drive your '05. My '07 TL-S 6MT has buckets of torque steer. It's tolerable if you are going in a straight line, but it can be a handful under the wrong combination of power and steering inputs.

Converted

Did I get a lemon? Meaning that is DOESNT have torque steer, when everybody is saying it SHOULD?? lol

I frequently drive WOT, including in turns, and have never even thought about torque steer before... Maybe I need to actually THINK about it?

I've driven a MazdaSpeed Protege, and that thing had NASTY torque steer...

I think that from what I've gathered, the TL-S has less than most, if not almost all "sporty" FWD cars out there...

Mine is the 5AT... think that makes a difference??? Maybe the 6MT has more, because of the shorter gear ratios?

mike03a3

In my experience, that's just about the worst situation, simultaneous full power and abrupt lane change. It can really take you by surprise, and is still somewhat of a handful even when you expect it. The other one is hard acceleration, then take your foot off the gas as you change lanes. It's like negative torque steer!

But, like the man sez, the '07 TL-S is really awesome. I think Acura has about maxed out the amount of power you can realistically apply to a FWD vehicle.

Converted

Do you think the Manual vs. Automatic makes a difference?

Maybe that's why we're seeing mixed opinions.

With the 5AT I don't feel it... with the 6MT, you say its VERY noticable...

Anybody else want to chime in? Share what tranny you have...

YeuEmMaiMai

VSA hides the torque steer and I know it wasn't available on the 03 cars with the 6MT...

BTW it isn't just FWD that have torque problems due to a lack of a VSA sytem. the rear wheel(s) slips in a RWD car the ass end will tend to swing out of you give it too much power (the spinning tire has a tendency to push the back end to one side or the other).

those of you with 5at turn the VSA off and see what happens..you get the torque steer...........

Converted

VSA only activates when it senses a wheels slipping, and has nothing to do with the physics behind torque-steer. When you're on dry pavement and you floor it, the VSA is "active" but not doing anything, until it feels the need.

I feel no difference in my TLS with VSA on/off, only when I lose traction, and it starts to kill the power.

mike03a3

I can't comment on the AT vs MT theory, but I have driven the '06 TL 6MT and '07 TL-S 6MT back to back several times. IMHO, the TL-S has more noticible torque steer than the '06 6MT. I suppose that makes sense it the '06 has the latest software to minimize it and the '07 has the same software but more torque because the -S has the 3.5L engine.

I've driven a lot of powerful cars over the years, and a variety of FWD cars with varying degrees of sportyness. My TL-S is the second worst I've owned, the worst being a turbo-charged '85 Laser 5MT. With no smart electronics, it had terrible torque steer when the turbo kicked in, even though it had only half the HP of the TL-S. On the one hand, the TL-S has a lot of torque steer, but on the other it's pretty good I suppose if you consider the amount of power you're dealing with.

MobyDickDog

Our car is an Automatic 2007 TL Type S. With boat loads of Torque Steer.

Still an Awesome car though.

FriscoNick

I have read many reviews of the TL and all the pro drivers I have read about say the AT does not have torque steer. Maybe the extra hp in the TL-S creates the torque steer in the AT.

Converted

This must be an opinionated thing... not fact.

I don't feel it at all in my TL-S... *shrug*

I'm going to do a little "test" tonight, maybe even make a video.

FriscoNick

Then you are reporting what professional drivers in C & D and CR reported about AT TL, ie, no torgue steer. The reviews I read were from 05, so I thought my info was dated. I have an 05 AT with no torque steer either.

fsttyms1

My 6 speed has very very little, where my auto had alot more (and it was only 225hp). Tires also play a big roll in TQ steer.

Will Y.

Also, the amount of perceived torque steer depends on one's frame of reference as well. It's difficult to judge subjective feelings of "more," "lots," and my favorite phrase, "boatloads."
I have not driven other high-power FWD cars like the Maxima, current Camry V-6, etc. My '05 (5AT) has a bit of torque steer, about the same as my 5-speed manual Integra with 118 hp and [minimal] torque and the 2004 Odyssey with its 240 hp 3.5 V-6. My old 1991 2.5 Camry V-6 had less torque steer than the TL, and about 100 less hp.
I've read that the 6M's can exhibit more torque steer than the 5ATs, but also have LSD and ECU mods to dampen torque steer.