maximo

Folks,
I am looking to purchase a TL within the week. I love the car. Had a couple of questions.

1) From the specs the ground clearance on the TL is very comparable to other sedans like the camry, BMW 3, etc
But for some reason when I look at it in person, the TL does appear to be quite low compared to the other sedans. Has anyone had issues with the getting in and off steep ramps?

2) I was initially set on going with the white color but then read some posts expressing concern regarding the color variation between the boady and bumper. Is this also a problem with the anthracites?

thanks

chill_dog

1) No problems...I do have to angle and go slow on some entrances and exits (my driveway being the most annoying), but no more than I did in my previous car or anyone else has to.

2) Some AM cars don't match, either.

tzakiel

I have the oem body kit and a 1.2" or so drop and I have only scraped the front once when I came off a VERY steep driveway onto the road. It did no visible damage to the kit thank god. I should have known though, the angle was insane. So overall I think the clearance is quite good. Meantime they need to make driveways that look like this \____ ILLEGAL.

1sweetTL

Can you see a color difference?




It is very slight at most.

maximo

Thanks guys. Appreciate the quick response.

tzakiel: I agree. Driveways like that should be banned. Grrrr....

So I guess its fair to say that the TL is no lower than most other sedans (the accords, maximas, etc)?

maximo

Hmmm.... I see what you mean. I dont see a difference, which is good I guess :-)

Thanks for the pics

1sweetTL

No problem...

That's what we're here for.

Ther is actually a slight difference but it is hard to tell, it may be more obvious in certain lighting.

My Father in law is a retired Paint Chemist, he says because the surfcaes mybe made of different materials it will have an affect on it. And each and every batch will be different anyways, just not enough to see with the naked eye.

munchcolo

Occasionally, the front bumper/lip/whatever scrapes on a street dip or coming out of my alley onto the street. I just need to slow down and take it easy at those spots.

My 06 TL is anthracite/ebony. There is no color variation among the various body parts, everything matches perfectly. I was torn between that and the silver. My only reservation about the anthracite was that I was afraid it would be hard to keep clean, i.e., that it would show dirt easily. I've been very pleased with it, doesn't show dirt that bad.

maximo

I am curious. How is the ground clearance measured? Is it the distance between the ground and the lowest point in the car? In the TL's case I guess it would probably be the distance between the front bumper area and the ground?

maximo

Would you say that most other sedans may also have the same problem on this street dip (assuming one is not slowing down) ?

tzakiel

Actually, I had the fortune of scratching both a bumper area and a metal body area of the car.

Color under the bumper paint - black

Color under the body paint - grey

Is it any wonder my WDP bumpers are a slight shade darker? They have black undercolor when the body has grey. I think that is the real culprit here.

Will Y.

1) The part of the stock TL that scrapes is the (vertical) composite or plastic air deflector in front of the engine mechanicals, below the bumper. It will scrape on longer sloped driveway aprons, etc. I have not had that problem on parking lot ramps. Otherwise, the stock TL is not unusually low. It may be the stance of the car and the low-profile tires that make it look lower.
2) My TL is silver, but there is a slight variation in color of bumpers from metal body parts in certain types of light- not enough to bother me. I don't notice much variation in my buddy's Anthracite TL, but dirt shows more on his car than mine. WDP would probably show dirt more than anything other than black!

1sweetTL

Absolutely Correct.

But again it is very slight, and hard to tell.