Arcelyte

Not to say I've come over to the other team. I love Lexus cars, I'm a senior moderator on ClubLexus. Yeah, I know there's some pretty heated Acura vs Lexus debates in our car chat section... I'll never get involved in that. I got back with Acura a few years. Owning a White 89 Legend LS, 93 NSX, 98 ITR and now a 09 TL-SH

Last week I traded my 2007 Lexus GS450h in on the TLSH. High miles on the GSh and the cost of "what if" hybrid repairs, Prompted the switch.

The GSh is insanly fast with this "hand of god" acceleration that really opens your eyes. If you can get the chance to drive one... please do. It blows most peoples minds. But with a $8,000 battery, $2000 inverter, and countless other high dollar Hybrid parts. It will blow the bank account too.

So this is what I have now. 09 TL-SH Tech, Dark (sapphire-like) blue with black interior.

Going to pull some strings with the owner at Xenon Depot. Get some bulbs inside and out. Not sure yet. Will probably HID the fogs. Brighter LED the inside. Se what they have up their sleeves.

I definitely want to figure out the suspension. See what more can be pulled out it. Lower it. Camber fixes after. Gotta find something to make the ride a bit softer.

The ELS stereo is appalling compared to the Mark Levinson I'm use to. I'm sorry...it is. Speakers are all getting swapped and I'm dynamating the crap out of whatever I can.

I've got a local tinter whose going to be slapping 20% on next week.

Cant think of much else. Any suggestions welcome. This car is a definite learning experience for me. As ugly as I think the front end is. I love the inside...I love the ability to rip through snow.

Well, I'm sure I'll be lurking the hell out of this place. Seems like you got a pretty good pile of info here.


Not having a Lexus is hard... but I'll get use to it.


The TL

Edward'TLS

Congrats on picking up your 4G TL, and welcome to Acurazine.

You'll appreciate the capability of the SH-AWD TL, especially in the snow and in the wet.

VQPower37

congratz on the new car ... its suprising you gave up ur lexus gs for the tl ... that gen gs is still my favorite. the tl is a very polarizing car, but it will slowly grow on u ... i just recently picked up a 4g as well, and this thing is slowly ... and i mean very slowly growing onme

docboy

Congratz, and keep us updated on the mods as they come along.

There are some possibilities for the front end: ie. RonJon grill, color match/paint grill, OEM sports grill, if you have the time/resources/$$ 09-12 front end conversion. Several AZ members here have done the former 2, and both look great and so much better than the OEM grill.

Question for you: had you kept the GS, was it in line for actually needing $10,000+ worth of maintenance?

UKwrath33

Paint the front grill to match the rest of the car to help with the look? I love the blue, bet it'd look sweet.

Illuminati

Congrats on the TL man. I have the same year, colors, and model. I agree with the ripping through snow part. Here in Long island we got a ton of snow, and it felt great driving with a bit of confidence. The AWD system is great both in wet and dry conditions.

Arcelyte

No, not at all. Its more of a what if. Here is the thing with Lexus and the Hybrids. They have a sort of trust fund that has a few million in it. To cover batteries. The last thing they want is to have a bunch of rich princesses complain about their battery going Hiroshima after the warranty. So some parts are covered out of the warranty... way out.

The engine is a normal 2GR-FSE V6 from a any IS350/GS350. Computer is changed for efficiency. Transmission holds the two E-motors and is CVT.

There is no trunk... I mean Its the size of an NSX trunk.
But mostly because of the world being afraid of high mileage hybrids... the re-sale tanked. Look them up. You can get a GS450h for cheaper than a GS350awd

Ant$

wait...so the person who buys your Lexus hybrid will still have the hybrid battery covered years down the line?

and I'm googling potential maintenance costs of a hybrid because I really have no idea what the "what ifs" costs of a hybrid are...

Oswald Vater

Congrats and welcome - enjoy the new-to-you ride!

Arcelyte

Only on the battery and hybrid only components.

And this would only be for the GSh and RXh. Just fyi, the GSh is unlike any hybrid on the road today. It does not have some mincey Prius hybrid drive. Its Emotor throws out 200hp and sucks amps like a subway train.

Here are some prices.

30910A 3091030041
TRANSMISSIO N ASSEMBLY, HYBRID VEHICLE 01 Ships 24-48 hrs $9484.52 $6770.3531290 3129030010
COVER ASSEMBLY, TRANSMISSIO N INPUT DAMPER 01 Ships 24-48 hrs $1290.64 $1073.38G9510 G951030011
BATTERY ASSEMBLY, HV SUPPLY 01 Ships 24-48 hrs $6913.92 $4938.5189981 8998130072
COMPUTER, HYBRID VEHICLE CONTROL 01 Ships 24-48 hrs
$772.46 $551.87

goodhugh

Welcome!

TylerT

iTrader: (1)

6MT or Auto?

Nice car and welcome to AZ!

I don't even own an Acura anymore and I still stick around, this forum is a wealth of information and has a great off topic Car Talk section .

Nexson

Welcome to acurazine.

Arcelyte

Its an 09, 5spd auto. I guess I missed the manual by one year. If I would have known that I would have looked and payed for a new one to row my own!

C8N

As the OP have mentioned, the TL SH-AWD is very capable in the snow and you will get a kick out of the torque vectoring in the hard cornering.

I, too wasn't a huge fan of the TL styling but it grew on me and still continue to do so the more I drive the car. If the styling is still bothersome, change the grill as others have mentioned and put on the lip kit.

At the end of the day, I think you will be pleased with your TL purchase and in my opinion, it's a great compromise versus $10k more for the GS AWD.

pimpin-tl

We have owned Lexus cars too and like them. But we also like Acuras. I will say this site is way more mature than Club Lexus and less ban hammer if you say anything against the products. Club lexus likes to use that ban hammer if you in any way have a discussion that isn't towards a Lexus in a positive way. Especially when 1sicklex is part of it.

Alexander.

iTrader: (1)

You have the tech model, correct? Find it hard to believe anyone could view the ELS DVD-A system as "appalling"

http://www.edmunds.com/car-technolog...sound-off.html

Arcelyte

Too funny... I was actually wondering when 1Sick would be brought up in this thread. There is one thing that I will say about 1Sicklex. He's very VERY passionate about Lexus. He's been a huge part of that site, and its build over the years. yes he can get a little over the top. Yes, he has mad hate for Acura. I mean to be honest. I like this TL, but it is NOT my GS. But its also not the same car. As i said, I will never get into the debate over Acura vs Infinity vs Lexus vs BMW vs Whatever... Its stupid.

Me texting 1Sick to tell him what I was about to do.



As far as CL goes. I'm sure I've banned people that are on this site. But I'm also sure it was deserved for whatever reason. ClubLexus, Acurazine... Its all part of the Internet Brands Money making machine.


I work in the music industry. I'm a huge audiophile. The Mark Levinson blows the ELS out of the water. It was pretty bad to my ears.

But I'll give Acura the benefit of the doubt since one of my speakers is blown in the door.

Alexander.

iTrader: (1)

^^ how could you form any sort of comparison with a blown speaker?

Welcome to the site!

docboy

AZ, esp the 4G TL forum, is definitely one of the more mature forums out there. That's until you venture into Cartalk, where there exists an anti-Acura aura of all things. The reverse is true in Cartalk; say anything positive about Acura's recent developments, the 4G TL, etc. and you'll get flamed and personally attacked almost immediately (usually by the same members).

Arcelyte

No, you're right. Its going to get replaced. I will make a fair judgement after that.

But still I think I will be dynamating the hell out of the car anyway.

JT4

Congrats, welcome and enjoy the TL..

lji

Congrats & welcome to AZ ... from an ex-Lexus owner as well

ucf_bronco

iTrader: (1)

Congrats and welcome! I'm curious to see how you feel in a couple of months once you've really adjusted to the TL.

And +1 on the dynamat. I have an aftermarket sub and the rear deck, trunk lid, and certain parts of the headliner rattle like crazy! I will be addressing it in the near future as well (hopefully).

dwest1023

I have been a audiophile all my life. The Mark Levinson did nothing for my ears. In fact I ask the Lexus salesman 3 times if I was listening to ML system.
I have heard no stock system that blows away the ELS system. I'm looking forward to putting the new Krell system in the RL to the test since that what my home audio is. Welcome to the club.....

Ant$

omg

Danyoung

I also bought mine with a blown speaker..it happened 2 days after. Thank God for that warranty, I replaced all speakers.

saturno_v

ahahahaha so true.....

For example it really cracked me up one of the regular guys on Cartalk putting down Acura and the TL all the time and he drives a Jettawaggen.....can you believe that??

Arcelyte, congrats you will love the TL...including the front beak (I love mine!!)

You should have gone all the way and get the 6 speed manual....it enhances the TL SH-AWD experience considerably...

ggesq

iTrader: (1)

Welcome to AcuraZine and congrats on the TL.

Arcelyte

Thanks for the welcomes.

Reading tons and tons here...
So, I found out that a partner company of mine repairs the Panasonic ELS systems for Acura. Im trying to get the specs out of the lead tech there and see if I cant make that HDD bigger.

wreak

Welcome to the board. This is definitely a pretty friendly place, a pretty mature crowd for the most part.

If you hate the grill check out the RJ grill as someone else had mentioned.

pimpin-tl

Well it's good to have you here. Yea sick got banned from here a long time ago....like early 2000s. Hehe. Anyways, I will get a GS one of these days as it is like my dream car.

pimpin-tl

Actually when you play a Double Digital Surround DVD in our audio, it blows the Mark Levinson out. Regular CDs and FM/USB, etc do not sound near as good as that does on it.

pimpin-tl

IMHO, I don't even use the HD. I use a 32GB Flash Drive in the USB port and have all my music on it instead. To me that works out better.

terdonal

Congrats and welcome.

cobra611

Congrats and welcome! You will absolutely love the car. I, too, am a member over at Club Lexus. I picked up my '09 TL SH-AWD back in Nov. '11 and was contemplating an IS-250 AWD at the time. That site, and this site as well, was extremely helpful and the members on both sites are a great help with info. Both cars are wonderful and I would take either. But, I found an excellent deal on the TL and moved on it. I have been waiting for a good snow to test the cars SH-AWD, and got it this past weekend. About 3 weeks ago, I put a set of Continental Extreme Contact DWS tires and I am very happy with them. Softer ride, quieter than expected, coming from the High Performance Summer Tires that were in the car at purchase. I believe there was a State of Emergency Friday night with the Blizzard, but I had to go out and test the car...glad I did! It was an absolute beast through the snow. At Midnight Friday (Saturday morning), we had about 12" of snow and the car cut through it like it wasn't even there. Best car I've ever driven and I will never be without AWD again. Just hope the 5G is enough to keep me a loyal Acura owner. Again, congrats and best of luck!

STEVEN05

I dont know why you switch from gs450 to TL Since i bought 07 GS 350 for my wife two year ago make me wanna trade in my TL for Lexus

Edward'TLS

The OP is switching from a GS hybrid to the TL.

Not too many hybrid owners are keen to keep their hybrid vehicles for a long time, due to the hefty cost associated with the maintenance and replacement of the hybrid battery pack.

If it were the GS460 with the 4.6L-V8 gas engine, it would be a different story altogether.

JnC

iTrader: (12)

Congrats on the new car

I agree that the GS and the TL are two different animals, I should know as I have had a 2GS for a long time.

Arcelyte

The 350 and 450h are two entirely different cars. I loved the car, don't get me wrong. As I loved my 2nd gen GS, and my SC. Just not dealing with that hybrid drive.

Exactly... a GS460 would be nice. but they are very rare. rarer than the 450h's