docboy

In light of Seattle's first snow storm of the year, I thought it might be fun to post pics and share experiences of the TL in the snow/ice/slush.



I'll try to get a moving picture of the TL in the snow, but I don't want to risk killing myself.

Acura_MD

Can you please share your experience with driving in the snow/slush/ice with the SH-AWD TL? Did you find the stock all season tires to be adequate?

docboy

^Acura_MD

I believe you are trying to decide between the RDX and TL?

I bought my TL specifically for its AWD wintry capabilities (though the SH-AWD is awesome for handling).

Last winter was a mild one, but I took the TL up to the ski mountains and it did fine.

This winter is expected to bring major snow/cold; I'll post more experiences today as I drive back home up the unplowed hills/side roads.

jnc2000

Snow tires are a must for anyone in the upper Midwest, or who will encounter treacherous snow conditions. Not only are snow tires better in the snow/ice/slush; the rubber compounds are much better for traction, braking, and handling when the temperatures are colder.

Simply put, the MMX-4 will not be on my car. I'm getting the Michelin Alpine PA3s' installed next weekend. (Had to order from tirerack).

03tLsNBP

iTrader: (9)

it snowed already in Seattle?

I dont have a 4G TL SH-AWD but i used to have an RDX and with no snow tires and 2 blizzards last winter it was still amazing.

i was also fine in my front wheel drive 2G TL with all season tires and blew through 2.5ft snow banks in reverse (before i was lowered).

some of you may not agree, but i think a lot of it is up to the skills of the driver.

jspagna1

Snows on a car are like night & day. Last winter was the first for my TL SH-AWD with Bridgestone Blizzaks WS60 tires and the car was like a tank.

Pete2010

Oh man, I still have my summers on my car, luckily we going to warm up a bit thru thanksgiving, so I probably won't put them on till next sunday.

As for cold weather performance, I have 18" Wintersport M3's on my factory 18's and the car is a tank in the snow. I drove thru Canada on the way to Michigan from Boston and hit whiteout conditions, the car was always planted and stable. VSA rarely turns on when I have my winter tires mounted. The stock all seasons suck in heavy snow (but that is to be expected).

jspagna1

I'll be putting the winter tires on the cars by this weekend as well. I ussaully don't push it any further than Thanksgiving as it starts getting too darn cold as well.

Pete2010

Good point, my summers were slipping a bit before they warmed up when the temp got to around freezing. Heading to NJ for Thanksgiving, will probably put them on when we get back.

StuartMMVITL

iTrader: (1)

I agree that snows are a must if you want to get the most out the car not just in snow & ice, but also freezing temperatures.

I've been using dedicated snow tires for quite a few years, on FWD, RWD & now AWD vehicles. For a skilled driver they really enhance the capabilities of the car, and for the unskilled ( and we've all seen those drivers ) they help keep them on the road a bit more.

I was getting ready to take the summer's off my TL a few days back, as Denver was getting a snow storm the following day after a balmy 80 degrees the day before. As I typically swap my tires out myself, I had the car in the garage and as I was removing the summers, I ran into a problem. Seems the dealer had "mistakenly" used an air gun to install the lug nuts at a much higher torque value than recommended, when I let them perform a complementary A1 service a few months back. I'm guessing somewhere in the neighborhood of 200+ ft/lbs. It took quite a bit to get them off the rear wheels, but was left with one stubborn one, that happened to be the Acura wheel lock nut. Apparently those nuts are not as strong as I thought and ended up with this... (Just using the lug wrench from the car, no breaker bar either.)



Needless to say, I was a bit mad at the dealer and am working on getting them to replace the wheel locks. Never trust the dealer to not mess up a simple thing like a tire rotation. My fault cause I must have forgot to tell them to leave the tire rotation to me.

Had to put the summer tires back on and of course it snowed pretty good the next day. The car did OK, but there was a decided lack of traction. I was able to get a local tire shop to remove the busted nut, so I could mount the snows that night. The difference was like night & day. The extra grip and sure footedness the snows (& SH-AWD) provide makes them a must have on my car.

If you live somewhere that experiences snow or even extreme cold temps, you can't go wrong with a set of snows. Plus they double the life of your summer tires too.

docboy

Okay, I made it home in literally white out blizzard like conditions. My impressions of the TL-AWD w/19" HPT all seasons (Michelins Pilot Sport A/S Plus).

Note: My commute is typically on the semi/rural back roads and they are usually not plowed or salted

-On a straight line snow/ice covered roads, rock steady. I can feel the SH-AWD system shifting torque front/rear and left/right. Never once did I loose traction.

-Even more impressive, on snow/iced hills, the TL just kept on going. Certain parts of the roads were rather scary, esp when crossing over iced bridges. But the TL felt very confident and stable.

-I have a very steeply inclined driveway. When I had my 1G TSX, I was never able to make up my driveway (or at least very easily); I would usually have to park it on the street and wait for the snow/ice to melt.

The TL negotiated the driveway w/ease. Again, I can feel the SH-AWD shifting torque to the rear wheels. Very nice...

-On a off beat note, on one occasion, the ABS kicked in as I came to a red light stop on steep decline on a snow/iced road. The TL stopped promptly; so I can vouch the ABS works fine.

-The only time I lost traction was when I made a 90 degree right turn into my neighborhood at 35mph (pm unplowed snow/ice) I saw the VSA light blink a few times as the TL slid/fish tailed for a 2-3 seconds. As soon as I gave a little gas, the TL straightened out. Okay I admit it, I was trying to mimic the TL on the TOV video of the Minnesota winter testing grounds

I'm not sure why the TL fish tailed out, but I suspect that it was due to a large ice patch I hit that I would have slipped no matter what AWD system/tires I had, and probably due to my craziness as well. Dunno...

Overall, the TL did very nicely in the snow/ice. The manual 6spd transmission was a big plus, as I felt I had more control of the car with engine braking, shifting quickly into 2nd gear for better traction, etc. (which may sound counter intiutive b/c one would think manual transmission = one too many things to do when driving in wintry conditions).

I test drove a 2007 MDX before in wintry conditions and hills; the TL has that same stable and planted feeling.

jspagna1

Totally agree with you. It's a PIA to do the tire changes especially when your doing like 3 cars, but always do it yourself for it to be right.
And yes summer tires last a lot longer. Got about 6-7 years out of the Maxima tires (Bridgestone Potenzas) which I think suck anyways.

BJG57

Anybody out there have any winter driving impressions for a the FWD TL ?

docboy

I must have been out of my fricking mind. For those not in the Seattle area, the area has been decimated by arctic winter. 14 F degrees this morning, snow and ice infested roads, unplowed back roads. Cars abandoned , freeways coming to an standstill, and vehicles sliding down hill...

I made it to the office today in absolutely treacherous conditions in the back roads, esp when the state DOT told everyone to stay home unless absolutely necessary.

SH-AWD is absolutely awesome in the snow/ice/slush. My entire commute was over snow/ice and many up hills and down hills; suvs/cars parked alongside and abandoned overnight. The TL took the roads "like it was on rails" and had super grip.

As I posted before, I could definitely feel the SH-AWD constantly shift its torque front/rear and left/right. I kept the car in 3rd and 4th gear most of the time, and the combo of SH-AWD and engine braking was essential. 6MT is very nice to have in inclement weather for better vehicle control.

Summary: The TL's SH-AWD is truly a force against mother nature in the winter!

winstrolvtec

Thanks Doc, good to hear. It amazes me how so many attempt to make this system out to be so inferior or that it's overrated just because it has a different characteristic than permanent AWD, if anything I think it's highly underrated in both dry and poor weather conditions.

Acura_MD

EXACTLY what I wanted to hear! We get pretty bad weather in the Ohio area too, and your post reassures me that I made the correct choice. Are you still running your stock HPT on there? I thought those were NOT all-season?

docboy

FWIW, I think Acura's SH-AWD is on par wrt slippery conditions (at least in the practical real world) with Audi's Quattro and Subie's AWD systems.

I'm running 19" HPT all seasons, not summers. As part of my deal I had the dealership swap the HPT summers for all seasons. They ate the cost, and I find these all seasons have really nice handling and nice wet/slippery traction. There's no way I wanted to have summer tires in the nasty/unpredictable Pacific Northwest (where it could literally rain, be sunny, and then suddenly snow/hail in one day ).

YetiTL

Got our first snow this saturday, the highway was slushy, snowy, rainy. SH-AWD did a nice job, you can actually feel it working full time switching power to each wheel indepedently. Quite awesome to feel.

We got some more monday morning so I had some fun fishtailing my car when going to my gym (with an empty parking lot and snow slush). The TL is quite tail happy with a small burst of the throttle at the right time. Good clean fun! Just do it responsively...yeah that's right you hear me, don't run into lamp pole and stuff

Fun and safe winter driving, I'm beginning to like winter more now...now if I could only find a way to keep my car clean...

YetiTL

Hummm...even for the sake of science??

J/k I prefer you stay very alive indeed! Btw, how your tranny problem? Still some problems in 3rd gear early in your commute?

New2Acura2

Aw man be careful. Saw that youtube video of those poor drivers on Capitol Hill, lol.

maddogtheta

So far, The SH-AWD has been awesome in snowy/icy conditions in the Seattle and Mountain areas. Even with the Stock All Seasons on, the car has never been anything but sure-footed and rock solid, of course I can't wait to wear out the stock Michelin's and get some good all-season tires or a dedicated winter tire set. I'm still debating which way to go.

jspagna1

I would get a dedicated set of winter tires for the car. I know the Michelin's suck, but you may as well get your full use out of them. Also keeps your factory rims in good shape not having to change out tires as we all know how careful those tire store personell are with rims.

andrec8513

Yeah I know. I had my X-ice 2's put on yesterday and the idiot scratched the inside of the rims where the tire weights were. I only noticed when I got home, even my wife had a fit! This was the same idiot who put the tires in the back seat (Had to clean the back seats). The manager siad they wil buff the wheels out. I called the regional mgr and he said they will take care of it. I am still pissed...

docboy

Taken this morning (after I get to the office when the car is not moving of course)

Mr Marco

Winter? The TL stays in the garage. Sugar momma takes the RDX to work. I get time off, drink all the wine, and watch Maury Povich.
"You don't know me. It's my car. I do what I want!"

docboy

Thanks for asking.

I still have the occasional 3rd and Reverse gears popping out during the early hours of my commute. The dealership can't and won't do anything (since they can't replicate said problem). Not sure what to do, or if it'll be just a perpetual chronic issue. When I have the time and energy, I'm going to call Acura Corporate and see what they say.

Otherwise my TL has been pretty awesome, and I'm very satisfied with the SH-AWD system on ice/snow/slush.

docboy

Fellow Seattle lite, either way you can't loose, though IMHO, nice all seasons do the job well. I've been pretty happy with my Michelins Pilot Sport A/S Plus thus far.

RSLTSX09XMNAVWX

I am still waiting for that first snow fall to test out the SH-AWD! Robert in San Diego, Ca.

jspagna1

Put the snows on last night. Ready to rumble.

Rocketsfan

I can't speak for 4G drivers here in Dallas, but here is what my garaged 3G experienced in Dallas, so I'm sure 4G drivers experienced it, too.

At 5:24, the temperature was a balmy 72 degrees.
At 5:39, the temperature was 54 degrees. (Yes, almost a 20 degree drop in 15 minutes)
At 9:40, the temperature was 37 degrees (Yes, almost another 20 degree drop 4 hours later)

Wind chill is sub-30 and we're expecting below 30-degree temps tonight. Woo hoo.... winter... finally... but, of course, next week it'll be in the 60's and 70's again.

tobe_cx7

I wanted to ask fellow TL driver who's driving in Indianapolis Metro area or around:
I've never been to this part of US and wondering how much snow or wintery weather usually it gets? Do I need Snow tires on my SH-AWD 4G or stock would be ok? I'm experienced driver in snow but usually it's other drivers who made me nervous (like one 16yr old kid who rear ended my brand new TL after just 14 days of ownership ), & IF I do need snow tire, what would be economical way or place to get in Indy city?
& Oh btw!!! Sofar I experienced that stock tires made my car tail spin in slushy/icy condition

Mr Marco

Those wheels look really good on the 4G!
Try dealing with Oregon drivers...ever follow a Prius in the snow? Dedicated snow wheels/tires are a great option because they are specifically designed for cold temperatures. They can be a pain in the ass in climates like ours where we have jumped from 30 to 60 degrees fahrenheit in 3 weeks. You can't leave them on the car and drive around in 60 degree weather or they wear out to fast. I am the tire guy in my house, so if it snows I have to put them on the car and take them off myself when the weather is better. If you buy a snow wheel/tire locally chances are they will swap them out for you as needed for free. If you buy them from the TireRack, you must do it yourself, or pay someone.

Pete2010

You'll be fine. Most people in the US only use all-seasons and get along just fine. If you're just visiting I wouldn't bother, but if you are living there, it may be worthwhile to get. Mostly for the increased stopping power you'll get.

777mycoolangelo

Dang...I feel for you guys out their in SNOWVILLE!

cjTL

iTrader: (2)

Hey there neighbor. I think you'll do just fine with all-seasons and SH-AWD. Last winter I ran all seasons on my 3G TL and it really wasn't too great in the snow. Stopping was the scariest issue. I put Dunlop Wintersport 3Ds on my car and they did great in last weekend's snow. My sister just had the same tires mounted on her C350. If you decide to get winter tires, order via tirerack.com. They have a distribution center in South Bend and shipping was only $10/tire.

Frank Bradley

Just back from a Ski Trip to Vt. 2-3 inches of snow on the road and some ice and hard pack. No problem at all with stand 18" Pilots. Will continue to monitor and if any trouble will probably switch to snows. Why gamble with such a nice car.

jspagna1

Thanks Mr. Marco. Ya bought them from Tirerack last year. They're 17's, but I think they have a larger backspace because they fill the wheel wells pretty good.

namicz

I never thought about a pair of snow tires. I have an acura tl type s 2007. What kind of snow tires do you guys advise and how much would it run me? Also do I keep my rims to go with the snow tires or do I need to get a pair of those as well.

Thanks

KES

If you can afford it definetly put the snow tires on a separate set of rims even if they are steel. It will save both the cost and wear and tear on each remount. Plus lets say you summer tires are almost ready to be replaced are you going to pay to put them back on only to remove them in 2-3 months later.

Snows plus rims will set you back $1000. Two thoughts - 1) you can use them on your next car or sell to get back some of the investment and 2) one run off the road will cost you your deductible.

I run Blizzaks and have been happy with them.

namicz

Thanks for the response. So basically get snow tires with any type of rims with them just for the winter right? And Blizzaks are good for tl type s?

Thanks again.