Question-snow handling, finish, HDD?
01-03-2009, 10:06 AM
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Question-snow handling, finish, HDD?
Greetings Acura friends,
I am nearing a decision on getting an 09 TL SH-AWD tech pkg and had a few questions.
1. How is the SH-AWD handle in the snow? Over the past month, we've had several bad snow storms here in Mass. and my 07 front wheel drive TL was only average at best. My primary reason would be to get the SH-AWD would be for safety reasons and is it worth it?
2. How is the overall fit and finish? Are you happy with the 09 build? My 07 TL has had an inordinate amount of rattle, noises, loose fittings that have required dealerships attention. More so than what I would have expected for a luxury car.
3. Can you add song to the HDD that are from legally purchased music from iTunes? I know you can add songs from commercial CDs. But can you add songs from a CD (ACC format) made in iTunes from legally purchased music?
I am nearing a decision on getting an 09 TL SH-AWD tech pkg and had a few questions.
1. How is the SH-AWD handle in the snow? Over the past month, we've had several bad snow storms here in Mass. and my 07 front wheel drive TL was only average at best. My primary reason would be to get the SH-AWD would be for safety reasons and is it worth it?
2. How is the overall fit and finish? Are you happy with the 09 build? My 07 TL has had an inordinate amount of rattle, noises, loose fittings that have required dealerships attention. More so than what I would have expected for a luxury car.
3. Can you add song to the HDD that are from legally purchased music from iTunes? I know you can add songs from commercial CDs. But can you add songs from a CD (ACC format) made in iTunes from legally purchased music?
01-03-2009, 10:16 AM
#2
Racer
Hi there -
Just got mine yesterday. Drove it in some light snow covered/snow packed roads, but thankfully no big storm yet. Was coming off an 07 TL-S, which I actually thought was quite good in the snow, but the 09 SH-AWD is clearly much better even with limited experience. It is just much more sure-footed, no slipping at all.
No fit and finish issues yet. Haven't heard any rattles, except my sunglasses in the overheard compartment.
Unfortunately, you cannot load MP3s onto the HDD, from an iPod or anywhere else for that matter. The iPod intregration is quite good, however. I may buy another iPod just to keep one in the car. It only has one disc player--no more changer--with the tech. That's frustrating for me, especially since I thought (mistakenly) on this car that you could load MP3s on to a DVD. No dice.
Overall, the car is a nice upgrade. There are some changes to the Handsfree Link that strike me as a step back (an extra step to make a call, fewever voicedial entries), but all in all I am very pleased 24 hours later. I did think the lack of a touchscreen navi was going to frustrate me, but I'm finding the interface dial quite easy to use and may be close to declaring it better than the touchscreen.
I say go for it.
Borealis Blue Pearl/Taupe here, by the way.
Just got mine yesterday. Drove it in some light snow covered/snow packed roads, but thankfully no big storm yet. Was coming off an 07 TL-S, which I actually thought was quite good in the snow, but the 09 SH-AWD is clearly much better even with limited experience. It is just much more sure-footed, no slipping at all.
No fit and finish issues yet. Haven't heard any rattles, except my sunglasses in the overheard compartment.
Unfortunately, you cannot load MP3s onto the HDD, from an iPod or anywhere else for that matter. The iPod intregration is quite good, however. I may buy another iPod just to keep one in the car. It only has one disc player--no more changer--with the tech. That's frustrating for me, especially since I thought (mistakenly) on this car that you could load MP3s on to a DVD. No dice.
Overall, the car is a nice upgrade. There are some changes to the Handsfree Link that strike me as a step back (an extra step to make a call, fewever voicedial entries), but all in all I am very pleased 24 hours later. I did think the lack of a touchscreen navi was going to frustrate me, but I'm finding the interface dial quite easy to use and may be close to declaring it better than the touchscreen.
I say go for it.
Borealis Blue Pearl/Taupe here, by the way.
01-03-2009, 10:23 AM
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Greetings Acura friends,
I am nearing a decision on getting an 09 TL SH-AWD tech pkg and had a few questions.
1. How is the SH-AWD handle in the snow? Over the past month, we've had several bad snow storms here in Mass. and my 07 front wheel drive TL was only average at best. My primary reason would be to get the SH-AWD would be for safety reasons and is it worth it?
2. How is the overall fit and finish? Are you happy with the 09 build? My 07 TL has had an inordinate amount of rattle, noises, loose fittings that have required dealerships attention. More so than what I would have expected for a luxury car.
3. Can you add song to the HDD that are from legally purchased music from iTunes? I know you can add songs from commercial CDs. But can you add songs from a CD (ACC format) made in iTunes from legally purchased music?
I am nearing a decision on getting an 09 TL SH-AWD tech pkg and had a few questions.
1. How is the SH-AWD handle in the snow? Over the past month, we've had several bad snow storms here in Mass. and my 07 front wheel drive TL was only average at best. My primary reason would be to get the SH-AWD would be for safety reasons and is it worth it?
2. How is the overall fit and finish? Are you happy with the 09 build? My 07 TL has had an inordinate amount of rattle, noises, loose fittings that have required dealerships attention. More so than what I would have expected for a luxury car.
3. Can you add song to the HDD that are from legally purchased music from iTunes? I know you can add songs from commercial CDs. But can you add songs from a CD (ACC format) made in iTunes from legally purchased music?
Although you may have SH-AWD on your TL, it is still important to have winter tires especially if you are on the East Coast (Mass for you, I'm in Toronto).
It is the tires that help grip the snow better. =) Just my opinion.
01-03-2009, 12:18 PM
#4
You'll Never Walk Alone
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What I learned over these few weeks in Vancouver after several snow "storms" is that don't let the snow "lift" your car up. If that happens, even if you have AWD, you will still get stuck..lol...
01-03-2009, 01:38 PM
#5
Greetings Acura friends,
I am nearing a decision on getting an 09 TL SH-AWD tech pkg and had a few questions.
2. How is the overall fit and finish? Are you happy with the 09 build? My 07 TL has had an inordinate amount of rattle, noises, loose fittings that have required dealerships attention. More so than what I would have expected for a luxury car.
3. Can you add song to the HDD that are from legally purchased music from iTunes? I know you can add songs from commercial CDs. But can you add songs from a CD (ACC format) made in iTunes from legally purchased music?
I am nearing a decision on getting an 09 TL SH-AWD tech pkg and had a few questions.
2. How is the overall fit and finish? Are you happy with the 09 build? My 07 TL has had an inordinate amount of rattle, noises, loose fittings that have required dealerships attention. More so than what I would have expected for a luxury car.
3. Can you add song to the HDD that are from legally purchased music from iTunes? I know you can add songs from commercial CDs. But can you add songs from a CD (ACC format) made in iTunes from legally purchased music?
songs - iTunes - if you burn a cd from just one album then let the HDD transfer - your fine, try the same w/ a playlist of several albums - grace note cant find the song names
01-03-2009, 01:57 PM
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Several inches of snow 3 days ago (on New Year's Eve) in Rhode Island.
Went out to dinner and the roads were a mess. But there wasn't a lot of traffic so I had a little fun - took some corners fast, some quick left-right moves of the steering wheel on a straight-away, etc...
Much better handling and traction than any other 4WD or AWD vehicle I've ever driven. I couldn't believe how little slippage there was or how soon the car corrected for it. Felt very safe in it.
Fit and finish is excellent.
Great car. Great value. Get one!
Went out to dinner and the roads were a mess. But there wasn't a lot of traffic so I had a little fun - took some corners fast, some quick left-right moves of the steering wheel on a straight-away, etc...
Much better handling and traction than any other 4WD or AWD vehicle I've ever driven. I couldn't believe how little slippage there was or how soon the car corrected for it. Felt very safe in it.
Fit and finish is excellent.
Great car. Great value. Get one!
01-03-2009, 02:01 PM
#7
Three Wheelin'
AWD helps alot but the type of tires you have makes the biggest difference. The stock all-season Michelins are ok but not great in the snow. That's the reason why I recently bought 18" Dunlop Wintersport M3 snow tires. Now, the car handles in the snow like it's on rails---HUGE difference compared to the all-season Michelins.
As far as the fit and finish, the only problem on my car is that part of my front grill is slightly misaligned in one of the upper corners where it's slightly sticking up.
As far as the fit and finish, the only problem on my car is that part of my front grill is slightly misaligned in one of the upper corners where it's slightly sticking up.
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01-03-2009, 02:14 PM
#8
Drifting
Please show us some pics of your Borealis Blue TL!!!
01-03-2009, 03:42 PM
#11
Racer
Drove mine the day after I got it in a nice little NY snow storm at the end of December. MY FWD handled pretty OK, but nothing special. I didn't feel I was actually in danger or anything, but I sure did miss my AWD G35x at the moment.
I have a minor rattle in the rear deck also when I blast some music, but that's about it.
I did, however, notice something weird today. My headrests (both sides) just come all the way up, without me having to push the button. They go from all the way down to all the way up, and then the button needs to be pushed if you want to remove them. It's annoying me a little bit, because now that I noticed it, I feel like my head lifts it a little sometimes. Is everyone's like this?
I have a minor rattle in the rear deck also when I blast some music, but that's about it.
I did, however, notice something weird today. My headrests (both sides) just come all the way up, without me having to push the button. They go from all the way down to all the way up, and then the button needs to be pushed if you want to remove them. It's annoying me a little bit, because now that I noticed it, I feel like my head lifts it a little sometimes. Is everyone's like this?
01-03-2009, 05:30 PM
#12
Advanced
Xrays- I also live in MA (metrowest) and picked up my AWD PMM with Ebony interior non tech last Saturday. I test drove it during the weekend long snowstorm we had before Christmas. It was the best time to take a test drive since I was able to see the difference from my 04TL and the 09 AWD. It makes a big difference especially in situations where a FWD will get stuck or slide. I drove it around during the New Years Eve day storm we had and it was great. Roads that I would avoid in my 04, the 09 didn't fail me.
I do agree with Pete that the stock Michelins are OK in the snow but IMO better then some other all seasons out there such as the Bridgestone's that came with my 04.
Winter tires of course would help but I think the biggest mistake for people is to think that since they have AWD they can do anything. You can always see all those people on the side of the Pike or 128 after they spun out on the ice. The AWD will help give you the extra traction but only when you can still grip the road but will do nothing on ice.
I hear you on the safety reasons...I have 2 young children and the AWD safety is one of the primary reasons I upgraded.
Good luck on your decision!
I do agree with Pete that the stock Michelins are OK in the snow but IMO better then some other all seasons out there such as the Bridgestone's that came with my 04.
Winter tires of course would help but I think the biggest mistake for people is to think that since they have AWD they can do anything. You can always see all those people on the side of the Pike or 128 after they spun out on the ice. The AWD will help give you the extra traction but only when you can still grip the road but will do nothing on ice.
I hear you on the safety reasons...I have 2 young children and the AWD safety is one of the primary reasons I upgraded.
Good luck on your decision!
01-03-2009, 05:59 PM
#13
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...Winter tires of course would help but I think the biggest mistake for people is to think that since they have AWD they can do anything. You can always see all those people on the side of the Pike or 128 after they spun out on the ice. The AWD will help give you the extra traction but only when you can still grip the road but will do nothing on ice...
01-03-2009, 10:22 PM
#14
Xrays, once you burn a CD in iTunes the format changes to AIFF or WAV known as a red book CD. This is 44.1khz and 16-bit. What you burn, is what you get, so if your quality is poor, the CD will sound poor. In iTunes, right before you hit burn, there is a box titled "burn text to CD" that puts the metadata or text on the cd so it will appear in the TL. Make sure that's checked!
01-04-2009, 12:37 PM
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Xrays- I also live in MA (metrowest) and picked up my AWD PMM with Ebony interior non tech last Saturday. I test drove it during the weekend long snowstorm we had before Christmas. It was the best time to take a test drive since I was able to see the difference from my 04TL and the 09 AWD. It makes a big difference especially in situations where a FWD will get stuck or slide. I drove it around during the New Years Eve day storm we had and it was great. Roads that I would avoid in my 04, the 09 didn't fail me.
I do agree with Pete that the stock Michelins are OK in the snow but IMO better then some other all seasons out there such as the Bridgestone's that came with my 04.
Winter tires of course would help but I think the biggest mistake for people is to think that since they have AWD they can do anything. You can always see all those people on the side of the Pike or 128 after they spun out on the ice. The AWD will help give you the extra traction but only when you can still grip the road but will do nothing on ice.
I hear you on the safety reasons...I have 2 young children and the AWD safety is one of the primary reasons I upgraded.
Good luck on your decision!
I do agree with Pete that the stock Michelins are OK in the snow but IMO better then some other all seasons out there such as the Bridgestone's that came with my 04.
Winter tires of course would help but I think the biggest mistake for people is to think that since they have AWD they can do anything. You can always see all those people on the side of the Pike or 128 after they spun out on the ice. The AWD will help give you the extra traction but only when you can still grip the road but will do nothing on ice.
I hear you on the safety reasons...I have 2 young children and the AWD safety is one of the primary reasons I upgraded.
Good luck on your decision!
01-04-2009, 01:46 PM
#17
Three Wheelin'
Ya, I saw this G35x going pretty fast when the road is covered with snow ( can't see the pavement at all, and no offense to you hydr0!). Then all of a sudden this other car came out from this intersection and I guess the driver of the G35x wasn't pay attention as he braked like 2 seconds later (not immediately...). The G35x twitched to the right a bit, and then then the driver tried to correct it but he went too far and the car just swerved to the left, then the car started sliding, hit the curb, or the median, and the car stopped 2 feet away from a light post. I guess the point is AWD can give you more grip when you are on the gas, but most, if not all cars have all-wheel-braking system so it doesn't matter much if you have AWD or FWD if all you are doing is braking.
01-07-2009, 11:38 PM
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Check out this other thread:
https://acurazine.com/forums/4g-tl-2009-2014-123/canada-com-acuras-2009-tl-sh-awd-takes-our-worst-weather-704017/
https://acurazine.com/forums/4g-tl-2009-2014-123/canada-com-acuras-2009-tl-sh-awd-takes-our-worst-weather-704017/
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