jammitch

I thought I read somewhere that the top speed for the 4G TL is 128 mph. True? If so, is there a way around this limitation? Just curious.....

2010_TL

My car topped off at 130mph earlier. I could have easily gotten to 145ish but it just stopped at 130. But I think it would void the warranty if you mess with the governor.

BigWopHH

I think I read the car is limited to 130MPH on the nose.

Pete2010

I don't track my car so I don't know... Fastest I've been is 90, but that's because when I first got it I didn't realize how fast it was :P

ChuckyD

I could swear i have gotten her to 135.... racing my friend in his 335XI . Then again i was watching the road more than the speedometer.

Souljah

90? That's gangsta

808 Fifty-State

Fastest so far for me was a lil over a buck. Mainly cause my girl was with me. Prly try to hit 120 next time. But in Hawaii theres way too many cars for such a small island so its kinda sketchy. Wanna she what she got tho. Anyone got the Tein Basic Kit on ur TL? Installing mine this week. Hows the ride? Way worse than stock or not too bad?

BigBunks

i got up to about 126-127 before i let off but she was still going up.

FAST4DR

I've had the 4g to about 120, I hope it doesn't have a limter because that would suck! I raced a G35 a while back with my 06 TL and I finally made it around him and when I looked down it said 155. Not sure how accurate the speedometer is, probably off 5-7 mph, but it was definitely fast.

OBrechkin

lol my mom's boyfriend has a fourth generation tl and i own a second generation tl type s and the tl that her boyfriend drives is so fast started on the highway at like 80 K and the second we took off it was gone i think i hit 170 K and it was still pulling away from me lol

have they started making the Type S model for the 4th Gen TL yet or is it in the works still ?

NOX 3.2

I know the 6MT SH-AWD can do 105mph at half pedal !
I was just passing a 3 series.

George Knighton

The 6-6 chips out at 135.

Bearcat94

I'm betting that at least the AT's are limited.

In the 3G, upto 2006, top speed (I think limited) for either for the AT or MT was ~147 - 150.

However, in 2007, Acura changed the AT to a version based on the RL and limited it to ~132. This is the same limit as the RL. The 2007-2008 MT stayed with a top speed approaching 150.

If the 4G TL, AT trims, are also based off the RL Trans or Trans software, I'm betting they are limited to the same ~132.

The MT OTOH, will probably (based on history) have a higher top speed. Inthe 3G there is some arguemnt as to whether the MT top Speed limit is drag limited or governed. There is a YouTube vid by member fourplay on the Autobahn maxing out and saying that it was maxed due to "fuel cut off".

JM2010 SH-AWD

FWIW, C&D reported that the 6MT was "governor limited" to 134 mph.

I'd guess some of that has to do with Acura's not wanting to have to put Z-rated tires on these cars.

heathmallory

Is there a software or mechanical override of the governor that anyone knows of?

George Knighton

The car is really rather a handful at extremly high speed. But the things that make it seem a little too quick to turn at top speed are the same things that make the car such a Sterling performer in the mid range. :-)

Although you can hit the limit in two places at VIR, I think that it was a logical decision for them to limit the car to 135 in consideration of the typical driver's physical capabilities.

If you want to go faster than 135, I would suggest that you consider doing more to the car than just finding a way to defeat the chip-out governor.

For whatever one stupid old man's opinion is worth, I would leave the governor alone if I were you.

PhoenixUnit

I agree

FAST4DR

Alright, so I had to know if it really cut off at 132-135 and yes it does. In th e video you can hear me say fuel cutoff, but actually it's throttle holdback. The computer simply held the throttle so it would not accelerate any more. Sorry for the shaky video, I was using my phone.

The car is very stable at speed and I could cruise 130 mph all day long!

Video WMV file, right mouse click and choose "save target as" It's a little over 8 meg.

BoostLover

While 132 is more than fast enough, there's something subconsciously insulting about a car of this caliber having a speed limiter on it.

FAST4DR

Yes, it is fast enough and you don't really need to go any faster, but as a sport sedan with available AWD and Acura touting the handling, if you took it to the track, you would be getting passed down some of the straightaways. Not that I consider a 4000 lb car a "track" car anyhow.

007Acura

I think they do it for car insurance reasons, the 04-06 tl at/mt was able to hit 155 but the 07-08 could only do 130

135 is still pretty fast, non sport 3 series can only go 130 & the new SHO is 132

George Knighton

The car is a little bit of a handful at very high speeds, IMHO.

crxb

so are you holding the camera in one hand and the wheel in the other?

is this a FWD TL? or the SH-AWD (thought the AWD was some sort of limiting factor w/ the top end?)

and 007Acura - was 130 the limit for the 3G TL-S also?

FAST4DR

You think I could hold the wheel better on a straightaway with two hands? Yes, holding cell phone with one hand and steering with other. I guess I could have held the camera with both hands and the steering wheel with my knees.

And yes, FWD TL

FAST4DR

What do you consider very high speeds, and what is it doing that makes it a handful?

I ask because speed seems only relative to ones experience.

007Acura

for the auto, the MT still had the 155 limit

007Acura

wow, i didn't even realize it was a fwd... it has great acceleration

MyT6MT

Pisser!

BoostLover

That doesn't surprise me; I've searched everywhere for the 4G TL's coefficient of drag and can't find it.

Philosophically, only Acura doesn't seem to place a heavy emphasis on aero; Infiniti has "no lift" aerodynamic kits available on their cars and Lexus is always touting sub-0.30 Cds.

Intuitively, the polarizing styling doesn't look like it would produce very good drag numbers and probably has a significant amount of lift at high speeds.

Some time in the wind tunnel or some good CFD is overdue.

Guess we can't have absolutely everything. The limiter should be removeable with tuning, though.

The Germans (even down to Volkswagen) are all Autobahn capable, with great stability at high speeds. The Germans also limit most of their cars to 155 and high-performance variants (AMG, M, S) are usually drag or redline limited.

jnc2000

IIRC the 3G TL had a CD of .28 with the full A-Spec

I'm unsure of the 4G CD.

George Knighton

I'm afraid that I do not know enough to attribute it to aerodynamics, so I will have to yield to your knowledge.

It feels like a track car or race car with an aggressive alignment. It just wants to turn very quickly, that's all.

I don't mean to sound like it's dangerous or anything, but I think that Acura did the right thing in limiting the top speed.

Bearcat94

Of course I'll never be sure, but I don't think the limit is a thought out item with regard to high speed stability. Or Tires; as a matter of fact I think the lower tire rating is a result of the speed limit, not a cause of it.

As I posted earlier, the '07/'08 TL/TL-S AT's got a version of the RL Transmission. The RL was already limited to ~132 mph and the '07/'08 TL's has the same limit. Previous to this transmission change the 3G TL was limited at ~150.

The supposition is that the speed limit it realted to the RL derived Trans or Trans software.

Given the 4G uses the same basic AWD system as the RL, I am thinking the Transmissions are related (i.e. the 4G Trans is derived from the RL). Which again allows us to postulate that the speed limit is related to the trans or trans software.

There may be something at Honda News (www.hondanews.com) in the 4G TL Model details that gives additional credence to this suggestion.

BoostLover

I can definitely believe 0.28 on the 3G; Toyota says the Camry can run 0.27.

The shape of the 4G just doesn't intuitively seem like it would be a lot better than 0.30. But my intuition isn't worth a hill of beans versus a good CFD model or some wind tunnel testing.

BoostLover

Yeah, from a liability perspective you're probably right. I didn't get to push it too hard WRT the turn in but it does turn well for a 4,000 lb car.

I'm Nevadan so I instinctively bristle when someone/thing else "limits" my activities.

fsttyms1

Just one more reason for me not to buy this car

then they failed on the design of it (but most likely its the tires they put on it that make it not so good). My 2gtl is rock solid and very easy to drive at 140-150. It doesnt float or wander at all. Wish i could defeat the 149 limiter on it.

winstrolvtec

Hard to say if it's the tranny or it's programming or a fuel cut off. Looking at the tach in the video the car would continue to accelerate if it was not limited. Another consideration would be the tires. All the 3G sets were W rated for 168 mph which is probably more appropriate to use for 150-155 mph. The 4G models are all V rated for 149 mph so a limit of 130-135 mph is appropriate. The RL and 2G TLS were V rated also.

Acura might have limited the 07-08 3G TL/S, despite the high speed rated tire, just being conservative, maybe due to something in the suspension tuning that they didn't like for those speeds. The 6MT models in the 3G TL and TLS were always tuned a little more favorably for handling and high speed driving. With the tires now being lower rated, both the AT and 6MT 4G models have lower speed thresholds despite the extra tuning that remains in the 6MT.

It seems in the past Acura would limit cars right up to the speed rating of the tire, like in the 2G models. So either they have gone more conservative or there are other reasons such as the tranny or the shorter gearing used in the 4G and 07-08 3G TL/S models.

docboy

Just curious, how often do you drive your 2G TL at 140-150? Is that in mph? And where? On the track or autobahn... hopefully?

winstrolvtec

The models that exceed 135 mph, are they governed or rev/drag limited?

The reason I ask is because it might make sense to restrict or govern the models that could exceed their tire rating if they were only drag limited but leave the others unrestricted as long as there was enough of a speed rating that exeeds it's top end.

csmeance

The ECU cuts power by placing a "rev limiter" once you reach the speed programed. In the case of the 04-06TL it was around 155. 2007+ it changed down to around 130-135.

Acura probably reduced the top speed for the same reason most of us are posting here, we are trying to go much faster than we should be going and very few of us know what to do at high speeds when something goes wrong.

If you want to get past it, there are methods, however why would you need to go that fast, even in the quarter mile you won't surpass 110...

fsttyms1

Actually i see triple digit speeds very often. At the track (road course not 1/4 mile) And there are plenty of country roads near here that see little to NO traffic that those speeds can be achieved safely. And yes, thats in MPH