iforyou

iTrader: (1)

Don't forget the tires!

TacoBello

Agreed. I'll take the later 4G TL beak over the new grill. It looks horrendously out of place.

AZuser

They're both equally bad to me. The grille/front end on the pre-MMC TLX looks better (more balanced) than the MMC TLX.

iforyou

iTrader: (1)

lol you know what the new grille is growing one me.....

oonowindoo

knowing you, i am not surprised.

Fibonacci

Call me crazy, but since they updated the MDX sport hybrid with a DCT and adaptive suspension, I thought it might be a remote possibility. Personally, I'm not looking to fling my family hauler around corners aggressively. My "sports sedan" on the other hand...

Fibonacci

A lot of posters still have a hard on for the exterior design of the 3G, but performance wise, the 6MT SH-AWD 4G was/is easily the best performing Acura sedan since the Integra.

Saintor

With a reason; it looks better than expected, aside from A-SPEC spoilers in light colors.

This one is OK with me. Actually beautiful.

fsttyms1

Too bad the wheels do ZERO to help the looks of the car, Actually the opposite to me, i think they detract from it and make it look cheaper

fsttyms1

Yep.. Typical fashion for Acura. Lets change a few parts and the way they look, add a package name and consider it even more sporty all the while doing nothing to actually make it more sporty.

jwong77

Strangely, me too. The newer pictures don't make the front look so out of proportion anymore.

kurtatx

That might be the only shot of the car I like. That looks pretty nice. I still think headlight shape needs some adjustment, but that's not bad at all and the beak is gone

fsttyms1

Im happy they gave it exhaust tips. Just wish they would have given it a bump in power and fun.

iforyou

iTrader: (1)

haha good I'm not alone!

Yea, how difficult is it to at least put the 310hp RLX engine in it? It's probably not gonna do much performance wise, but at least 300+hp sounds better than 200 something hp.

jwong77

I wonder if this has anything todo with where the RLX engine is produced vs where the TLX is produced? Like if the RLX engine is made in Japan, the import costs outweigh benefits of putting in the engine. Especially when you consider the considerable differences in production, the RLX engine is only produced a couple thousand times a year, perhaps they couldn't meet the capacity required for the TLX. Either of these excuses still suck, but I'm willing to bet it had something todo with their thought process.

nanxun

Wondering why they eschewed forced induction, which is where the parent co. is headed with the Civic line-up? Perhaps to keep some (by now artificial and paper-thin) distinction between Honda and Acura?

Whatever the case may be, a 2.4L I4 making 206 hp and 182 lb-ft for a 3,500 lbs car is... rather anemic. The larger 3.5L V6 gives more grunt (290 hp), but also adds anywhere from 100-250 lbs. of weight, depending on the drivetrain config.

oonowindoo

^ You are new. Honda's bhp is superior than other brands. Honda's 206 bhp is equivalent to 263 bhp from any other brand.

nanxun

Many thanks for pointing this out. You're right. I am new to owning a Honda/Acura.

Any tips or suggestions for where I might read/learn more about the reasons why Honda's bhp ratings are deceptively lower ("superior") when compared to other manufacturers? I presume it's due to Honda/Acura deciding to abide more strictly to the new SAE standards of 2005, correct?

TacoBello

Lol... Oonowindoo is just making fun of another use, SSFTSX, who is THE BIGGEST Honda fanboy and comes up with the stupidest arguments in supporting Honda. Such as "Honda's BHP is much greater than all others BHP", and other dumb shit like "best in class road clearance for sedans" or "ultra aerodynamic mirrors" or "the RLX on upgraded tires is faster than _enter supercar_" amongst other BS. It's funny because he gets torn apart with actual evidence that he's completely wrong, but just moves the goal posts a bit to suit his new rhetoric.... Which then gets proved wrong again.

nanxun

Ahhh, inside joke. Thx for letting me in on it! :wink:

What he (Oonowindoo) wrote seemed pretty preposterous on the face of it, but it's hard to figure out another person's tone (sincere or sarcastic?) on the inter-webs, so I didn't want to make any assumptions....

While searching for my car, I learned that the base 3G TL's bhp ratings dropped from 270 to 258 after 2005 due to the new SAE standards for power measurement, but saying that that 'ole 2.4L I4--held over from the 2G TSX(?) and rated at 206 bhp--was really making something like 264 bhp? Well, let's just say it raised one of my eyebrows....

TacoBello

Oh it's not really an inside joke. Just browse through any of the Honda or Acura threads in the automotive discussion section, and you'll be face palming yourself in no time. Thought o be fair. He's been quiet as of late. Go back a few pages and you'll be thinking "w...t...f."

nanxun

kurtatx

He finally got his supersport F1 4Lyfe tires on his TSX so he's out racing against Bugattis

jwong77

^

iforyou

iTrader: (1)

Good point man. I never thought of that as I've always assumed the J series is made in America. Assuming that's the case, I'd think it makes more sense to just scrap the J35Y6 (290hp one) and make the J35Y4 (RLX 310hp) standard for the RLX, TLX, and MDX. And of course, make this specific engine here in North America to save costs.

I believe the Japanese automakers were not convinced about forced induction. You almost always need direct injection to make turbocharging feasible nowadays, otherwise, you'd have low compression ratio and low efficiency, like the 1g RDX. The problem with direct injection is carbon deposits. This is a pretty widespread problem with many European and American cars, especially the early adopters. This kind of issue is probably fine with those car makers, but the Japanese car makers are traditionally known for their reliability, and they can't pull that off without risking their reputation. Also, if you look at the Korean and American turbocharged cars, they aren't exactly doing that well in the real world in terms of fuel economy and performance. For instance, the V6 powered Accord, Altima, and Camry are comfortably faster than the likes of Sonata 2.0T and Fusion 2.0T, while not losing any ground in fuel economy, and have better sound engine (V6 by default simply sounds smoother than I4).

Over time however, turbocharging and direct injection technologies have improved. You have Toyota who uses a dual injection system to eliminate carbon deposit issue. And as we've seen in the new Honda 1.5T engine, it delivers both stunning real world performance and fuel economy. Going forward, my understanding is that Honda will drop the V6, and replace it with the 2.0T. I suspect the 2.0T will be available in many future Acura models as well.

As for the TLX 2.4, you are right, on paper, 206hp/182lbft for a 3500lb car sounds weak. However, in the real world, as per car and driver, it can do 0-60mph in 6.8s and 1/4 mile in 15.4s@93mph. That is actually comparable to a IS200T with 241hp/258lbft:
2016 Lexus IS200t F Sport Test ? Review ? Car and Driver
2017 Lexus IS200t F Sport Test ? Review ? Car and Driver

That car was actually designed to compete with the likes of 320i, IS250, and ATS 2.5L. The TLX 2.4 is more than enough to match these cars. While the ATS 2.5L is gone now, there's the new A4 Ultra and Q50 2.0T. I'd imagine the TLX 2.4L is still competitive against these.

I think the real concern for the TLX is that there's nothing that can compete with 340i, S4, Q50 Red Sport, C43 AMG. The TLX V6 is comparable if not slightly faster than the 330i, S4 2.0T, C300, ATS 2.0T, but it can't compete with the top of the line models.

oonowindoo

^ just because a car has similar 0-60 performance, does not mean the bhp rating are similar. It is not a secret that Lexus's 2.0T is slow as shit. 241hp or not. BMW's 240hp is significantly faster.
While TLX 2.4 is comparable with 241hp from Lexus in 0-60, which is the most useless stats there is, but it does not mean Honda's 206hp is performing at 241hp, Lexus 2.0T is just under performing.

But IMO, even if the Lexus 2.0T is slow... it is still faster than than the N/A 2.4 in the real world.

iforyou

iTrader: (1)

I think you missed my point, My point is that the TLX 2.4 is comparable to the likes of 320i, IS200t, A4 Ultra, Q50 2.0T. ONly one of those has a 241hp rating from the factory.

I'm not saying all 240hp engines will perform the same. I know well enough that this is not the case at all.

Also, if you read my post, I listed the 1/4 mile data. In particular, the trap speed data is pretty much the most useful data, as it takes out grip. So. it doesn't matter if you have a crappy 60', it doesn't matter if you are FWD, RWD, or AWD. It doesn't matter about one's opinion. The trap speed pretty much gives you one of the best indication of how fast the car is.

Based on that, the IS200t unfortunately isn't much, if any faster than the TLX 2.4. Perhaps, it will do better at higher elevations.

TacoBello

What are talking about? There are a plethora of turbo vehicles from nissan, subaru and Toyota in Japan, spanning the last 25 years. Way before direct injection even existed.

TacoBello

I think honda even had a turbo car or two in Japan, 2 decades ago.

Your argument is null and void.

TacoBello

As far as I'm concerned, Toyota and Lexus engines have generally always sucked. All of their engines don't compare well with their rivals. Their 2.0T is no different

nanxun

Long wheel-base for the vaunted CHINA MARKET ...

http://blog.caranddriver.com/elevated-luxury-acura-tlx-l-is-a-stretched-sedan-for-china/

MTEAZY

The new grille is vulgar.

jwong77

The longer wheelbase gives it nicer proportions.

Marcelechka

Although I usually don't disagree with you, I have to here Taco...

Currently leasing the ISt and I have to say, it's a pretty damn good car to haul my 2 year old around in.... it's no street racer by any stretch of the imagination, but does perform when pushed while in boost/sport mode. Absolutely love the cabin; what I compare to a proper fitted / tailored suit... this coming from a 6'1" athletic build guy. Getting my daughter in & out of the rear car seat is no issue either - even for my wife who's 5'6" and petite.

In regards to power - plenty of development going on. The most notable is TTi's stage 1 tune on a mustang dyno (no bolt-ons):
204WHP 251WTQ [Stock]
220WHP 295 WTQ [Stage 1]

To say the engine was conservatively tuned from the factory is an understatement... but, they were shooting for reliability, which is what the Toyota / Lexus line is known for.

We drove the '16 TLX, both 2.4 & 3.5... between the lease deal & car as a package at the time, we were underwhelmed.

2snail

maybe honda just needs to figure out the turbo reliability thing. If formula 1 has demonstrated anything this season, the honda mclaren team is struggling with reliability.

Like someone mentioned above direction injection with port injection and forced induction would be great in a honda product, provided the reliability can be proven. Having owned two turbo cars before my acuras. 135i and EvoX I really hope the rumors of forced induction coming to acura are true.

kurtatx

The long wheelbase model looks 50x better

Yeah - No. Those things are completely unrelated.

oonowindoo

reliability on the F1 engines and everyday engines are not related whatsoever. I believe the F1 engines are only meant to be reliable and survive the constant "abuse" for that 1 particular race. Long term reliability is not even on the list.
It s like comparing disposable products vs. re-useable products. Completely different priorities.

nanxun

Proportions on the TLX's stretched wheelbase remind me a little of the Mazda 6.

RPhilMan1

And they actually have nice looking wheels for the China market...

CCColtsicehockey

That was my first thought when I saw the long wheel base. Why does China get the good looking wheels.