Moneyman2011

I discovered that this car can fishtail when the traction control is turned off! How cool! I was making an off camber right hand turn and gunned it just to see how the AWD would work in slippery conditions. Who ever said this car is not fun to drive is missing a few bolts. Put another 100 hp under the hood and this would be a 4,000 STI!! I took the same turn with traction control on and it tracked true with very little fan fair.

vinnier6

iTrader: (1)

yep, i found that out in the snow, but it wont oversteer to the point of being out of control...the front will correct it...very fun

Teddybear

yep! even with stability off (it's not just traction control) the SH should still kick in.

Livestrong_TL

i've noticed a few times in mine driving on the highway through slushy sections and on some corners, it felt like all 4 wheels were sliding.....not fun...

vinnier6

iTrader: (1)

do you have an sh-awd...if so, as long as you keep your foot on the gas, the awd/traction control will correct the oversteer and or understeer...

compewterbleu

The SH-AWD is the difference maker!

Moneyman2011

SH-AWD my friend.

vinnier6

iTrader: (1)

that response was to the guy named 2002 type s

Moneyman2011

Sorry about that.

Edward'TLS

But if the car is doing a neutral slide, meaning that all 4 tires have lost traction and are simultaneously sliding hopelessly, nothing (not even SH-AWD nor VSA) is gonna save the car.

Only until enough vehicle speed is scrubbed off and either the front tires or the rear tires have regained traction again, then VSA will become effective in saving the oversteering/understeering car.

Little Gator

I didn't know it could be switched off.

I think the Subaru WRX STi's great handling are based its' rear-drive biased system. The TL SHAWD is FWD biased.

vinnier6

iTrader: (1)

i wouldnt say its biased at all...it puts the power to the wheels that are needed....i see it alot of the time putting more power to the rear then the front....

Little Gator

The TL can send power to where it's need ......up to a point. And in it's "normal" or starting point, it is sending a majority of the power to the front, until the demand moves it to the back. The STi is just the opposite.

The TL moves the power from extreme to extreme:
90% front/10% rear to 30% front/70% rear

The Sti moves the power from extreme to extreme:
75% front/25% rear to 5% front/95% rear

Moneyman2011

Hats off to Acura for developing the best combination of handling, neutrality and restraint of the "nannies" with the VSA. From my humble side of the table, short of driving like an idiot, the combination of SH-AWD, suspension design, and predictable tire traction, makes this car one of the best cars to drive. Every car has its compromises. The BMW M3 and M5 are best in class, but they are not the smoothest highway runners. The Porsche Cayman is one of the best balanced cars on the planet but when it is driven beyond 10/10ths it is not all that predictable. But when you consider that the TL SH-AWD weighs in at more than 4,100 lbs with the driver, I doubt there is another car within $50,000 in price that comes within three states of this car. Remember that with balance comes compromises, but the compromises are in concert with each other.

winstrolvtec

It's better to say that SH is FWD based, not necessarily biased, where Subaru is rear biased, it's also permanent vs SH which is highly variable. In fact with SH you are getting more rear bias as needed vs Quattro, Subaru, and all other permanent AWD systems.

In most cases other AWD's are 50/50 or 40/60, SH can go up to 30/70 and lets not forget about the torque vectoring between 0-100% of the available rear power to either rear wheel indivdually as needed and if necessary, which few cars have.

But the difference is the STI does so under splippage, it's not an active function like SH. SH can do so with throttle or a down shift and depending on other road, surface, and driving factors where the STI only does so under lose of traction to the front and rear axle and similarly, it works the same with the rear diff for rear left and right transfer. Other cars without the locking rear diff usually have no individual wheel transfer on each axle other than ABS control. There is a difference in how they operate it's not just about the percentages.

Little Gator

True. The rear toe moves inward on outside wheel on stock suspension when heavily loaded and compressed in mid-corner. Very unsettling for sure. Until you start with replacing the rear toe-links with adjustable ones than don't slip and add some spacers to get the geometry right.

But the seats don't recline like my TL SH-AWD 6mt.

Pete2010

If you had stock tires, that should come into play also- the stock Michelins are garbage IMHO. If you put on some decent tires, you would see what this car can really achieve.

But yea - SHAWDFTW

6SpdTerror

I never thought i could carry that kind of speed through turns like i do with this car! Coming from my 08 type-s 6mt, youre always fighting the steering wheel through long sweeping turns but my 2011 just blasts thru it effortlessly! Great job Honda

compewterbleu

"Dōmo arigatō, Mr. Roboto"

halls120

I've had my 2011 SHAWD 6mt for six weeks now, and it just isn't possible to fully describe how much more fun it is to drive this car over my old 04 TL. I didn't think it was possible to design a car that seems lighter than its predecessor, when it is clearly heavier.