RLX-Sport Hybrid

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bzp...ew?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0Bz...lRnTV9hM3VjTWM

Went to the dealer this morning and a surprise was on the showroom floor!

My driving impression of the difference between the 2014 and the 2016 RLX SH is this: Night and day difference in ride quality. The 2016 is supple by comparison to the 2014 in parking lot slow driving over broken pavement. Still love mine, but do wish I had the ride quality of the 2016.

TacoBello

I imagine it's just different struts and springs.. if you really were so inclined, you could likely have them upgraded to the 2016s.

I can't imagine Acura redesigned anything in terms of mounting points, etc. They never have done so in the past for the same model generation.

I assume you're not one to wrench on your own car, and in that respect, it could be expensive to switch to the 2016 suspension. Otherwise, I think it could very easily be done. All that likely changed was the struts were revalved and spring firmness altered.

TampaRLX-SH

Are you comparing the ride of the 2 RLX SHs in the liked photo? Your is the 2014 black Tech. The white SH appears to be a 2016 as I see the forward cam in the grille. But it has the 2014 smaller base wheels? Perhaps the owner is using those for winter tires? But that would also give a softer ride feel from the standard 19s.

TampaRLX-SH

Taco, there was no change in the springs or struts with the 2016MY. The changes were in the forward shock tower mountings and smaller diameter rear roll bar. If Acura had revised the front struts, you bet many 2014 & 2015 RLX owners would be swapping them out. I think the part manufacturer needs to be drawn and quartered for the shock issues throughout the Acura lineup.

TacoBello

Yes, you are correct. The smaller wheels would help a bit. It's not as drastic as you'd think though. Switching between my winter (oem) wheels and my summer (1" larger) wheels isn't that noticeable. A bit. But not huge.

RLX-Sport Hybrid

Tampa,
The white SH is another board member we all know and adore. I will leave it to him if he wants to identify himself. He has the dedicated snow tires mounted on smaller 18" rims. Yes I agree the snows and the 18" rims with the higher sidewalls help, but the dead silence of the suspension over minor cracks in the pavement at parking lot speeds was the most shocking to me. I could feel the difference in the first seconds after starting out. Nobody will have a rightful complaint with the ride quality in that car if they purchase a 2016 or newer model. Even though I had all of the suspension bolts re-torqued, mine is just not as silent as the 2016. Switching out the struts is not an option per the dealer. Warranty issue so they say.

TacoBello

True. A dealer won't do it. But an independent shop would. And the dealership wouldn't even be able to tell. There are no real identifying marks between the two, save for maybe a sticker code, but I can assure you a technician wouldn't be scrutinizing the code numbers on the suspension. They don't even cross reference with actual Honda part numbers. As long as it looks stock (and it would), that's all they would care about.

I can understand the concern of voiding warranty, but I highly doubt a brand new stock suspension would fail in the time you have remaining on your warranty. Even if it did, you could always revert back to the original suspension. No harm, no foul.

Just something to consider.

RLX-Sport Hybrid

Nice thought about switching the suspension parts, but I'm not investing $2k to do it, if that is what it costs. My car modification days are over for more than 30 years now. I will detail the crap out of the car as it is therapy to me, but I'm not doing anything else.

TacoBello

Yes, it certainly wouldn't be cheap, especially for brand new OEM suspension.

pgeorg

That is my SH, and I have mounted the Nokian Hakka R2s on those wheels. Much easier to swap twice a year.

I agree with you TacoBello, I would say its about 5% softer. Now the grip level is way lower then my Michelin PSS.....Give me snow and inclement weather, and I rule This car is brilliant in bad weather!

RLX-Sport Hybrid

pgeorg, I can't thank you enough! I have said it before, you are a gentleman among the few. I still say we should organize a meet of the New York area RLX owners for a cars and coffee type thing for sometime in the spring/summer. It seems there are many of us within a 50 mile range. We should get Acura to sponsor it and bring an NSX to the party! I'll bet even Dr. Bob might make a road trip to it!

pgeorg

It was my pleasure RLX-Sport Hybrid, always great hanging out with you!

RLX-Sport Hybrid

Enough of the group hugs:

Back to the cars. I would be interested in seeing how the 2016 suspension feels with the OEM wheel/tire package so that would provide a better apples to apples comparison between the two set ups. In the spring I'm sure we will get together again and we can report our findings to the board. In hind sight I wish the engineers/corporate had authorized a retro fit of the 2014/15 suspensions with the 2016 version. Like I said, a night and day difference. At highway speeds I don't miss the suspension upgrade, however at "around town" speeds and parking lots, I do. I would not trade the car because of it, nor would I rate the automobile harshly on a survey, but I am excited to see what comes out of the Precision Concept aspect of the new products. If the 2018 and beyond models revert back to exposed exhaust openings, or dare I say exposed tail pipe tips, that would be a welcome change. I think the Liberal Greenies felt that hiding the tips means that it pollutes less. Dumb in my mind. It is a car, and a byproduct is exhaust. Why hide the obvious? Since many performance aspects are such that TTV6 engines are becoming more common, why not do a TTV6 3.5L Hybrid? It would be "NSXish" and the performance would be even greater. I figure it would add conservatively 100-150hp, and then Acura could go performance hunting with the competition. I think that would drop the 1/4 mile times into the mid 12s at 115mph or so, and 0-60mph times could be in the very low 4s or high 3s. If the pricing were to remain in the zone it is now, and maybe add a little snazzy content like unique interior lighting, customizable dash screen like the Audi, Lexus, Caddy and Corvette, then they are in a very good position from a competitive perspective. Also if there was a true "launch mode" that would be cool. Lastly if they were able to route more powerful rear EV motors to further enhance the power distribution between the front and rear, that would be great. All things to wish for in future versions.

TampaRLX-SH

I too agree the difference in suspension feel and sound is significant between model years. It was one reason why I waited for the 2016 SH (and we all know how much I moaned). I can say, however, there is still a pop or thud sound over larger bumps. It seems to be typical with Honda double wishbone suspension as it was similar on my RL. It may be, in part due to the lower profile tires and the tire attributes themselves. That said, it is just a sound. I do not feel any brittleness or sloppiness in the front suspension (and do not hear it with the stereo volume @ 10+). But it is a sound I find uncharacteristic to this caliber car. When I was in progress of purchasing an A8, and after driving the A6, A7 & A8 my thought bubble was 'why cannot Acura have this level of suspension noise isolation?'

All in all, I find the tuning of the 2016+ SH model in the sweet spot for my desired balance of sport & comfort. And that sweet spot seems to vary by most every individual.

TampaRLX-SH

What's the secret handshake???

I think my 1st non needed mod of any notable cost will be new tires. I am becoming less pleased with the slip of the OEM Michelins in the rain. I do realize I have gotten more lead footed on launches an in turns as this car just begs me to do so. I am following the Michelin PSS and the Pirelli Cinturatos - both are rated quieter and better in wet traction than the OEMs. Rainy season is approaching and I do not want my SH to be training for the Wiki Wachee Waterski Show.

pgeorg

The PSS are EXCELLENT in the wet, and dry of course! They are also much quieter, and the braking distances are decreased in both wet and dry.

The PSS are being replaced with the P4S that are suppose to be even better!

You are welcome to test drive mine if you're ever up my way, there is no secret handshake needed .

I will be putting them back on around the beginning of April.

holografique

You're noticing that between the SH, imagine in the PAWS. The problem is amplified 3x-4x fold in the 2014 PAWS prior to the suspension upgrades done in the 2016 models.

You're now starting to understand what all my bitching was about...

RLX-Sport Hybrid

I hear ya. Too bad you did not start out with the SH. I bet you would still have it today.

mqs1

Someone above was talking about suspension parts etc..... well I just had both of my front struts replaced (2016 Hy) and the work order and prices:

MA99 Replace Both Front Struts
1797 WA $264 (don't know what this is)
1 51621-TY3-J01 S/ABS Unit, L. FR $213.44
1 51621-TY3-J01 S/ABS Unit, R. FR $213.44

I am assuming these are just the parts pricing and not including labor (since mine was done under warranty both of those line items were zero on my final bill)..... so parts total of $690.88. It probably only took them a couple of hours.

TampaRLX-SH

Thank you for documenting this.

What was the reason / symptom that you had them replaced? What was your mileage on the SH?

A couple part # details. The part numbers are basically the same from the 2014 SH as the 2016 SH. However the R shock is 51611 and the L shock is 51621. Perhaps the tech just recorded the first shock part # and replicated the part number assuming they were the same?

Second, the 2014 parts are all A series (A00, A01, A02). The 2016 parts have A11 series springs J01 series shocks and mountings. Perhaps this better isolates the part changes made with the front suspension. From what I read, the mountings were the only change. But the differences in the part series indicates the shocks and the springs were also changed. I also read the rear roll bar was changed to a smaller diameter to soften the ride.

holografique

Too bad Acura couldn't build a flagship at $60k with the quality deserving of it's price, regardless if it was the SH or not. 1st gen new model or not, this wasn't Acura's first production vehicle...and it shouldn't have been as bad as it was, period.

And you're absolutely right, I would still be in mine had it been the SH, or at least built to the same quality of the SH. My original plan from the onset was to buy my RLX off lease and keep it for at least 5-7 years if not longer. I just refused to be stuck with something that bad for what I paid. And then to see prices drop and folks getting SH's for almost 1/3 off what I paid for a PAWS only added insult to injury. I even offered to buy my RLX PAWS at the end of the lease for a highly discounted rate to make up for all the issues, horrendous value depreciation and high residual, and all I got was a $300 Acura gift card for all my pain

But im highjacking this thread. Looks like someone found some replacement suspension parts that might be worth looking into?

TampaRLX-SH

These are job codes and billing codes the dealership uses to communicate with corp. MA99 is the job code - obviously to Replace Both Front Struts. 1797 WA is the warranty code for billing this job to Acura warranty.

mqs1

Hello TampaRLX-SH,
1) My bad (man I hate when I say that) on the part number... the invoice correctly states 51611 for the R shock - I mis-typed it in my msg.
2) My car had an annoying vibration or clanking at the tail end of hitting a moderate bump. After a test drive the Service Tech said that both struts needed to be replaced under warranty. Post replacement, it's better but still a thunk there.... but it could simply be the tires (hard compound?) or that I'm used to a Lexus isolated ride so the firmer ride of the Acura is more pronounced for me, although I got a 2016 MDX for a service loaner and the ride was more isolated than the RLX Hy... I had them replaced at 3k miles.
3) No problem getting the struts replaced under warranty, however, the Acura Corp Rep said no to replacing all the lug nuts on my car which were showing rust!? The local dealer svc mgr was surprised and apologetic and suggested I call them to complain. Weird.
4) Love the car otherwise.

TampaRLX-SH

Thanks for clarifying. I do recall now you mentioning that clank and vibration which is not normal. I think what you're experiencing now is normal. In general Hondas have a firmer ride and more road feel than Toyota/ Lexus. And my family t is entirely Toyota and Lexus drivers I can tell you they are tuned to be much more isolated then Hondas.

And as I have mentioned before on moderate to larger bumps there still is a thud and / or pop sound in the suspension very similar to what my RL had. Part of it may be the lower profile tires and harder compounds. But I think the shock supplier for Honda and Acura needs to be ditched as I have experienced and read about this on many of their products. Although I do not experience any suspension performance issues or vibration, I wish it had better isolation from that sound. As I've mentioned before it just seems uncharacteristic of a car this caliber period

holografique

Can definitely confirm this as well. With the exception of my 2006 TL, all three ILXs and the RLX we've leased over the past 3+ years all carry this characteristic "thud", with the RLX PAWS being the worse out of them all. In the ILXs it's much more tolerable compared to what we experienced in the RLX, along with much better overall composure and compliance when hitting bumps, but still maintaining a nice sporty planted driving feel. The 2016 ILX have improved handling and suspension performance above the 2013 ILX, and significantly improved over the RLX. The first 2013 ILX we leased had 17' OEM tires on it. Both of our 2016 ILX A-Specs have the 18' OEM tires on them. And the 2014 RLX PAWS had the 19' OEM tires.

The bigger problem with the RLX was not just the "thud", it was more that the entire chassis of the car took soo much of the energy transfer from any road imperfections, you'd feel it everywhere, from the steering wheel, to the seats, to the floor pedals. It just made for a very non-confident driving experience, whereas my ILX gives me the confidence of being able to take on any road conditions short of taking the little sucker off-road.

wilspainar

I do know that the part numbers from the 14 and 16 SH's are different. The 16's have different struts and springs. So 14' owners could buy the new updated suspension if they wanted the 2016 ride quality.