Six Months with my TL

"Dunnik" (dunnik) 04/10/2015 at 12:38 • Filed to: ACURA, ACURA TL, USED CARS

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I bought my minty-fresh !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! in October 2014 with 46,500 km on the odo, 1 owner, lady driven, dealer serviced. White Diamond Pearl, non-navi, 5AT. Read on past the bump to see what the experience has been like!

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Perhaps a great place to start is to note how much money I've spent in repairs over the last six months on this car.

Total Amount of Repairs: $0.00

What, were you expecting something different? Other than some scheduled maintenance - oil change (regular), cabin and engine air filter replacement - the car has needed nothing done to it.

Winter Warrior

This car was a garage queen for most of its previous life. I seriously doubt it ever was exposed to the full force of a Canadian winter, much less !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! Despite hearing bad things from other 3G TL owners about the quality and durability of the OEM battery, I decided to keep it, especially as a new one was installed by the PO in 2013. I seemed to have made the right call since the car started every time. Naturally I helped things along by making sure that everything was turned off before starting it up.

There were three other things I needed to do before my TL was ready to face Old Man Winter. Knowing rust is the bane of Japanese cars, even today, I took her to Crown Rust Proofing. "Don't worry," I told her, as they drilled holes in her frame, "this won't hurt a bit". I intend to get it rust proofed every year from here on out.

The next step was new tires, as she was riding on the OEM Michelin Pilots. I went with Contis, the Extreme Winter Contact. Have to say these tires are stupidly good. The only time I ever lost grip in a serious way was when I forced it to lose grip, like applying way too much power coming out of a turn. Otherwise, there were a couple times where grip was lost, but always in very predictable and thus easily recoverable ways, and grip returned almost instantly. Road noise and ride comfort are about as good as a higher-quality all-season. So good, in fact, that you'd start to doubt your riding on winter tires at all! They were not cheap but I got a good deal on it, and I firmly believe that you never, ever, skimp on tires. Love that asymmetrical tread pattern, too. It's not only effective, it looks awesome. The last winter mod was buying a set of laser-cut, Made-in-the-USA !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! mats, since the car only came with one set (they're the upgraded plush carpet mats with the TL logo on it).

Front Wheel Driver

"Pfft, FWD, autotragic! This is a loser car for losers!" says the M3 owner in the Polo shirt with the color flipped up, "Oh hang on a sec, that's the shop calling - I'm not done dissing your car."

As mentioned in my initial review, the 3G TL is, in my opinion, one of the best-handling FWD cars ever made. Acura seems to have gone to great lengths to work themselves out of the engineering and physics box they put themselves in. Over time I've (carefully) explored the limits of its oversteer. I've found that you have to push it a fair way out to get it, and still the car seems to have a broad zone before you start to to drift into the next province.

It's only during hard cornering that you really notice what it is your driving. Using the Tiptroinc to get the right gear in and out of the corner helps, but it certainly can feel a bit awkward compared to RWD. However, weight transfer is excellent, as is the feel of the steering - it would score big points on a slalom course.

The most awkward thing about the car in a corner is the exit. I now have a test I give anyone who wants to drive my car. "Do you know what torque steer is?" If the reply is in the negative, you're not driving this car. A couple friends at work have the Type-S (motor from the RL, Bembros, LSD) and I'm eager to drive them this spring just to see how stupid it gets. Don't get me wrong: I'm exaggerating when I say the torque steer is stupid. The torque steer on the previous generation Chyrsler 200 with the Pentastar, now that's stupid. It's certainly manageable if you know what's coming. But really, even with 258 hp we're approaching the limits of what FWD can handle.

Automagic

Recently I had to help some customers from France, they had never driven an automatic car before. "Ah," I told them, (in French), it's easy! It's "automatique" after all!". Yes, well. Hate me if you will, manual purists, but I feel I'm satisfied with this transmission. After all, when a car you want is this mint, you really don't quibble about the transmission (or the colours, or the trim level).

Again as noted in my initial review, it's not a stupid automatic, as so many out there are. The shifts are pretty well-timed. Despite having only 5 gears, as compared to the new-fangled 8- and 9-speeds, the ratios seemed well-chosen and 4th and 5th are quite tall. The Grade Logic tech caught me by surprise the first time when I was coasting down an off-ramp. I just wanted to coast, but its as if the car was saying, "Oh! You don't have to coast, or brake on this not-very-steep hill! Check this out! YEAAA ENGINE BRAKING!". Sigh. At least I can override control with the Tiptronic, assuming I can beat it to the punch before it decides to downshift itself. Why oh why does it do that? If you're going to downshift for me, you may as well upshift for me too!

Plans

Sometimes, I just stare at my car. It really is one of the best looking cars on the road today, and despite being from 2008 it still looks modern. It doesn't get as much attention as a more exotic car would, but I do catch people looking at it. It's been suggested I black out the roof with a wrap, but meh. Do intend to add yellow fogs (bulbs, not film) this spring. Not only are yellow fogs demonstrably better than other colours and frequencies, it's the JDM thing to do. Was never a big JDM fan, but I'm starting to become one, and besides, When in Rome, do as the Romans do.

Some of my plans have fallen through. Originally wanted to use the stock 17" starfish wheels for winters, and buy a set of 18"s, Type-S or some Enkei's or Vossen's - or equivalent - wheels for summer. But it just wasn't in the budget, what with car payments ($186/bi-weekly over 4 years; $17,888) and the need to get two sets of new tires. Speaking of tires, that's another plan that fell through. Planned on going with proper summer rubber but the longevity of all-seasons was compelling. Replacing summer tires every 2 years, say, is sadly just not in the budget. So instead I got Bridgestone Potenza's, which, according to other TL owners, have excellent tread wear with this car. Having all-seasons (or "three-seasons"), while not optimal in the corners, does give the benefit of being a hedge against freak April snowstorms, a little better grip in the wet, and ride comfort for my passengers and myself on a road trip.

She's been a workhorse this winter, never going any place nice just for the sake of driving there and back. I plan to remedy this in the spring and summer, with a visit to the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and a road trip in July.

Photo Credits: author, Continental Tire

AM > Dunnik 04/10/2015 at 12:41

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Always liked the blue ring around the gauges, it's nice to look at.

Dunnik > AM 04/10/2015 at 12:46

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It is, yes.

Also its the only thing that Type-S owners are jealous about. None of them like the red:

Cant' say I blame them, either. Sometimes manufaturers go too far with these kinds of "this is a different TL than the other TLs!"

AM > Dunnik 04/10/2015 at 12:48

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If anything they should have put the blue in the Type-S and red in the regular TL or just blue in both.

But of course red makes it more "sporty"

CB > Dunnik 04/10/2015 at 12:48

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This is one of my top choices for reasonable used car purchases. What a great looking car.

Sn210 > Dunnik 04/10/2015 at 12:50

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glad to hear you're liking it! The Type S has an LSD, so torque steer isn't all that bad.

Dunnik > Sn210 04/10/2015 at 12:53

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Yea, the question of how effective the LSD would be at taming it has been on my mind for a while. A buddy at work has a Type-S, we were talking cars with others on our break and he made a comment along the lines of "Holy torque steer, yo, you better keep both hands on that shit." But then again his previous car was an RS4, so...

Shift24 > Dunnik 04/10/2015 at 12:53

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3rd gen TLs is where Acura peaked and they are still trying to get back there. I do agree the 3rd gens are still one of the best looking cars on the road though the design is over 10 years old. Plus they look classier then the 4th gen that got plasticy. The only thing that could have made the TL better is their SH-AWD which came on the next gen but 3rd gen type-S with 6 speeds are crazy quick for a 4dr fwd. When Honda puts their mind to it they can make some of the best cars on the market, but when they focus only on selling cars they get into trouble

Dunnik > Shift24 04/10/2015 at 12:55

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Agreed, the drivetrain and the transmission from the next generation would have been awesome.

Just not the looks. Please.

Sn210 > Dunnik 04/10/2015 at 13:03

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I have crap LRR tires on mine, so every now and then it twitches, but it's not every time I accellerate either

nFamousCJ - Keeper of Stringbean, Gengars and a Deezul > Dunnik 04/10/2015 at 13:18

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Damn, I would not have guessed that to be an '08. Apparently they have aged pretty well.

Dunnik > nFamousCJ - Keeper of Stringbean, Gengars and a Deezul 04/10/2015 at 13:27

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What's even more impressive is that the design is actually from 2003. Here's the pre-production concept from that year, taken at the New York Autoshow. Pretty much identical to the production model.

The Real Dacia Sandero > Dunnik 04/10/2015 at 13:45

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An ex gf had one. They are really nice cars. Her's was an 04 that she had beat the shit out of, and it still felt good for being 10 years old and mistreated.

FromCanadaWithLove > Dunnik 04/10/2015 at 13:50

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Good things grow in Ontario.

Rico > Dunnik 04/10/2015 at 13:54

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Best Acura since the NSX. Glad you're enjoying yours, I was going to get this car but finding one that wasn't riced out or beat to shit was too hard :(