Tuesday

Once we were all slept in on Tuesday and felt rested up, we decided to head over to the track to see what was going on in Tuesday’s class.  We figured it would be a good chance to see the cars on the track and take some pictures so we wouldn’t have to worry about carrying our cameras around when we were driving on Wednesday.  This proved to be a good choice.

It turned out that the class that we were “crashing” was the one held for the American Honda VIPs.  There were less people attending and we were free to look over the cars at our leisure and take all the pictures we wanted.  The real treat was at the end of the regular session, they were giving the VIPs rides in the TSX on the 2 mile superspeedway!  We followed so we could take pictures as they took turns running hot laps around the high speed oval, all the while wishing we could somehow get in one of the cars to experience the thrill of a track I’ve only seen on TV.  One of my coworkers must have been looking real sad, since one of the VPs at Honda told Joe, “you three… you’re from Hawaii right?  Well, grab a helmet and get in line and take a lap!”  I couldn’t believe our luck!  This was something none of the other Ride and Drive participants would get to experience! 

As you know, I have some track experience and feel that I’m a pretty confident driver, but lapping on a banked oval is different than anything I’ve ever experienced.  For one thing, the g-forces are pushing down on you when in the corner (because of the banking), where as on a flat track, you feel it pushing you sideways.  The feeling of speed is somewhat muted because of the size of the facility, but when I look at my video and see the walls and fencing rushing by 2 feet from my door, it really shows how fast we were traveling.  How fast was that?  Well, I could see 130 MPH in the middle of the banked turn 1, and the car was perfectly poised.  On the straights, we may have been close to the car’s top speed of 145 MPH.  The thing that impressed me was how stabile the car felt as we flew through the corners.  The instructor’s hands were “rock steady” on the wheel with no need for corrections.  This gave me more confidence as I looked at the skid marks on the track leading up the wall!  Fortunately we didn’t make any new ones.

Wednesday

When we returned to the track on Wednesday for our scheduled Ride and Drive, we were not expecting to be able to duplicate the thrill of Tuesday’s track experience, but we would now get our turn at the wheel of the TSX and its expected competitors.   Acura had an Audi A4, Volvo S40 and Lexus IS 300 for evaluation.  The “stations” they had set up were TSX Adrenaline Lap (timed Gymkhana), Classroom Sessions, Experience the Competition.  As usual we were split up into four groups, and each group went off to their designated area to begin the competition.  That’s right competition!  Each group would get points in the classroom sessions as well as some of the driving sessions and in the end a prize would be awarded.

Gymkhana

Two groups (including mine) were heading to the Adrenaline Lap, and I immediately thought that I’d rather go later in the day after the track had some of the fine pebbles swept off the racing line.  The rules for the timed section were simple: we’d get two tries, but if you knock over a cone you’re disqualified.  If you are unable to stop inside the “stop box” at the end of your run, your time is disqualified.  My riding partner was our District Representative Jim, and he went first.  This would give me a chance to see the car run from the passenger seat and get a feel for how fast it could take some of the corners.  If I remember correctly, Jim was pulling low 31’s in his first two runs.  On my first try, I managed to get a 30.40 but stopped about a foot out of the box so the time didn’t count.  The instructor thought it was my second run and I had to tell him it was my first try before he let me go again!  On the second try, I made one small mistake (that I’m aware of) and got on the brakes a split second sooner to stay in the box and clicked off a 29.45.  This would hold up as the best time in our group.  Shades of the RSX Ride and Drive…

In our classroom session they talked about some of the signature technologies that make the TSX unique in our lineup.  This was the first car to feature a Magnesium Alloy transmission case for the new 6-speed manual.  It also features Aluminum Alloy rear hub carriers (these also hold the disc brakes and is where the suspension mounts to) for less un-sprung weight to improve handling.  Inside the engine you’ll find Forged Connecting rods and a Forged crankshaft.   For more details, you can click here to move to pages re-printed from Acura “White Papers” on the car.

Experience the Competition

When we were filtering out of the Classroom session heading to the Experience the Competition tent, we compared times with the second two groups coming in from the Gymkhana and my time was officially the fastest for the morning class and faster than anything from the day before.  The quick time earned a few extra points for my team in the points competition.

In the Experience Tent we were allowed to look over an IS 300 and an A4 along with the 6-Speed TSX.  As we crawled around the cars we were able to see the strengths and weaknesses of the interior designs of all three cars.

I found the Audi is pretty cramped in the back seat, you can barely get your feet through the space in the rear doorway and this is exaggerated if the front seats are moved rearward to any large degree.  Although the design and styling of he interior were attractive, the fit and finish of the door and instrument panels were poorer than I expected.  There were odd ergonomic things like no lumbar support, and the need to open the arm rest to use your cup holders.

The Lexus on the other hand, had a busy dash design, and the feel of the controls were below my expectations.  Everything felt “plasticky” with a lot of play in all the dash controls and switch gear.  I also found the suede-like trim on the seats was quite a step down compared to the feel of the TSX leather. 

The TSX handily won this round of the competition.

Driving the cars

Driving the four cars back to back was a valuable experience and one that most consumers are unlikely to ever have a chance to do.  When you look at what I’ve written below, it is important to note that my criteria for judging cars puts performance first, luxury second, value third (maybe value is a close second…) My personal preferences are as follows:

5^th place:  Volvo S40

Maybe I have a pre-disposition against Volvos.  Maybe it’s because I’ve been held up one too many times in the fast lane by a Volvo trundling along at 54 mph with the driver fearfully clutching the steering wheel.  Maybe the car is simply lacking in few redeeming qualities!  Despite the lowest weight in the group, and the second torquiest engine, it felt the most sluggish off the line.  I don’t think it’s a case of turbo lag, (because boost seemed to come on pretty early) but more like a feeling that the car was never running in the power band. 

When it came time to cut a few apexes, things went from bad to worse!  This car really plowed.  We’re talking Big Understeer and lots of body roll and brake dive.  The slow steering rack ratio meant that quick transitions required frantic hand movement to negotiate a sharp corner.  This, my friends is the “Buick” of small cars.  I ranked this 5^th place because for me, walking would be 4^th.

3^rd place: Audi A4

Our 2 wheel drive Audi A4 was equipped with their Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT).  This type of transmission uses a “chain” that allows step less transitions and a wide range of gear ratios.  In theory, this should allow the car to provide stunning acceleration by using an ultra low “first gear” to multiply the available torque.  In practice the car suffered from a non-linear throttle pedal.  The car also has a drive-by-wire throttle, and I suspect it has been programmed to offer a gentle throttle opening to make smooth driving easier.  In a performance situation, this made the car feel more sluggish.  I’m sure that in a 0-60 run, it would produce credible times, but I suspect the 0-30 times would be pretty poor. 

On the handling front, the Audi felt solid and composed.  Getting the car off the corners took some time to get accustomed to, since you have to plan your throttle application to compensate for the throttle/transmission lag.  It could have posted similar lap times to the TSX if only it had similar power.  Personally I could have used a quicker steering ratio, but overall the car handled well.

2^nd Place: Lexus IS 300

You’re thinking that because I work at Acura, I won’t come right out and say that the IS 300 is a better car than the TSX.  Well it isn’t a better car.  It only performs better in certain situations.  Here’s my reasoning.  On the track, the IS 300 will probably lap quicker in the hands of an experienced driver.  I’m talking experienced with rear wheel drive. 

With the Lexus, throttle tip in was excellent and immediate.  There was lots of torque, and the car felt pretty peppy as we got off the line.  The brakes on our test car were another story.  The brakes felt mushy with little pedal feel, and the ABS kicked in all too soon.  As I hit the brakes in the stop box, I felt the ABS engage, but the pedal continued to move to the end of its travel!  I’m not sure if it was just our test cars, or if they are all this way, but I can assure you it did not inspire confidence.  The sad part is that most prospective owners would never get a chance to feel how unpleasant this was on the short test drives most of us use (unless they happen to practice a panic stop). 

As I pitched the car into the corners, it tracked pretty flat, but the Lexus has a tendency to oversteer at the limit and this is exaggerated if the road surface is uneven (like real roads).  You’ll need more experience with RWD than you can get on a Playstation if you want to drive this car quickly at the limit.  Unfortunately this is something you cannot get on the street (legally anyway).  I actually had to flick in a bit of opposite lock when I was going through the sweeper not necessarily a handling trait you want if the roads are damp!

1^st Place: Acura TSX

In the Acura TSX, throttle response was lively, the engine does not feel as torquey as the IS300, but it’s smooth and linear from idle to redline.  This could be the smoothest 4 cylinder on the planet.  The exhaust note is muted and mostly unnoticed except at full throttle and at higher RPMs when it takes on a throaty snarl. The car seems to know when to be silent and when to “kick it up a notch”!  The steering is nicely weighted, with no torque steer and no unpleasant kickback. 

The TSX handling was neutral in low to medium speed corners, but naturally it understeers at the limit.  One of the things I really liked was the feeling of stability in the corners.  There was a little body roll in the steady state corners, but remember that I drive and S2000.  To me, most cars have a lot of body roll.  The transient response was excellent, as we maneuvered through the slaloms, the car was easy to quickly get into a rhythm.  Braking performance was also superb, lots of pedal feel, and the ABS didn’t “jump in” too soon.  Dynamically, this car could rival the IS300 in the hands of the right driver. 

Driving Verdict

OK, so why the TSX first?  After all, the car nut in me likes some aspects of the IS 300 performance, but the rational part of me likes everything else about the TSX better.  In its own way, the TSX will be close enough on the track to make it a driver’s race; it just requires a different driving style than the IS300.  This skill can be learned.  For those not interested in pushing the performance envelope, the TSX would allow them to drive the TSX with more confidence because of its more stabile nature. 

Price will eventually enter into everyone’s equation, and the price/value ratio for all Acura products has always been a strong point in our cars.  A quick look at the features that are standard on the TSX vs. optional on all the intended competition, and the strengths become more apparent. 

In Summary

The Acura Ride and Drive was once again a valuable learning tool for us.  It provided an opportunity to drive the competitions cars in a controlled environment back to back with our new TSX.  As a prize for setting the fastest time, I won a TSX mini tool kit.  It was a nice token gift, but nowhere near as nice as the RSX jacket I won for the fast time at that Ride and Drive.  Thinking it would make a nice thing to keep in the trunk of my car, I slipped it into my bag as we rushed through traffic to get from Fontana to LAX.  Once there, we were getting our e-tickets and going through the screening when the tool kit set off all kinds of alarms.  Apparently it is no longer acceptable to take such items in your carry on luggage.  They must have been afraid that I’d try to dismantle the airplane while in flight.  Anyway, I needed to go back around, check the bag in cargo, and then go through the screening again!  Damn, I almost missed our flight and just got to the gate as my row was boarding.