Acura builds 345-horsepower RDX A-Spec for SEMA
10-31-18 | 10:54 AM
#1
Acura builds 345-horsepower RDX A-Spec for SEMA
The 2019 Acura RDX is great — a return to form for the sporty compact luxury crossover. So there's no real harm in giving one the SEMA treatment, especially since it entails a real motorsport tie-in and some legitimate performance parts. As for the giant graphics, well, it's SEMA after all.
Graham Rahal races for Honda in the IndyCar series, and he also has his own performance parts company — named, sensibly enough, Graham Rahal Performance — which he started in 2017. They sell some private-label bits manufactured by other companies to their spec, some off-the-shelf parts, and they do tuning and installation work on customer cars. Acura gave the job of building the SEMA RDX to Rahal.
There's a fair bit going on under the hood to get the RDX to 345 horsepower from the factory 272 ponies. The 2.0-liter turbo engine gets a bunch of enhancements. The turbo, intake, exhaust manifolds, downpipe, and cat-back (a GRP design) are all aftermarket. There's a customer intercooler, too. KTuning did the ECU with a custom map. On the handling front, the RDX wears Eibach springs, StopTech brakes, HRE wheels at 21 inches, and Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires.
The RDX started life as an A-Spec model in Apex Blue Pearl, and from there GRP applied carbon fiber garnish to the mirrors, grille accents, and lower fascia. Troy Lee Designs did the exterior graphics, and inside there's more carbon fiber and a custom steering wheel (courtesy of Max Papis's MPI Innovations shop).
Graham Rahal races for Honda in the IndyCar series, and he also has his own performance parts company — named, sensibly enough, Graham Rahal Performance — which he started in 2017. They sell some private-label bits manufactured by other companies to their spec, some off-the-shelf parts, and they do tuning and installation work on customer cars. Acura gave the job of building the SEMA RDX to Rahal.
There's a fair bit going on under the hood to get the RDX to 345 horsepower from the factory 272 ponies. The 2.0-liter turbo engine gets a bunch of enhancements. The turbo, intake, exhaust manifolds, downpipe, and cat-back (a GRP design) are all aftermarket. There's a customer intercooler, too. KTuning did the ECU with a custom map. On the handling front, the RDX wears Eibach springs, StopTech brakes, HRE wheels at 21 inches, and Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires.
The RDX started life as an A-Spec model in Apex Blue Pearl, and from there GRP applied carbon fiber garnish to the mirrors, grille accents, and lower fascia. Troy Lee Designs did the exterior graphics, and inside there's more carbon fiber and a custom steering wheel (courtesy of Max Papis's MPI Innovations shop).
10-31-18 | 11:01 AM
#2
Lead Lap
Joined: Mar 2013
Posts: 4,887
Likes: 698
From: IL
11-01-18 | 10:45 AM
#7
Lexus Fanatic
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 12,274
Likes: 296
From: ------
I am not into CUV's either but this looks like another article written by a immature 8th grader for Jalopnik, not sure how this or many of their articles qualify as automotive journalism.
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11-01-18 | 11:27 AM
#8
Lexus Champion
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 11,205
Likes: 11
From: The Woodlands, TX
...I think its a decent effort by Acura - I'd love to have a 345hp RDX! and no I wouldn't pay $60+K for an X3 m40i.
11-01-18 | 12:12 PM
#9
11-05-18 | 07:19 PM
#11
Lexus Test Driver
Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 5,139
Likes: 250
From: Long Island
i thought the section on who currently drives a new acura was pretty spot on about my parents, who currently lease the 2016 MDX lol
the salad, the color of the kitchen, the dinner cooked at home, the "honey should you really be eating that?" upon reaching for a dessert, all pretty damn spot on
i've been desperately nudging them toward a 2013 Land Cruiser (interior got worse after that) once the MDX is done but my mom "doesn't trust used cars" and they've leased the MDX since 2003, when it used to be a great car, but is now a poorly made ugly hearse looking grocery getter with an awful ZF 9 speed that couldn't even drive over a mild beach without getting stuck and having a tire go flat from sand getting in the bead seal
the salad, the color of the kitchen, the dinner cooked at home, the "honey should you really be eating that?" upon reaching for a dessert, all pretty damn spot on
i've been desperately nudging them toward a 2013 Land Cruiser (interior got worse after that) once the MDX is done but my mom "doesn't trust used cars" and they've leased the MDX since 2003, when it used to be a great car, but is now a poorly made ugly hearse looking grocery getter with an awful ZF 9 speed that couldn't even drive over a mild beach without getting stuck and having a tire go flat from sand getting in the bead seal
11-05-18 | 08:00 PM
#12
Intermediate
Joined: Jul 2018
Posts: 296
Likes: 17
From: Texas
Jalopnik has gone very downhill in the last few years. They somehow manage to throw politics into half of their articles now.
11-06-18 | 11:16 AM
#13
i blocked jalopnik from my news apps... absolutely stupid clickbait articles one after another... especially annoying are the "is this [really old crappy used car] for [some low price] a good choice?" type of articles.
back to the rdx... cool for acura to show a more powerful one, but i'm still shaking my head at that klingon-inspired center stack.
back to the rdx... cool for acura to show a more powerful one, but i'm still shaking my head at that klingon-inspired center stack.
07-27-19 | 06:43 AM
#14
I like what Acura is doing/trying to do here. I almost don't associate Acura with anything really sporty or exciting sans the outlier which is the NSX. Beyond the NSX the brand is bland, so this starts a bit of a sporty relevance conversation with Acura smack in the middle, if, and only if they can keep it up and add this excitement to the other models in their lineup.
