Hello strangers, i currently have a 2001 Acura TL with Navigation. im thinking should i go with the IS 300 or wait for the new 270 HP TL or buy the new 200 HP TSX from acura.
my main concern is what do i give up in terms of performance. my TL is pretty damn quick. i know people that have run 15.0 secs flat in the 1/4 with a totally stock TL

i live in colorado and the altitude at 6500 feet really sucks the HP out of any car. i had driven a IS 300 in 2001 before i bought my TL when the 5 speed was not an option on the Lex. now it is an option. i want to know how the cars compare stock verses stock. Acura verses Lex
i know this board will be biased towards the LEX but give it to me honestly, i mean my car is 225 hp and 216 lbs TQ has a 5 speed auto and i know the IS is slightly less. it may come down to weight and or the driver.
i think this comparason between the TL and the IS would be fairly close.

now to the Navi questions. my mom has a IS 300 in Florida. the NAVI in the IS300 seemed more graphical and i like that. i am an insurance salesman and i use the Navi a lot going to inspect property.
i have 2 questions.
1. is the navi any more detailed or have any better coverages than my Acura system?
2. is there any way to defeat the safty feature so you can program it while driving? mine allows me to do exactly that and i think it is stupid to have to stop to program it.

i drove her Auto trans IS300 in FL and was quite impressed only because i flew there and the added HP the lex or lack of HP my TL has at this altituse the LEX seemed a little faster than mine or very close.

i also had a salesman tell me a super charger is an option on the IS300 aftermarket and supposedly bumps the HP up another 75 HP. TQ?
what kinds of times do you guys get running stock and with a SC?
what did you pay for your stock or modded LEX, i really dont plan to be a racer with it i just dont want to give up too much of anything going to LEX i am a very Loyal Acura owner and it would take come serious talking to get me to change my mind.
TIA

 

Is that a TL-S or regular TL? It's hard to believe a regular TL will run that fast, unless it's a factory freak. IS300 5-spd has been proven to run 14.9, if you're a good driver. Generally, in a drag race, TL-S is a bit faster than IS300, which in turn is a bit faster than TL.

Yes there is. A quick search through the electronic forum will give you the answer. It involves installing a switch between the speed sensor wires.

If you're looking for aftermarket forced induction, you've come to the right car. The car can go anywhere from 270rwhp to over 600rwhp, depending on how much you want to spend. Turbo/super chargers kits are available from PLP, TBKO, PFS, Toyomoto, etc. But expect those to cost a lot more than a civic turbo kit.

 

yes i know hard to belive but it was a regular TL as there was no type S option when i bought mine. if there was a type s option available in 2001 i would be driving one.

what kind of HP / TQ can you expect from a IS with just bolt ons? do you think i would be happy with a totally stock one? it sounds like they are similar in proformance stock verses stock.

what have you guys ended up paying on a lease?
im paying 435 a month for the TL and im told now that they are having a special on the 2003 TL lease rates starting at 336 a month for a TL premimum and 365 a month for a type s. i dont know if that included a Navi or not.. as much as i hate to continue with the exact same car with the addition of the type S package the idea of saving about 50 a month and getting a new car seems attractive.
but i know ill kick myself in the *** if the 04 TL is everything it is roumered to be.

 

hey there, well, guess what, i had the acura tl-s (02) and now i don't have the car anymore, instead i have a gs4 and an is3 so i guess that says a lot.

basically in short, i have to say, the two cars are so different. the tlp is nice (the new tl coming out might be nice, but....), but it's not sport car. it's a sedan after all. i mod that thing too but it was no where fun. the is300 is a sport sedan, it's a call you can play with and never got bored.

i have is300 5 speed too, i don't think it's that much slower than my tls at all. the auto is slow, but the 5 speed isn't. and please keep in mind, no matter how much hp it has, the tl is still going to be fwd... imho it's horrible. drive a rwd car like the is300 and you will know what's real performance. the understeer is just bad

 

Hey rominl, i remember you from TL.com its been a long time and i thought i saw you still on acurafourms recently. so your a good guy to ask. i appreciat eht info. i guess im not necessarly saying i need a sports car. i kinda like the Luxary and i will agree the IS is a good amount of both but i honestly hate that ugly *** cyclops instrument cluster. it looks just like my watch. and i hate the red dash. the new TL and TSX both have the cool blue and white illumination. i guess that is a small thing but a pet peve nonetheless.
i agree with the RWD but remember i live in colorado it snows here and to be honest i have had RWD before in the snow and its no fun. im not saying i dont like the IS as for looks i love the exterior but the interor kinda screams CIVIC to me. its just kind of boring i think. pro's and cons, keep the comments comming.
i would be more interested to hear what a small budget can do to the IS with reguards to making it as fast as the new TL hopefully will be.

 

BTW on the TLS subject i have another option. the dealer tells me they can get me into a TL-S for about 369 a month under the special leasing program they have going to get rid o fthe old TL's to be honest from the day i got my 2001 i knew a 2002 Tupe S package was going to be available but 1 i couldnt wait that long and 2 i didnt think i was going to be able to afford it.

i would really like to get behind the wheel of the new TL but due to a transmission problem that i just had replaced is what is motivating me to get rid of the TL NOW! the replacement transmission lasted 3 miles from the dealer and the engine stalls when i stop. (happend 2 times) i dont need to get into all the details but lets say im less than pleased with the trans and i have a funny feeling that the funny noise it makes will be passed off as normal and i really dont think its normal.
anyway this is the reason for the urgent need to replace the car. i really know ill kick myself later if i just go the cheap route and get the 03 TL and hopefully save a little on my monthly payment (about 50 bucks) but still be looking at basically the same dash.

i love the looks of the TSX and the features inside are bomb and the new TL looks almost the same with the addition of the Blue tooth hands free kit. ( i already have an equipped phone and installed kit in my current TL) it would be nice to have this featire as part of the car, not to mention all the other toys the new TL is supposed to have.

270 HP is hard to ignore also. and to be honest i really like my TL have had no problems besided the trans since i owned it and knew it would just be a matter of time with all the reports of bad trannys i have heard about. ( for the record mine didnt fail just didnt sound right so befor i take a road trip i decided to get it replaced as a precaution) now i wish i had left the oldtrans in there as the new one seems worse than the one i had.
im so stuck i dont know what way to go..

 

oh serious though, if you want more luxury feel, the is3 might not be something you would be looking at. i have the gs4, which is on the luxury side already, so that's why i got the is3, i want a small sport car. to make the is3 as fast as the new tl it will take some work, dunno, to me intake and exhaust they are more for sound anyway. if you want to make the car fast, i would say some simple forced induction. the engine and tranny is strong enough to handle some boost.

also the nav MIGHT be an issue. i agree that the nav on lexus is a bit better graphic than the acura, but the is3 it's not touch screen, so you might think it's very troublesome. it's all up to you, i love the nav on my is3, but i have to agree that sometimes using that control **** takes practice.

yeah i am still on acuraworld.com, it's a nice place, good people to hang out with. i sold my car for the very same reason, the stupid tranny. it didn't go but was slipping already, and i didn't want to get into accidents, so traded it in for the is3.

and yeah, i hear you about the rwd. it might really be something you should consider as well. rwd in snow isn't necessarily fun

 

Maybe wait for the IS430 to come out! That's a monster ready to be tamed!!!

 

Actually i just purchased a 04 TSX 6 speed with Navigation, i was able to lease it for 440 a month which is 5 bucks more than i was paying for the TL. so everything is all taken care of now.
thanks anyways guys for the info

 

congrats on your purchase. perhaps you can debadge all the A badges in favor of genuine Euro R equipment?