Team Acura Parts Blog

For over two decades, the very first Japanese luxury line of Acura has been establishing the quality design and engineering, which are evident in its models. A company cannot last this long if not for the well-crafted vehicles it can offer. Behind the remarkable vehicles of Acura are well-researched concepts especially for the Acura vehicle’s parts.

As the first Japan-made luxury vehicle sold in the United States, Acura has to sustain its consistency especially in the performance of every model it manufactures. The steadiness of every Acura vehicle truly exudes what Japanese ingenuity is all about. A year after its debut in the industry, the Japanese performance brand has already won several awards including Import Car of the Year given by Motor Trend. On that same year, the model Acura Integra pocketed the Car and Driver’s Ten Best List title.

The luxury line goes beyond the exterior as the innermost parts are all beefed up starting from the engine. All Acura models have been geared with the VTEC engine. This technology unique to this brand is responsible in the high-performing Acura engines. Aside from the powerful engine, the VTEC technology enhances fuel efficiency of the engine and still manages to produce remarkable energy outputs at higher velocities.

Acura vehicles are also geared with other supplemental finds such as the Drive-by-Wire Throttle System which are usually race cars staples. There is also the Super Handling All-Wheel Drive (SH-AWD) system. Another important innovation of Acura is the safety features like the Advanced Compatibility Engineering (ACE). The ACE technology is directly installed in the frame of the vehicle and improves car protection.

Team i-MOTO drivers Nick Wittmer and Kuno Wittmers, who were driving an Acura TSX, dominated the Grand Prix De Trois-Rivieres race from the beginning down to the last stretch yesterday.

The no.31 Acura TSX remained in the driver’s seat of the speed battle held in the French-speaking province of Quebec in Canada. The Wittmers enjoyed the first lap advantage with a 30-second cushion over other participants. Piloting the Honda-produced Acura TSX, the duo almost fell behind because of the periodical scheduled pit stops, but the Wittmers still managed to steer the vehicle into the winning column. The Acura TSX crossed the finish line and clocked in at 28.446 seconds and left behind its wheels the Billy Johnson and Karl Thomson-driven no.76 Kensai Racing Acura TSX. Taking the last podium slot was the no. 95 Turner Motorsport BMW 330i which was driven by Adam Burrows and Trevor Hopwood. One of the not so fortunate racers are Koni Challenge-staple Tom Long and team owner Glenn Bocchino, who were behind another Acura TSX under no. 32, as the duo settled for a decent 10th place finish.

Team i-MOTO’s future looks brighter with the win. Not only that, Nick Wittmer bagged the third spot, while Bocchino took the fifth in the Driver’s point’s standings. The Acura vehicles, on the other hand, were given the highest place in the Manufacturer point’s standings, thanks to these vehicles high-performing parts.

With only two speed battles left this season, the i-MOTO racing team has a brighter future ahead. The team will sure to see a lot of action in another racing event that will be held at Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah this coming September 14.

Race teams geared up with Acura vehicles like the Andretti Green Racing Team managed to make decent finishes in the weekend ninth leg of the Grand Prix of Mosport’s American Le Mans Series (ALMS).

Amongst the men behind the Acura models, Marino Franchitti and Bryan Herta, who are members of the Andretti Green Racing Team, successfully steered the no. 26 XM Satellite Radio Acura ARX-01a prototype to a third place finish in the American Le Mans Series. The Andretti Green Racing tandem of Franchitti and Herta were aiming for a top podium finish in the speed event, but was greatly challenged by strong contenders Penske Porsches on the fast 2.45-mile of the Mosport International Raceway race track. The Radio Acura ARX-01a prototype fought hard in the 45-minute contest and raced wheel-to-wheel with the Penske machines, which have six straight titles in the ALMS events overall. At the end of the of the Grand Prix of Mosports speed battle, the Andretti tandem of Franchitti and Herta settled for a decent third.

“The XM Acura was awesome today and I think we had the measure of the Penske Porsches today, but we had a couple of little electronic issues which took a few laps for me to work out,” said Franchitti. “We lost the dash and other lights but we were keeping [Romain] Dumas honest. I think we actually had a faster car but it is very difficult to pass here. The Acura ARX-01a chassis was fantastic and the AGR guys had the car right on the money today.”

Another Acura vehicle, which was a Lowes Team entry, almost pocketed a podium finish last weekend, but unfortunately faltered down the stretch of the American Le Mans Series and took the eighth to sixth finish. The no. 15 Acura, which was driven by Luis Diaz and Adrian Fernandez, suffered from an errant piece of bodywork for another race car. The misplaced body part got stuck in the front of this Acura vehicle and had to be removed on a pit stop.

The next Grand Prix of Mosport’s ALMS speed war is set on the first day of September in Detroit.

The excellent rating in the latest Side Impact Collision Evaluation (SICE) adds to the existing respectable rating for IIHS’ frontal offset crash test for the Acura RL.  As additional proof of the RL’s safety performance is the 5-Star rating—the highest rating possible—in all three of the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) governmental ratings tests that include frontal and side impact crash tests, as well as a rollover rating.

The thorough SICE test conducted by the IIHS is expressed with performance ratings of good, acceptable, marginal, or poor. These ratings are based on a crash test in which a barrier designed to represent the front end of a typical SUV or pickup truck strikes the tested vehicle in the side at 31 mph.

The key factors that greatly contributed to the RL’s outstanding NHTSA and IIHS crash test ratings are its Advanced Compatibility Engineering (ACE) body structure. This unique body structure of the Acura RL serves for added protection and improved compatibility in frontal crashes. Aside from this, the most recent generation of dual-stage, dual-threshold front airbags for the driver and front passenger, side airbags also for the driver and front passenger, plus side curtain airbags for all outboard occupants also contributed a lot for the RL to have a five star rating.

The 2008 lineup of Acura presents five distinctive models including the RL luxury performance sedan, the TL performance luxury sedan, the TSX sports sedan, the turbocharged RDX luxury crossover SUV and the award-winning MDX luxury sport utility vehicle.

When the year 2006 came, the RL made history by being the first Acura vehicle to be able to offer an optional Collision Mitigation Braking System (CMBS).  This feature is considered to be a revolutionary safety technology, which monitors the potential rear-end collisions. It makes use of audio, visual and tactile signals in order to alert drivers of the risk of collision. It assists in brake operation as well as the tension in front seatbelts. In so doing, it helps reduce impact on occupants and vehicle damage, in such circumstances where the collision become unavoidable. Unlike other pre-collision systems, the CMBS automatically applies the brakes to mitigate the severity of a collision.

The CMBS system monitors the distance between the RL and the car directly in front of it up to a distance of 300 feet and the rate of closure between the two vehicles with the use of a millimeter-wave radar unit located inside the front grille. In case the closing rate increases to a point where a collision is likely to occur, the system uses visual, and olfactory warnings to set off the driver to take preventative action. Basing on the driver’s response, the system will then determine if the possibility of a collision has decreased to an acceptable level. If so, the CMBS system will disengage. However, if response of the driver does not sufficiently reduce the risk of a collision, the system will issue a secondary warning. This consists of audible, visual and tactile elements as well as light braking, to alert the driver to take action.

And when the closing rate increases so much that a collision already becomes unavoidable, the CMBS can initiate hard braking to reduce the vehicle’s speed. This also strengthens the tension on the driver’s and front passenger’s seatbelts, which help reduce the gravity of the crash.

The Acura TL 2007 Type-S mid-size luxury sedan has been freshened in order to provide more comfort for its passengers. The most mind-blowing enhancing of it comes in its power department. It comes equipped with a powerful 3.5-liter V-6 engine with 286 horsepower. This powerful engine gives the new Acura 2007 TL Type-S the capacity to respond instantly at high and even low revs. With such power at hand, driving on the streets would pretty much feel more like a glide. Not to mention, you can easily navigate the vehicle out of harm’s way. When out on the highway, the new Acura TL allows you to have a safe distance from a car on the front that would be hitting your front bumper in the process of changing lanes.

The sporty feel of the tested TL Type-S with a five-speed automatic was dramatically enhanced by the presence of Formula One racing-style paddle shifters on the steering wheel. This allows the driver to go full automatic or operate in semi-manual mode with one’s hands doing the shifting chores –no clutch necessary. With the Type-S, it was easy to zip onto the highway with plenty of space to spare for the driver and the quick-moving truck.

It can run uphill in a snap. The Type-S can be maneuvered easily. It almost is ridiculously effortless. In other words, the Type-S designation represents a superb resurrection and not merely an upgrade. The Type-S has been out of the TL lineup for three years. With this year’s comeback of the Type-S, it has lumped into an overall TL package. It is being welcomed in market better now than ever.

The TL Type-S has been restyled inside and out compared with the 2006 TL package. The 2007 edition exterior is sporty yet a bit understated. With the newest TL from Acura, one gets an appealing, rounded shape that cuts through the air nicely. It has just the right air. With the TL, there is no over-the-top pieces of hardware stuck on, which seems to shout. The newest TL is has a sporty outlook, but it chooses to remain subtly so.

On the Acura 2007 TL Type S’ interior, one will find its leather seating surfaces to be highly comfortable. Aside from this, its dual-zone climate control does a good job of matching up with the desired temperature of its occupants. Unlike other systems that always seem to be about 10 degrees higher/lower than what you actually dial up, the Acura 2007 TL Type S makes it a point to be accurate about this. The new Type S is keen on the comfort of its passengers that it provides superior interior quietness. Even when the Acura’s V-6 accelerates, the engine noise is guaranteed to stay outside of the vehicle.

As for the controls, the center stack of controls is nicely laid out and easy to understand. It even has some state-of-the-art technology perks which includes a plug-in for your iPod, a satellite-linked navigation system, Acura’s so-called HandsFreeLink system (a driver can dial a Bluetooth-enabled mobile phone by voice) and the AcuraLink satellite communication system that offers real-time traffic conditions. It has eight speakers linked to the usual tune-playing devices.

Side-impact crash tests of luxury sedans by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, a U.S. insurance industry, showed the Acura RL, along with the Kia Amanti and Volvo S80 had the highest safety rating.

The tests conducted were designed to reveal what would happen if a truck or sport utility vehicle (SUV) struck the side of the sedan at 31 mph, the estimated speed of a serious crash. According to the statistics, side-impact crashes killed around 9,000 people on U.S. roads in 2005 and are the most common type of fatal crash next to a frontal crash.

“Growing sales of SUVs and pickups have exacerbated height mismatches among passenger vehicles, thereby increasing the risks to occupants of many vehicles struck in the side,” Insurance Institute President Adrian Lund said in a news release.

The Acura RL is geared with a comprehensive array of the latest technologies to enhance active safety (accident avoidance) and passive safety (crash safety performance). It has features like Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA) with traction control, heightened handling agility, SH-AWD and ABS enhance accident avoidance capability in the RL. In case of collisions, the Advanced Compatibility Engineering (ACE) body structure of the RL is designed to provide a protective cocoon for its passengers if it occurs with a different sized vehicle (a truck, SUV, etc.). The inside, side, side curtain and dual-stage front air bag systems work together with sophisticated restraint systems to minimize injury to passengers especially in considerable impacts.

From a brand that is keen on safety, the new technology that is featured in the 2007 RL makes it one of the most comprehensively equipped vehicles in North America.

Acura enthusiasts are sure to have a good traffic with the XM NavTraffic service that will be available as a factory-installed feature on new 2008 models. Acura MDX, RDX, RL, TL will all have XM NavTraffic as a feature.

The XM NavTraffic’s real-time satellite information service for GPS navigation will add 29 new markets, providing XM NavTraffic subscribers in the U.S. access to real-time traffic data in a total of 79 major and secondary North American markets. This began since July 31st of 2007. Aside from this, four current markets will also have the benefit of increased traffic data coverage within their respected metro areas.

The 29 new XM NavTraffic markets include: Albany, NY; Albuquerque, NM; Allentown, PA; Birmingham, AL; Dayton, OH; Grand Rapids, MI; Greenville, SC; Greensboro, NC; Harrisburg, PA; Lancaster-York, PA; Syracuse, NY; Little Rock, AR; Louisville, KY; Mobile, AL; Naples, FL; New Orleans, LA; Oklahoma City, OK; Omaha, NE; Lincoln, NE; Colorado Springs, CO; Tulsa, OK; Portsmouth, NH; Raleigh, NC; Richmond, VA; Rochester, NY; Spokane, WA; Toledo, OH; Tucson, AZ; and Wilkes Barre, PA. Acura drivers in the abovementioned cities will be able to learn about traffic incidents such as road closures, accidents, or construction as they happen in real-time.

“Thousands of drivers have been relying on XM NavTraffic to route around traffic, reducing the time they spend behind the wheel. We’re pleased to expand this convenient service to an additional 29 new markets,” said Roderick MacKenzie, XM’s VP of Advanced Applications and Services.

Having access to XM NavTraffic via the Acura vehicle means that Acura users improves on their riding comfort and get to save time as well.

The RL can be tagged as “Acura’s flagship 4-door sedan.”  It was redesigned for the 2005 model year and incorporated an array of high-tech features such as the Super Handling All-Wheel Drive System (SH-AWD).  This feature, as all-wheel-drive systems are, enhances the grip of the wheel on slippery surfaces. This features comes in extra handy on rainy days and when the Christmas season approaches and one has to drive even if snow is all over the place. It works this way: if the front wheels start to spin on snow, for instance, the AWD transfers some power to the rear wheels. Acura’s SH-AWD is the first that also transfers power preferentially to the left- or right-side rear wheels during slipping and cornering, reducing the slow-to-follow back end’s understeer.

On the other hand, when accelerating through a right turn, Acura’s system will redirect up to 70 percent of the total torque to the left rear wheel. This will help the vehicle do that corner whip around the turn. The Acura SH-AWD is the only AWD system that saves vehicle users from bad conditions while enhancing the vehicle’s driving ability as well.

The Acura RL of 2007, aside from also having the SH-AWD feature adds two new optional Technology Packages. One package includes features such as the Acura Satellite Navigation and AcuraLink with Real Time Traffic, Active Front Lighting and an upgraded wood interior. As for the other package, it includes Acura’s Collision Mitigation Braking System (CMBS) that uses a radar unit to detect vehicles ahead and monitor potential rear-end collisions and Michelin PAX System run-flat tires.