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Seen those Breathe Right strips? Sure, you might get some peculiar looks with one of these adhesive thingies flaring your nostrils like Seattle Slew in the final furlong, but they're based on good science. Better flow equals more air to your lungs, corpuscles, brain and muscles. The payoff? Improved performance, without all those pesky steroids.
Since an engine is essentially an air pump, that technique for hot-rodding your schnoz transfers intact, and Acura has used this to good effect in its TSX front-drive sports sedan that competes directly with cars like the Audi A4 2.0 T, BMW 325i and Lexus IS 250.
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</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Breathing changes for the car's 2.4-liter i-VTEC inline-4 are numerous. On the good-air side, bigger-diameter tubes in the intake ducting and a larger throttle body (from 60 mm to 64) are good for a 15-percent flow improvement alone. The high-rpm intake cam lobes are ground with more lift and duration, coupled with an increase in intake valve size (from 35 mm to 36).
Spent gases exit more easily too, thanks to a larger header downpipe, a high-flow catalytic converter and slightly upsized tubing aft of that. Even airflow beneath the pistons is optimized-the block is drilled longitudinally just below the cylinder bores to reduce cylinder-to-cylinder pumping pressures.
These changes make for an especially strong-running engine, at least at high revs...205 bhp at 7000 rpm, and 164 lb.-ft. of torque at 4500. Compare this with last year's TSX (200 bhp/6800 rpm; 166 lb.-ft./4500 rpm) and you'd have every right to say, "So what?" Yet 2006's ratings are obtained using the new SAE J1349 standard (see Tech Tidbits, November 2005) that yields somewhat lower numbers. In an apples-to-apples comparison, Acura people tell us, the new powerplant is about 13 bhp stronger.
The lean muscle in the engine room is backed up by a look that's more "cut," as the body builders like to say. A meaner-looking air dam now houses elliptical foglights, and new rocker-panel pieces and a rear fascia with a horizontal cleft above the twin exhaust tips help to visually lower the car. Light clusters front and rear don't change their outlines, but elements behind the lenses have an updated, more technical look. New 9-spoke 17-in. wheels-their design a nice mix of class and aggression-with Michelin P215/50R-17 MXM4 all-season tires complete the major changes.
Already possessing a relatively roomy, driver-oriented interior, the 2006 TSX improves on the theme with a satisfyingly chunky-rimmed 3-spoke steering wheel and cosmetic spiffs that include metallic accents for the dash and audio controls. Got an iPod? Now you can plug it into a jack in the center console and play it through the sound system. Are we there yet? Now Acura's navigation system, already highly rated by our staffers, gets a quicker processing time, enhanced voice recognition and will issue Zagat restaurant reviews on request. And a handy new trip computer can be found between the main dials of the LED-backlit main gauges.
That sporty interior with its great seats is no idle boast, as the TSX was and is a truly entertaining car, with crisp steering, decent grip and an eagerness to change direction...when you turn the wheel, that is. We'd hesitate checking the option box for the 5-speed automatic, though. While the engine is improved, 164 lb.-ft. of peak torque is not stellar for a 3200-plus-lb. sedan, and the silky-shifting 6-speed manual is much better at extracting the 4-cylinder's potential, especially as the lion's share of power/torque gains occur north of about 4500 rpm. Still, with either gearbox I wouldn't race for pinks with an Audi A4 2.0 T (at a properly sanctioned drag strip, of course).
Big fun, this TSX, if a tad torque-challenged at low rpm. It lives for its VTEC transition point where it pulls hard to 7100 rpm and makes throatier sounds through its more generously dimensioned pipes. The price of admission is not too much higher than last year, at $27,890, and $29,890 with the nav system. That alone should make Acura and Honda fans breathe a little easier.
source:http://www.roadandtrack.com/article.asp?section_id=6&article_id=3171
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Seen those Breathe Right strips? Sure, you might get some peculiar looks with one of these adhesive thingies flaring your nostrils like Seattle Slew in the final furlong, but they're based on good science. Better flow equals more air to your lungs, corpuscles, brain and muscles. The payoff? Improved performance, without all those pesky steroids.
Since an engine is essentially an air pump, that technique for hot-rodding your schnoz transfers intact, and Acura has used this to good effect in its TSX front-drive sports sedan that competes directly with cars like the Audi A4 2.0 T, BMW 325i and Lexus IS 250.
<!--
--><!--Global - 300x250 - Content Ad-->
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Breathing changes for the car's 2.4-liter i-VTEC inline-4 are numerous. On the good-air side, bigger-diameter tubes in the intake ducting and a larger throttle body (from 60 mm to 64) are good for a 15-percent flow improvement alone. The high-rpm intake cam lobes are ground with more lift and duration, coupled with an increase in intake valve size (from 35 mm to 36).
Spent gases exit more easily too, thanks to a larger header downpipe, a high-flow catalytic converter and slightly upsized tubing aft of that. Even airflow beneath the pistons is optimized-the block is drilled longitudinally just below the cylinder bores to reduce cylinder-to-cylinder pumping pressures.
These changes make for an especially strong-running engine, at least at high revs...205 bhp at 7000 rpm, and 164 lb.-ft. of torque at 4500. Compare this with last year's TSX (200 bhp/6800 rpm; 166 lb.-ft./4500 rpm) and you'd have every right to say, "So what?" Yet 2006's ratings are obtained using the new SAE J1349 standard (see Tech Tidbits, November 2005) that yields somewhat lower numbers. In an apples-to-apples comparison, Acura people tell us, the new powerplant is about 13 bhp stronger.
The lean muscle in the engine room is backed up by a look that's more "cut," as the body builders like to say. A meaner-looking air dam now houses elliptical foglights, and new rocker-panel pieces and a rear fascia with a horizontal cleft above the twin exhaust tips help to visually lower the car. Light clusters front and rear don't change their outlines, but elements behind the lenses have an updated, more technical look. New 9-spoke 17-in. wheels-their design a nice mix of class and aggression-with Michelin P215/50R-17 MXM4 all-season tires complete the major changes.
Already possessing a relatively roomy, driver-oriented interior, the 2006 TSX improves on the theme with a satisfyingly chunky-rimmed 3-spoke steering wheel and cosmetic spiffs that include metallic accents for the dash and audio controls. Got an iPod? Now you can plug it into a jack in the center console and play it through the sound system. Are we there yet? Now Acura's navigation system, already highly rated by our staffers, gets a quicker processing time, enhanced voice recognition and will issue Zagat restaurant reviews on request. And a handy new trip computer can be found between the main dials of the LED-backlit main gauges.
That sporty interior with its great seats is no idle boast, as the TSX was and is a truly entertaining car, with crisp steering, decent grip and an eagerness to change direction...when you turn the wheel, that is. We'd hesitate checking the option box for the 5-speed automatic, though. While the engine is improved, 164 lb.-ft. of peak torque is not stellar for a 3200-plus-lb. sedan, and the silky-shifting 6-speed manual is much better at extracting the 4-cylinder's potential, especially as the lion's share of power/torque gains occur north of about 4500 rpm. Still, with either gearbox I wouldn't race for pinks with an Audi A4 2.0 T (at a properly sanctioned drag strip, of course).
Big fun, this TSX, if a tad torque-challenged at low rpm. It lives for its VTEC transition point where it pulls hard to 7100 rpm and makes throatier sounds through its more generously dimensioned pipes. The price of admission is not too much higher than last year, at $27,890, and $29,890 with the nav system. That alone should make Acura and Honda fans breathe a little easier.
source:http://www.roadandtrack.com/article.asp?section_id=6&article_id=3171
