NorCalAcura

We have a Black/Ebony TL 6MT Navi right now with A-SPEC for sale.

From what I've read, the car goes a little faster, grip is improved.

98CoupeV6

It doesn't go any faster, the engine isn't modified at all. It accelerates better off the line due to the much superior grip of the summer tires, but those can be ordered on the HPT package. The point of the A-SPEC is the stiffer suspension, underbody kit and rims.

Palumb0

buying the TL very soon, hopefully before march starts.

norcalacura, i was wondering if you can find out if any acura dealers have a black on ebony sportshift A-Spec with no navi around the area of the 818, 626, or 323 (all in los angeles area)

they havent been responding to my e-mails =\

GO_TL

Not exactly true. The HPT package is not a 'package'. It is a dealer installed option which simply swaps the TLs stock tires with P235/45R17 93W Bridgestone Potenza High-Performance tires. These tires are superb on dry roads and piss poor in wet or icy conditions.

The A-SPEC package is truely a package and includes, among other things, Yokohama 235/40VR18 95W high performance tires and 18in rims. The Yokohama tire on the A-SPEC package is a very good all-season performer with an agressive tread that grips the road in most weather conditions.

DO NOT get these two tires confused. The HPT tire would not handle well in severe weather conditions. It would be like trying to dance on gorilla snot!!!

You are right. The suspension is nice and tight with the A-SPEC. This is a blessing because all the torque created by 270 horses on a front-wheel drive car makes agressive cornering difficult at best. It doesn't help braking either but the Brembo 4-caliper brakes on the front ( installed on all TL 6-speeds ) gives better than adequate stopping power.

NorCalAcura

Car and Driver's roadtest results indicated .3 faster 0-60 and shorter stopping as well as better grip. Tires, suspension, and lowering did it. Even though the engine was not touched the result is 0-60 in 5.7 not 6.0 as in regular TLs.

98CoupeV6

...and that's where you're wrong. The Potenzas are extremely competant in wet conditions, much more so than all seasonals. You're talking to a person that has $600 tires on in the summer...Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3. I know my stuff about tires, and the fact is that the Potenzas on the HPT are an extremely good value. The Yokohamas on the A-SPEC are all seasonals that have very good grip, but you'd have to be insane to drive them on roads that have more than a dusting of snow on them. High performance all seasons comrpomise snow traction for dry traction, but not to the extreme that summer tires do. I prefer two sets of tires for both seasons.

And it's a package if I want to call it a package, because it really makes no difference.

98CoupeV6

It's asinine to compare acceleration differences between two different tests on two different cars. All cars will have different outputs, and weather/road conditions greatly affect acceleration. Just FYI. But .3 seconds sounds about right.

0-whatever is the only place where the tires will make a measurable difference. But from personal experience I can tell you they make a world of difference in driving feel.

GO_TL

OK. Where to begin picking your little ass apart? First, you are right, you can call it a package if you want. Makes no difference to me. But you have a responsibility to be accurate when posting on a message board where potentially hundreds of people come seeking information. They are making what is going to be an important decision about there automobile. So, the distinction is; if the manufacturer doesn't classify it as a package then it is not a package. Whatever it is to you personally is not important.

Secondly, congrats on dropping 600 clams on some $hitty Goodyear tires. I'm glad you're doing your part to get us out of this recession. And you might want to double check the 'stuff' you know about tires. The Potenza RE030 that Acura installs on the TL as the high performance 'summer' tires DEALER INSTALLED OPTION ( Acura even includes the word summer for morons like you just to drive the point home that you should not drive on these tires in extreme weather conditions ) performs BEST in dry conditions and can be down right dangerous in snow or heavy rain. Below are a couple of customer comments on an online tire seller's website regarding these tires:

+ I like these tires but the only down fall is they are not that great in the snow. I would recommend people to get them but not if they get alot of snow in there area.

+ really like these tires! On dry pavement they corner like champs, and its very hard to make them squeal... Id highly recommend them to anyone who lives in California! They certainly are not for someone who would track their car or drive in lots of rain/snow!

I guess these people are all wrong, huh? And your right? Right? I know what these tires are capable of and when your dealer tells you, "Man, you better watch it in the rain with these tires", you should take their advice.

I guess you missed my point though because you're original post was correct for the most part (there's a shocker). The overall issue is that the high performance tire package (There...I called it a package. happy?) is a different tire altogether from the tire included with the A-SPEC package. The two are not one in the same.

98CoupeV6

Are you a dumbass?

I never said the HPT tires were good in the snow. In fact, I'd imagine there're just about as good as bald tires. My GS-D3's are absolutely awful in any sort of snow. Your dealer is wrong about the Potenzas being bad in the rain. Plain and simple. I can tell you from person experience, something neither you or him have. "extreme weather conditions" means snow, not rain. Are you one of those dumbasses that goes half as slow when it sprinkles out? My Goodyears are absolutely amazing in rain, and the Potenza S-03's I had before them were stellar but not as good as my current tires. Unless the Potenzas on the HPT are absolutely terrible, which I highly doubt. From my experience, summer tires are incredibly competant in the rain. I've done 80+ MPH safely in heavy heavy rain downpours with both my GS-D3s and SP9000s, and my GS-D3's have similiar lap times in the wet to the dry. Pretty impressive.

I'd like to know why you seem to think I said that both the A-SPEC and HPT tires are the same. Learn some reading comprehension. My other point is that the A-SPEC tires suck in the snow, even though they're all seasonals, because of their agressive tread pattern and heavy compromise towards dry performance. They'll do okay in the snow up to a certain extent, but I 'd be scared to drive in over an inch of it.

And way to call my Goodyears shitty. This shows how much of an utter moron you are. EVO magazine named them the best maximum performance tire (AKA the best of the best class), and they're the #1 rated tire on www.tirerack.com. When you do some research and have personal experience instead of talking out of your ass, come back and talk to me.

NorCalAcura

'HPT' is a package and is sent from the factory that way. You can add the tires on your own.