F**cking heat soak!
 

So today here in Ottawa, Canada the temperature was 115 f with the humidity (45C with the humidex...

I have never experienced "heat soak/loss of hp and torque" or whatever this problem is like I did today. The car was ridiculously slow, Like a 40 percent loss of torque and horsepower. This car drives me crazy, so I have some questions...

Does this happen to other cars or everyone's cars?

If I had a CAI vs a SRI how much of a difference would it really make, or would it still be loss of hp and torque?

Is this a tranny problem as it seems when the engine is hot and so is the weather, the car shifts slower from 1st,2nd,3rd,4th,5th even though I have a AT. It is fine in the spring, winter, and fall....

Would relocating the "sensor" fix this problem?

could this be a recall issue I do not know about since I have never received any recall info in the mail?

There are a couple HUGE threads talking about this right here in this forum maybe you should look around?

Our car performs bad in hot weather.

https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-2004-2008-93/tl-has-so-much-fail-hot-weather-774931/

All cars fail in hot humid weather.

i didnt learn much from any of the threads on this heat soak situation...is there a recall for this? and what the hell is TB bypass?

I want to contact acura about this im so pissed!

+1

The TB bypass is where you reroute the coolant lines going into the throttle body, back into the motor. It's easy, but not sure if I reccomend it since you live in Canada and it gets pretty cold up there. :dunno:

It was about 100 here today. Maybe I'm slow, but my car felt completely the same as normal. Is it possible heat soak only affects some of our cars?

Yea, most cars will be effected by hot humid weather. Some more so than most, I feel it more than most people as I live in southwest florida which is one of the hottest/most humid parts of the US, and I would REALLY feel it in my turbo miata. A 40% loss seems like a large exaggeration, either that or there's something really wrong, you'll never lose anywhere close to that much hp just from the heat.

The coolant reroute isn't recommended for cars in areas that experience freezing temperatures since it prevents the TB from sticking. Most likely wouldn't be a problem but IMO not worth the risk for merely a few extra hp, but I did do it on the miata since it rarely gets below 40F here.

ok so I won't be doing that...lol...what about removing the cowling by the hood popper? know what I mean? will that help..

I called acura canada and Im going to give this a shot, I told them about the issue and how so many people on this site are having it, i also told them it stopped my from buying a 09 tl for my fiance...we will see what they say!

Do you have a SRI now... and no I'm not stalking you ... just asking a question .

I have a AEM CAI and we hit 100+ F here a lot but not high humidity and I don't suffer much of a loss at all.

A SRI will suffer more because it is basically a HAI.

Dave, where'd you get this idea?????
if you go back and read where you got this idea from, it will say it HELPED with heat soak. you don't need to make threads on the same subject when it was already covered in the first place.

And I don't think threatening them will work....they are a big corp. and you are merely one person....

btw im not stalking you either^ LOL at jess

Cowling by the hood popper.. what does that mean? lol

^search for the ultimate cooling mod, it will explain everything

I have looked at the ultimate cooling mod but i live in canada where it snows and gets ice cold so i dont know if drilling holes in the wiper cowling would be practical, samemwotu removing the air diverters.

you could temporarily pop your hood by its hinges? as if you had an intake manifold spacer from the 3.7 UA9? As for ca-intakes, i used to have one before i sold the car; i thought it helped, and in all honesty during drives, the pipe was noticeably COLDER than the engine bay. but some people say that the factory air box is actually best? meh...not sure where i stand on that. for future reference, wrapping helps a little bit (but not much) and hood popping does wonders (in my book). also, the intake manifold spacer that i mentioned before does some good as well (intake manifold is cool to the touch from my experience). it didn't solve my heatsoaking issue, but it helped significantly.

I kind of felt the same loss of power with my s4 yesterday.
It was around 102 degrees so I guess Acura's arent the only cars to experience this.

.

All I know is the TL is the worst heat soaked car I have ever felt. It's really that bad.....

I am thinking maybe getting a hood with a hood scoop if they exist, or maybe even a new aftermarket front bumper that has more air inlet's to cool the engine...

I find that the TL may have this problem because 1, it runs to hot and 2, their is not much air being drawn into the front bumper...

the only problem is the hood scoop, wouldn't water snow ice etc...get sucked in?

Its the water/antifreeze that cools the engine ... what your needing to do is cool the air "entering" the engine. Cooling the air entering the engine will have more of an effect than cooling the air going over the engine.

Do you have the stock intake or a SRI etc?

I have a sri and please dont blame it on the sri cuz it runs the same as it did with the oem unit, same heat soak, but when its cooler out it runs fine.

So just jesstn how do i cool the air/water or water?

Do you have heat soak?

You dont think a front bodykit with more front openings than the 1 that comes with the stock bumper would feed a ton more air into the cover rad and engine?

See bold.

Ok well just having a cai does not stop heat soak...their has to be other options...

Thinkin bout hood with hood scoop front bumper with more inlets or drilling holes in the windshield wash cowling to let air escape...dont know how this would work for the winter and the snow getting in there.

I agree my TL runs like crap when its hot and humid 40C+, even worst with ac on. It sucks. It feels like the car has no more balls. Oh well

No but having a SRI adds to it .

And a CAI may not stop it but will reduce it.

Hang on .. I found a thread that will solve your problem :thumbsup:

https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-performance-parts-modifications-112/how-run-sri-742645/

Looks like he has solved the sluggish reponse.

That was epic. Good Game.

what r u trying to say jasonnspace?

posts deleted. stop it you guys.

Sorry man, im trying to come up with some idea's and everything was going well with the small amount of good members on this site, but their is always this huge percentage of people who come on here to insult, and talk shit to people instead of helping. I don't see the purpose. Anyways...sorry!

Sorry, I tried to be as tactful as possible.

Dave, we have posted all the information you need.
This site is full of great information, and there are many different opinions. Read those opinions, and then choose which ones fit your specific situations. We are here to help and guide but like they say, you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink.

Dave- sorry it took so long to respond, I get a little behind on the PMs sometimes.

For starters, ditch the SRI for stock or a CAI. This will get you back up to stock.

There is the weird behavior mine displays. Turn the key to on but don't start it. Count to two and then start. It sounds crazy but on my car at least, it helps.

The real issue is detonation in the summer. I've had it on the scanner and this is the primary problem. Run the highest octane you can find.

There's also the APP sensor. At times I've wondered if this is part of my issue. You may want to check this out Dave. Some people have described very similar symptoms that were fixed with the replacement of this sensor.

To some of the others, yes, every car gets slower with hotter temps. However, some of the TLs have an actual issue. My TL loses more hp in the summer than my turbo car and turbo cars are usually the worst. I have to give it at least 1/2 throttle just to keep up with the mom in the minivan next to me. It's not the normal sluggishness in summer, there's something wrong with the car.

I have not done the thermostat yet but it's going in this coming weekend. I got a little backed up and the car has been at Acura for a while due to the lawsuit I'm in with the bodyshop. I have high hopes but without know what others without the problem run at and without knowing the trigger pionts for the fans, I can't be too optimistic. Turning the fans on my eariler would help too.

Maybe some of the Acura techs can say if the TL has both an inlet and outlet thermostat or just the traditional outlet thermostat.

Maybe if i covert my sri to a cai since my k & n kit comes with both than my heat soK will be gone?

Also if i remove the 2 lower grille pieces inside that would help.

Im just worried as this is my daily driver and it snows like mad here in the winter with slush n puddles i dont want that getting on or in the intake

why did you downgrade the stock intake to a SRI?

I wouldn't worry about water into the intake. It takes a very large amount of water to make it to the engine. Even a stock intake would be an upgrade since it's a semi cold intake and you don't have to worry about water. If it makes you feel better, you can do a drop in K&N filter in the stock airbox. But the main benefit is going to be the cooler air being drawn in. Even the stock paper filter flows more air than the engine can use.

Going to a CAI or stock might not get rid of the heat soak 100% but it will help a lot. I personally don't see why they put the filter right in the path of everything you might run over. I've done tons of testing on different locations for the intake and you're just as good off having it behind the grill up high. If you want to get creative, move the filter to a higher location so you won't have to worry about water.

See Bold

So let me sum this up. Changing my sri for a cai will not get hydro lock or suck up slush water salt etc in the harsh canadian winter even though the filter sits so low to the ground?

I wonder how i could get the air filter directly infront of the grille opening by the acura emblem thatd b so sweet

To hydro lock it you will need to burry the complete filter underwater .. around 12". Your winters aren't any harsher than BC.


Where my AEM sets the filter is right behind the left grill opening so there is lots of cool air .. more than it can suck in.

Are you kidding me? The winters in ottawa are a ton worse than bc we get ridiculouw amounts snow like 15-20 cms per week and it gets to about -40.

Im just worried water will splash the filter and then freeze on top of it whe. I park etc....

I also ment placing tje filter right behind the emblem on the front grille.

Splash won't hurt anything. To hydrolock the engine you have to submerge at least half of the filter.

You can find 3" and 4" piping along with all fittings, elbows, and all angles at most hardware stores usually in the plumbing or sewer section. Use this to locate the filter higher up behind the grill. As long as the filter is outside of the engine bay it makes no difference performance wise where it's mounted.