AD&P; > March 2013 > FEATURE > 2014 Acura RLX and the Realization of Takaburi > Gary S. Vasilash > gsv@auto���eldguide.com
��� Here���s the kind of attention to
detail that was paid by the designers
and engineers for the RLX: the wheelarch hems were designed so that
there is a 46-mm gap between the
top of the tire and the lower part of
the wheel arch, which is 10.55 mm
narrower than the gap on the 2013 RL.
rigidity is up 46%. It is a solid structure.
Contributing to this is the extensive use
of high-strength steel (HSS). By weight,
the vehicle is 55% various grades of
HSS, including 2% 340 MPa, 2% 440
MPa, 31% 590 MPa, 6% 780 MPa, 7%
980 MPa, and 7% 1500 MPa.
��� This is a Jewel Eye LED
headlight. There are eight stacked
lenses for the low beam (and DRL);
each set uses an LED lamp. The
center lenses are for the highbeam; they have a pair of LEDs.
While on the subject of materials, it
is worth noting that there is also an
extensive use of aluminum on the RLX.
The calculation is that there is a 76.1-lb
weight-save by using aluminum vs.
steel. For example, the aluminum hood
weighs 19.6 lb. less than a comparable
steel hood. Other applications of
aluminum are for the front and rear
bumper beams, ���oor tunnel bar,
steering column hangar beam, and the
skins for the front and rear doors.
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The door applications lead to the
development of a new assembly
process because there is a steel inner
(for purposes of safety) and Sekino
notes that there could be a potential
corrosion problem if the traditional
welding approach was used to join the
aluminum and steel. So instead, the
joining is done with a forming process.
They call it ���3D lock seam.���
The steel inner is ���rst coated with
a zinc, aluminum and magnesium
plating to resist corrosion. The there
is a hemming process that includes a
horizontal force to fold the aluminum
over onto the steel, then a vertical force
to create the seam, locking the two
materials in place.
The total weight of the car is 3,393 lb.
Under the
Aluminum Hood
There is a 3.5-liter, direct-injection,
SOHC i-VTEC V6 engine that produces
310 hp and 272 lb-ft of torque. The