I do agree with others that the braking system doesn't look to have a ton of reserve in it. The single-piston front calipers are most notable to me. I think the brakes would be adequate, but only adequate. I don't necessarily think opposed-piston calipers are necessarily needed, but I'd at least like to see a sliding dual-piston caliper up front (as our SUVs have), for more friction area.
I'm most excited about the P-AWS. Being able to dynamically and continuously change camshaft phasing in an internal combustion engine is a key tool in creating more flexibility from an engine. Like variable camshaft phasing, Acura's P-AWS (or systems like it) have the potential to re-write the books on how rear suspension geometry is designed. Independent rear suspensions allow engineers to get some toe change with suspension travel, which has a clear benefit over something like a solid rear axle, where no toe change is permitted. But conventional IRSes only allow fixed toe changes, and the toe change they can engineer-in often come with compromises to tire wear or efficiency, if they're aggressive enough with it.
P-AWS re-writes all of this. Most of these limitations are removed, and a suspension designer can get the toe he or she wants at any given time, at any given point in the suspension travel. That has the potential to be incredibly beneficial. The downside at this point, of course, is cost. Those P-AWS toe control links have got to be many thousands of dollars each. And they add some unsprung weight to the suspension.
What I'd like to see is a hybrid of Acura's P-AWS and a "conventional" hydraulic rack-based rear steer system (like Lexus' system shown above). Let's use a conventional (solid) toe control link, and make the inboard mount movable in-and-out. Have a small actuator on that mount that can pivot it in and out by so many degrees. This is essentially what Lexus' system does (move the inboard mount). But because Lexus' system is rack-based, toe cannot be changed independently. I'd like to see a compact actuator at each inboard mount, so that toe can be adjusted independently for each wheel.
Such a compact system could be easily adapted to other platforms (like Accord- or Civic-sized vehicles). I can also see the potential to have a lower-cost design used, one that perhaps isn't infinitely variable as the RLX's appears to be, but one that can move in prescribed steps under certain conditions (such as full toe-in at both wheels under hard braking only).
And for enthusiasts, the possibilities for aftermarket tuning here for certain track conditions are endless. Can you imagine being able to set up your car for Sebring by merely uploading a different program to the car's computer? After the HPDE, return the suspension to "street" settings for the drive home.
To me, this is HUGE.
