...and it's time to have some fun. On my way home from Gaithersburg this evening, I finally passed the 600 mile mark after babying the TSX. Finally took the opportunity to hit VTEC and boy was I surprised.

My first run to VTEC was in 2nd gear headed up on a slight grade and to my surprise, the front actually broke loose for a moment upon hitting VTEC. This totally caught me by surprise and made me do a . Might have been a wet patch or something...

A couple more runs up to VTEC gave me a pretty good first impression of how the car will perform in the future. The TSX definitely feels much quicker and provides a strong pull when up in VTEC. The transition is absolutely seamless except for the sudden strong sense of acceleration.

More impressions to come when I take the car out again on Monday.

 

Sweet, let the other 04/05 owners know if there really is more power =)

 

Since your previous TSX was an AT its not an apples-to-apples comparison, but, how does the power of the 06 compare to a hondata reflashed 04?

 

what you mean ?

 

What is VTEC supposed to feel like anyhow? I don't sense any sudden jump in power when I WOT to redline. I watch the tach and look for it but I'm not getting the "automotive orgasm" that others have made VTEC engagement out to be. I'm not saying it feels slow, but it doesn't feel thrown-back-in-your-seat-screaming-in-joy-omg-yes-yes-yes you know?

... And yes, I do have an AT, but still I redline it in 3rd more often than I should.

 

He means he spun the front (drive) wheels.

 

I wonder how much the difference in power feel is because you're now driving the 6 MT versus the 5 AT.

 

Thats what I'm interested in too

 

Yeah, I realize that.

As for the power comparison, I would say the powerband below VTEC feels very similar to the Hondata'd powerband on my 04 except that the Hondata allowed VTEC to kick in at 5k rpms so the power came on a little earlier. However, at the top, the 06 provides a noticeable improvement in power over the 6k rpm to redline of my 04.

Overall, I would say the power increase is very apparent and while not a "dramatic" increase, gives the car some of the power that people felt was lacking before. If nothing else, this easily gives the TSX power parity with the Mazda 6s.

 

CGTSX2004,

When does VTEC kick in for an auto transmission?

Glad to hear that you are done with your engine break-in period.

 

The point VTEC kicks in is not transmission related (same for AT & MT)

 

I did little bit of research and VTEC is Honda technology which squeezes everything out of the engine, very efficient. I know little more now.

 

Yup. Same 6000 rpm VTEC changeover point.

 

That doesn't surprise me since the '06 uses a bigger intake (and exhaust?) high-cam and higher-flow head/intake manifold, so when it's in VTEC it should be stronger than even the hondata'd '04. I wonder if they dialed in any additional cam duration as well (w.r.t. the hondata article advocating 45-deg vs. 25-deg max).

 

Not sure if they did or not, but I can definitely tell that the car is more powerful and I would not be surprised if the MT dynoed out at nearly 12/13 more whp than the 04 model at peak power.

 

Stop it. You're making me jealous.