Hey guys, I was just wondering from those of you that have driven both the manual and the sport shift, which do you guys like more. I've got a 6 speed on my rsx-s right now and I love it and i'm not sick of it at all, but i'm just curious of what the sport shift would be like. Any opinions are welcome.

 

personally... I think the sport shift blows. It doesn't feel like a real 6MT at all. I mean, it might take some of the bordem away from driving an auto but I don't think I would ever use it if i had it. (my parents have had SS's in their cars for the last like 4 cars)

 

the 6mt on the TSX is way too sweet to go with a auto in my opinion. plus you lose some HP with the auto.

 

my mom has a 4 motion Passat with the sport shift... my experience with that is that it is incredibly slow at shifting...i dont know how the TSX sport shift is but my guess is that it cant shift as fast as you could...the slow shifting takes alot away from the SPORT in sport shift

 

The SS adds control to the car as opposed to auto. But the shifts do take a second or two, and you can't really feel the car. I do like to use it coming onto the highway, but thats about it

 

I have driven both. I like the manual because the manual is just plain sportier. But I bought an automatic with SS since I hit stop and go traffic every day. I use my Sport shift pretty much every time I drive my car. One reason I use it so much is because my car is still under warranty and want to "abuse it" while I can still fix it. another reason I use it is to be able to switch lanes and control the speed of the car without hitting the brakes. I mostly use it to downshift and slip in to a lane without disturbing the flow of traffic by hitting my brakes and causing "idiots" to hit theirs just cause I hit mine. Ya know what i'm sayin.

I don't realy use it to race or go faster.

 

SS allows you to select the shiftpoints rather than leaving it up to the AT logic. So, just like in an MT, you can drop down a gear or two if you know you're going to punch it and you can downshift when slowing down into a corner so you're at the right revs when coming out (the AT logic doesn't do so well on downhifts). Having said that, its NOT an MT and if you like/need/want an MT then the SS will probably leave you a little wanting.


Oh, and with SS make sure you remember that its push to upshift and pull to downshift.

 

If you are used to a manual i think you will be dissappointed with the SS. The only reason i had to get an auto was because my foot would get numb from the rush hour traffic. I had my experience before... it wasn't pretty.
As for shifting slow. You just have to give it a little more gas the second you hit the shifter. That'll quicken up the shifts.

 

I don't have much experience with a SS, but I think that no matter how good the SS is there will be nothing that will replace the fun of stomping the clutch and shifting gears. Without a clutch I would feel like I am faking the funk.

 

I just got my TSX last week and its the first time I had SS. I've also never driven a MT (no please). How does the SS help when getting on the highway and how do I not downshift too far when going through a corner so that I don't get that lunging feeling slowing me down? Any insight?

 

When I first got the car, my left leg would pop up as if to press the clutch when I was Sport Shifting

 

Oh, I get it...This is a trick question thread

6MT > 5AT

 

If you have a 6MT and you like it, there's no reason for you not to get a 6MT TSX.

The only time you get a 5AT is if you:
- are stuck in traffic a lot
- your wife makes you
- you don't mind the car being a bit slower due to the higher gear ratios and extra shifting time

Having said that, the 5AT does NOT take 1-2 seconds to shift, it's actually pretty quick, the best one I've driven between the G35, Mazda 6, Accord, and on par with the BMW 330i (but with a more comfortable shifter knob IMO). It's a really great transmission, for an auto.

 

there is no substitute for 6MT...

SS is nice, but not 6MT nice

 

I think that after 12 years it would take a few weeks to stop doing that. Just a habit.

 

Acura claims 0.7 sec to shift and I have no reason to doubt that claim so far. Although the 1-2 shift is likely slightly longer.

 

I had a VW Passat w/ 5-sp tiptronic before. Comparing the two, our SS shifts a lot quicker than VW's tiptronic. Also, our SS allows you can start in 2nd gear (useful in the snow). VW's tiptronic doesn't allow you to do that.

 

Where did you find these figures? I was looking for some more detailed info on the TSX's 5AT.

And yes, I noticed the 1-2 shift often takes longer, but other times it actually feels pretty quick.

Is it possible that it shifts quickers when you're stepping hard on the throttle, but does a slower but smoother shift when you're doing gentle acceleration? I really do swear that it doesn't always take the same time.

 

My Mom's volvo has SS and it is much worse than than the SS on the TSX. I have also driven a BMW with SS and it was far worse than the TSX's SS mode. IMO the TSX's SS is pretty solid, but not comparable to the 6MT...

 

No comparison... 6 spd manual!

I believe most who got the 5AT got it for practical reasons (traffic, shared car w/ wife, etc).

If we had a 6-spd SMG with paddle shift ala the BMW M3, I definately would've reconsidered....

 

On thing I hate about auto's is the lurch when you downshift. It's unavoidable no matter what you do.

 

Only reason I was wondering bout the auto was because of getting a supa smooth ride for my clients (to drive around showing properties) but it sounds like (from you guys) I'm going to miss my stick way too much if I go with an auto with the ss. So Fun > supa smooth. Thanks for all the opinions.

 

I test drove a 5AT first -- they didn't have a 6MT at my local dealership and I wanted to drive the car before traveling 200 miles for a 6MT. It's a great automatic transmission but there was no question that I wanted the manual. One thing I really had to get used to was the six gears -- at first I didn't like it, it took a little while to get used to. Anyone else feel that way at first?

My dad has the 2000 TL with the auto-stick sport-shift whatever and I don't think he ever uses the manu-matic feature. My guess is most drivers don't; they either prefer to put an AT in "D" or they want to row their own.

 

If I had the one from the 2000 TL I wouldn't use it either.

 

i test drove the '05 rsx-s and '05 tsx 6mt at the dealer. the tsx's gearbox felt smoother, and very precise. if you like your type-s, you'll love the tsx 6mt. i used to have an '01 CL-S (auto/ss) and there's no comparison between that and a real 6mt, even though my CL was faster.

 

The 0.7 was in Acura's marketing info when the TSX was released.

In all likelyhood it will shift faster when driven agrerssively. Apparently the ECU will ajust to your driving style.

Mansauce pushes the car hard before a track night so that the ECU gets the idea he wants full power.

 

I don't know that it will work for shifting an AT though. The idea for me is to let the ECU adopt a more agressive fuel map.

 

Hmmm, thats right. I doubt the tranny re learns. Although I do concur that the 1-2 upshift is quicker under hard acceleration.

 

.7 seconds is probably for AT not the SS and if it is for the SS a good MY driver can shift faster than any AT or SS