Hey guys, I've had my new TSX MT for 5 days now and I'm still getting used to the sensitivity of the drive by wire throttle. It seems if I don't get on the gas immediately after shifting (i'm talking like the second the clutch disengages) the transition to the next gear will not be smooth or as smooth as I would like it to be. Now I'm coming from a 94 GSR, so it could be just that, but I didn't think the change would be so significant.

Thoughts? Tips?

Also, when shifting to third, if I push the gear too far forward, I sense a slight vibration from the shifter. That only happens if I push it more forward that its natural resting point, like say when I rest my hand on the shifter and lean forward a little. Like I said, in its natural resting point in the gear, there is no vibration, only if I push forward a little. This only happens in third when the car is moving. Normal?

 

^^The DBW on our TSX is less than sensitive at the top. It just takes some getting used to. You definitely are experiencing the difference between a cabled TB verses this DBW. The only DBW I've driven that is 100% is the one on my dad's old Boxster S. I did drive an IS350 that was good too, but Honda/Acura have some work to do on the TSX. All said, it isn't terrible either.

Not sure what that vibration is, but I don't recall it.

 

A friend of mine got an ECU mod to his B5 A4 that eliminated the DBW lag in throttle response. Perhaps one day hondata will manage to crack the DBW-related parts of our ECU and add that to the reflash.

 

That's exactly it. There is a slight lag, almost feels like a turbo lag. I initially attirbuted it to the iVTEC kicking in at low rpms for that added low end torque. That's a HUGE plus over any other 4banger I have ever driven. I love the ammount of torque we have available for daily driving. But that lag is just weird and will take time to adjust to.

 

At least in the A4, that lag is due to a smoothing effect that they applied to the throttle input to increase perceived, well, smoothness. You may notice that at any time if you quickly blip the throttle and then return your foot to its original position the bump will be completely eliminated. I don't know why they decided to do this -- unless they were trying to cater to the "drivers with Parkinson's" market, it's absolutely infuriating.

 

Yea, I guess it's just something we have to live with, even though it's REALLY annoying at the moment. I found this thread https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...light=throttle which states the same thing.

 

I guess I'm the only one that isn't having difficulty with the DBW transition.
The shifting isn't extremely smooth but I'm attributing that to myself getting accustomed to the clutch and not DBW.
I only have 45 miles on her so far

 

Trust me, the DBW transition / getting-used-to will come in due time. Once you're accustomed to it you won't be complaining, because its quite a good system.

Once you get used to the "just applying a bit of throttle after coasting" bump, and learn to soft-touch the throttle in that situation, you've mastered the DBW.

 

it used to annoy me too, now i don't even notice it...

 

Do you guys think this is a problem, or something that will be a nuisance down the road?

 

It really shouldn't be a problem. In fact, if nothing else, the DBW encourages better driving behaviors because you have to roll on and off the throttle. Abrupt throttle motions get smoothed out some by the DBW, but if you're too abrupt, the DBW lets you know. When transitioning back to a traditional cabled TB, I have actually found my driving to be even smoother and more controlled than before.

 

Can you expand on this please. I'm not quite getting what you mean.

 

I'm actually referring to the stick vibrating when I lean forward on it.

 

You know how when coasting (not touching pedal at all... no gas)... and then you press lightly on the gas? You normally get a "bump", and its not a smooth transition from no-gas to gas.

If you practice, you can feather the TOP of the pedal lightly enough to not have this bump when first touching the pedal. Once you've actually got to this point, you can floor it and it is not a sudden jerk - it's smooth acceleration from there.

Then again, if you go from coasting and then floor it, this all becomes irrelevant.

 

Just don't do it?

 

Theirs a really old thread about this since I was one of the first to bring this up. When I took it to the dealer a while back, they said it had to do with the FI system. On the TSX, when your foot is off the throttle and coasting, the FI's are off. Getting back on the throttle kicks the injectors back on, thus causing the "jerk". This was straight from the Acura tech's mouth.

Here is is, top of pg.2 https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...7&page=2&pp=25

 

Did anyone ever receive any feedback from Acura about this? It's just so uncharacteristic of Honda / Acura to be so sloppy about a pretty basic function of the car.

 

I don't, but am curious to if this will become more severe down the road...

 

Never heard anything from them about it. Guess most people (like me) just get used to it.

 

It will not become more severe. Its just a characteristic of the car...

 

Two plus years of ownership and I had not figured this out I'll give it a try. This is one of my few pet peeves with the TSX.

Thanks guys.

 

I don't have it PERFECT, just much less of an annoyance.