ghost_masterCL

ok, so I am kind of jumping the gun here, so don't get too excited.

I'm sure many of you have heard of the Dr. Evil transmission made for the V6 accord, since their transmission is effed up too. This upgrade for the Accord's/3.0CL's has stronger internals (they actually remanufacture some of the internal parts such as gears made out of stronger material than the stock transmission), higher quality clutch packs, upgraded torque converter, reworked valves for firmer/faster shifting, and have converted it to have an LSD .

Apparently they have done at least one rebuild of the 5AT in the TLS/CLS as well. I don't know the exact specifics, or price at the moment, but I'd imagine it's probably pretty close in price/quality to the 4AT for the accord/3.0CL ($4000-4500).

Currently over at v6p.net they have a small group buy for the 4AT for the accord/3.0CL down to $3500 if they get 5 people. They are trying to see if they can include the 5AT for the J32A1/A2, or possibly set up another one for that transmission.

Nothing is final yet, so if the group buy doesn't go through, you can at least have that as an option for an upgrade at the "normal" price. I'll post back here once the final word is made on any possible group buy for the 5AT.


Mods: this isn't really against the rules I don't think, since no one is really making any profit off of this besides Dr. evil transmissions. This is just some info for peopel who might be interested.

BC2G

firstgen, why u put in 2nd gen forum?

Sun Diego CL-S

there's a high probabilty that i will no longer be a CL owner by the time any of this is done.

Sun Diego CL-S

read it again. they're planning to make this for our J32A2 also!
:troutslap

Time For Sleeep

I've been thinking really hard about this. Since it seems like the group buy will get a couple more months to get rolling (not a huge interest from people); I will most likely be working to secure myself a broke transmission, get that one done, then when this stupid piece of shit acura kicks the can, i'll just throw the solid dr. evil in.

No one's had any longevity documentation for the dr. evil's though right?

I realize our Acuras trannys are crap, but if the dr. evil's only last something like 50,000 I can't really justify upgrading for $4-5g's.

ghost_masterCL

serge (02AV6) has been pushing 300+ whp on one for about 2 years with his J32/3.5 upgrade boosted at 8 or 9 psi with IC and comptech SC, and so far so good. Not sure on actual mileage though. I'll have to ask him.

CleanCL

iTrader: (4)

i would most DEF be in if they did it for our cars.

Louie11

I thought Serge only just got that trans. this summer when he did the engine swap. Plus at the time with the first engine swap he was talking about slippage. I could be wrong though. I would like to look into getting a phantom grip thrown into this trans. I would have to see if DR. evil would do this.

moomaster_99

Thats a pretty steep price....I can see it if you want to start pushing a lot of power...but otherwise, for longevity if he can document 200k on the tranny....then its worth it....in my experience...an auto tranny should last 120k-130k....just the nature of the beast...eventually it will give out....

Time For Sleeep

This is my dilemma; the dr. evil warranty lasts something like, 10,000 miles and one year or something? If it gives out in 2-3 years @ 45,000; it's basicalyl the same as the honday tranny

ghost_masterCL

he got the trans a while ago, and has since had 2 swaps of some sort or another, but kept the tranny. HE started with a j30, supercharged it, upgraded to j32, then upgraded to 3.5l.

there was a slight slip at one point but it was because he was putting down so much power that the stock motor mounts couldn't keep the engine still and it shifted so much when he was at full throttle it got confused. IT has since been remedied by putting in an additional mount point for an engine dampener.

ghost_masterCL

this will definitely lastl onger for us 4AT J30 guys, because our problem is the clutch packs wearing down too quickly then clogging up the rest of the transmission. Just the fact that the clutches are replaced with more durable ones means it will definitely last longer than a stock one. I'm not exactly sure what goes wrong with you 5AT guys, but I think it's about third gear falling apart, and like I saidthey also replace gearing with stronger materials, so it's got to last longer.

also many of us 4AT guys don't even have a warranty on our transmissions, so the $3500 price for us is like the cost of 1.5 transmission rebuilds. IF it lasts as long as 2, we've alredy saved money.

:waits for serge to show up and yell at me for any info I got wrong:

rezurex

its not just 3rd gear dying out. when my tranny died out the last time it was my 2nd gear that was messed up. i have heard good things and bad things about dr evil trannies... IMO go with CT tranny cooler, use redline tranny fluid, check tranny fluid time to time and hope for the best. for 4-5 grand you might as well trade the car in for an MT

jz-97-c7

exactly what i'm thinking...for the first gen's the car isn't worth that much (sentimental value aside) i don't care how strong a dr evil tranny is, that's 3-4g's that can be put toward something with three pedals. GL to the homies that can fork up the cheese to get one, i'm just not gonna be one of them

ghost_masterCL

show me somewhere wher I can trade this car in and spend another 3-4g's and get a comparable car to mine with a manual transmission, and I'll do it. Sure you can put that money towards an MT, but you're still gonna be paying at least another 6g's overall.I like not having car payments, I like my car. It's fairly rare, pretty good on gas mileage, great daily driver. I'd also like to see an MT handle that much power without replacement of several parts.

ANYWAYS...

5AT Included in Group buy for $3750
has LSD, more efficient tq convertor, better internals that will not fail, and a pretty decent warranty from a great company.

If you are supercharged/turbocharged or spraying N20, and you are past, or close to passing the extended warranty on your car and want to keep it, then this is for you.

OR if you track your car this will help too with the LSD.


if you don't want to contributeto this and just want to talk about why not to get this please don't post and clog up this thread with crap. Thanks

moomaster_99

I dont think it was so much just the clutch pack failing due to cheap materials...it was more along the line that the transmission design was flawed to begin with....there seems to be a point at which the TC starves the 3rd gear clutch pack as it cannot handle the heat..

CleanCL

iTrader: (4)

oh yes, i'm in, my tranny slips in 1st and 2nd, and is being plain out annoying, this is going to be a great upgrade, thanks. come on, i know theres gotta be someone out there that wants to do this besides me.

av6ent

ya, that's why Dr. Evil fix that shit and it's running strong on forementioned guy along with other SC guys.

av6ent

5AT groupbuy is $3,750. Not only it works great with no issues, controlled by stock ECU but both stock and modded can benefit with also added LSD. And you are a very naive if you think by added tranny cooler can save your stock POS.

BTW, I want to see you do 6MT swap (incl. labor) for 4-5 grand.

CL6

How can this be financially worth it? CL are already soft on the market.

Time For Sleeep

I would imagine for someone that has a 2nd gen that has over 100,000 miles whose tranny gives out on them, or is about to give out. But can't afford to trade in a car (or would really want to keep the car for other reasons) w/ a busted tranny. Acura charges $3000-5000 for a rebuild anyways.

I know that I have a personal attachment to this slow FWD tuna boat; and knowing that I need to sell it right @ 100,000 is slightly depressing.

ghost_masterCL

any mods you do to your car is just money in the hole, you can get almost nothing back from money spent on a car anyways, so this is just another mod.

CL6

I don't know if installing a functioning transmission is a 'mod.' Installing a supercharger or a spoiler is a 'mod.' But doing what Acura should have done right the first time?

If you're up at 100k seems like it's just throwing good money after bad is all. But to each his own.

CleanCL

iTrader: (4)

it is a mod, its not just putting in a stock transmission, it has an LSD builtin and upgraded torque converter and internals, this will give you better whp and especially torque down low and shifts, it WILL perform better than a stock tranny, this will yield better track times and performance.

CL6

Sounds very interesting to be sure. For all that it is a reasonable price... but how much is installation on top of the retail price?

ghost_masterCL

I asked a local transmission shop what the cost of pulling a tranny, and putting another one and got quoted $600 including testing after installation. It's the only one closeby, so higher prices than usual. I bet if I asked around more I could find a place to do it for $400.

mrsteve

iTrader: (1)

This was done before with the shop in Florida.

Gears, clutch packs, torque converter, etc were all replaced and the transmissions all failed.

It's the poor oil distribution which causes the clutch packs to fail. Carbon/Kevlar clutch packs were used and they still broke. Obviously the transmission doesn't get enough lubrication/cooling due to a design flaw.

You can upgrade the internals all you want but without a complete redesign of the fluid distribution or complete ECU changes (i.e., 3rd Gen TL) the transmission will still be subject to failure.

Anyone who spends $4,000+ on an "upgraded" transmission is throwing money out the window.

CleanCL

iTrader: (4)

thank you for destroying my hopes. i guess i'll be sitting on this until a 6 speed with navi in black or blue pops up.

typeR

my techs have seen 04+TLs and 05+RLs fail...the problem/s are still not entirely resolved

ghost_masterCL

lol, I guess we can count you guys out after steves post since his word is law.

g1underground

iTrader: (1)

Not law just knowledge and experience. Just more useful information on this site to help save us money.

ghost_masterCL

I'm not saying what he says isn't true, but a similar thing happened with the 4AT's of the J30 engines. Several people had their transmissions rebuilt by PRT( pheonix remanufactured transmissions), and they ended up failing also, but then the Dr. evil transmissions have been holding up fine.

keep in mind these previous transmission rebuilds were prior to the oil jet recall thing. While the oil jet may not be 100% succesfull on the stock internals, but it may be the difference between a succesfull upgraded rebuild and an unsuccesfull one.

samkws

3750 dollars can buy me 2 stock trannys

and a comptech supercharger

wouldn't waste that money, i just trade in my car and go for a IS350

ghost_masterCL

HOLY SHIT!!!

you've got to be kidding me.

CL6

The second gear doesn't get enough oil and this causes it to fail. The MDX had this issue as well. In this case larger cooling jets were installed.

And $3,750 doesn't buy to stock transmissions and a Comptech Supercharger unless they are from junker cars nor does it cover the installation.

CleanCL

iTrader: (4)

maybe he meant 2 from a junkyard and a deposit on the blower....

02AV6

I believe you referring to VR in FL, otherwise judging a product you don't own (Dr. Evil) creates a wrong impression on others which is the case of confusion here.
They (Dr. Evil) do keep a secret behind doors but I'll try to shed some light asap what exactly is different (besides strong internals, torque converter, solenoids and LSD).

Several years ago, my OEM transmission gave up on the way home (after the track) with 260whp. Next week my top priority was to part out the vehicle and eventually sell it. At that time I heard good things about Dr. Evil but was a biggest pessimist regarding any aftermarket J30 transmission as everyone reported constant failures through small and large shops including infamous Level10. Recently, MrV6 himself approached PRT (Pheonix Remanufactured Transmissions) to deliver an inexpensive solution for the rest of members and eventually call it V6P tranny. Guess what, all 3 prototype transmissions installed on his ride in less than 6 weeks and all ended up in operation failures which were caused from the 1st gear burning out with just a couple hundred miles on it.

Well, not the case here. Right now, I'm a biggest optimist of Dr. Evil.
My car is an example of successful transmission here (with my previously documented 321whp) which I intensively tested on the street and both dyno and track. Yet, I put 13-14K miles on it within 2 years since it's a toy, however others use it as daily driver with much more miles and reported good results. To this date, over 50 4AT were built and none has failed period, so mechanically it's a great product utilized at different power level. My reported issue as mentioned turned out to be electrical one with ECU and has nothing to do with transmsision as it works whatever ECU tells it to. Heck, I paid much more [$4000 + local tax (IL)] at that time and do you really think I would be silent if it was any true mechanical failure? Finally, MrV6 (as mentioned above) right now is one of the first on the Dr. Evil list as he builds his J30 project vehicle ready for SEMA and needs a reliable transmission to hold the power of upcoming turbo kit.

I don't blame anyone if you still have some doubts for any frigging reason and I was the same when my OEM autotragic died on me. However upon discovery of Dr. Evil and daily conversation with the owner I made a decision and I'm happy I did along with others who currently use it. Yes, according to Dr. Evil they have built just ONE 5AT, however considering a success with 4AT I have NO DOUBT it will serve as well.

Bottom line, many tried and failed but Dr. Evil is the only one who continue to impress.

av6ent

What a douchebag

Then be ready to throw stock POS before you even attempt to install one as they junk regardless of miles, so wasted $$$$ again . Ya, get IS350, I want to see how large your loan is

av6ent

Great post, man

ghost_masterCL

yeah, what serge(02AV6) said!