When I first got my 6-Speed in March I lost count of how many people SLAMMED me for trading my 2001 and losing a couple grand on the swap.
I even got some nasty E-Mails & PM’s from members that shall remain nameless. :sqntfawk:
Now I count quite a few people here with the 6-Speed and it’s beginning to get the respect it rightfully deserves.

I think there are 2 or 3 other members here who have turned in their 2001’s for a 2003 like I did and I’m sure there are many more who don’t post.
We have a few Dyno runs that prove a stock 6-Speed gets nearly the same amount of horsepower to the ground as a SlushBox with expensive mods like Intake(200), Headers(1300) & Exhaust(700).

The few 1/4-Mile runs we have show an equally impressive stock performance in the LOW 14’s.

Now the magazines are starting to do reviews and we all know damn well that the CL should have won (or at least tied) that Car & Driver BMW comparison.

If the CL model gets killed next year it will be a damn shame now that Acura finally got it’s head out of it’s ASS and realizes what the customer wants.
All that doesn’t matter much to me as I won’t be car shopping until the odometer is showing 100,000 or more.

Drive on.........

Shawn S

 

Yeah, I was pretty indifferent about your decision. A couple of months ago i didn't get it. Now after putting in 3k of work into my car.....i realize what needs to be done. I love my car. It's fantastic. However, as along as the finances workout and if there are any cars left, i'm jumping to a 6MT in the winter. After seeing how Acura really dragging it's feet with some of the members on this board I can't just sit around. I wished i could've come to this conclusion $3k dollars ago. Don't get me wrong. I don't regret doing it. I love every mod i've done.

 

Just negotiate a little “switcheroo” labor into the price and I’m sure Park Avenue would be glad to sell you a 2003 with all your old Comptech parts on it.

Shawn S

 

I love mine and I dont miss my 01 one tiney bit

 

Yeah, that's what i was thinking. We'll see. PAA is a business and I don't know how much i'll get reamed on the trade-in. I'd rather go private party and do the swap of parts prior to the sale. We'll see

Only part i wouldn't be able to swap are the headers :'( No worries though. That car is so fast already

 

I didn't even look at the CLS before it came out with 6speed. :P
For those that are thinking about upgrading, I would highly recommend it. Cars are like computers, They just keeping coming out with better machines. If you want to upgrade to a new computer, you have to spend the money. Is it necessary? is it worth it? Thats up the the person making the deicision.

 

I traded in my wife's '01 Mitsu Galant. Does that count?

Member of the 01 Trade-in Club.

 

Convenience vs performance, I say.

You get very nice performance with the 6MT. Absolutely no argument there. On the other hand, you have to work out your left and right hand a lot more.

I live in the Bay Area, and I frequent San Francisco. It's a total bitch to parallel park on a steep slope in an auto, let alone a manual. Stop and go traffic on a hilly road is another killer.

Sure, I'd love to have a 6MT just for the pure control it offers and the increased performance. But I doubt it would be practical for me. Or maybe, given the current CL's convenience/luxury tradeoff, I value convenience a lot more than I value performance.

Just my $0.02...

 

you right about the parking on the hills...im glad the hills in new orleans are just big pot holes

 

Yeah that's my main concern but i'm sure i can put up with it since 80% of my driving is highway. I had some stop and go driving this morning and i was "ghost shifting". Ugh it would be a REAL bitch!!!! But, like i said

 

Likewise. I'm a longtime Acura owner and was really excited when the new CL (gen 2) came out, but disappointed that it was only available in an automatic transmission. I just ran my Integra into the ground until a manual came out.

I've only owned manual transmission cars, and will continue to do so. It makes driving all the more fun.

Hills are no big deal in a manual - no or minimal roll back on the steepest of SF's hills...but then again, I've been driving manual transmissions for about 20 - 25 years.

My Subaru did have this hill-holder feature that locked the wheels from backwards motion until the clutch engaged. Nice little thing, but not that useful if you know what you are doing.

And yes, I really have driven in SF many times.

 

Ahh, a 6-speed. No question more power and plus you get to control the shift points and times. How many times I've said, "no, don't shift now!" with the auto. But convenience is what you get with the auto. And I hope I don't have to go into a comparison of the "Sportshifter" with a true stick shift.
Personally, I think you were smart in upgrading especially if you like to "let it out" and drag once in a while and so forth.
I worry about hard acceleration and the auto tranny. Let's just say I'd feel more comfortable with the stick in those cases.
I still love the auto because it is great for the commute and just driving around town. The great thing is that you get all the benefits of lowering, better rims, and improved suspension whether you've got the stick or the auto. And I LOVE how the car corners now after my mods!
I'll probably get an S2000 one of these days in addition to my CL so I have the "best of both worlds".
Much respect to the 6-speeders in our crowd. I know you too love your car.

 

Yeah, I just read the C&D review & it got me thinking about a trade-in but I think I'd get hammered on the value of the '02.

I was really tired of a manual & the commute in traffic but I love this car & I really do think it would be bulletproof with the 6spd.

I might have to replace a clutch or two but this 5spd auto
is a POS transmission.

 

All you 6-spd owners suck!

j/k


I'd do it also... Just other things that need attention of the almighty buck right now.

And shit... I got a '02!

 

So how much more did you actually have to pay...........take me for instance........i owe $27,000 on a 2001 auto Cl-s with 11,000 miles, i was upside down on trade in...........i lease it for 39 months at $559/month.......been paying since 10/31/01.

If i wanted to sell my car, say i get 23,000? a new CL-s is what? $30,000? what do you think my payments would go up by?

 

Had a 98 3.0 CL and wanted the 260 hp CL type-S when it came out, but just could not justify the move. Then the 6-speed came out, and I said 'the wait is over. Order me one!' And then put all the mods on it and make it one fast bastered.....

 

Damn it get some Comptech sway bars, huge difference!

 

All you guys SUCK, SUCKS, SUCK...:pfawk: Do you guys know how much I've been TRYING to hold back on trading my '01 CL-P for the 6MT type S..... Now you phuckas start a thread like this.....

Alright now that's out of my system, how much more do you guys think I would have to pay for a 2003 CL-s if I trade mine in.... Ive got ~15K left to pay on it and ~20K+ miles on the muthasucka....

Do you guys think it's worth the extra payments?

 

YES! I suggest ANYONE to get the 6 speed, as car and driver said, its the best fwd car anywhere....dosent get much better then that!

 

I'm gonna consider a 6 speed CL-S in the very near future. But I really like the G35 Coupe (6 speed) from what I've seen so far.

I'll have to drive both cars to decide, but based on the numbers alone, the G35 seems like a better car for me.

I like the power (275+), the fact that it is rear wheel drive, love the pop up Navi, the 18" sport wheels, and the fact that the car sits as low, if not lower than a CL-S with Comptech springs.

On the other hand, I think Acura messed up a few things with the '03 CL-S:

The wheels suck, the headlights are ugly now, and even though the road lamps were a joke, they looked better than nothing at all. The painted grill is starting to grow on me.

But if one of those cars FEELS much better than the other, that will make all the difference in the world.

We'll see.......

 

Now if those guys at Acura would just toss in a SMG (for my bum knees)....

...

 

I think the Slush-Box “Sport-Shift” is as close to SMG as Acura is ever going to get in the foreseeable future.

Shawn S

 

Guess what guys? i trade-in my 99 Cobra for my 03 CL-S. haha, i know what you guys thinking, but i don't feel like going to the gas station 3 times a week.

 

HA .... I go to the gas station about 3 times a month and end up dumping 65 bucks a month into my gas tank.... My Cl-S is a gas hog, I drive nothing but city.... and since my intake install my foot mashes the shit out of pedal all the time....

 

Ditto

 

How do you know what nuber 6spd you have...is the #123 out of the supposed 2,700??

 

I was just following the FAQ rule about the last 5 digits of the VIN ?

I could be wrong

 

Ahhh ok

 

That can’t be true because I have number 2701.
I think they intermingled the Slush-Boxes in with the 2,700 6-Speeds on the line.

OR....they built an EXTRA one just for me !!!!

Shawn S

 

I thought the G35 coupe 6spd wasn't out yet? actually im pretty sure its not out, so how do you know what exactly the final production will look like? It might sit a litttle higher, though with 275hp it should be pretty damn quick no matter what.

Has anybody else noticed in the G35 4doors, the front rims are always dirty.........i have seen about 5 in the last week, and i swear everyone of them seems to have a lot of brake dust, the back seem to be fine. Seems to me they might have a little problem, can anybody else confirm this or know of a G35 website?

I guess its small shit compared to shot trannys..

 

 

if i was to sell my cl to get a car w/ a manual trans, it wouldn't be another cl.

although i sometimes miss the control that a manual offers, i sure didn't miss it when i was sitting in traffic for an hour and a half on monday.

btw, a built auto trans would own a six speed, imo.

 

Yeah, I have this picture of a CVT with an electronic assist. (I see BMW, Toyota, and Ferrari with SMGs and Audi, Acura/Honda, and others going CVT).

Being a "weenie", I would probably spec a car with a clutch pedal that would drop-out of position for those who never want it, and let the gearbox go "both" ways (total manual + clutch) AND manual with all clutch operations controlled via hydraulic actuators... (The marketing people would never go for it...)

If Acura ever plans on a SMG, it would appear in their NSX (or equivalent) (yes/no?)

But, while Toyota and BMW make plans to toss the SMG in their other cars, Acura/Honda seem to be more into CVTs: and CVT with electronic pancake motor…


http://asia.vtec.net/article/mmt/

 

Okay... umm... so what's SMG and CVT stand for again?

 

SMG= Sequential Manual Gearbox

basicly a electrohydraulic manual transmission, go read this months C&D review of SMG M3, primarily developed in F1 cars I think, maybe rally cars

CVT=Continously Variable Transmission
uses a belt or chain to continously vary the gearing
of the car depending on driving conditions

I remember when Subaru introduced the Justy
econobox with one back in '91-'92

 

i'm waiting for the NSX Type R to come out to get a six speed sorry shawn

 

I'm thinking of switching also, but for some reason I think my 02 looks better. I know its basically the same car but the 03 with the stock rims and the new headlights really does look like an Accord. I just want it because if Acura is going to stop making the CL for 2004 I would really like the 6 speed to be my car for the next 4 or 5 years. The engine in my 02 is great but unfortunately its mated to an inferior auto tranny.

 

Hey, my car has been fine, but has low mileage. Even with the extended warranty, I have some concerns about our Slushbox...

So far, so good, but that auto transmission has got a ton of moving parts and I don't have a foundry to make a new case with upsized bosses to hold upgraded bearings. (Along with the addition of a big tranny cooler)

All considered, a manual is a heck of a lot easier to fix than a auto (a quick look through the Service Manual will verify that ).

I wouldn't be surprised if your line of thinking is running through more than a few heads here.

OTOH, I must admit that I do like what I'm seeing from the phoenix called Nissan/Infiniti -- they had the balls to put in an auto tranny that is made to stand MUCH MORE POWER than the V6 engine puts out. AND, based on the sedan info, they did some rather trick stuff in the underbody airflow arena (low CD and great high speed handling without silly looking 777 wings!

 

Yeah! I kind of wish I'd waited another 12months!