since so many of you were gracious enough to follow my saga this far i wanted to keep you up to date. i've been on overload the last few days so it took me a while to find time to enter a new post.

i located a new '03 6-speed (red/tan) at radley acura in bailey's crossroads, va. i went down last saturday to take it for a spin.

this car performed completely differently than the certified 6-speed i drove in baltimore a week or so earlier. the clutch is very simple. i don't think its that much different from my old accord. at least how i remember the accord clutch working before i put 100,000 miles on it. the new car's engine is just great. plenty of power. right from the go. i think i could easily get to 60 in 3rd, maybe even 2nd. the certified car didn't have nearly the engine this one does. i could feel the torque steer trying to keep up with it in 2nd. i never found enough power in the certified car to produce any torque steer at all. the new car has more power than i expected. maybe more power than should be allowed by law, or at least the laws of physics.

plenty of passing power in 5th and 6th. didn't see any need for lower gears for passing although i'm still game to give this 3rd/4th gear passing technique a go. sounds like a blast. can't wait to try it.

however.......

after driving it and "discussing" pricing i made the HUGE mistake of buying the d@mn thing! so now i'm in up to my eyeballs.

and on page 273(?) of the owner's manual it clearly states that you mustn't drive aggressively or accelerate rapidly during the break-in period (the 1st 600 miles).

it just doesn't tell you how. this thing really wants to be driven fast. the strange thing is i wasn't able to drive the certified car fast. and now i can't figure out how to drive the new one slow. what a pickle. i still have lots of miles to go before i'm past the break-in period. any suggestions welcome.

so i guess i'm just as brain damaged as the rest of you speed freaks. i'm just not allowed to have as much fun for a few more weeks. bummer.

thanks or curses to whoever suggested radley's. at least they're happy i bought one. the last new one on the east coast according to the sales guy. so i'm sure its a lie.


so now i guess i'm no longer carquest. maybe brainquest would be more suitable.

 

Coool. Welcome to the 6-speed club. BTW the 6 speed will do about 90 in third. That's why it makes such a good passing gear. Don't baby it too much. You want to do a few full throttle runs in the upper gears to help seat the rings. Can't believe there are still new ones out there.

 

Congratulations and welcome the the 2700 club. This must be one of the last new ones out there. Good catch.

I wouldn't worry too much about spirited driving early on. Follow the recommendations from here on 'til the end of break in. You'll get there quick enough.

 

Nice, thats what we like to hear.

Best of luck with the new car.

 

congrats and welcome

BE WARNED - Just after the break-in period, you will probably start to hear a quiet whisper coming from your car ... "mod me, mod me". Once you've given into its request, and you will, its appetite will continue to grow while your bank account shrinks.

 

Congrats on the purchase, carquest. Keep an eye out in the Club Events section of the forum for our MD/DC/VA area meets.

 

damn where did you find that, you lucky sob

 

WooHoo! Congrats. I like the red a lot. There are 2 reds at work, but neither are 03s or 6 speeds. I'm surprised you bought it! I thought you were looking at used ones. Hate to think what you paid cause I hate 'new' prices. I'm sure they would have gone very low since they stopped production almost a year ago.
What is the last 5 digits in the vin, that shows what number in the total of 16,000 your car was. What was the mileage? Check the tires over, since they have been sitting for most of a year (or more).

Well. I think there are still unsold 6 speeds out there but the dealer is not far from the truth. I see a dozen or so on Autotrader. There are more automatics unsold too.
enjoy and welcome.

to break in, just be moderate in braking and acceleration mostly, and I don't think you;re supposed to go too high in the revs. I wouldn't know, both my 6 speeds were used when I bought em. this one I've had 2 weeks, has 7500 miles. shweet.

 

way to go---I also have a red and tan; got it about a year ago and I thought I had one of the last ones.....you're right, it is quick and, to my mind, better balanced than the auto version I replaced. enjoy

 

congrats on the purchase.

Next up, s/c!

 

You mean, Permanent Test-Drive!

 

Do you mind telling us how much you paid?? I'd hope you got a serious discount considering the length of time the car was sitting on the lot.

 

I just did a search... there are 4, 6 speeds within 30 miles of me. All with about 20k miles on them... maybe I should trade in...

 

Ain't it the truth!

 

I never read the manual about the break in period and I have 46.5k on my car and nothing has gone wrong with the engine yet, but I am sure I will be scorned for not worrying about the break-in period.

I am definately curious about the cost as it was on the lot for 2 yrs possible, check the build date inside the door, that might give us some ideas. I had the option for the red or silver, not a fan of the red, but silver was okay, wish I would have gotten ABP.

One trip to boston and you will be through the break-in period and then you can have all the fun you want. I found myself driving because it was so much fun....

 

One of the funniest things I've read all week.

 

I just got my 6 speed with navi, 7500 miles for $23750. Mint with spoiler, clear bra, 03 TLS polished rims. shweet. sold my white Non-Navi 6 speed 15k miles for $23k.

 

congrats, dont worry abot the break in

just let it rip

 

Brainquest? maybe
But it is only money. You can't take it with you, and you can't drive it home. I have my red six speed with parchment interior for a year now, and have never seen another one like it. It is exclusive, enjoy it. Take it easy for the first 600 miles, and when the break-in period is over, LET IT RIP. Enjoy!

 

WOW…WOW…WOW…

Heck of a 180-Degree turn from your last “test drive” report.
Glad you took our advice and gave the car another look.

Welcome to the club.

Shawn S

 

I've never redlined either of the 6 speeds I drove. what am I missing? I didn't even hit Vtec til I'd had it a month and went , oh, That's! vtec. I was so happy with the speed below that and then whoosh. I' guess I'm not a heavy footer.
I think the red color is underappreciated. My friend at work has the red with black interior and it looks smart and new, and it's an 01 with 50k miles.

 

Get a set of Headers and it becomes MUCH easier to do.

 

I'm still suprised that there are "New" ones still out there. Dealers just seem to park them either in their back lots or in their show rooms. If I hadn't gotten such a good deal on mine, I would have held out and found a new one like you did. Congrats and have fun!

 

Congrats! Guess that car had problems. Good luck with this one!

 

thanks for all the encouragement. i'm going to be good. i'm going to be good. i'm going to be good. i'm NOT going to abuse it before the break-in period.

no i'm not. i'll give in at some point and wind it out. on my drive home from the dealer BEFORE i read the owner's manual i was already revving it pretty good. only to about 4 grand or so. nothing close to red line. spinin' wheels in 1st and 2nd. but i had to stop when i realized these tires aren't cheap.

for those of you asking about pricing. let's just say i could have bought a new one cheaper last year than this year. the window sticker on this one said it was delivered to an acura dealer in Louisiana. the sales guy claims this dealer purchased a number of them after they were canceled. so its sort of a used car with a new car plus price tag. but if you want an antique i guess you have to pay2play. if i remain happy with the car during the time i own it the price will be forgotten. if not.............


lastly i'm not ready for the accessory club yet. it came with a pre-installed spoiler. i'd have rather it didn't. nothin' i can do about it now. speeding ticket red w/ spoiler. just beggin' for a ticket. and if i end up driving it like it wants to be driven it'll get plenty.

thanks again.

 

Welcome to the club

 

i just bought my certified 01 cl-p from radley...

did you buy the red cl-s in the showroom?

i got lifetime oil changes with my purchase... were they still offering that?

 

Break in: I never want to abuse machinery. Espescially machinery I just paid for with my own funds north of 30 large.

I'm hip with the service guys, and they all have said (back as late as 97), "as long as your car has LSD, we dom't care what you do with the break-in. Hit 9 grand on the way home if you want" ((97 GS type R was a 9 grand tach car)) ).

When we break in new airplane engines, it is only done one way. Full throttle, whenever possible, for the first 25 hours to help seat the rings.

Airplane engines and car engines are so different, they are not even on the same sides of the map.

But the implication I got from Acura, versus what I know from Lycoming and Continental Teledyne, was that any PRECISION made engine needs very little break in respect.

 

thanks for the ideas.

yes umcp radley is still offering free oil changes. unfortunately i live near baltimore so its one L of a trip. i'll probably see the guys at acrua west in ellicott city. radley only had 3 NSXes and one RL in the show room when i bought this one. i met a couple who told me they had considered the red CL a few weeks prior because the wife loved the style and color combination but were shopping for a TSX when i was waiting to sign my life away.



someone somewhere asked about VIN numbers.......

the last 5 digits of this car are 11740. not sure how this helps, but there it is. perhaps i can now be tracked by NASA satellites.

 

Ha Ha! I was the one who suggested Radley. I bought my CL 6 speed there in Sep. They said they'd give me free gas and the first few oil changes, but I change the oil myself and I was at Fort Meade, so by the time I went all the way down there I really would have needed gas. Go to Tischer Acura in Laurel. Talk to Brandon Squibb. He's real cool. I've been there a couple times, stuff done for free and free loaner. I don't let them wash it, so I couldn't tell you on that, but as far as everything else I would totally reccomend it. Maybe my uniform helped a little, but I know others on this site would highly reccomend them. I wish I was going to be in that area when I get back, I would definately let them put on headers and an icebox. Have fun with it!! I could have never gotten red. I got the only anthracite they had left. I need something that doesn't stand out so much, I have a heavy foot. The only thing that dissapointed me was after about a week or two I was already used to the speed of the car. At the time I test drove the 6 speed, I was driving around in a 1990 ford tempo, babying it no less because I didn't know how long it had to last me!!! Anyway, the CLS was a frickin rocket!!! But, I got used to it. I realize this though when I get in someone elses car. Congrats, welcome to the club. my last vin #'s are 16018

 

You're # 11740 out of a total production run of 16,000+ total CLs, this includes all 03 CLs - the CLP, CLS, auto, manuals, w/wo/ Navi. mine is at about 10,600. my first 6 speed was at 6,600.

 

2003type-s6. sorry to hear you're in kuwait. hope your tour ends soon. i have a few colleagues who also go to tischer. they've been quite satisfied. i used to live just east of fort meade. a lot of old neighbors work there (civil servants). unfortunately i'm a little too far from tischer for now. if i have problems w/ acrua west i'll make the effort to see brandon at tischer. i'm hoping that i don't have any problems.

i also do my own oil. i just don't trust anyone else w/ my baby either. even if they're the best, i'd rather fix it (or break it) myself. i've been bustin' my knuckles on em' for almost 35 years. and unless i'm physically unable i'd still rather do it on my own. just a character flaw i guess.

thanks again.

 

Carquest - change your tires ASAP with these
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....num=15WR7HTRPL