Hi guys! My name is Brett and I am 19 years old. I live in Amityville, New York out on Long Island. Recently while recooperating from a accident (unrelated to my last car, tranny just happened to go) my parents went out and purchased a 2003 Acura CL 3.2 with the 5 speed auto. The car was one owner which happened to be an older woman and was bought from a dealer.

The car has 180,000 miles but was always serviced regularly at the acura dealer and a new transmission was put in at 40,000 due to a recall. The cars current condition I would say is a 5 out of 5. The pain has a few chips and scratches but it shines like it is brand new and has never been in an accident. The black interior is mint and only has one slight jagged rip hidden behind the passanger seat by the arm rest. Other than that I was told the car sometimes feels weird in 1st gear but otherwise is fine.

I have yet to drive the car yet due to a dislocated shoulder but I was taken for a ride and it rides very smooth and seems to have some balls when my step dad drove. I was wondering how long I probably have on the tranny and is there any performance mods for the car? I really like the car with the heated seats, 6 cd changer bose, and the electric seats. Also they feel more like comfortable bucket seats than anything.

I havent been in or around the car too much except I washed it twice in the past few days. I cant honestly wait to get my hands on it but I wont be able to drive it till the end of next week. Ill let you guys know more about the car then.

-Brett

 

congrats. its hard to tell when the trans goes. some ppl dont have problems and some ppl change them out regularly. look on the diy and performance section on the forum. there are a lot of things u can do to make the car even faster and look better

 

Congrats since your trans has made it 140K plus with no issues you might just get lucky and have it last the life of the car.

 

Welcome. Im originally from NY too, but Nassau Co, not Suffolk. Get some pics up when you can.

When the tranny does go (and it will, eventually) get an Odyssey transmission. They are cheaper and stronger.

 

or 6MT swap/conversion.

 

+1^

 

Welcome, Brett!

 

 

Shotty camera phone pics. Once Im better Ill drive the car around and tell you guys what I think about it and take some better pics as well as interior pics. I do admit and agree, I have been lucky on the tranny. Anything special I should do to it or just drive it till it blows?

 

Welcome!
Get the fluid replaced if you havent yet, no flushing the trans though. Try to take it easy on the shifts. We know you like to have fun but all those downshifts and stuff with force you to pay the 3k bill.

 

Yeah I dont plan on any downshifting or burnouts. Can I aleast go fast with it from a roll and how fast will this car actually go in terms of topping out and is it a dog uptop?

 

Welcome, Brett. Not sure if you've read the noob guide, but there's a heck of a lot of information in there so give that a once over. Enjoy the car though mang you'll have the ladies all over you.

 

top speed is limited to 148-ish i think. But after it gets to 4th gear, it takes a long time to get up there.

 

Not if u got a 6spd. U top out really fast. Haha

 

welcome. lol your like the 4th or 5th new cl owner this week to join AZ.

 

Lol, good to see people are bringing them back and that the forum is active. Thanks for the warm welcoming too.

In terms of the tranny, should I have Acura do the fluid change on the tranny or just leave it alone? What would they quote me and also I want tints done, if I have Acura do it what am I looking to spend?

 

if your looking to change your tranny fluid, you can DIY or take it to a shop. A dealer will rape you.

As for tinting, dealers wont do that. You'll have to find a window tint shop.

 

I decided I am just going to leave the car stock but in the winter me and my friend are gonna put the car up on a lift and convert it cleanly and properly to a 6 speed. I will do a cold air intake, full exhaust with headers and get the engine fully tuned up and in spec. DG Motors, a local import tuner shop, will probably do a tune and then Im going to look into a bodykit and rims and do the suspension as well. I honestly cant wait to do all this and have a decently fast car thats sexy as hellllll.

My friend said the dealers do tints but my mom has a place that they had multiple vehicles done there and they did a good job. Gonna look into doing that next week and then im going to get some touch up paint and fix the scratches and paint chips. Hopefully compound and buff it at some point but thatll be in the future. Is there anything I have to do to the seats to keep them looking fresh?

 

Also just looked up and headers and intake are $200 with shipping and handling. car-part type-s heads and intake. $550. Should make close to 300hp at the crank with a tune and through a 6 speed would be butter. Cant wait!

 

^ What mods are going to get you to 300 ?

 

What headers?

Read up on this stuff a little but more. The 6MT swap is going to run about $3k, maybe more. Youre better off getting the entire CL-S motor too as J series are pretty damn cheap. To run the CL-S intake manifold you need the control box for the IMRC or you need to run an RPM activated switch.

It would be much easier and faster to just find an 03 6MT.

I was caught off guard by that as well, but Im assuming hes talking crank. Which headers (~20hp) and intake (~5hp) will get to ~285 crank hp on a healthy motor which is close to 300hp.

And if he meant whp, theres no way in hell.

 

I thought he was a clp

 

He is, but hes talking about going through the whole Type S swap. I think.

 

Yeah i was figuring close to 300 at the crank. Wheels I figure 235 through the m6, auto I wouldnt have a clue. A type-s engine around here goes for 1 to 2k it seems with good mileage. Can't find any m6 trannys within 300 miles of here. Good thing I plan on doing this months down the road.

 

They go for 8-10k around here. I had money saved up and my parents went out and bought a car they thought would be good for me. I had $7,300 saved up so I could have probably weasled my way into getting a type-s but this CL ran me $4,200. Fml

 

just spray it. ull be over 300whp with a healthy shot. and its a whole lot cheaper

 

So I got to drive the car for the first time today. Let it warm up and drove it nice but got on it right before I got home. Hit 70mph on a side street without even realizing it, car is too quiet. Lol

I did check the tranny fluid and the level is fine but its a brownish color and there is some clutch material in the tranny. Def going to be looking at getting it changed out so I can atleast get a little bit more out of it.

 

def change the fluid out, shavings in the fluid can be a bad sign