I broke 600 miles yesterday. Break-in is ovah!

I finally took the engine into VTEC territory for the first time. Only did it once.

Um....let's just say this heavy car can boogie when the VTEC comes on. When it does, it's as loud as in the TL. What a beautiful sound, that butterfly valve lifting..... And that feeling in the seat of your pants with the acceleration....it feels almost as fast as the TL. Further, the tranny has adjusted to my more aggressive shift pattern. That happened on day 2 of ownership, in fact.

Now to fix the handling....got my A-Spec suspension and black chrome rims....all I'm waiting for are tires and the A-Spec install is on! I can't wait.....

 

Nice, I got 1400 so far on mine. I think speed is relative, coming from a 320hp wrx the RL is quick, but not fast . However the handling is just amazing for such a big car and I'm sure with the a-spec it just gets better.

 

I think you're really gonna like the A-Spec suspenders

 

I agree, Bob. The TL's power comes on differently, but the RL sits up and talks when pressed.

In fact, I first felt it on my last test drive, when I hustled the demo up an onramp onto a freeway. It gathered speed in a nice geometric fashion, and I actually had to back off when I got on the freeway to keep from acquiring unwanted law enforcement attention. (It wasn't a long onramp, and I was doing 80 at the top of it.)

And you hit on another important factor - the transmission learning your style. The demos I drove early on seemed a little sluggish on downshifts, etc., but since I've driven mine in a spirited fashion from the start, it has responded by reacting more spiritedly (is that a word?). I have about 1500 on mine, and it seems to me to be as responsive as the TL. Different, but as responsive.


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I think what a lot of people who come from the TL to the RL miss is the lack of "sturm und drang" when you nail the pedal -- the TL growls, makes a lot of noise, chirps the tires, and rips the wheel out of your hand with torque steer.

While it's a little slower off the line, the RL doesn't do any of that boy racer stuff -- it just goes fast, with a little growl and gobs of traction. The refinement, I think, lulls people into thinking it just isn't as fast, when in reality... it's plenty quick.

 

My car just crossed the 1000 mile mark, and I've been pretty gentle on the throttle the whole time. Will the transmission adjust to one's driving style over time as I start to open it up a little more, or am I to be forever trapped in baby mode based on the first 1000 miles?

Rob144

 

I agree, it's a perception thing. The reality is that the TL goes from 0 - 60 mph in a fraction of a second faster than the RL. And torque steer is NOT a good thing, in my opinion.

 

No. The transmission shift logic adjusts on a continuing basis, so after a short while it will pick up on your new-found urgency.
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I got 3000+ on mine, and so far I am NOT impressed by the speed of upshifts with the paddles, I've hit the rev limiter twice because it took so long to shift up. With the "tip tronic" shifter it seems a little faster, but the paddles are almost unacceptable.

As far as speed goes though I'm happy as a clam.

 

Well you can always fix that by removing the intake resonator

 

I'm sure some people will throw rocks at me for saying this, but to be honest I think shift paddles look out of place in the RL. It's a luxury sedan for godsakes, not a sports car. And I sincerely doubt I'll ever use them.
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Actually, I find them fairly useless, since you usually have to take a hand off the wheel to make a turn. The stick is somewhat more useful, but really -- it's a luxury car, not a race car, and the paddles are just boy-racer-toys.

 

Agree with the paddle shifters. I have no use for them.

 

Yeah, I'm not a fan of the paddle shifters either. I learned on a stick, I prefer to use the stick for the SportShift. However, I am in D 90% of the time.

The paddle shifters would have come in handy on the TL, which IS a boy racer toy. I certainly loved mine. Now that they're on the 2007 model, we will get plenty of those who are satisfied with them...

 

I think that my transmission has learned not to be aggressive because when I drive hard I use the manual mode. The manual mode really changes the character of the RL - it goes from a lux to a sport. I also agree with the manual response - I have hit the rev limiter on several occasions. I propose a big red light to indicate when to change as in F1 cars because it's too quiet inside to rely on engine noise and too slow to respond unless you watch the tach and not the road. Are the 0 - 60 times done by flooring it in auto mode or by using the manual? I wonder if there is a difference?

 

I think one of the auto mags said with the manual shifting the car is a bit faster to 60

 

I find that moving the selector at exactly 6000 rpms gets the desired result, thereby shifting down right before the rev limiter kicks in. On another note, I find the tranny in the RL does shift faster than the TL.

 

I noticed that, too. When I use the SportShift in the RL, it shifts almost immediately, but in my early-build 2004 TL, there was a palpable delay in the shift.

Another positive comparison: I CAN HOLD FIRST GEAR! I discovered this by accident. In the TL, both 2G and 3G, the tranny upshifts to 2nd for you automatically. Probably not a bad thing given the way 2G trannies were failing--a key reason I moved up to the 3G TL.

 

VTEC rocks. I like the 3500-5000 rpm range. The RL really moves in that power range. I was getting on the highway and floored it, the trans was in 4th gear close to 6000rpm before I started slowing off the throttle (~85mph), luckily too, because a state trooper was in the other lane and thankfully didn't pull me over