daimler560

Part curiosity, part paranoia, I decided to install a B&M tranny gauge (Temp) in my TL-S. Didn't find any decent looking gauge pods, and with the under-coin tray already occupied, I decided on drilling a huge hole in the cup holder. In the end, it fit really well, and a clean install.

I wired it so that it lit up all the time. Here's a pic:

http://homepage.mac.com/bchen525/Acura/PhotoAlbum8.html

Click on the photo to enlarge it.

lilboykorea

cool!
so what does this read exactly?

NOVAwhiteTypeS

do u NOT know how to read? he said it read the tranny temp...

daimler560

now, now, lets try and be nice. I was surprised that when you removed the cup holder, there's a huge amount of space below it. Thanks for the comments so far.

TL-S Man

Gee, why would you need that? Everyone on the forum knows the Acura 5 speed auto is bulletproof
Seriously, nice idea, and it's better than an idiot light which lights up after the damage has been done.

car_lost

does the temperature of the tranny have anything to do with it failing?

daimler560

Indirectly, yes. I read that a good number of people here had burnt/discolored fluid at an abnormally early milage--ranging from 12k to 25k. High temperature (185 degrees +) will quickly ruin transmission fluid. I wanted a good way to gauge how high the temp got, so I could adjust the interval of fluid replacement.

Here's a pretty good site (although a bit rough in explanation) in fluid longevity vs temperature.

http://www.perma-cool.com/Catalog/Cat_page02.html

snapple

Nice Did you install that yourself? Also do you have the Tranny cooler?

Allout

Pretty slick install Daimler. A few questions if you don't mind:
1)How big of a cooler did you go with (Rated at how many GVW)?
2)Did you put your cooler in series with the stock cooler or did you bypass and run only your auxillary cooler?
3)What types of temps are you seeing? I'd be interested to what tranny fluid temps do in winter as compared to warm summer driving if you wouldn't mind keeping us informed.

I went with a B&M 24,000 GVW cooler in series and have been very happy with the results. Fluid is still as pink as when I did my flush. With your setup, you've got some concrete stats on the benefits of the tranny cooler.

SK2003TypeS

Daimler560 , Nice job on the install.
I have the same questions as Allout.
But also,
What made you go with B&M for a gauge ?
Is it Mechanical or Electrical ?
I don't care about price when it comes to a "safety" item like this.

paranoia ? I beg to differ....

........uh....and what year is your TL-S

Tom Blasing

Something I'll long for after the Talon is gone is an oil pressure guage so that might be a place to put it. I would also like to have an alternator guage as well.

Putting such things on the A-pillar would be nice but would be out of place on a car like this.

daimler560

I can't remember the B&M cooler that I got. It's oversized, I know that much--I think it was about 5 inches tall? I have the cooler in Series. My TL(S) is a 2003, NOT covered under the extended warrenty.

Why B&M--I've always been a fan of Detroit Iron, esp from the 60's--honestly, I would have jumped on the new GTO from Pontiac, or the new 300N from Chrysler if available--but they weren't so I bought the TL after 6 years with a great Accord. I've spent countless hours with friends working and tuning up old Mopar and GM V8's, and B&M seems to be one of their favorite aftermarket brands--it seems like B&M and Edlebrock are known as the best in what they do, so I went with B&M. It's an electrical gauge.
(sorry for the longish explaination) The gauge was 65 bucks, after shipping.

I've come down with a pretty nasy fever (and cough) so I won't finish the install until this weekend (hopefully) The only thing left is to string the wire from the gauge to the sensor. If people want numbers, I'll post them when it's in full operation. (it took about 5 hours just to get it in right, so I decided to put off the finals steps to the next day)

Allout

Daimler,

Hope you're feeling better.

B&M knows their stuff when it comes to transmissions. My background was with muscle cars also - from 383 big blocks to ported and polished blueprinted chevy 350's. Horsepower was relatively cheap - crude but cheap with tons of torque.

When you put into perspective, we're trying to push 300hp through an Acura transmission while B&M has been pushing 500-1000 HP through theirs.

I've always been satisfied with B&M products and that's why I went with their cooler for my Acura.

daimler560

Thanks for the well wish Allout. I felt good enough to hardwire my V1 (and the remote consealed display), but not so well to finish the gauge.

On that note, I decided to put the remote display of the Valentine down between the heated seat switches. (the little cubby hole) Thankfully, it came out nicely too.

SK2003TypeS

What's your 2 cents on AutoMeter gauges ? I had a volt meter once with an older car
and had no issues with it. Install was straight forward. I just prefer the way they look.

As far as your B&M tranny cooler. Do you know the part# ? Was there any issues with
NPT fittings, hoses, clamps, extras that were needed with this process ?

daimler560

Honestly, I don't mind autometer. I don't like using them because of their product line spread, where the cheap guys can be found at any kragens/pep boys and they have the pricey ones at the select shops. Again, I've never used them, nor do I know anyone who has, but overall, they don't convey a sense of quality. If I need general gauges, I'll take VDO over anyone else.

About the cooler--I don't remember the model number, but choose any cooler with a GVWR between 16,000 to 24,000. I needed about 12 feet of transmission line, and the clamps came with the cooler. (I bought the transmission line from a friend that works at a local Dodge Dealer in parts--got me 40% off on Gates brand hose--don't trust the crap at pepboys!) I made a bracket out of some galvanized sheet metal to mount it to the front of the car. I think overall, it took 4-5 hours.

I remember the cooler was about 50 bucks, and the line was almost 30 bucks of all things. Hope this helps!

SK2003TypeS

Hmm.....forgot about VDO. I know what yoy mean about Autometer's mainstream line. Pretty weak in the autoparts stores. I think I saw the cooler you're talking about at summitracing.com. It was rated at like 28,000 or something. Not bad. Do you have any pics ?
.....and yes, that did help, thanx