Hey everyone,
I'm new here, as I just bought a 2000 TL, Nighthawk B. Pearl, basically stock.

The car, though it runs fine, does feel rather sluggish. It's at 100K so I'm not too surprised. I'm gonna do what I can to perk things up.

But the reason I'm posting is because when I step on it going at highway speeds (65mph or so) I swear I feel...hardly anything!! And I know this is not normal for a TL, b/c I've test driven so many in the past few months of looking for this car.

So, I'm wondering if the VTEC might be messed up or something! Do any of you know about how one could tell if the VTEC is not functioning? Or do I bring it to a mechanic? Can it be just a Honda specialist or would it have to be the dealer?

 

its very possible u were test driving a TYPE-S....and ur comparing the feel of the TL-S to the TL-P

 

I'm not sure what TL-S and TL-P stand for, and whether one of those is the same as the Type-S, but to answer your question... I knew when I was test driving a Type-S. I'm not blind, man!!

I test drove one Type-S and yeah it kicked quite a bit more (was also way more loud), but my car is feeling kind of slow compared to the other regular 3.2 TLs I test drove.

 

ooops...scratch that...i feel kinda retarted...no TYPE-S for 2000 models

 

haha...no worries...i test drove 1999-2002 before buying this one.

 

maybe u should go back to the dealer and take a final test drive.....and if u really notice a problem....have the dealership drive it as well....and then u can show them the difference

 

You should hear a snarl and louder growl at 4400rpm. Do this..

Go somewhere with no traffic and straight roadway.
Put transmission in 1.
Ease onto the gas and accelerate slowly letting the engine RPM rise slowly.
Listen carefully.
At 4400rpm the growl should become slightly throatier and more aggressive. You'll know when you hear it.

If this does not happen, check your oil level first. If oil level is low VTEC will not activate.

If the oil level is fine, seek help from dealer.

The VTEC growl is prominent in my TL-P. And my car has no problem accelerating from 65mph. At 50mph holding second gear puts you in VTEC rev-range and stepping on the throttle makes the car accelerate with urgency that defies the 225hp rating, of course then it rapidly hits the redline.

 

Thanks for the tip, 03CoupeV6. I assume when you say "put trans into 1" you mean in the SportShift mode? Well, I think it upshifts automatically into 2nd in the SS mode anyway, so I think I may have to wait until the 2nd gear gets to 4400RPM.

 

No, as in all the way to the bottom, gear 1. Not SS.

 

another thing if u cant really hear it, just stare at ur speedo. vtec is made to increase speed NOT torque, so whenvtec kicks in, u wont feel ur neck snap but instead ur speedo fly. 03coupec6's way of seein vtec is reallyy good tho, try his way. but if u wann get addicted to vtec, just stare at the speedo(and the road too ofcourse) and when vtec kicks, ull see the needle rise significantly faster.


p.s. intersting fact... was watchin so top gear and they said that honda has made over 15 million vtec engines, and not one has ever failed.... pruttyyyyyy coolll

 

I figured VTEC would be harder to notice under WOT than it would be very gently increasing RPMs and speed in 1st gear until the signature growl occurs. I do this to my car sometimes JUST to hear it growl - it is symphonic, music to my ears.

Edit: Another thing about trying to detect VTEC under WOT acceleration is that the transmission shifts put you out of VTEC, then back in, and by the time the transmission shifts to 3rd you're well on your way to highly illegal speeds.

 

On my car(haven't changed the settings of vtec even though I have the emanage) its at 4500. When you hit vtec, should be able to tell as in the engine(sucking in air) should appear to be louder than normal. I really do miss the sound of vtec!!

 

It's really at 4400RPM, the tachometer just makes it seem like 4500...


4400RPM - TL-P
4800RPM - TL-S

Those are the official Acura specs.

 

Thanks for the help!!!

Now I just gotta find somewhere with no traffic and a straight roadway to try this out!

As I live in Boston...not that many places w/out traffic lights, much less STRAIGHT ROADS...

 

my error

 

It's okay, I've watched the tach and it does seem to be 4500rpm based solely on it. My guess is just that because of the 250rpm intervals and the fact any gauge isn't exactly accurate, that's where people get confused about VTEC engagement.

When you hear VTEC first engage in your TL-P, you just went through 4400rpm - I don't care what your tach says - 4400 4500 7500 or TILT.

 

I can't hear vtec anymore because by then I'm already at full boost and the car is dumping exhaust out of the dump tube, sorry for giving incorrect info but I get your point

 

Oh yeah, aren't you the only 2nd Gen Turbo?

 

get an intake and then take your car for a ride, if you can't hear v-tec kick in then something is wrong with your car.

 

this is a perfect way to tell - even if you have a stock intake you can tell using this method. With an intake...wow you can REALLY tell! VTEC for the '99TL is 3800 RPM BTW (just to complete the numbers)

 

I am happy to report that I have confirmed that my TL does indeed has VTEC and it still works. I used this method:

And yeah...I can see how you'd get addicted to hearing it.

 

I'm going to have to agree with this guy about when the vtec kicks in. I have noticed it kick in at about 3700 rpm defifitely not 4500.

 

That's true if you have a 99 TL. My numbers of 4400rpm (P) and 4800rpm (S) are 00-03s, I didn't know the numbers for the 99.

EDIT:

It's also important to note this for anyone else who might use the method I posted to test or simply hear VTEC engagement - Accelerate VERY slowly and then decelerate very slowly. Any sudden throttle imputs during this test (especially past 3000rpm) can cause the engine to jerk around enough to possibly break one or more of the fragile motor mounts in our cars.

 

when im doing 65 in my 2000 nbp tl and i slam on the gas, i go up to 110 with no problem at all!!!

 

You are correct. 99 TL kicks in at 3800 RPM, 00-03 TLP @ 4400, and TLS- 4800

 

Why do they kick in at different levels. The engines are the same with the TL-p's from 99-03 aren't they....... and if not what is the difference?

 

My guess is that it has something to do with the 4AT in the 99 vs the 5AT in the 00+. Also, the engine had a few slight changes (even though it's the same code J32A1 for the TL-Ps) to produce more low-end torque and get better fuel economy, and that's probably why the VTEC point was changed.

There are people on Acurazine that have installed VTEC controllers, but I think the general consensus has been that the factory VTEC engagement points are perfect.

 

I see, that really does make sense. I forgot that they had a 5AT as opposed to our 4AT. Do you know what differences they had made to the engine to get more torque?

 

overall peak #s are the same, just a very slight change in the overall torque curve. that is why the '00-'03 TLP is slightly faster than a '99TL. the engine doesnt give more torque - the main difference is the gearing the 5 speed provides and that is what increased the acceleration the most vs. the 4 speed in the '99.