so this past weekend i drive from la - lv for the first time with my 03tl-s. got there in 2hr50mins haha. the techtronic shifting is dope and the ride was smooth as hell. just boasting hahah i love my tl

 

read the owner manual on using the SS mode- it has upshift and downshift speed limits
Also be aware that downshifting into 3rd and 2nd puts wear on the weak part of the trans
Its fine to use for being in the right gear to exit the apex and accellerate off the corner, but dont use it to slow the car- use the brakes- they are way cheaper to replace!

 

Isnt it called tiptronic?

 

hah.. yes..

 

stick is more fun

 

its the option of self shifting without the delay of pushing the clutch and cross body coordination time in moving a lever thru a pattern

Notice how many new cars have `paddle shift` on the steering wheel- or leave in in D5
Something for everyone in one unit

 

not in bumper to bumper traffic.

 

We call people that complain about that pussies!!!!

 

oh noes.....

 

Lol

 

haha is it tiptronic? beats me. i used to drive a 88legend 5 spd. its all good. i just bought a new tranny that acura helped me pay for. 3 year warranty=]

 

Id much rather be manually shifting gears...

 

Had it in my '97 Prelude too. Fun to drive. Only if the TL tranny could take the abuse too. Nice to drive around the town. =)

 

Sticks are for kids. Real men drive autos.

lol

 

youre not comparing an automatic transmission with a manual transmission are you..?

 

Technically, no. TipTronic is Porsche.

Acura calls it "SportShift".

 

Only time i use "sportshift" is to help me slow down in an emergency scenerio and to pass fuckers up when there just to slow.

 

I only use tip if I need the car to hold the gear. Otherwise, I floor it if I want to go faster then the chumps around here.

 

if it was an emergency i would suggest using the brakes lol.. thats what they are for..

 

I rather not use it, its nice and all but my tl isnt a racer. If I had to down shift ya its nice but using to daily drive? thats dumb.

 

and not fuel economy mode either in SS--D5 will take care of you,
if stuck in stop and go traffic for miles slip into D4 and that will do all you need while keeping it from hunting for 5th at 45mph

What knd of emergency stop has time to put it in SS and be on the brakes?

May I suggest better brakes! and dual piston calipers are a great front upgrade with performance rotors and pads- cheap too!!

 

putting your car in SS mode should be the last thing you wanna do when your about to get into an accident lol

 

I must laugh when I hear kids say things like 'I'll use SS to in an accident situation' unless you're professionally trained most people never act the way they think they will.

I've been in a few accidents over the years. It was more important to have both hands on the wheel then the minor improvement of engine braking.

The fastest way to stop in most situations is the brakes. If you're driving at the limits of the car and NEED the engine brake you're driving too fast.

In our cars engine braking causes a hard rev spike, there is no RPM matching. IMHO this could cause more problems. If you've ever downshifted on ice or deep snow you'd know what I'm talking about. I've had fwd wheels lock up for a moment and awd vehicles go into a 4 wheel drift downshifting. It's not advised and if you asked a professional driver they'd say the only reason they downshift into turns is to set up for the exit. They use the brakes, to help them slow down.

 

The only "emergency" situation I could think of using SS to brake would be if your about to get clocked by a cop, and you don't want him see your front end dip due to hard braking. Even then, that could take a toll on your tranny and you would have to have VERY quick reflexes in order to see the cop and throw it into SS mode and downshift all in a matter of a couple seconds before you get gunned.

 

Agreed, and how much you'd actually slow down is questionable.

I don't think you can get a ticket for slamming on your brakes. I've done it a few times coming up to a speed trap and never had a problem. If he had the gun on me already he'd know how fast I was going and I'd get a ticket.

 

+1

 

I don't see how using SS to slow the car would help you avoid a collision. It may work in low speed situations, but not at highway speeds. Say your cruising at 65mph, 2K RPM. Even if you do get it in SS and downshift, it only brings RPMs up to 2.5K and doesn't slow the car any. SS is isn't the quickest thing ever, so by the time you've hit a gear low enough to actually slow you, you're already involved in the accident.

And I don't know why everyone calls it SS, because in the manual it says Sequential Sport Shift. So it should be SSS or 3xS. lol

Everyone says that SS will mess up the transmission. It only causes a problem if you shift down too early, as in using the transmission for braking, right? I've used it before to downshift so I could pass a car. Will that mess my transmission up?

 

Ah....I never use my SS.

 

I'm curious about this too..I downshift properly though and normally only do 5-4-3 downshifts and normally don't do the 3-2.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30G0r8Id0gM

Techtonik IS fun^^

 

that kid is scoring chicks 10 years older than him... no doubt about it lol

 

 

Same style/principle and function though..

much closer than techtronic..lol

 

any downshifting with SS puts wear on the clutches inside
Downshift into 3rd and 2nd is wear on the weak point of the trans--why risk it?
Downshifting is to be on the toque and rpm band to exit the corner on the power
Few drivers need to do that on the normal streets...on the backroads is different
Using it to go to 4th to pass is fine, so is pulling it from D5 to D4

 

the car will only downshift if the computer says that the speed and rpm range is correct for the gear you are wanting to select. It will show you by flashing the number on your dash.

As far as speeding goes, you can downshift but your headlights will still dip. Maybe not as bad as braking but still noticeable. And by the way when you see a cop with a radar gun more then likely he has already got you dialed in. The radar guns can get you from like 3 football fields away. All you can do is hope that there is someone going faster or he is already pulling someone over.

 

Haha! Says the guy in WI!!

Try my 24mi, 90min commute for a couple of days, cheesehead!!

 

^

I love my sport shift too!

 

I'm sad to hear that using sport shift puts significant wear on the weak points of the tranny. This 2008 TL is my first non standard car. I miss the quickness and the precision of driving a manual. Maybe it's just me but it seems like they made the SS backwards. I want to move the shifter forward to move into a lower gear and backward to move into a higher gear as that is the directional momentum of the car. I'd switch this if it were possible electronically.

 

This is the 2nd gen TL section. You have a 3rd gen. I dont believe they had anywhere near the issues we did.

Also, you can switch the direction. Its just an electrical input. Just repin the 2 wires at the shifter and it will work the other way (i did it on mine, before i converted it to manual)

 

The shift reaction time using SS seems way slower than I can shift a manual, plus downshifting is hard on trans as has been said. It is best to let the car figure out how & when it wants to downshift if you like your transmission to last.
To me, the SS is best used to keep the trans from upshifting, like when heading into a curve or corner.