dougbert

Does anyone know how/if you can tell if Acura has changed the amount of horsepower your engine puts out after they've replaced the transmission? I'm starting to get a little bit suspicious about the amount of power making it to the wheels.

I've had the car back through one tank of gas and I'm getting much better gas mileage all of a sudden, the transmission shifts way too smoothly (it's not very authoratative... but I kinda like it), and the acceleration just seems a bit weak. I've driven the TL as a loaner car (this time they had given me an RSX) and I know how my car drives/drove; and version 2.0 of my car seems to be lost somewhere in between.

Anyone have any suggestions how I can find out how much horsepower is going out? Not that I don't trust them (well, okay, I don't), but I just don't believe that Acura would give me a completely truthful answer.

thanks for your input.

drcookie

I guess the only way to see it on "paper" is to dyno the car with the new tranny and compare it with the old tranny. That should be able to pin point if Acura has lowered the HP in the new ECU.

Cheers !!!

yield2s

I feel you, I just got my 02 back with the 3rd replacement tranny and 2nd pcm in it.(after 28 days in the shop,Acura's making my car payment +?.) It would sometimes chirp from 1st to 2nd with tranny 1 and 2 with no new PCM but now i havent got a chirp out of it with tranny 3 or 4 after the new PCM.
I would agree the new shifting is smoother and i kinda like it BUT if i where one of these guys that take there preformance luxury sedan to the track, i'd bet I'd see a lose in times.

fsttyms1

i just had my 3rd put in and its just as fast as before. a reduction in hp wouldnt fix the tranny problem. our trannies are believe it or not, really strong. its a bearing that is weak due to inadiquit cooling.

dougbert

Thanks for the input. Maybe I'm just paranoid; but I think if they reduced the horsepower by a quasi-significant amount, I'd want them to do something for me. No, I don't know what. Nor do I know how much of a reduction would make me mad enough to do something about it. 250hp instead of 260hp? Maybe not. 240hp instead of 260hp. Probably. I didn't buy a Type-S only for it to drop down closer to the level of a TL (pre-2004) or to be shamed by someone driving a new V6 Accord with 261hp.

Maybe I'll have to put my money where my big mouth is and find a place here in Denver that can do a "dyno" test for it.

thanks again

fsttyms1

if they droped the hp and didnt tell the owners that they were doing it they would have a situation like mazda has with the rx8

LiQiCE

The only way to really tell for sure if your hp changed would be to do the dyno before you got the tranny swap and then to do it afterwards. Conditions would have to be similar in regards to temperature and humidity ...

Most consumer dynos only measure wheel horsepower and not crank horsepower so if you do get a dyno done, don't be surprised when the car only puts down about 200hp to the wheels ... 260hp is what the TL-S is measured to put out at the crank. 200hp is about what the car actually should be putting down however every car is slightly different ... so its hard to get a good read if the car is slower today then it was before the tranny swap.

r10apple

I posted about this when my new one went in. I was overly weirded out as I didn't have the "snap" I used to have and the smoothness freaked me out...
I have no dyno or slip or anything like that, but I ended up messing around with my friend's cars and it was actually about the same, meaning I really couldn't beat or lose to them any better or worse than before. Best measurement I have...
But, maybe it's the mods, but I'm still chirping second though it isn't a jerky motion, just a nice smooth chirp!...

dougbert

That's good to hear. I think I'm just going to relax and enjoy the ride for a while and see what happens. I still love my car (peeling paint, peeling trim, rattling sunroom, sticky CD player, and all) and am willng to stay with it for a while... I kept my last car eight years, I only hope my TL-S stays good and strong that long.

drcookie

It could be that the tranny is shifting so smooth that it does not have the "kick" when changing gear. It could make you feel like it does not have power that you used to feel.

Cheers !!!

unlemming

I rode a motorcycle (only) for 4 years (Honda Magna V4 750cc) and the power was amazing. When I got a car, it obviously felt slower. The Air Conditioning makes me drive the car more than the motorcycle though, and when I do go back to the motorcycle it's like... :wow: even though I know it's not faster than it used to be, it sure FEELS faster. The mind sees and feels what it wants to

bigman

my 99 use to lunge in gear shifts, but the new tranny doesnt do it anymore. What i do notice is that the quick pause in acceleration between gear shifts is virtually gone.

PeterUbers

iTrader: (1)

The horsepower has NOT changed w/ the new transmission, however, the tranny shift points in D5, D4, D3, AND D2 have DEFINITELY changed, so the straightline performance WILL be affected but the car will DYNO EXACTLY THE SAME. Capice?

jungsup81

ur cars can chirp in second gear??? how??? i have an 02 TL-S ... never chirped in second even with stock rubbers

StanMan

someone told me that the computer was also replaced with the tranny...making hp suspect. can anyone confirm if their computers were also replaced???

fsttyms1

that would be the ecu replacement that people are talking about

r10apple

It's the pcm that gets replaced...
ps--going to the track tomorrow night so we shall see!

Mr Hyde

I can get a nice healthy chirp into 2nd, but my car isnt stock.

Vicman17

Chirpings aside, can an engine's rated HP actually change if a tranny's shift program was altered??

I thought the HP output had nothing to do with the tranny.

Clarifications?


Vicman

________________

03 TL Type-S SSM
K&N

04AcuraTL6speed

Well, the engine alone rates at 260HP, but when you start adding the drivetrain and the wheels, you don't get all 260 HP, you lose about 20-25% of it. If the tranny was modified, the percent lost through the drivetrain can increase resulting in less HP at the wheel (actually power)

AC03S

HEY DOUGBERT. I THINK THEY DO DE-TUNE THE ENGINE. I HEARD THEY DO IT SO YOU ARE PUMPING OUT LESS HORSEPOWER TO PUT LESS STRAIN ON THE TRANNY. MY 03TLS HAD 9K ON IT WHEN THEY REPLACED THE TRANNY. IT DEFNTLY DOESNT FEEL THE SAME. FEELS LIKE I HAVE LESS POWER, THE ENGINE RIDES VERY ROUGH AND I DONT GET A FULL CLEAN KICK I USE TO. NOT AS SMOOTH AND AS QUIET AS IT USE TO BE....BY FAR

04AcuraTL6speed

I just got my 2nd tranny insteaded last week and got it back 2 days ago. It seems that the car hesitates to downshift when you gun it. when i'm going 60 MPH and gun it, the car won't downshift from 5th gear. My car used to downshift to 3rd gear all the time. I guess thanks to the new pcm.

As for rough or smooth, if i drive relativiely light it shift smooth, but it i'm more agressive, it's shift rougher.

AC03S

EVEN MY GAS PEDDAL FEELS DIFFERENT FROM TIME TO TIME. SOMETIMES ITS HARD AND SOMETIMES ITS SO LOOSE. DO YOUR RPM'S EVER JUST REV UP THEN BACK DOWN AFTER PRESSING THE GAS TO MAKE IT DOWNSHIFT??

BEIKAY

Had my trans and ECU done at 30k. I did seem to notice shifts were less harsh, but it seems to down**** better (faster.) I suspect the new ECU retards timing and posiible alters fuel delivery at shift points. In an attempt to put less strain on clutch packs. Other makes use this same method to reduce shift harshness, avoid wheel spin, keep the trans in one piece, etc.. . There is less of a launch feel at shift points. I think the smoothness fools you into thinking its slower, when its the same. (Sorry, a bit long.)

PeterUbers

iTrader: (1)

has anyone asked Acura if the PCM upgrade is necessary to maintain the 100k warranty??? i'd rather not get it and just wait 'till this tranny craps out .. my current tranny is pretty quick

sssick

My car is getting a tranny replaced right now, now you are making me nervous.