Well, I finally had time to head back to the dealer and demo a black TL 6MT.

I was leaning towards the 5AT, but I definitely want the 6MT now. The clutch has a nice take-up and doesn’t require complete pedal travel to engage. While the gear throws were nice and smooth. 1st seemed to be short, ending somewhere around 45 or so. Although I didn’t wind to redline except while in 3rd and 4th.

Car seems to have enough torque to pull all the way up to 5th in less than 40mph. The car pulled extremely well on a steep incline while in sixth. I was able to pass easily without shifting.

Now I'm getting ready to get my 04 Anthracite w/Navi 6MT on order for early Feb delivery.

 

I love mine...you won't be disappointed!!!

 

This car rocks!!!!!!

 

You are so right about acceleration in the higher gears. Once I went from 2nd to 5th instead of 3rd and was at 1,000 RPM. Was a bit sluggish, but pulled nicely along.

This is a fantastic car and I am loving having a manual again.

 

Very nice! You'll like Anthracite. What color interior did you choose?

 

I chose the anthracite and quarts 6m with navi, Amazing car, to fasssssssssssssssstttttttt. The blue lights that reflect onto the shifter at night is a nice feature which has not been discussed (I think).

 

I also like the low-key, cool-looking interior light. My buddy's B5 Audi S4 has the same thing in red.

 

Ravenhawk,

Anthracite with Ebony! The dealer had a few Anthracite colored models all in auto though. Have to say that one of them had the optional 18" wheels on them. Those wheels also happen to match the Anthracite perfectly. Not sure if I'm interested in dropping an additional 2K for that package as the Navi will put me at my MAX spending amount for this. But it did look good....

 

I love mine.. I'm going to have to have a saving's account for speeding

 

This car is incredible! I put a deposit down in July, but had to see all the colors before actaully ordering. Picked up 12/20. I love the AM/Q color combo and think it is one of the best, but several other color are great too. There have been many comments on A-TL regarding the handling of the car. Is it as good as a BMW, or the TSX? What I can say about my 6MT with HPT is this. The car handles great and can likely stay with a 330 and a TSX in the twisties. Torque steer can be there, but it is very manageable. Understeer does occur at the 9-10/10ths cornering level, but is predictable. The only place I think the TL falls down a little is the overboosted steering. I am getting used to it, but it is a little "vague" I plan a trip on some of the best twistes in the country (SC, NC mountains) soon and will report on what I find.

 

AKA pimp lights. I'm not sure which forum it was at but some tech guy went into the historical details of LEDs. Blue are the latest color so you will probably see them in a slew of products my lap top has them too!!!!

 

Did you say 45 mph in first? I hope that was a typo! And if you could do 45 it would not be a "short" gear. Max in first should be about 38 and that really is not that short either.

 

erikmoeser

Might have been. Since I dont have TL MT right now, my comments were based on my brief test drive. I didnt spend a whole lot of time in 1st gear. When I get a chance I'll look in my Car and Driver to see what they say 1st tops out at.

 

You guys are funny....always talking bad about the torque steer, understeer and overboosted steering......Test drive a 99 TL and it will make you fell like the 04 is perfect. If you really want overboosted steering drive a 99 TL, and I know the 99 TL is way better than a lot of cars out there. On the 04 6 speed I thought the steering was very good and I didn't see torque steer just the LSD shifting power. Only bad thing was road feel in comparison with BMW.

 

I'm not complaining at all. I love the TL. I'm driving a '98 Honda Accord 4-Cyl which is on its last leg. So to me the TL is like night to day.

 

1st is only good for about 33-35 MPH (IIRC). You don't need C&D, just put her in first and wind it out to fuel cutoff.

45 MPH is very tall for 1st gear. The NA1 NSX (1991-1996) does 45 in 1st, and it is geared notoriously tall: 81 in 2nd, 117 in 3rd, 145 in 4th, 188 or so (theoretical) in 5th. (Actual top speed is drag limited to around 168 in stock trim)

 

I did not mean to infer that the handling was bad. On the contrary, I thank it is great - easily as good as a 330 i ( maybe not as good as an M or Perf Pack) on conering ability. My comments on other threads before I bought mine was whether I would be disappointed in the handling. I am not. I tried to say what you said (Only bad thing was road feel in comparison with BMW) but must have come off negative. I had a chance to take the TL on the same winding road I loved to take my 88 911 and the TL easily matched the cornering of my Porsche. There are several "reference corners" on my road that I drove that I know what the fastest speeds I have done in several cars. The TL was faster than all except the 911 where it was equal. (Other cars I have timed include a 95 BMW 325, a 86 Audi Turbo and a 98 Saab.
This is an awesome car.

 

Two points:
This torque steer thing has me confused. I always thought it was a strong pull to one direction under hard acceleration caused by unequal distribution of torque to the front axels. What I feel, in my 5AT, is a slight pull shifting from one wheel to another when the tires are hunting for traction. I get the exact same feeling from any front driver in winter driving conditions, with only only moderate applications of power, so I don't think torque steer has anything to do with that...just traction between the tire and the road surface causing that feeling. I think this phenonum should be labeled "traction wander" not torque steer.
Second point...Are you nuts??? driving at 9-10/10ths on public roads!!! All I can say is I hope your 9-10/10ths driving equates to my 5-6/10ths driving, so I can avoid you when I meet you and you're taking up the whole road withour any options for aviodance maneovers. Even in my racing years I rarely pushed to 10/10ths and anyone who routinely did was considered dangerous and unreliable, and you never wanted to go into a corner with that type of driver.

 

What did you do to a 98 Accord that its already on its last leg.

 

bluenoser, I am also having trouble descerning if what I feel is torque steer, "traction wander", LSD kick in, or what. Since I am still in my break in, I am not applying full throttle or high revs, but coming out of my up hill drive this morning, the front tires spun slightly and caused the steering wheel to pull slightly in my hand. Did I notice - yes, was it a problem or dangerous - no. I have said before that IMHO torque steer (or whatever it is) is not a problem on this car. Losing traction and wheel spin with 270 HP is an issue, however. Also I did not mean to imply that I was driving at 9 or even 10/10ths. The most I ever do is about 8/10ths when there is no one around and I have clear site, dry pavement etc. I do have a short road near where I used to live that has several nice curves that beg to be driven hard. It is rarely used and I only drive it hard when I see no one is there. The curves range from 40 to 65 mph and are a good gage of the handling capability of a car. (and tires) Owning an 88 911 for five years and driving 10/10ths - I don't tihink so. I would not be here now. With the HPT tires I did not even notice understeer at 6/10ths. At 7 to 8/10ths I felt a little - hince my comment.

 

lakeman,
I don't know what that twitching feeling in the steering is either, but it only is felt when the front tires are at their traction limits, hence my thoughts it's traction associated not torque related. Obvoiusly the higher the power output the more this is felt.
To be honest, I've never pushed a fwd car, on dry pavement, to the point where I could feel either end slide (all my reactions are based on rwd technology - motorcycles included) so i don't know how to deal with mass and polar movement in a fwd on dry pavement. For a long time I never had a kind word to say about fwd but I've come to realize in real world driving it's much easier to control especially in winter driving conditions. The extra weight over the front wheels helps braking and steering on wintery roads, plus you can get a fwd car dead sideways and still save it while a rwd is hopeless once you get it 45 deg. sideways.
I really didn't think you were driving at 9-10/10ths on public roads, you certainly wouldn't be around to be talking about it. When I was younger (and foolish) I would get my kicks in watching folks soil themselves in my 69 SS350 Camaro driving at 7/10ths - that's really quite fast if you're not used to it.

 

Monte TLS,MAX

Still sitting on it. Its our third car and I'm probably going to trade it in on the TL. Dont have a need for 4 cars since theres only two in my family which drives.

BTW the Accord still runs, but its running real rough and the brakes are in dire need of replacement. The auto tranny has been neglected and although it still shifts, is slipping more and more......