^why the contemplation?
is the six speed not to your liking?

 

I had a choice between both, But the 6speed was in a fair/poor condition and the AT was an A-Spec in mint condition and with a better deal; Sometimes I wonder if I waited for another 6speed to pop up I would've been more satisfied. I hear mixed reviews from everyone lol.

 

It all comes down to preference but if I was in your shoes I would have got the AT too, had A-Spec and was in better condition.

 

If drove that STI to it's limits and had crazy fun with it
You won't enjoy heavy TL with MT since you tasted something much better.

A-Spec
Wife
bit of Traffic

What are you thinking. Get the AT
if you want MT, keep your STI
That's it

 

absolutely love my TL-s MT. Still feel like a noob once in a while driving it. Hard clutch to master.

 

Sti has seen track days. It was time to get a more family appropriate car. I'll just have to wait for a trade for an AT where I won't take a loss.

 

I thought I was gonna regret getting an automatic. I drove a 94 integra gsr which was my first car and second gear was the greatest feeling in the world. I then drove a 97 honda accord ex MT and now graduated to my TL. I have no regrets since my fiancee can now drive this car especially after a night of drinking or a long trip to disneyland then back to san diego. Maybe I can work out my right calf now instead of the left.

 

OP from the sound of it go for the AT especially if the wifey doesnt want to learn;family first. All and all its still a sexy ass TL

 

I'm still interested in the OP's response to this.

As for the clutch feel "issue", that goes away with seat time IMO. Driving my car smoothly is 2nd nature to me now.

 

You'll still be happy with AT TL.
Keep the gear at 2, hit the VTEC, you are ok (on street)

if talking about tracks, it's the opposite of course
is track the reason for TL though? nope
had a STI anyways

seriously, after thinking all of the possiblities
Still it comes down to AT...

 

Only regret is that I didn't buy it sooner.

 

Depends on the person, really. Going from an STi to a TL 6mt doesn't mean you won't enjoy driving the TL. I've owned cars that would smoke an STi and thus are infinitely faster than my TL too but I still absolutely love getting into the TL every day.

For daily driving, the speed factor is the only real loss when giving up his STi, and a 6mt TL is still a properly quick car. Not fast, but it is quick. STi handles a bit better but when you are in traffic, you aren't going to take turns on regular streets much differently in an STi than in a TL, let's be realistic.

To the OP, I don't regret my MT at all - I drove an '05 TL AT for a few years and it was a nice car, but I fell in love with the TL on a whole nother level when I got my 6mt.

In the year 2012 when automatics, paddle shifters and electronics control most transmissions, for some of us, there is an infinite amount of value in having a comfortable daily driver that is still a manual gearbox, despite the fact that it isn't the fastest car on the block.

Luxury with a manual gearbox is something to be thankful for.

 

No regrets here. After removing the flow valve it made it even better.

 

Exactly...that's what I am saying
He could enjoy it with an AT too, unless you take it off to a track.

That's what I understood. He is trying to get away from STI life.


"you aren't going to take turns on regular streets much differently in an STi than in a TL, let's be realistic."

That's what I am saying also, get the AT, keep it at 2nd and hit the VTEC if you need little fun that is enough for streets

Wouldn't be much better with an MT, of course but not after you add the wife, and traffic in to it.

 

Its not the clutch, I am trying to make a responsible choice by switching to a family car. Just not sure if a 6 speed was the best decision for my family and me. I don't plan on tracking the car so not sure if the 6 speed is for me. There are days where I love having it and there are days I dread having it. Overall, I think it would have been more conveninent to have an AT.

 

I'm in SF and i don't mind have the 6 speed at all (even with the crazy hills here). I came from an E36 bimmer that had a really grabby clutch and decent low end torque so it's kind of annoying to have to give it so much gas to get started on a hill from a stop. But other than that, took me about 3 days to get used to the clutch. There's only about 10% of the time that I wish I got an auto, but I guess it's different for everyone.

 

04 - 06 model years were good old days if you wanted manual as a no-cost option. Nowadays if you want a new TL with manual, you have to pay thousands more over the base tl.

I bought my TL Acura Certified Pre-owned and it took me a few months to finally find one I like. So the satisfaction is even greater.

 

Yeah what's the deal with that?!?!?!

Hell it used to be CHEAPER to get manual. Then Auto became a "No cost option". Now MT is more? Sounds like another scam. There are probably more parts in an automatic trans than the entire rest of the car.

 

I don't exactly regret getting a 6MT, but I think I'm at the point that I may get an AT for the next car. 90%+ of my driving is super heavy traffic and a MT is just more work. Plus the wife can't swap cars with me when we need to. I've been driving MT for over 20 years, and the TL for 6 now. Of course I don't really look at TL as a sports car either like some people do.

I think the big issue with the TL specifically is the LSD and and brembo package. That's something hard to give up.

 

Understood. I wasn't sure if there was something specific about the 6MT itself that made you have second thoughts. Family is the priority of course so if an AT fits your needs better, then it's a no-brainer

It's probably a volume thing now. I'd bet that they make and sell enough autos to spread out the cost. I'm not sure how many MTs are sold nowadays but I'd bet that the market for them is pretty small.

 

yes, Acura is the only manufacturer at least imports wise that makes an awd manual luxury car in it's class. (Audi A4 is more of a TSX competitor).

BMW and Audi have stopped making them.

 

is the wife going to drive the car? Will she drive a manual? My daughter loves driving in my car since it's manual, she thinks it's lots of fun.

I met lots of resistance from my wife when I got my TL and she refuses to drive a manual so I had to get auto, initially. A few years later I said F this I want to drive stick again and that's how it's gonna be, so I sold my AT and got a 6mt.

I just made sure I bought her a vehicle that she loves and would always be favorable for getting the kids around, so that she has no reason to complain.

The AT is still nice if you take care of it.

 

Hello everyone , I am a new member and just recently bought my first Acura. How much difference is there between having a six speed and the five speed transmission? Does it improve gas milage or quarter mile times?

 

^In my experience, both. Of course it really depend on the driver skill level......but that's the point of MT. You become a functioning component of the power-train vs being just an operator.

 

Are there any regional TL forums that I can look for potential traders? I briefly spoke with another member here but he is located in DC.

 

I wouldn't say I reget it, since I was aware of the downsides before buying it, but heavy traffic is no fun with the TL. Anywhere from moderate to no traffic I'd say MT is a better bet, heavy traffic just sucks with a MT. The TL is definitely 'hard' to drive very smooth, which is odd since its a semi-luxury car. I've driven a few other MT's that were WAY easier to drive, a few of them brand new with grabby clutches. The combo of un unsprung clutch, and somewhat unpredictably slow clutch release makes it tricky to master.

It's not hard to drive at all, as long as you're not worried about wearing the syncros and clutch.

 

The fact that the TL I was looking at was a 6-speed is the reason I got mine.

Too many issues with the auto-trans from what I read.

 

For some reason my PM box has a max of 2 messages so I apologize for all the rejected PMs. Email me at nghia85@gmail.com

By the way, I am located in Denver.

 

Not accurate.

the 1 in 40 estimate is from wikipedia for the 04-06 model yrs...less than 5% of all TLs sold during those yrs were MT.

pricewise when new....there was no price difference between the MT and the AT w/ or w/o navi. the MSRP was the same. the options for the 04-06 model yrs:
base AT
base AT w/navi
base MT
base MT w/navi
either base MT had optional HPT available
dealer installed optional Aspec pkg

these were the available "pkgs" per se at time of purchase new.

i believe the type-s models were sold the same way in terms of price. same price...pick a tranny was the only option you had.

 

The only regret I had is when I drove my Tundra auto and my passengers looked at me funny when my left foot made a sound as it hit the floor mat.

 

I just did a 3rd gear pull vtaaaaaakkkk to get on the freeway for giggles.

With that aside, The car does well when you need power with 6MT. It's not SMOOTH all the time, tricky clutch. Putting in a TQ damper, that might help.
Overall, I've driven through traffic, keep distance and drag that gear through it.

 

I have one of each. Mine's an '04 manual, as you can see in my sig, and my wife's is an '05 automatic. There is quite a difference between these two platforms. I have only owned one automatic in my life that was my personal driving machine (a 1983 Cressida), and the only reason I bought it is because I thought I would tow a boat with it (wound up towing with my wife's car after all).

There is no way I would even consider a personal driving machine with an automatic transmission and the TL is certainly no exception to this rule. Obviously with this strong of a bias, you can guess I've never looked back.

 

any1 on here regret getting a MT, LMK.. i'll trade u any day!! I miss my 6 speed..

 

If you're being serious and in or around Denver, let me know. I'm officially looking for a trade for my 6 speed.

Its weird, the demographics of TL owners seem to be either east coast or west coast. No mile high love here.

 

I'm currently midwest :p

 

if only that u weren't 1700 miles away.. i'm in pa or else i'd be all over it..

 

Dang, that's no good. Well, I'll continue my search. In the mean time, I guess I'll enjoy the 6sp for what it is.

 

We have both 08 auto and 06 manual. I prefer the manual every time. I think the reason is I feel as if im more in control of the car and it feels the manual has more power but that's only because i get to choose when to shift. i drove both today and had the exact thought that i just provided. even in heavy traffic i don't mind the manual. one time i had the manual in a place that first gear was to fast for slow moving traffic and it sucked pressing in the clutch every 2 seconds BUT that has only happened once

 

automatics are just as fast as the manual (if not faster) but the manual adds to the pain of driving. Like keep your feet and hands free.. Well, what if I dont want to? What if I am multi-tasking? Plus, like all other automatics, it's going to be hard to be a modern automatic today UNLESS its a Z06 (only manual) compared to other corvettes which are mainly automatics, but you cant really compare those because the Z06 has a ton more horsepower but a manual and automatic AcuraTL are the same horsepower. So again I say, You gotta be a damn fast shifter to beat one of todays automatics. However, if this was 1975 then yes I would go with the stick. But todays automatics have better gears.

I have very glad I have an automatic. Manual cars also have a lower value I think.

 

Manuals have less drive-train loss compared to an automatic. This is made negligible by human error in the time that it takes to shift a manual unless, as you said, you're a damn fast shifter.