Greetings all!

I'm the new owner of a 2000 3.2 TL and am a bit disappointed
It's got 150K on it so it's been around, but the dealer swore it was in great shape (elderly drivers), and we know they never lie!

On the plus side, I've found it to be way more comfy than my 2000 Malibu for short trips, but for long ones I find the TL a bit low, causing some knee pain. Also I've found even the start of the Canadian winter to be troublesome for my car (brand new Michelin tires -factory?) with massive fishtailing on turns and useless traction controls. My pal who has an Integra tells me his car is as poor or worse, and that this is true of Acurae in general. I've found dry handling to be superb with some over-steering on fast turns, which seems to be contrary to the literature. Am I on crack?

Anyhow, the real disappointment came when I got dusted repeatedly by my old ride! Specs say 0-60 should be 8.5 for the Malibu, but I know I've pushed it faster. So far the best I've managed on the TL is 8 flat.

So I'd like to solicit any non-mod advice on improving my launch from stop-lights, typical road conditions.
Based on my experience with my last two cars Malibu 2000, Taurus 1994, these are the only methods I know of:

1. neutral drop
Stick car in N, floor it -or not if wet- engage gear on go.
In the previous cars I had a shift knob release that allowed me to go into overdrive, 3, 2, or 1 directly by releasing the button and engaging the gear when I wanted.
With the TL, if I tried this, I'd either go into D5 or into D1 and work my way up. If I went into D1, would I be engaging D5, then 4, then 3, then 2, then 1 or if I pull down fast enough am I going straight into D2-D1?

2. brake and gas
Stand on the brake and floor it (if dry), on go, lift off brake, then move up through D2,3,4,5 just prior to redlining.
Or, do the same but shift closer to the peak of the torque curve for that gear?

3. brake and gas in overdrive
Same as above but let the transmission do the work for me.

4. SportShift and gas
What the heck does SS do anyways? It seems to me I have no control over D1,2 in SS -or maybe I'm just too dull to catch the really narrow band where the SS kicks in/out of gear by itself? In D3,4 redlining seems impossible. (It's my transmission, I'll cry if I want to.) So really this seems to be a far cry from a clutchless manual, but seems to be some sort of rev-limiting device. Couldn't I just use o/d instead?
It seems I'm not limited by red if I use the auto-trans as a manual instead?

5. TCS
Well it seems to kick in when I don't have the button pressed. How does this affect 1.-4.? Should I leave it on or off?

So far I've been taken out by an impala, camry, malibu, cavalier (that hurt a lot), a minivan, and am really starting to lose confidence. Once I'm in 3rd gear however, the TL can pickup speed really fast, so passing power is amazing. With some rolling starts (both cars -usually ba$tard won't let me pass) I've managed to k-o a new charger, a mustang, an rs-x, a bmw 525i, and just about everyone else! I even took the bmw off the line by a hair at the next light (my head was at their bumper) and we were both really racing?!

This seems to be a very particular car giving me very wierd inconsistent performance. But before I spend any $ on mods, I want to make sure the driver is not the problem.

The best I've managed timed is 0-100km/h (about 62mph) in the 8 flat by using the sportshift without stepping on the brake. Ie. left foot on brake, right above gas, release and floor on green, shifting up as rpms approach red. I hit 100 fast and just after sportshifting into 3rd. I suspect if I had the torque/rpm curves I could do better? Anyone have them? I'd be tempted to use the auto-trans but find the gate awkward.

Okay, so before torturing my ride anymore, I'd like to get your experienced views. I have and am searching through the forums so please don't think me lazy.

Some additional things:
I've been using 91octane, but haven't really been impressed with the mileage.
What would happen if I used a lower grade?
The gas light comes on waaaay to early -just under 1/4, is there a way to modify it?
Does it hurt to have on the heating, radio....?

-Thanks a bunch
PS despite the cracked leather, lack of fold-down rear seats, a useless cd player (no cd-r's, ne eq's) and a few other bugs, it's not a bad car and it was a steal at $11K

 

what i do to launch my TL, (97 2.5TL) is the brake and gas method, BUT, i jam the brakes really hard (have to do this otherwise the car will lurch forward) and then rev the engine to about 3k rpms and then on go, i let go of the brakes and then floor the gas pedal.

i wouldnt recommend doing the netural drop, i hear thats really really bad on your transmission, and being a 2nd gen TL you wouldnt want that ..

im going to assume you dont have a type-s.. (wasnt available for 99' and 00' year right?) so i guess you shouldnt expect tooo much

 

1. Don't ever do that in any car.

2. If you can apply the right amount of throttle and brake, then it would net a good launch. But it's bad for your torque converter.

3. Same thing as 2, except the transmission is shifting automatically for you.
Advantage of gate-shifting -- Max out the revs to the redline to wind out the most power possible.
Disadvantage of gate-shifting -- hit the rev limiter and say bye bye to the race.

4. SS is meant for holding a gear through a corner so you don't waste time downshifting on the exit or upset the chassis with an abrupt upshift while slowing down for the corner. It's useless in drag racing. Same rev limiter applies whether you're in fully automatic mode or using the SS. For drag racing, practice and use gate-shifting to max out the first gear.

5. The TCS is only good for up to like 17 mph. And if you spin off the line in a race, it will ruin your day. Leave it off and practice launching with minimal spin.

 

sounds like your car needs some maintenance if you are getting beat by cavaliers at times and others you can pull on a new charger(3.5l V6 I assume). How did you test your 0-60? at a track? at 150killometers(around what 90-100k miles) you might need new plugs, switch to full synthetic oil, check air filter, new some good fuel system cleaner and maybe clean your TB, IM and EGR.

 

word


it seems like your car'S not functionning properly...

 

Agreed.. clean up a few things (which you should do ANYWAY) and your car will run like new.

As for the "poor handling" in snow, its ALL about the tires, so get some better tires. Your friend with the Integra probably has sporty tires NOT meant for cold weather.

 

8??? ur car is broke!!!

 

What's the right way or action on the SS to lauch our TL?

 

Gateshifting is going to work better than SS, because the SS will shift out of 1st too soon. Definitely practice gateshifting before you go doing it, because you've got to shift earlier than you do in SS because you're not telling the car to shift, you're letting it shift.

Also, the brake-gas method is widely accepted as the way to go. But a tip: To get the brakes to engage more, hold your brake pedal down with your left foot, then put it in neutral and give rev with your right foot. The brake pedal should depress a bit more, putting you in good position to apply brake torque to around 2500rpm.

None of these thoughts are original. Pure Adrenaline gave me these tips last year.

 

Brake torquing wont work.. the transmission detects these kinds of shenanigans.

 

So which is the best way to ship our transmy box when racing from stop and from cruising ?
if brake torquing won't work ? Will it ruin my transmy ?
Any idea anyone.
Thanks

 

What I do is.. brake torquing slightly. I keep it below 1500RPM (usually around 1200~1300RPM). Not as bad as keeping up at 2500-3000RPM.

Neutral drop is pretty unpredictable... sometimes gear drops fast, other times it lags.