My 0.02...
 

Hi, DopeTL04,

I'm sure you may know the main purpose of having L mode is to provde your 04TL maximum engine braking while your tranny downshifts to the lowest possible ratio for your current road speed, whatever they are 40 or 80. Due to this theory, any driver definitely would feel hastily and abruptly, but expectedly after knowing well how L is operated.


The side effect of this mode is giving you the best of Power and Torque to accelerate.


Many ppl may have agreed or experienced L mode has a lot of similarities to SS mode. IMHO, yes, they're built by the same techniques and conducted by the same theories. Both of them all have variety of safty features helping the engine and driver-train from damage. ECU will cut the fuel flow to the engine if there is danger of over-revving the engine. ECU will command to upshift if cutoff alone is unable to prevent further engine over revving. Our ECU will block any commands of sending the engine beyond redline in any gears.


These main features will take control in SS mode and L mode. If anyone tries to play SS mode aggressively, I don't think L mode is more danger than what SS mode can hurt your tranny or engine. If anyone think playing hard with SS mode is quite safe and reliable, I cannot see why L mode cannot be protected as SS mode has been treat. Tons of ppl have revved their 04TL to redline everytime they hit the freeway, will their tranny be damaged, time will tell. (Plus, many of 6MT guys downshift 6-4 or 5-3, I don't see their tranny's problems yet.)


I'm one of guys here flooring L mode since Oct. I don't encourage ppl to ride this mode frequently, and it's always good to know more about your 04TL although you never want to use L mode.



I don't know if L mode can upshift from 2 to 3... anyone knows? Thanks.
:o


Wish 3rd Gen. tranny is much much much better than 2nd Gen.

rets - I get the impression from Ron A's prior comments that Low will not automatically upshift, but rather the rev limiter will kick in.

I give up you win. Don't use ss or L..it'll break your engine because it makes your engine rev and riding your car on high revs is stupid. I should of bought a big block so my rev's will always be at 2-3K.

I'm going to say this one more time...your car WILL AUTO downshift when you FLOOR it. So yes you WILL hit 80mph in 3rd gear if you FLOOR it even without using SS or L. There is NO difference between FLOORING it and DOWN SHIFTING to 3rd gear. Actually the BIG difference is you are going to have the advatage of gear braking if you use SS or L. No one is telling you to do this over driving in 'D' mode. This is USEFUL if you've ever found the need for it. If you haven't found the need for it then this does not apply to you.

Again if you never drove a manual car please reframe from your uneducated comments. I don't care about your mechanic friends. This isn't he said/she said. This is PROVEN. One day when you learn how to drive a manual tranny car it will finally make sense to you.

I'm one of guys here flooring L mode since Oct. I don't encourage ppl to ride this mode frequently, and it's always good to know more about your 04TL although you never want to use L mode.



That is all im trying to say, thank you!

TLGator- Good question. It says it has a "reverse lockout" which I would interpret to mean that it won't go into reverse. Who can we get to try this out?

rets- Unfortunately, what you wrote will be understood and accepted by everyone but the one person who needs to understand it most.

I'm typing this as I drive 80 mph in the fast lane on the Long Island Expressway using my Sony Z1 notebook and its Wi-Fi connection.

I just put my spare key in the shift release hole and have free movement of my shifter.

To prove DopeTL04 wrong, I'm going to shift into reverse at 80 mph as the computer will protect me.

Okay......here we go.......I'm shifting from D to R right now and I can report to you tha

Yes, good try, rets, but not only won't that one person accept it, moreover he misinterpreted it! :lol1:

BJ - Another genuine laugh OUT LOUD post!

There is no difference between flooring it and downshifting to 3rd gear at high speed??? what are you on crack!!!!! THERE IS A HUGE DIFFERENCE. when you floor it, your not letting your damn tranny slow down the car for you. If your using L to slow down your car, What the fuck is the point of your brakes.... Like I said, if you wanna (I mean want to) use L to brake go ahead, it cause of people like you people like mechanics make money anyway. What would we do without careless drivers!! :love:

Isnt there a forum where there are only girl drivers on. maybe you should be on that, they are clueless just like you, you will fit there perfectly......LEARN HOW TO DRIVE BIATCHHHHH.... :thefinger

The manual (again) says you must move the shift lever to D for the transmission to upshift to third gear when you are in L.

I couldn't find any statement like that about SS in the manual. Whoever wrote in and said that SS will upshift after the rev limiter has been actuated, is this from actual experience or is it in the manual somewhere?

Gear braking = letting tranny slow you down which I mentioned. I've been doing it for YEARS without adverse effects. Terms like 'heel-toe' and 'rev matching' probally mean nothing to you.

Your uneducated comments and unproven statements make you sound like a :clown:

I frequently will be driving on the freeway (in SS) and will downshift into 3rd gear to pass. Now, I don't downshift into 3rd while going 80, but I surely go faster than 80 while in 3rd. When you downshift and accelerate at the same time, your tranny isn't helping you to slow down, it's helping you accelerate!! If you are in drive and floor it, the tranny will downshift so you can accelerate faster. If it didn't then what would be the point of all the gears??

Downshifting to slow down is another story. Yes, if you are going 60 and use SS to downshift into 3rd, then yes, your tranny will help you stop. There is nothing wrong with this!! Drive will not downshift for you and you will only be using your brakes. Is braking enough in most instances? Usually. But what if you are in Drive, braking hard, then realize you need you swerve around the car - you will have virtually no power to accelerate around an object. If you are in SS and are downshifting, you can easily accelerate. Which sounds safer to you?

I agree 100% completely on this! This is one reason why I asked questions about the SS and L. Holding REV's is VERY important, especially in bad weather. Also this used to suggested to people to prevent 'locking' the brakes before ABS was around.

My fault...



BTW, 80 mph is about 2300-2400 RPM at 5th gear, and 4900-5100 at 3rd gear (right above Vtec point).

Yes, you're right. Without shifting to D, L mode will not upshift from 3 to 2. I'm blind.



Also, to your Question, Acura said,

... ... In second, third and fourth, the transmission won't upshift without a command from the driver; the ECU cuts off fuel flow to the engine if there is danger of over-revving the engine. The transmission will upshift itself to prevent engine damage in the rare situation where the fuel cutoff alone is unable to prevent further engine over revving (as could happen on a steep downhill)... ...

TLGator-what an accomplishment. You started a thread which inspired many great postings, but what puts me in awe is this:

Started 5/13/12:50PM
Currently 5/14/3:50PM
Elapsed time: 27 hours
Number of replies: 93
Number of views: 1,100

Is this a record? And remember, the number of views is based on the number of different people viewing, because once you have viewed a thread, the count doesn't increase when you view it again.

We you just out exceeding the limit ... in NYC? Love it!

Tons of highway have 55 MPH limit here. I was testing my car while experiencing an issue of "MIL On" (checking engine light). Not very often. :o

There's a bit of a twist with all this SS fun.....

If you're in D5 going about 70 mph and you simply stomp on the gas and hit the pedal to the floor, you downshift immediately to D3 and fly like a rocket. (I know this because I moved to SS and confirmed I was in 5th, then moved back to D, then stomped on the gas, then moved back to SS and saw I was straight into 3rd).

So why the excitement about going 70 mph in D5 and downshifting to SS4?

BJ

BJ is always right.

From D5 to D3, you can either

1) shift to SS, downshift, downshift......Slow
2) stomp your gas pedal to the end......Amazing
3) shift to L............................................Urrrr rrrrrr

You can choose whatever you prefer to... all have lots of fun without breaking your engine or tranny... :o

The question you have to ask yourself is do you want to accelerate at your own pace, or do you want to have to floor it and let the car take you for a ride? Yes, slamming on the gas will downshift for you and you will take off. Downshifting into 3 and giving it gas will give you smooth, predictable acceleration without pinning yourself to the supple leather of the seats. If you are in Drive and need immediate power, by all means, stomp on the gas pedal. If you look around and see a car you want to pass, drop the car into SS and take control of it. It's all up to you and how you want to drive your car. You can just leave it in drive all the time if you want. I have a tough time using drive, as I want to have power at all times without having to floor it. Though, my gas mileage suffers for it.

BJ raises a good question but moeronn has the right answer. Indeed, for immediate shit-in-your-pants acceleration, just slam the pedal to the floor. But for all sorts of controlled accelerations (like on-ramps, passing), controlled decelerations (like exit ramps), bad weather, heavy traffic, and other maneuvers, manipulating the gears yourself is superior. But as prophet pointed out earlier, if you haven't logged significant hours in a manual tranny, a lot of this may just be too foreign to be useful. In which case, hey, just enjoy the AT - it works great all by itself.

It has sort of grown like a tumor, but I doubt it's a record. Pick any thread started or infiltrated by hardrivin1le. Pages get added to those threads faster than babies are born in China.

But I definitely have appreciated all the great input here.

I am in awe of your ability to add such vivid imagry to your posts :D

Your other examples of appropriate times to use SS are spot on.

I like to drop my car in low around 20-25. Hit about 4.5k RPM's then BAM. Take off and your gone. All my friends say this is bad for your car. I mean, they wouldnt put it into the car if it was unsafe. I recently went to shop and found out i blew out like 3 out of 4 motor mounts. And a tranny mount or something along that lines. SO im just curious if that could of been the reason or if that just added to the factor.

Holy thread revival Batman. Good job using the search :thumbsup:

Wow a thread from 04'.

These cars have weak mounts. Flooring it might soeed things up but they will break w gmom driving

How many miles does your car have? Aren't our cars due for new motor mounts at ~105k miles anyway? It's part of the major maintenance that's required every 100k or so miles. Not sure about the tranny mount though.

I miss some of the original owners around here. Reading this brings back memories. I remember break-in well as one person was. My car had 8 miles on it when I bought it. My gf at the time had an '05 and I bought my '06 in Dec of '05. So with 8 miles on it I raced the gf the second I pulled out of the dealership.

About the trans, the ECU won't allow you to do anything that will instantly hurt anything but it doesn't mean it's good for the car.

lol, nice!...