Last night I went to Atco raceway to give my car a run. Now let me first say that 3 days ago my check service light came on and my oil life is below 15%. I have a 05 TL A-spec with Navi AT, and my first run was 15.6 and my second run was 15.7. Now a month back I went to the race track, I didnt run that time but I was there to watch my friend run. He has a stang 5.0 and he ran 14.4. On our way back home we pulled over to a side street and raced. I beat him both times we raced. What is up with my car? The other day I was driving it and I was thinking that my car has lost power. Can it be because of the oil life? I would of been satisfied with a 14.6 but I was 1 second behind that. Why? I raced with the air off and traction off also. This is what my time slip looked like the first and second time. My reaction times suck, and on the second run, the reaction time was better and the time was slower.

temp 58
humid 79

1st 2nd

r/t - .741 .345
60 - 2.497 2.547
330- 6.791 6.791
1/8-10.214 mph 71.81 10.327 mph 71.65
1/4- 15.665 mph 91.59 15.793 mph 91.16

Can someone please help me out here? Im feeling very let down from my Acura this morning. Thanks

 

Ouch!!! When I test drove the 5AT TL, I was VERY disappointed in it's acceleration (esp. compared with my 02 Maxima). Your drag times (as well as others) confirmed what I thought: AT vs AT, it appears that the peformance of the 3G TL < TL-S.

I'm not certain how much of a difference an oil change will make but you could drain/refill with some Royal Purple or Amsoil and see. I doubt it would make a big difference.

As for street comparisons with your friend's 5.0, it's hard to read into that other than you just beat him at that given time.

BTW, your RT (reaction time) has no bearing on ET (elapsed time). Your RT could be 10 minutes and you'll still run '15.665 @ 91.59'. So dont sweat the RT too much...unless you're bracket racing.

Good luck man. The TL Aspec is a sweet looking package.

 

i heard a few people say the same

 

Your short times are pathetic. It looks like you spun the tires (since the Traction Control was off). With the VSA turned off, you could have spun easily and that will hurt e.t.

"BTW, your RT (reaction time) has no bearing on ET (elapsed time). Your RT could be 10 minutes and you'll still run '15.665 @ 91.59'. So dont sweat the RT too much...unless you're bracket racing. "

I concur. I can't tell you how many times I laugh at Newbie racers when they say..."If I get a better reaction time, I think it'll go 14's."

A-Train

 

How many miles do you have on your 05 TL?

When I first got my 04 TL, I was dissapointed in its acceleration compared to my Type S. But now with 14K miles, my 04 TL has morphed into a rocket. It really odd; the drive-by-wire throttle responds quicker, the J32A3 sounds meaner, and the thing feels like it gained another 1 sec in the 1/4 mile.

My advice is wait till its broken in more, and in the meantime, break it in hard! That's what I did to both my TL's. I'm might be going to englishtown next week, and I'll let you know how I do

 

You've gotta work on your launch. 2.5-second 60' time is down right miserable.

Did you leave it in full automatic or were you shifting for yourself?

 

I left it in auto mode both times. The first time I stepped on the gas from the brake, and the second time I power braked it. The track was wet from the burnout pit, and I never spun the tires dry. With the helmet on it was hard to tell if my tires spun out at all. I think they must of. Im getting my oil done at Acura this Wends and I want synthetic in it. Can you give me any launching tips so I can get a satisfing run? Thanks for the help from everyone it has made a difference.

 

I will be back at the track this Friday and I will post the results.

 

My tl has 5200 miles on it. Thanks again for all replys. I am getting worried because a month ago, my friend with a 5.0 ran 14.4 at the track, and I took him good both times. Now to come to think of it after reading the feedback from the others, I took him off the line both times pretty good, and he could not catch up to me. So with that it has to be my launch time, now it is time to fix it. But how?
What else can I do with an AT, besides just stamp on the pedal. I was going to purchase a comptech supercharger( when it is available), CAI, and catback. But if I cant get this car to run in the 14s why bother?

 

Before I broke 6k miles my car felt like a dog, beyond that this thing needs serious launch torquing because it's a low end gutless wonder.

A 2.5 60 ft is pathetic, but it's hard to get that bitch down. You need to learn to feather the throttle and make your way into the 14's because it's there. The trap, on the other hand, is the really sad part.

Considering I've pulled auto CL-S's I know that the car is far more capable than the 91 you pulled, I just personally can't see wasting my time at the track.

 

Pay attention to the shift RPMs. If they are shifting way before the redline, then it will be wiser to use SportShift to max it out to the redline before shifting.

As for the launch, I would recommend lightly stepping on the brake pedal with your left foot -- just enough to keep the car stationary. And have your right foot ready on the throttle as the christmas tree goes down -- but don't power brake.

I realized that when I use my right foot on the brake then move it over to the gas pedal, I tend to hit it a bit too hard and end up spinning off the line. So having your right foot on the gas pedal already will help you modulate the gas pedal better for a smoother launch.

And of course, VSA off. If the helmet is preventing you from hearing the tires, then don't wear it. NHRA rules only require a helmet if your car is running 13.99 or faster (last time I checked).

Have fun.

 

In accordance to drag racing, you might want to write down a few things.

When drag racing for the best 1/4 mile time, you need to remind yourself the following things

1) Right set of tires
2) Do a burnout to clean out tires
3) Gut everything out in the truck, including the spare tires
4) Good Reaction Time

Team Elusive's MainEvent does low 14s with 6MT, but I'm sure if you try a few more times and remember the above 4 tips, you can get it down to high 14s or even mid.

good luck

 

4) Good Reaction Time

How does that factor into the ET? Good RTs won't hurt, but if you're just racing for a personal best ET, then it doesn't mean anything. In fact, when I'm staged against hot rods or dragsters, I let them go first then take off because I don't give two shits about the RT. I prefer to hear my tires because I'm an auditory learner when it comes to launching.

And burning out on street tires is pretty much useless. Just drive around the waterbox and you're good to go. Perhaps just peel out for a second, but no need to burn rubber.

 

who drag race with street tires?? That's just rediculous.

 

Sounds like you and I are experiencing the "I was sure my car is faster than that."

I'm in the same boat, I took the 04 5AT out to the track and was running 15.6's, & 15.7's on 19's w/CAI. I tried everything from the foot stall, sport shift, no spinning at all, and my short times were gay. My slips look almost exactly like yours. I wish I woulda looked more into the 6MT when purchasing.

 

 

How are you guys running 15.7's with a 3rd gen TL? You guys should be hitting at least 15.3, at the worst. I have an extremely heavy system in my trunk and my Type-S always runs 15.1's in 95 degree weather. Sounds like you guys need to learn how to launch your cars.

And as for the 6MT, I've seen someone on this board hit 14.2's on a Friday night at Raceway Park. I don't remember the guy's name but I was very impressed with his results.

 

Nitrotiger has gone 14.02@98mph in his 3G 6MT TL.

I always see low mph for the 5AT's...

My guess is that the stock shift points are on the low side.

Try a run with it in 4th. Then try one manually shifting. My guess is that the stock shift points short shift bigtime.

Worry about the ET, and the MPH... mid 15's @ low 90's mph makes sense. Get that mph back up and the ET will probably drop too.