Hey how's it going guys! New to the forum. I don't yet own my own personal Acura but in the coming months I will be getting my dad's 2007 TL Type S. I drive it all the time currently. Its the 5 speed automatic, and I'd like to get used to using the paddle shifters instead of automatic most of time. Of course with a normal real manual you have to take your foot off the gas for the shift real quickly, but I was wondering if that was still the case if I'm just using the shift by wire with the paddle shifters? Will it hurt the longevity of the transmission at all if I do not take my foot off? Seems like I said wouldn't need to since the process isn't all that different for the transmission than automatic mode. Thanks in advance!

 

No, you don't have to, essentially, it's the same as the "Sport Shift" mode, the computer will do everything for you, including not letting you shift at moments that would hurt the trans.

 

the ecu automatically lets off throttle for a split second while the transmission shifts, a feature on TL's but not accords.....just a thought.

 

Great! Thanks for the help guys!

 

And if u forget to shift it will shift for u automatically

 

and its nothing like the manual and not really necessary except for certain situations. just put it in D

 

Yeah I know it's not like a real manual but I find driving with it is much more fun and involved compared with D.

 

I would just leave it in D lol.

My TL is a manual, but on occasion I drive my mom's TSX and I just leave it in D. The paddles are fun but I find the gas mileage suffers whenever I play with them.

 

you can use either mode and they are design for a reason. having fun..

 

it wants the D

 

Your dads just forking over that car? What's he getting instead?

 

Down, but not up

 

It's still an auto, torque converter and all. Nothing like a manual. All it's doing is letting you say when to shift just like every auto in the last 50 years except its s little more convenient due to the paddles instead of shifting a column or console.

Lol at the more involving comments. It's extra work with no benefits but it makes some people feel like race car drivers. Even if I'm drag racing I leave it in D until the 3-4 shift and only then do I put it into manual to squeeze those last 300rpm out of it to prolong the dreaded shift to 4th. Ironically it's the same way I race my turbo car as well.

In normal driving mine is used only for long ascents or decents to prevent hunting. Also the ECUs logic is slightly flawed when climbing a hill. If the hill is steep enough, the torque converter will unlock and rpms come up for more hp due to converter slip. It's still in 5th gear so there's no mechanical leverage advantage. I manually pull it down to 4th. The converter will re lock due to less throttle and power needed since the engine now has a better leverage advantage of the lower gear. With the converter locked in 4th gear, rpms are exactly the same as they were in 5th and the converter unlocked. You're now creating far less heat and you have better acceleration. I can't figure out why Acura would program it to unlock the converter and stay in 5th rather than to stay locked and downshift to 4th.

 

Using the paddles on an automatic is one of the lamest things you can do ;-) Sorry to put it that way, but its true. If you get this Type S and start using the paddles I give you 1 day before you realize its dumb and a waste of time. Its an automatic just let it do its thing.

 

^Well said. The only situations I've found manually shifting an automatic is useful is for holding gears on hilly terrain or downshifting for a passing/merging maneuver without burying your foot and getting nothing for a second before an automatic downshift.

Also, IDK if it's the same on the TL, but on my mom's 2G TSX, I noticed the torque converter lockup changes a lot when you shift manually. In regular D it likes to lockup around the middle of 3rd gear, but in S manual it won't lockup until a few seconds after you shift into 5th. Obviously that extra open torque converter time translates to gas being wasted as heat.

 

THe onlyt time i go into sport shift mode is on a red light. i just shift it up and down and watch the screen go 1..2...1...2...1...2. Then the light turns green and im back to Automatic Mode

 

Carpy, it's kind of fun to use the paddle shifters. Everything the guys have said above is true.

At the end of the day, just know that they ARE fun to use. Just don't use the paddles to downshift and slow the Type S down. Only use the downshift paddles to ref-match to get more power and accelerate.

 

i use the paddle shifters everytime i drive my car. i guess i'm lame.

they are there for you to use if you choose to, why not use them? they're fun.

 

no mine shifts up on its own. In fact my first gear shifts up before i get to like 3,000 rpm for some reason. must be because i drive like a grandpa most of times to save on gas.

 

only 1-2 shifts by itself, but not the other gears

 

True on our models. Type S models however will hold 1st.

And I am with Sharky I use the sport mode all the time. I like to choose what gear I am in. I hate when it shifts me up to 5th when I see a red light in front of me and I know I am about to slow down. I had a commute over a large hill as well and the D mode used to drive me nuts I would go into sport mode out of frustration so many times I ended up just putting it in sport mode at the start of my commute. I probably should have bought a manual but oh well.

 

every time i get ready to buy a new vehicle I look at the MTs but end up getting an AT. I guess I look at things different like what if u break ur left leg?? and u cant push in the clutch pedal? u are pretty much shit out of luck. im pretty active and wouldnt want to not be able to go somewhere in this situation. there are also other factors as well just thought id share this example.

 

Yeah right now I am definitely glad I drive an auto because I just had shoulder surgery so my right arm is out of commission.

Anyways to the OP, do whatever you want man. If you feel like cruising just throw it in D, if you want to paddle shift then paddle shift. All personal preference. You are lucky to be handed down such a nice car, take care of her and stick around here so you can learn a thing or two as well.

 

^ that doesnt sound like fun. hope for a speedy recovery man

 

does that harm the tranny like crazy?

 

I use the paddles about 80% of the time. Like Aaron said, they're there to use, why not use them?

 

puts undue stress on the drivetrain since the thing doesnt rev-match. Only do this when trying to slow yourself along with the brakes on a steep decline.

 

derp, apparently the 07-08 TLS autos rev match. disregard!

 

Even if I'm zipping through traffic or racing on the street or doing track runs I don't use the paddles. The movement is so slight and sometimes you can't tell if you've shifted because I feel it's slightly slower to react than the up/down through the shift knob. Regular every day driving its always in D.

 

SS on the 07 base is 10x more fun to drive then D. I don’t know if it’s justmy car but when I shift up at around 2500-3000 rpm with my foot on the gas in1,2,or 3rd the car bolts forward during the shift as if it has some extra powerit sends my head, and I’ve noticed the passengers head flying back most of thetime. Feels cool as hell, and is more fun than D.

 

All 07-08 models hold first.

 

About rev matching, I still give it a blip of the throttle at just the right time to make the downshift invisible during the rare time I manually shift. It's easy to get the timing down, just downshift, count to 10, blip the throttle as it shifts. Well it's not that slow but its pretty slow to downshift.

 

i use manual mode when racing because it lets me use couple hundred extra rpm....i feel like it definitely helps since the gears are far apart enough, it drops out of vtec after each shift :/ For a drag race, I am 99% sure I can beat the same car in D if I use manual mode because the extra rpms really helps.

 

The very few times I've drag raced the TL I've shifted the 3-4 manually. The other gears don't seem to make much of a difference with the extra hundred or so rpm but keeping it out of 4th as long as possible helps. I raced another TL from a red light and got a couple feet on him off the start but that was it. We were as even as we could possibly be but maintaining that slight advantage I got off of the start. Toward the top of 3rd we were still even, until his shifted to 4th and mine didn't for another second. It was actually pretty dramatic. I put a couple feet between my rear bumper and his front bumper. I let off once I pulled the lead to make sure he was still in it and he almost immediately passed me at full throttle. This is the way I've always raced my turbo car. Now I have two cars where I try to avoid 4th gear at all costs.