TL is an amazing luxury sports sedan. Compared to the average luxury car, its fast and fun to drive. Compared to the average sports car, its more practical and refined. Compared to the average true sports sedan (M3, C63), its miles cheaper to buy and maintain. Getting the car with a 6MT seems to combine the best of all those worlds. You don't have the money to afford a weekend fun car with a stick, but you want something practical and fun to drive on a daily basis. 6MT ftw.

I wish my car was a 6MT. I do. I use the sport shift on my 5AT often, but that really isn't the same at all.

 

Very well stated and in my opinion, correct in every way. We all make certain compromises in our vehicular preferences for whatever reasons. And that's fine except for enthusiasts who long for a driving machine that can give them more than something that just takes them from A to B. The TL is a car that does this quite nicely... especially the manual version. I have one of each so it is very easy for me to draw comparisons and conclusions, however my strong bias towards manual transmissions is apt to make any conclusion a foregone event.

There is nearly not a day that goes by that I don't take the time for a "TL moment", as we call it in my home. The feel of the car gone down some of the really fine roads in my area is more than an immediate enjoyment. It's almost a religious event. Silly as that may sound to some, I have things like this for the past 46 years and never have I gotten tired of it. The feeling remains the same. The TL is a portal to more than what it seems on the surface as would any fine piece of driving machinery be. And one these TL moments I take, it is always with my '04 manual.

 

6mt is the only way to go!!! ftw

 

Nice to see a post about something other than hanging plastic on the car, and nice to see a point of view from somebody else closer to my age. To see enjoyment of this model of car from a "contemporary" makes me feel better about my purchase decision.
I take delivery of my '05 TL 6MT next weekend, and I've taken the VERY unstable approach of buying a car I've never seen, and a model of car I've never even driven or ridden in! Whats wrong with me!!
One of my diesel Mercedes buddies has wanted my '95 for two years now, so I'm trading him all three of my diesel Mercedes, and he found and purchased the TL. Going to be weird driving a car that doesn't sound like a rod is fixing to launch from the block!
Anyway, to make a quick point long, glad to read the above!!

 

Well in re-reading my previous post, I noted some typos I made so I'm happy the message was relayed as intended. I just got back a few minutes ago from a TL moment, enjoying every minute of it. And since you appear to be of the same mind as I, here are a few things you might like to hear and know about the manual TL.

It has a rather quick steering ratio... quicker than the 1996 BMW 328i my wife finally got rid of for the '05 automatic she drives. It is 2.7:1 which when coupled with good rubber and the manual suspension, delivers a very nice road feel with decent turn in and steering response. There is no slop or extraneous garbage in the feel.

The suspension is both compliant AND firm enough as one would wish for in a performance sedan. This was the first thing, along with the steering, that I noticed in my test drive on the day I bought my '04. Also the car feels really solid; very good for any uni-body design in a sedan.

Although the car is not light and the engine is pretty small (196 cubic inches), the engineers did an excellent job of tuning the throttle response to give the driver an very nice feel of things under the hood. In other words, it feels like you have a larger engine at work for you. This is magnified with a manual since manuals are always delivering torque via a direct locked up drive train when the clutch is in full engagement.

Even though Acura/Honda advertises their manual as being a close ratio unit, this is not true. It is a wide ratio box because of one factor. The gear ratio spread between first and second gear is wide. The rest of the ratio spreads are close, however. But this is no big deal and the reason is simple. Because the engine is not very large and there is only 238 lb/ft of torque available; not exactly a torque monster by any means, so gearing is very important. But don't fret. The power comes on quite nicely and the car is very capable in virtually any traffic situation.

What all of this boils down to is a very enjoyable car which masks as a decent handling and accelerating road machine for what it is.. better than many, if not most, in its class. So enjoy your new ride and please do come back to share your opinions and ask your questions.

 

^^^
On the handling you touched on, the TL really does stand out. With it's double wishbones and excellent geometry, all it takes is some minor improvements and it handles with the big boys.

I never thought with some decent tires, factory optional a-spec springs and a couple swaybars I would be passing Vettes, WRXs, M3s, etc at the track. The TL is less powerful than all of those but it's braking and cornering is world class and dare I say at nearly exotic levels with a couple tweaks.

That is one of the advantages of the manual right out of the box, larger swaybars. Has anyone ever confirmed if the 6mt does in fact come with stiffer springs or shocks?

 

This is one of the main reasons I bought my TL. Handling and the nav. Had me sold in no time. Both those features completely blew away similarly priced vehicles at the time.

 

I love my 06 6MT. I drove automatics for 11 years and really really wanted a TL with 6MT. I basically had to learn how to drive a manual with this car. I had my brother drive the TL home after the purchase because I couldn't. I basically learned it in a couple days. There are a lot of good information here on how to rev match when you downshift and things like that.

I regreted it for a couple months but now I don't. I never kill it in traffic and it makes it really fun. Plus all of my friends think it's so cool when they ride in my car because most of them can't drive it.

 

Interesting. I learned to drive on a manual and took my driver's test on a manual. I used to race friends' cars at the track for them that were manuals but both of my street cars are autos.

 

Now that you can do this, why not take it to the next step and double clutch your downshifts?

 

That takes more coordination that I'm capable of. I had to do it in an old 325i BMW that had practically lost the syncros (250,000 miles). I had to double clutch it upshifting and downshifting every gear but first. I pride myself that I can get used to any manual and be shifting perfectly in 5 minutes but I just suck at double clutching.

 

I can really appreciate this. Not for the reasons you had to do it but because my first car, a 1964 Corvair Spyder, snapped its little ball fitting at the end of the cable that terminated at the release fork. Of course this resulted in a fully engaged clutch 100% of the time until fixed (I didn't carry around that spare part at the time). So I had to drive back one night from McLean, VA to Falls Church, VA with no clutch. Fortunately at 18 years old, I had already learned the techniques of rev-matching and double clutching so I was able to make it home. Traffic lights? Well due to the lateness of the hour, I either ran them or when I did stop, I had to shut down the engine until the light changed.

 

One of the advantages to no starter-clutch safety interlock lol.

I've driven enough piles that disabling the interlock was one of the first things I did. I had a friend that drove his 944 Porsche to a gas station a mile away in 5th gear on the starter. Not something I would have done but it was funny at the time.

 

Well it's final. My TL will be here Sunday the latest.

 

Very nice! I drive up to Kansas tomorrow to "meet" mine, and will drive it back Saturday......
Will enjoy your pics when you get the car. You WILL have pics, right?!

 

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Of course.....

 

I went with the MT6 for two reasons:

1. I feel more in control. This applies mainly to downshifting to gain traction in winter driving and quicker response than an auto with downshifting for acceleration.

2. I'm not impressed by Honda's track records on auto's. I went through the whole 98-01 Accord tranny problem and almost went through the 2nd gen TL tranny problem. After reading all about it and test driving several I decided not to make the same mistake twice (with the 2nd gen TL that is). I know this gen's auto is better so I'm certainly not knocking it. But I was stung once and I'd prefer it not happen again. I've owned a few Nissans and Toyota, both of which were less reliable overall than my Honda's/Acura's but not when it came to trannys.

Otherwise I have no beef with autos. If I lived in a less snowy area and knew a vehicles auto was solid, I'd pick it up in a heartbeat.

 

Acutron, post up some of the issues you have here, and see if anyone knows the answer

 

Bump?
Since this thread is about manuals I have some questions...
What are perfectly harmless and safe mods that suite manuals the best? You know for smooth shifting, overall enjoyment, or just a smart move to increase reliability.
Also if anyone has experience with the 05 TL 6mt vs 06 TL 6mt, please share because of the torque steer engine management difference.

Thanks

 

Mods for manual would be same for auto. Just keep in mind that more power means more torque steer. The ecu retards timing to reduce power in 1st gear. Kind of how Saab had to reduce boost in the 9 3 Viggen to reduce the dangerous torque steer.

 

Did you ever get/find a car?

 

The first absolute thing you should do, when you acquire a 6MT TL is to switch out the MTF to GM Syncromesh FLuid Friction Modified.
Honda's have been known to have notchy gears and the infamous "3rd gear grind" with this magic juice it will get rid of any notchiness and grind.
I love it.

2nd, there is a check valve in the slave cylinder. this check valve modulates fluid to help with drive train shock. but with this valve in place, the car doesnt feel like a normal clutch resulting in notchy starts.
I removed it, feels a little better.
actually, I dont remember how it felt before I removed it.
this car is the hardest car to learn on, it took me 3 to 4 weeks to fully master the clutch.

I've talked to you about torque steer before, so no need to reiterate.

 

there is a short shifter available.
I have not picked it up, as I like how my throw is currently.
maybe some time in the future....


also mrheeltoe has some bushings available to us to help firm up the shifts.
I am comfortable with my stock setup and might upgrade in the future...

the RV6 Jpipe replaces the factory jpipe and produces more power.
I absolutely LOVE 3rd gear. 50-80 pulls are fucking awesome!!
4th gear is awesome too 80-speeds i cannot say here

 

1. GM Syncro-Mesh Friction Modified fluid.....$40

2. Slave valve delete....an hour of your time.

3. Moddiction Anvil II countersunk stainless shift knob...$60

For $100 total, the car is so much more satisfying to drive. The shift knob sits an inch lower then stock, weighs a full pound versus a half pound for the oem knob and really shortens the throws and provides more positive shifts.

 

Do you have a pic of your shift knob in the car. I looked at their website but would like to see it in the car......

 

ive always driven man hondas and always loved the look of the tl and i recently purchased a 6spd and must say best purchase of my life lol it and would get a second after words and would def suggest this car to anyone

 

for the guys who didn't like the engagement point, look up rubber stop. Lots of BMW guys have done it.

 

I just looked it up and can't find anytging....

 

 

ahhhh, thanks for the pics!!

 

Awesome great list of things to do!
Anyway have any experience with this mod? https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-performance-parts-modifications-112/xlr8-engine-torque-damper-04-08-tl-manual-764069/ looks pretty awesome to me. I'm not sure how I feel about the slave cylinder check because its not really a guaranteed safe mod from what I've read. I mean, every mod has risk but I feel like that one has a higher risk. Thanks for all the great info guys

 

^nice. maybe something for me!!!!

 

hey guys, many told me TL is hydraulic and you can't adjust the clutch. Yes it's hydraulic but you can adjust it. Mine was somewhat great, never had a 3rd gear popout. Mitsu guys had this prob and there are a few screws to adjust the clutch. Rather than do that I simply made myself a rubber stop. It's about a half inch piece of rubber I simply added/tapped to the existing rubber stop. Don't make it too thick as you won't be able to start the car, and you still need to make sure you can press far enough to disengage. Makes it 10 times more enjoyable and easier and faster to shift.

http://www.clutchstopper.com/ like this, make your own at home depot or random stuff. I did mine a few years ago from stuff laying around the hourse. IMO I drove ~ 10 6spd TLs and engagement was less than ideal on over 5 of them on the 04-05. I drove one TL-S the engagement point felt a lot better.

I need to do the comptech short shifter mod and possible the weighted knob. How does the weighted knob clip to the collar? In the mean time you can screw the stock knob, lower. Lower knob = less travel thus slightly shorter shift IMO. Little things like this most people never notice but 6spd guys are a bit different and might notice it. Also you can add lead tape to the shifter if you want.

Oh yeah don't think about, get a 6spd with Navi. I think I've heard of 1 guy who regretted it. I love mine, it's pure joy to drive, almost comparable to my motorcycle. The Navi is not only super useful but makes the car look great, and for some reason the 6sp/Navi just looks sic. Everyone that's been in my car even my boss who's had a dozen supercars complimented the interior.