My friend and I ran our TL's at the strip last week.
He's rocking a white 08 Type S with the 5spd auto.
My car is the 6spd regular TL.

Both are bone stock. Mine has a stock 87k mile clutch and what I just found out are snow tires... lol.

The weather wasn't good at all, so these times are not record breakers by any means... but both cars were driven to their absolute potential on this day at this track, in 3000+ DA.

Enjoy.

 

Nice runs dude.

 

get better tires and you'll smoke him EVEN more!!!!!

 

really? the tl-s can do so much better. one thing i noticed about the automatics is that if you dont use manual mode and shift it perfect, the car will be very slow. for 6 speed, its not that hard to mess up because even if you shift too early, your gear ratios make up for your mistake. no offense but my tl-s would smoke that tl-s on a drag strip. seeing a tl-s do over 15 seconds in the 1/4 mile is horrible, thats about the same as a base TL automatic.

 

The driver of the auto TL-S did everything he could to get down to a 14.8.
It's possible that you're overlooking the terrible weather conditions (hot+muggy=slow) and underestimating the skill required to pilot a 6spd car down the track.

To say the 6spd is easier to drive is borderline ridiculous lol

 

^ Lol. Yea, and shifting early on the 6spd is no bueno. You will drop out of VTEC, so it's very important to shift just before the limiter.

Nice times and driving man! You need to go back during the cooler months and run it. 14.47 @97.x is great in those conditions. I think you could potentially be near 14.0 @99 in good conditions. Slips?

 

Great video!

 

the TL six speed is one of the hardest cars ive ever driven..
good job on outing the TL-S!!

 

Now start modding it and get it down to 13's!

This drag strip isn't sticky, was was right on your tire's favor.

 

Great videos man! Its about time we finally have seen some decent 6MT TL vs. TL-S videos. I always figured the 6MT would be much quicker. Now we know! Its amazing what a couple hundred lbs. and a good gear ratio will do for ya...

 

Thanks for the props
I have the slips somewhere, I'll post them up.

I wasn't really surprised that the 6spd was so much quicker (3mph and almost 4 tenths) but the TL-S owner was pretty surprised lol

He was actually cutting better 60 foot times than me, I would get by him around the 330' mark and then just leave him on the back half. On the highway I don't see this being much of a race.

 

lol thats cuz you'll own him any way he cuts it.

 

you guys arent getting my point. my point is that if you shifted 2-300 rpm early, you'd still be fine because the close geared ratios will keep the rpm drops minimal. however for the 5at, the gear ratio is too far apart that even when shifting perfect, it drops below 5k rpm in the next gear. I still stand behind my point that the 5at is very easy to mess up while driving. I'm not putting down the 6mt in any way, I'm just saying the 5at can be quicker

 

psh, come drive my manual....
shifting 300rpm early will cause it fall out of powerband and takes like 60 minutes to climb back up....

but I guess its all relative; since the 5at would fall behind even more.

 

Yeah... John Force wasn't going faster than 14.8 in a TL-S on this night.
Google "Density Altitude" and it's effect on horsepower.

 

great video....awesome runs....

 

Nice runs. I want to get down to Lebanon Valley this fall myself.

And honestly, I'm a little surprised by the difference, taking into account what I've seen on here. I would expect the base to be maybe 1/10 and a mph quicker, but not 4/10, 3 mph. I think you've got an exceptionally strong base 6MT and your buddy has an exceptionally weak Type-S 5AT.

 

My car has 87k, snow tires, and a tired stock clutch.
His car was cutting better 60 foot times and has 30k miles.

 

Mileage is insignificant. What makes you think your clutch is tired? Mine has 89k and it's good as new.

 

His car is newer and has better tires. He cut better short times and shifted perfectly.
My car was just flat out quicker... easily.

His car runs strong and to run what he did in those conditions was exceptional.
The 6spd is just better for acceleration, period.

 

Nice vid man. I like to see the comparison. I figured the TL would pull on that TL-S. The 5AT gearing kills that cars performance.

 

I Had no idea a base TL can put up those numbers...and you cant compare automatic and a 6 speed.

 

i think what anx was trying to get at is that the mileage doesnt matter.

there would be no carbon buildup in your car anyway, so you cant really say his runs better because its newer.

 

The point is the TL-S was given every advantage and still got walked easily.
A brand new clutch and better tires on the TL and it would have been an even wider margin.
People are complaining the TL-S was too slow, but they fail to grasp "DA".

Corrected for sea level;
TL 14.47 @ 97.25 = 13.911 @ 101.228 MPH
TL-S 14.80 @ 95 = 14.344 @ 98.088 MPH

 

^im agreeing with you!!

 

I'm pretty sure most everyone in this section understands "DA". There have been other 5AT Type S's that have gone 14.3 @ 97 in decent conditions, so 14.8 -15.xx in the conditions you guys ran seems about normal. What's more surprising is that you ran what you did in those conditions, being bone stock. Your car is apparently stronger than the average base 6MT.

And again, what makes you think there's anything wrong with your clutch?

 

Why Acura even made the TL-S with an auto option will forever bug me.

 

There's nothing "wrong" with the clutch. It's just a stock 87k mile clutch. New ones bite harder. You can launch them harder and from higher RPM. If I threw a drag radial on the car the clutch would get smoked.

My car isn't any stronger than any other stock 6mt.. I can just drive (ignoring my 2.4 60' on the TL-S best pass slip) the snow tires were tricky.

 

More grip, more riding the clutch.

 

what brand and model tires do you have on your base TL? how did you not know they are "snow" tires?

 

You sound like you're upset by this situation...

The tires are Nokian WR G2. They are a sort of hybrid all season/winter tire. They do not look like a traditional snow tire, but in essence, they are. They're low rolling resistance and lack any feature that would make them desirable for launching a car at the drag strip.

So before you call me stupid, next time lend the benefit of the doubt.
Thanks

 

FWIW, the 5AT can be much quicker that. In optimal conditions I did a 14.2 at 98.xx. Check the time slip in the drag racing thread. Still there is no denying that the 6MT is quicker than any 5AT TL. IF he/she can drive of course.

 

Yep, both those cars should go about .3-.4 seconds and 2-3mph faster in 40-50 degree air. That 5AT will probably see more of an improvement because it was probably bogging worse in the 330' due to the fact that launch rpms really can't be controlled. It's first gear was probably very laggy. The 6MT can manipulate launch rpms to overcome some of the heat soaked motor torque deficit. The 6MT will probably do a 14.1-14.2@100-101 and the TL-S a 14.4-14.5@97-98mph assuming 2.2 60 foots.

 

DAVE is here

btw I heard you have been causing quite a storm in the Focus ST forums....and congrats on the WRX...hope she is treating you better than the G

 

Meh, I don't buy that DA correction, no offense. No stock TL is running 13.9 @ 101 in sea level conditions with a 2.27 60', unless you have significant weight reduction. Keep in mind I went 13.46 @106.6 in -2000ft conditions in my lighter, more powerful car. *Waits for "you can't drive."*

 

The DA correction doesn't factor the same 60'. It assumes the car runs faster from all points on the track.

With better tires and a zero DA, I can definitely see a 13.9 @ 100.

 

Maybe it will work out for you but personally I think it will be really hard to actually trip the clocks at 13.9 with a pure stock car. A 14.2/3 is a very good time for a pure stock 3.2 6MT TL.

One guy here back around 2007/8? was hitting 13.8/9 but had the standard light mods + either DR or Nitto 555 type tires. He worked at it all summer going each week as he added equipment. You could see his time trending down & the MPH going up.

The TL 6MT's seems, could be me, to be prone to wheel hop if you come out really hard for a good 60ft because the front unloads when the clutch comes out.

I never bothered with worrying about DA adjustments just went with whatever the time slip showed.

 

The DA doesn't know what your 60' was, correct. But in essence, it does assume the 'same' 60' because it doesn't know any better. For example, if you would've pulled a 2.10 and ran a 14.15, your DA corrected time would've been even lower, probably a 13.6x. Same goes for if you pulled a 2.5 and ran a 14.9, your corrected time would've been a 14.4x or whatever. Know what I mean?

I still don't think you will trap 100 in a bone stock car, but if you do, awesome. Any weight reduction? And what size tires?

 

I'm not upset, and I didnt call you stupid. It's just everytime I buy tires, I make sure I get what I want lol. Here in socal snow tires are like non existent, so maybe its different from where you live

 

Because the regular TL is pretty weak with the 5AT. The A8 motor goes a long way towards overcoming the 5AT's power arresting characteristics.