I'm looking at a 2007 Acura TL Base or Type S for my next car. I'm interested in building a Supercharged e85 pushing 400- 450whp build; however, the base TL's stock transmission would be too weak for it. The manual Type S prices have been insane in my area, costing around 12k. I've looked into manual swapping a base TL, and that would cost me 4- 6k, including labor. The big question I have is, is it a better idea to do a manual swap the base TL or keep looking at the market in hopes of finding a Type S for a good deal?

 

If you are not mechanically capable of performing a manual 'swap' and concerned with the 4-6K labor cost to do so, along with auto trans. reliability et al., regardless of year & model, AND you want to supercharge, then it is best to start with an 07-08 6-speed TL-S model platform, from the beginning, in order to concentrate on the S/C'er option, IMHO.

 

You might need to lower your expectations. A low mileage 6MT TL-S is a unicorn. $12k is not at all insane even with your typical dash cracks and ripped seats and the exterior blemishes you’d expect on an almost 20-year-old car. There’s definitely a “Type-S tax” over the base model, but the j35a8 is one of the best motors Honda’s ever made. Personally, I would rather pay the Type-S tax than sink all that time and money into a manual swap on a base model. Less work before starting your build. Plus, you’d be starting with a slightly bigger motor (3.5>3.2). FWIW, I saw a guy on YouTube with a supercharged 5AT TL-S.

what is your skill set and overall build budget? what is your end goal - show, track, daily?

 

how much money do you have budgeted for this?