Chayos re read the last two pages or so with all my comments, also look for my thread regarding Redline Racing ATF feel shifts? because it happens to me too, to the point where I replaced ALL my motor mounts and transmission mount just to find out it's the nature of the car with this fluid, it lunges you forward then snap into gear. When accelerating at a faster rpm rate you cannont tell, in a way I really miss the smooth shifting and love not knowing when it shifts. As for the switches do them, it won't hurt, however I didn't notice anything. Important regarding checking the fluid, make sure you do it in daylight and look for a solid line of fluid that goes across, look closely, do not look at the drop of fluid on the bottom because that will always be there, always look for the line closely from where the dipstick sat in the fluid, look on both sides of the stick.

 

The only people I've seen with harder than stock shifts have had fluid level problems.

 

As far as the fluid level goes, I've been a mechanic for a while, so I can tell you the fluid level was accurate. Now on the way home from the in-laws tonight both my wife and I really payed close attention to the way it shifted. The 2 to 3 shift is where the problem lies, there is a noticeable 500 rpm slip when it shifts. I have it recorded and I will upload it to YouTube and link it here shortly. I topped off the tranny fluid and took it for a spin, didn't fix the problem. So now I am really wondering if its either a pressure switch or the clutch pack. I tried shifting in auto and manual shifting, manual shifting it appears fine, but auto is when it slips. WTF....

My wife said if its the tranny she wants a different car, I'm thinking a Challenger! But the car will be paid off in December and I would rather not have another car payment.


**EDIT**
YouTube video's added.

Phone was being slow so I just caught it right after it had already shifted into second, the 2-3 shift is the noticeable shift slip.
http://www.youtube.com/user/chayos00.../1/YqDeJl3DG3w


Sitting at the light waiting for it to turn green, the 2-3 shift is the noticeable shift slip.
http://www.youtube.com/user/chayos00.../0/mrGINBbb3Fc

 

Cool, thanks bud!

 

That is no doubt a very real problem. On my phone but i'll get back to it tomorrow.

 

Chaos if it's that your trans is on its way out are you still within warranty. 5 years or less than 50k miles...

However if it just happens in auto and not manual it could very well be your pressure sensors. That's a very very easy DIY

 

Okay, if the tranny is on it's way out. Since I have the Type F fluid in it, did I void the warranty?

m7r7m,
I hope to god it is the switches, as it does it in auto and not manual.


Now I'm not going to sleep well, as I'm sure I will dream about this now.

 

Well here is how my Sunday went.... I opened up the 2 boxes shipped UPS to my door from a member here and a couple Honda Accord sites (not going to name him as of yet because I want to give him a chance to redeem himself) where there was supposed to be 12qts of Redline Racing fluid and 3qts of Lightweight racing... However there was only 10qts of Racing and 3 qts of lightweight... Granted I only spent $100 for everything shipped, but the deal was for 15qts not 13qts!

So I was only able to do 4 D&Rs instead of the 5 I wanted...

Well, I got to workin'... Drained out my old Z1 (only 16k miles on this rebuilt transmission) and looked at the drain plug magnet and there were gobs of metal... Yummm.

1) So I did the first refill with 3 qts Racing. I did what I HATE CARS told me to do and just shifted through the gears a few times.

2) I drained the fluid again and poured in 3 more qts of Racing. Took the car for a ride, got the car up to 60mph twice like IHC said to do, and drained the fluid again......

3) On the third D&R, I refilled with 3 more qts of Racing... I drove the car for the rest of the day like that because I'm going to do the fourth and final D&R tomorrow (today, Monday)... I am going to use the 3 Lightweight racing qts for the last D&R....

Now on to the impressions:

-So I was expecting to notice firmer shifting... Didn't really happen. I am glad I didn't get jolted around while the car shifted. Instead, the shifts are "crisper" and quicker. I still have the 1-2 "lunge" shift at light throttle, but all others are without drama.

-I recalled reading that a couple members could distinctly feel their throttle cutting for shifts, but me personally, I am not sure if I felt it or not. Under light throttle, my 1-2 shift almost feels like its not cutting throttle at all... But under moderate to heavier throttle, all my shifts almost "feel" like throttle is being cut for the shift... Its interesting definitely.

-The GREATEST characteristic I have noticed thus far is how much more the car actually HOLDS gear now! On the highway going 50mph, I was able to give it moderate throttle and get to 75mph WITHOUT downshifting! That is great considering how easy it was to get the car to downshift from much less before... It still downshifts don't get me wrong, but it takes a bit more to do so...

-Another great characteristic is that the car doesn't seem to "search" for the right gear as much... I actually haven't noticed it at all since the 3 D&Rs I don't think. That is great because there is nothing worse than sitting in traffic and having your car jumping back and forth while giving it light throttle.

-The car seems FASTER now, and it seems to be faster with less effort... Much less effort

-Last but not least, the shifts can barely be felt when compared to the Z1. Before some of my shifts were dramatic due to lag or what have you... But after the 3 D&Rs, it seems that they just kinda pop into place. On the highway when cruising and you stomp on it, there still seems to be a slight second before it drops into gear, but when it does its a firm downshift. And with more throttle, the firmer and quicker the shifts get! Its pretty cool actually.

.....So in closing..... I am looking forward to my 4th and final D&R... Would've been nice if i had 5 D&Rs, but that is neither here nor there right now.

I will post pics up in a few of my D&Rs...

Oh, I HATE CARS.... Lets say hypothetically, my car (Accord) does NOT cut throttle between shifts, could my trans get messed up using these Racing/Lightweight fluids? (I'm pretty sure it does but I'm just curious)

Thanks

 

And here are the pics (crappy cell phone camera):

 

Looks good! I plan on doing mine soon, need to head back to hometown to do that though. :/

 

I agree with IHC, symptoms of different shifting reactions usually involves level fluid, after lowering my fluid a little it's a bit better however I'm still over filled by slight amount over the full mark.

FollowingnFront- I have the same 1-2 lunge when in lower rpms as well. It's rather annoying as your slowly smooth cruising then the lunge, it breaks the smooth ride and is aggitating. I have a theory that this fluid will save the trans but the movement will put more wear on the motor mounts as it's giving a bump then back down motion. Let us know if you find a fix for this lunge.

 

Funny thing about the 1-2 lunge is, I had it with the Z1 also. So the Redline didn't cause it, it just didn't take it away. The 1-2 lunge almost feels as if throttle is not being cut for the shift, and therefore the car lunges forward. The car probably DOES cut throttle, but it just feels like the result of the throttle NOT being cut would be a lunge... IDK, but Honda's transmissions are a very interesting thing lol...

 

since I am at work, and can only use my phone on here. can someone post the website to order the switches from, as calling Aura they say it's about 60 per switch.

 

AcuraOEMparts.com or you can message any vendor on Acurazine.

 

See if they can pricematch to another dealer like this one.

https://oemacuraparts.com/partlocato...?siteid=214055

 

IHC I'm waiting to hear what you think.

Basically right now I'm wondering if i should switch out the Racing ATF and replace it with the D4 this weekend before I try to take it in on next Monday. The sooner I get an answer the better. I just don't want to give Acura a reason to void my tranny warranty, if for some reason they do an oil analysis.

The car is still under warranty as I have about 44.8K on the OD.

I have created a thread to move my clutch slipping issues away from this thread. So if you would be interested in helping me out please check out.


https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...3#post12879343

 

So here is the scoop.... I did my 4th and final D&R yesterday (Monday).... I had trouble with my funnel so while it was supposed to be 3qts of lightweight going in, it ended up being about 2.5qts of lightweight and I finished it off with a little more than 1/2qt of Racing (glad I had a total of 13qts handy).... I then drove out of state (3hr trip at and average of 80mph)

Here is my impression after the 4th D&R:

-The shifts are more pronounced now. I can DEF feel almost all the shifts and they are firm.

-The car does a little more gear hunting than I remembered it doing with only 3 D&Rs.

-As far as gear HOLDING, its still there... But it seemed to have slightly gone down slightly from what it was after only 3 D&Rs. Meaning that it seems to take a little less to get the car to downshift on the highway.

-The biggest PLUS I am noticing is that after 4 D&Rs, the shifts are SUPER fast. After 3 D&Rs it was like ehhh... But now they are all quick...

-I think I may have an engine mount issue because at idle the car kind of pulsates with the engine... So that may have something to do with me feeling the shifts as much as I do...

......Overall..... I kind of miss the less FIRM shifts at all times. It seemed a little smoother after 3 D&Rs, but there is no denying the shifts are quicker after 4. I think I will be able to get used to the car with the Redline fluid in it, and enjoy it....

THE CAR FEELS ALOT FASTER NOW WITH REDLINE THAN WITH Z1...

 

To I HATE CARS and INNACURATE.... Please read my posts 888, 889, and 897 of this page to get an understanding of my experience from start to now with REDLINE for the below questions:

If you can, I have a few questions to ask you guys:

#1)After my 4th D&R, I think that I put a little more than 3 qts in.... I drove around, turned my engine off, and checked the dipstick after 60 seconds..... My dipstick looked like the picture below (the fluid was up to the red line)... Is that ok? Could it cause any kind of negative affect?



#2) After driving around all day (over 100 miles easy), I checked the fluid again (after 60 seconds of the car being off)..... The dipstick looked like the picture below (fluid up to the yellow line)..... Is it normal for the fluid level to decrease like that after a trip? Or is it possible that it fluctuated or something? There is no leak. Is there anything you can think of that could cause the change from the first pic to the second one?


#3)Is "Torque converter lockup" the same thing or similar to overdrive? And after switching to the Redline is it possible to feel your car going in and out of torque converter lockup while on the highway? Because I thought was feeling slight "adjustments" here and there after the 4th D&R while on the highway and I couldn't figure out what it was. Felt like mini shifts, or microscopic blips of the throttle or something every now and then... Mind you, I can feeel just about all the shifts after my 4th D&R firmly.... Much more firmly than I could feel them after the 3rd D&R.

#4)Is Lightweight Racing fluid a type F also?


*I just want to be 100% sure I understand this tranny business fully so I can rest assured....
Thank you so much for bearing with me and helping me out guys!

 

On your trip, did you have more weight in the car (luggage, etc.)? More weight will cause the trans to drop out of high gear more easy.

#1 - I doubt that the high level (as shown in pic) would harm anything. But for me, I would not feel comfortable with that and I would fix it.

#2 - Make sure the ground is level. This is very important. Even a slight grade (slight angle) will throw off the reading by this amount in your pics. By slight angle, I meant the you might not be able to see the angle with your eyes. Was the car parked in the same spot (facing the same direction) each time?

#3 - Yes. You got it correct. The torque converter will feel like a mini-shift. If you are accelerating at a slow pace, the converter will lock up at approx 53-54 MPH. I would expect for the Racing ATF to make the converter lockup to be more pronounced as you suggested.


#4 - Yes. The Lightweight Redline ATF is a Type F too.

 

I in fact did have more weight than normal. I had a passenger and a few bags of clothes and such. Not too much more weight, but a little more.

I did not take both readings in the same place... Actually, for the last reading I may have in fact had the car parked at an angle... I'll recheck when the sun comes out.

So feeling converter lockup and feeling these firm shifts is ok right? Redundant question as I'm sure the answer is yes. If so, I can def live with it.

 

Feeling the shifts and the converter lockup is a good thing (from a mechanical perspective).

 

"Adjustments" is a good way to describe how the TCC feels. It's not an extra gear, its a big clutch in the torque converter that locks under the right conditions. Similar to a manual trans clutch. The torque converter will always have slip since it's a fluid coupling. Locking the clutch inside gives it 100% coupling, no slip, and efficiency goes up to manual trans levels. This is why there's barely a mpg difference between the 6mt and 5at. This feels like a small rpm adjustment or even a shift.

Overdrive is just a fancy name for any overdriven gear. 5th and 6th are overdrives since the ratio is less than 1. I consider it purely marketing, they don't advertise 1-4 as underdrives for better acceleration lol.

 

Im going to do a partial racing atf flush tomorrow. Im already using mostly D4. Im going to dump two quarts from the trans, and add two of the racing atf.
Im driving a first gen TL, so I might get different results than you all...

 

I still can't decide if I want to go with Redline D4, Racing, or Type-F. My 2-3 and 3-4 shift usually hold waay to long and then lunge me forward. Pressure sensors are on their way (ordered 28610 ray003 and 28600 ray003)..hope those are right ones! Would I be ok getting an over the counter ATF or should I order Redline? No dealers locally, and my switches should be here this week (acuraoem is being pretty slow though)..and was wanting to do them all at once. Ill likely only do one drain and fill right now. What is a good fluid to start with

 

Over the counter is fine. Personally I would look for the Type F fluid (over the counter). It will give you most of the benefits of the Redline Racing fluid. If you like the way it shifts you can always go with the Redline later on if you want to extend your change intervals out past 50,000 miles. Between the Type-F fluid and switches it will shift better than new.

 

I just did the 3X3 with all racing ATF.
My cars a 2005 with 62K miles on it. My car was maintained very wheel and i just got the maintenance code for ATF change so i decided to do it. I never noticed the gears holding too long or lagging so i didnt order the pressuer switches.

After getting the car on the lift we started to drain the old fluid and it was COMPLETELY black. There was no hint of pink or brown it just looked straight up black lol. On the first drive the car felt like an animal. When it was shifting I was like like wow wtf.

Got the car up on the lift again and during this drain it was mostly pink and some brownish fluid when drained. I took it out for another quick drive hitting through all the gears and 60mph. Felt amazing.

During the last drain the fluid was completely pink...the car felt about the same maybe slightly better but I think its just in my head. Also did an oil change with total performance oil put in an s2000 mobil 1 oil filter.

Overall impression....This stuffs amazing. Makes you think your car just gained 30 hp lol. For us automatic transmission people I think this change to racing ATF is a must ESPECIALLY for those who are adding all the performance bolt ons. If you are already adding performance to your car you might as well make sure its shifting authoratively.

 

Did you add any qts. of the lightweight fluid? I'm planning to order my fluid today, but don't know if I should just order the 12qts of either the lightweight or straight racing or do the combo.

 

Thanks for the info. You know that pic with my fluid on the dipstick with the red line I drew on it? Is your level that high? I know you said your level is a little above full.
I know right? Its almost like you have the power of a manual tranny.... "power on tap"

 

Live in NJ/MA pretty cold weather but still went with all racing no lightweight

haha yeaa

 

cool...i'll probably do the same and if anything I'll do a 1x3 next fall using all lightweight.

 

I'll go to the store after work today to see what I can find for Type-F ATF. What do you mean by " if I like the way it shifts?" I hate how it shifts right now because I can feel the 2-3 and 3-4 shifts. 90% of the time is when I'm not into the throttle very much and they gear holds out too long and then has an abrupt shift into the next gear. I don't want to be able to feel the shifts at all. I don't mind a firm, quick shift...but I shouldn't be slightly lunged forward and have the RPM's increase more than they should. Oil has been changed about 500 miles ago with Mobil 1 full-synthetic so I'm hoping this and the switches will cure it.

Will the Type-F make the shifts even firmer, resulting in the same feeling I'm having now? I ride in my brothers 5 series BMW, my mom's g37 sedan, and though you can feel the shift, its much quicker and doesn't move you in the seat. Would adding 3 quarts of like Amsoil D4 synthetic or another non-type-F fluid be better for this or is Type-F the way to go? Not sure if climate matters but here in Oklahoma it can range from 110 summer to 0 winter. Hell, yesterday it was 95 and today its 57. WTF! haha. Thanks again


Edit: you get those Tempests yet??

 

The racing fluid will give you more firm shifts, however you will still feel it, I and a few others have noted they still experienced the lunge effect which is annoying. You can go with new factory dw1 fluid for smoother shifts. But will slip.

 

You may want to go with the Redline D4 fluid. I'm now waffling on which fluid to use as I really don't care too much about the rapid shifting...I'm more concerned with clean smooth shifts. It's a four door sedan not a sports coupe. lol

 

So would Redline D4 be better, or comparable to Amsoil's synthetic ATF? I've got a guy that I can pick up Amsoils atf from but if Redline is the same thing, but offers a "smoother" shift then I'll go that route. I shouldn't/don't want to be able to feel the shift at all

 

The point of the type f fluid is not about performance. If you want the trans to last, you have no choice but to have quick shifts. You can choose quicker shifts and a trans that lasts a very, very long time or soft shifts and an overhaul. Let's not forget the vast majority of people that switch to type f have much better and more comfortable shifts than stock. There are many more complaints of harsh shifts on Z1 that type f usually solves.

I have no idea why people focus on the two people that have had harder shifts when you have 100 people in this thread and the switches thread that have better than stock shifts.

 

I would not do that. Most people have better than stock shift quality on type f. There are just a couple people with shifts that can be felt and I suspect there are other problems with the trans. You can't tell when my car shifts unless you watch the tach. Yet shifts are very quick. I would try a single drain and fill of type f and go from there.

Amsoil "atf" is the equivalent of D4. Amsoil "super shift" is their type f and Redline "racing" equivalent.

 

Got it. As always thanks for the info. I will place my order tomorrow and will add one qt of the lightweight each refill. Is there any advantage of going with a majority of lightweight vs. majority straight racing?

 

is this fine any one try this?

http://www.royalpurple.com/transmission-fluid.html

or what fluid is the best to use to change atf? when should it be change. Im at 50k ish mile now. First owner.

 

The answer to any question you could ever have on the 5at is in this thread.

 

I must say IHC... That I DEFINITELY feel the shifts alot more after switching to Redline. I mean, I can live with it no doubt... My car feels sportier and faster, and I feel that I'm not harming anything... So I'm happy, but there is no denying that I felt the shifts much less with z1.

Oh... Can you do me a favor IHC? Can you take a look at my post #898 and look at how high the fluid level is (first pic of that post).... Can you tell me if yours is that high or if I should worry about mine being that high? I already got Innacurate's opinion, but you said yours is over the full line so I'd like to know what you think.

Thanks