I wanted to know if was possible to get more higher end torque from my 2005 automatic Acura TL by swapping the original torque converter and replacing it with a custom convertor, since the torque convertor is what sucks the torque out of the auto tls. Would this help me in gaining the higher end torque that I am looking for and if so how much am I looking at spending approximately?

 

sounds like a recipe for disaster for the already crappy transmission..


Why not just do a 6MT swap at that point?

 

yes. this is an option.
unless you can do things yourself, YOU ARE AT THE MERCY OF WHO EVER IS DOING THE LABOR.
this means, YOU need to call different performance shops to see if they have the part and can install it for you

 

Unfortunately swapping for a 6speed is out of the question for because for one I don't yet know how to drive stick, and two it will be a a ton load of money to change the entire transmission unit. Are the 2005 transmissions that bad? I know 2G TLs have very bad transmission problems.

 

Never too late to learn


04-06 were as bad as the 2G's yeah.


but like Justin said, to replace the TC, you're tearing down the entire transmission anyway.. you're paying for the same labor !

 

So I guess pretty much if you want to have fun with your car you have to know how to drive stick otherwise your screwed with a crappy transmission where it's only a matter of time where it gives in I'm assuming.

 

With this particular platform and generation, yes this is most certainly the case. 5spd auto that prone to breakage vs 6spd manual thats pretty rock solid. And that used to be the case for most platforms manual>auto. But nowadays there are tons of autos offered that are equal to their manual counterpart in terms of performance and some that have even better mileage and performance capabilities.

 

Basically

 

Darn it! And to think that the automatic transmissions were fixed after the 2003 model year, if I had known these transmissions were that bad I would of made sure I learned how to drive stick and got a 6speed now I'm pretty much stock with a boring car where I just spent some money on some performance parts and now to hear this is I must say is a huge disappointment as someone enthusiastic driver like myself. Are there any other suggestion that you have where I can atleast get a fraction of the performance from a 6speed outside of the typical "why not just get another car" or "swap transmission for a 6speed" answers? At this point in time getting a new car or making the switch over to 6speed is not an option for me.

 

J-pipe and PCD combo. Weight reduction. Honestly speaking, modding an 04-06 automatic is really not worth it. It's a poor investment in the long run.

 

How about if I just swapped the original transmission with a 2007/2008 TL transmission...... does that work?

 

No the 07-08 auto trans bell housing bolts don't align with the 04-06 motor.

 

you could swap a six speed into your car.
that would make it automatically faster, because of gearing and how light weight it is compared to the 5at

 

Fantastic idea!!!

 

At that point you may as well swap the 6-speed, especially if youre looking for max performance. Swapping for an auto for this reason would be a massive facepalm.

 

Good God. So how do people with the 04-06 tl automatics have fun with their cars?

 

Sell them and buy a better, more fun car

 

I have plenty of fun in my car stunting on fools lol. I quickly realized that I'm not going to get much power out of this platform so started to get it up to snub in terms of looks. The 3g can look amazing with the right kind of visual mods and it can also sound very nice with a proper exhaust system.

Anyways, I'm in the same boat though, I do want more out of the car performance wise.. The only thing that makes sense for me to do at this point is wait for my Auto to blow then do the 6spd swap. Im hoping this doesn't happen for another 2 years at least but it will be done as I plan on keeping the car and have already sunk alot of money into it for mods so in my case it doesn't make sense to sell it for a 6mt TL

 

I believe at one point and time, a few ppl installed high stall torque converters.

Search Google for "acurazine I hate cars high stall"

 

I bought mysmyself a rear sway bar for my car a few weeks ago so that money has just gone to waste since our cars arenaren't worth modding due to weak transmission according to the posters here. I am correct I think that the automatic and the 6 speed use slightly different sized rear sway bars. It's just crushing to now to know that the stronger 2007/2008 transmissions won't be able to fit on my car and I saw some of these transmissions in a decent price range, but when I did a search for 2005 tl 6 speed transmission prices got close to $3000 so swapping for 6 speed is far out of reach for me along with the fact that I still have to learn how to drive stick. I also live in an area where there is heavy traffic and we all know how it feels to have to be constantly be shifting up and down when maneuvering in and out of traffic and buying another car is another option that is far beyond attainable for me at this point and likely won't be anytime soon.

 

The sway bar will bolt up....
.

 

He's speaking of engine mods because the tranny can't keep up....
but you sure can do suspension mods!!!

 

im so tired of the rhetoric around here that the 04-06 AT are garbage cars. Nothing wrong with them at all. Would a 6mt be funner? Yea no question about it, but the 04-06 AT TL is still a good car. And if I can get a 6mt swap done for 2-3k in a few years ill be more than happy...

And yes the sway bar you bought will bolt right up with no issues. The AT can handle mods though lol.... but when you start talking about super chargers or turbos then its not an ideal situation for those transmissions

 

But word to the wise..... Maintenance over mods all day every day.

So this means having funds to cover anything that goes wrong

 

Listen to Justn, I'm learning that the hard way. I have a ton of maintenance that I have to take care of this summer and next

 

I understand what you are saying. I too would love to have a 6 speed this way I can mod superchargers, turbos and other ideal mods of that nature, I don't think the 04-06 automatics are bad cars, but my only issue with them is that the 04-06 transmissions are so weak that we cannot use the sport shift mode if we wanted a bit more spirited and enjoyable driving.

 

I use sport shift everytime I drive my car lol. Dont be afraid of it, its not manual but it makes the car a bit funner in 2nd and 3rd

 

Keep up on your maintenance of the auto (fluid and switches) and you will possibly be fine. Will it fail? Eventually I'm sure it will. There are plenty on these boards that have had them last for a long time and plenty who have had them fail early.

You bought the car, live with the results. If you want to flog a car, just be prepared to pay when things start breaking. That applies to any car.....even those with a manual transmission. Our clutches will fail eventually as well and can cost around the same to repair/replace. In a previous car that I drove the crap out of, I managed to break the pinion gears in the transmission....so much for the perks of a manual...there will always be a weaker link somewhere that eventually will give out when abused.

 

I have plenty of fun with my '06 5AT and it's still going strong with almost 273K miles! I think you have to be realistic about what to expect out of a 10+ year old FWD Accord-based sedan. We're not talking about a 300-hp RWD sport sedan with near 50/50 weight distribution and staggered tire setup (e.g. BMW 3-series). Personally, I wouldn't sink thousands of dollars into my car to break the 300-hp mark because I think there are better cars out there (in terms of all-around performance) that do it in stock form. Don't get me wrong, I love my car and it's been very good to me but it's almost 11 years old.

Do I wish it had more power? Yes, I've had plenty occasions where I wished it had 300+ hp but I've also had plenty of occasions where being able to put that much power down would result in so much torque steer than the car already has. For me, personally, I think my car has a good blend of power and handling for my needs but I understand that everybody is different.

 

I wouldn't mess with a 3g TL auto. It's menopausing as it is.

 

I heard from someone that the horsepower limit for the 04-06 tl automatic transmission is 325 hp. I don't know how true that is.

 

you will never hit 325 in your life!
you wont even hit 300!
let's be realistic here, your budget dictates how fast you go!
in the past; you've mentioned that you couldn't do some mods because of $.
to get your car to 300, cost $$$$.
to get your car to 325hp cost $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

I threw about ~$7,000 into my car for mods and maintenance.
I am no faster than a V6 Camry.


AND!! and!! I have three pedals! my six speed manual is no match for camry's!

 

you're comparing a 13 year old car to newer gen models... why are you so surprised lol

 

I'm not. I'm happy with my 7 years of ownership
i'm just letting the OP know it's gonna take more than $7k of which he doesnt even have. and, and and and and, he'll still be slower than a camry. LOL

 

no match? You must not know how to drive the 6MT properly.
camry 0-60: 6+ seconds
TL: sub 6 seconds

 

A higher stall converter won't make an automatic fail more quickly, although it is highly recommended you add an auxiliary cooler since a looser converter will make the transmission run a bit hotter. What the converter does it get the engine into the power band more quickly, its definitely something noticeable.

 

​​​​​​
​​​​​​there's no way way I'm reeling one in if it's ahead of me. At 80+ and a couple car lengths ahead, there's no way I'm catching and exceeding it without hitting deep triple digits

 

When I say I don't have the money I mean I don't have it at the immediate amount. This doesn't mean I can't upgrade my car's performance one by one until I eventually reach the 300 horsepower mark.

 

i spent 7 grand. and still havent hit 300.
there's one person who spent close to $20k for an all motor set up. yes, he reached the magical 300...
but that's insane!! $20k!!??

unless you are throwing it on credit cards, there is no likely way you're able to come up with that amount of cash. and if you do have that amount of cash, there are better things to spend it on...
I'm just being real.

 

there is a cheap way...Nitrous!!!!!!!!!