Olu

My TL is the second automatic car that I've owned. It's the 1st "sport sedan" automatic that I've owned. At 1st I didn't quite grasp what the S mode was trying to accomplish as I thought it was strictly for the manual mode. However when I think about the manual sedans that I've had (including an E36 M3), it's doing exactly what I would do when driving more aggressively. It keeps the engine in it's sweet spot 3-6000 rpms for the best power delivery and throttle response. It's simple, it's effective, and in this car it's all it needs. Sometimes less is more IMO

Beer to the 1st one who knows where this quote is from.

BleuM&M

Scotty. Star Trek. I like my Fosters COLD!

kc1953

I have a 94 740i with a sport mode and a 2009 TL Tech sh-AWD. I find the sport mode does pretty much the same thing on both cars. Acceleration, especially from low speeds is better, as the shift points are at higher rpm. Driving the Tl in sport is a lot of fun.

Now for the rest of the posts. One of the things I have liked about this forum is that the posters acted like grown ups. This particular thread hasn't demonstrated that very much. I have owned BMWs for over 20 years and they are great cars. I was very close to buying a 535i and if I had, I would have been very happy. Every time I see one on the road, I get a little sad. I love my TL, and enjoy the hell out of driving it and playing with the tech toys. I just wish I could also own a new bmw and a new tl....but oh well.

So my point is, most of the cars that the new TL competes with are fine automobiles. Each has features that target a particular audience with particular driving tastes. No losers...just choices.

Olu

TNG baby. Episode "Relics". Next time you're in Beantown I owe you a cold one!


I wouldn't say that we're being childish. No personal attacks just a spirited debate and a difference of opinion. PetesTL seems to think that the S option does nothing and/or is useless, I disagree. Based on most of the responses I think most would disagree as well. Like I said above, most of my experience with sport sedans has been with manual. I'm not sure how much manual driving experience everyone has had, but anyone who has raced with a manual will understand exactly what S is doing.

FYI: To this day the E36 M3 was one of my favorites. One of the best balanced sport coupes, ever.

PetesTL

I never said the TL's S mode was useless......it does makes the car feel more aggressive but not necessarily any faster....esp. 0-60 times. Whereas in my previous 545i, the difference between the S mode and D mode is a lot more dramatic and the car accelerates much more quickly. I think some of you are forgetting the 4G is one big, heavy car....the S mode gives you a little fun but let's get real here.......the S mode is not some "magical" feature Acura engineers decided to sneak in there that turns the car into a G37 or a 335i.

Mattgtp

VW DSG are the best automatics I've ever driven. Its the one auto tranny that I find more fun to drive then a manual

Eli

I think you guys are crazy, S just knocks the transmission out of overdrive and changes the behavior of the paddle shifters. This is what the manual says it does, if there was a sporty automatic mode they would have advertised it, not kept it a hidden undocumented feature.

dshahs420

Yup, totally agree with you. Nothing great about the "S" mode in this car. This is probably the worst transmission I have come across. Horrible and Honda should be ashamed. I have a portable flush machine in my garage, will be changing the factory fill Z1 to Royal Purple and see if there is any difference. The gear changes on this transmission are not uniform at all.

PsychDoc

Coming from a Lexus ES350 I can tell you this transmission is smooth as ice. Shifts are seamless and there's never any jolt on upshift or downshift. Best of all the linkage between the accelerator and the transmission is immediate. You put you foot on the gas and the car goes immediately. In the ES350 there was about a 1-2 second delay between depressing the gas pedal and the tranny actually impelling the car forward. I can't imagine what you find wanting in this awesome transmission. Other than not having a 6th gear this transmission is flawless.

dshahs420

Yes I agree with you on the ES350, that transmission was defective to begin with when it came to the 3-4 shift flare. There was a reason why so many of them were sold on fleabay as buybacks.
Maybe its just my transmission and the car being so heavy but the first to second shift is notchy and it takes forever for it to go from 3rd to 4th gear. Let's wait and see how it behaves once I change the fluid to Royal Purple. I would highly suggest changing the Z1 fluid out to something better like Royal Purple. My ex gf has a 2000 TL which has seen nothing but Royal Purple every 30K miles after the initial change out at 500 miles. The car has over 230k miles on the original tranny.
I could care less about the fluid since I wont have this car in 2 years but I just can't stand the gear ratios on this one.

YetiTL

Hmmm...that's odd, I don't have this problem with my TL...must be bad to ride on highway on 3rd gear, lol...

Olu

Shifts aren't supposed to be uniform as the transmission adjusts for changes in incline.

The idea that "S" mode makes the car faster is arguable. However claiming it DOES nothing is absurd. Drive around in D and S (DON'T HIT THE PADDLES) and see what RPMs the car shifts using different levels of throttle. If you still don't see a difference you're probably better off ignoring the shift pattern because you don't understand what the car is doing anyhow.

PsychDoc

The S mode makes a dramatic difference. It hold the gears way longer, keeps RPM's up over 3000 and generally makes the car feel and respond like a slot car.

Sucks gas like M-F'er but it sure as hell is fun.

venom550pm

does it ever shift out of 3rd in S? or do you have to use the paddles to do this?

YetiTL

It should, IIRC, the manual says it won't shift to 5th gear but I might be wrong.

I was j/k when referring to 3rd gear...actually it would be 4th...

Olu

It will, you just have to go faster

YetiTL

That would be a great reply to a police officer: I was just trying to get my engine to shift in 4th gear! Wow! Awesome explanation! I guess no one will ever see that one coming!