The automatic NSX redlines (7500 RPM) at 49.6 mph in first gear. If you are going 60 mph in first gear, it is turning over 9000 RPM and you can damage the engine that way.ekin95 said:
performance increase for automatic transmission
- Thread starter druby
- Start date
To Auto or not-to-Auto
Boy oh boy, it can get a little brutal around here..
Well, why the automatic. This is my first NSX and frankly I bought it right and it was the nicest one I could find. Next, my wife LOVES to drive and I wanted her to be able to enjoy it from the start. Next up, traffic. Dallas traffic. Starbucks has to enter in here somewhere. I really enjoy having the windows down and a hot cup of coffee while I’m driving in early morning.
My NSX is virtually brand new. A 98 that would be very, very hard to replace. I love the way it drives and it’s very livable. Ok, maybe now and then I could use a few extra HPs, but for the most part, I’d never use more then what I’ve got. Get the auto rolling up past 3k and the little 3-liter sings. Not much else can keep up with it.
For an everyday, got a lot of bang for my buck sports car, I don’t think I can replace it. I’ve got a Mercedes and a Lexis which now stay parked unless it rains. Auto / Stick…..not a very big deal for me. I love my car. I must admit I would, at the drop of a hat, add more HP if I new I could keep the reliability and drivability.
ACD
Boy oh boy, it can get a little brutal around here..
Well, why the automatic. This is my first NSX and frankly I bought it right and it was the nicest one I could find. Next, my wife LOVES to drive and I wanted her to be able to enjoy it from the start. Next up, traffic. Dallas traffic. Starbucks has to enter in here somewhere. I really enjoy having the windows down and a hot cup of coffee while I’m driving in early morning.
My NSX is virtually brand new. A 98 that would be very, very hard to replace. I love the way it drives and it’s very livable. Ok, maybe now and then I could use a few extra HPs, but for the most part, I’d never use more then what I’ve got. Get the auto rolling up past 3k and the little 3-liter sings. Not much else can keep up with it.
For an everyday, got a lot of bang for my buck sports car, I don’t think I can replace it. I’ve got a Mercedes and a Lexis which now stay parked unless it rains. Auto / Stick…..not a very big deal for me. I love my car. I must admit I would, at the drop of a hat, add more HP if I new I could keep the reliability and drivability.
ACD
I"m with ACCD! My automatic is great, my daily drive to and from work can turn out horrible sometimes.I seldom have roon to use the horsepower I got. Drove down to Indy and back Friday and averaged 27.7 mpg with the aircondtioning on! I am sick of shifting all the time. If I feel the need to shift I take my shifter kart out to the gokart track. I bet I shift over 30 times a lap!
Wswen
Wswen
I am surprised there are no other options for the auto for transmissions. It would be nice if acura introduced a F1/auto for 2005 with the 290 HP. I bet that would be a good seller.
nsxtasy said:
I was mistaken on the speed but the new 2004 auto stick mode shifts by itself from 1st to 2nd gear and it is about 52-54 MPH @ 7500 RPM.
To Auto or Not to Auto
OK, so I'm not alone!!! wswen ..thanks for the reply. It is surprising how "hard" the NSX auto shits. It would be pretty cool if Acura did a forced induction F1 auto though... just think about it!
Shifter Kart,,,now those where the good old days! (Back when it was IKF)
ACCD
OK, so I'm not alone!!! wswen ..thanks for the reply. It is surprising how "hard" the NSX auto shits. It would be pretty cool if Acura did a forced induction F1 auto though... just think about it!
Shifter Kart,,,now those where the good old days! (Back when it was IKF)
ACCD
I love my auto. It may not be the fastest among the other NSX's but it is still a fast car to drive. One hand to hold the steering wheel and the other you could use to do anything. Hehe.
Not to put too fine a point on it but autos can still deliver quite a bit of competetive performance. I got invited to the SoCal Porsche Club autox this past weekend and had a blast with my 94 auto.
Out of 40 or so Porsches I was about the 7th or 8th fastest in my X. All 3 of the GT3s there beat me but one by only a few 10ths and none of the top Porsches beat me by more than 3 seconds on a 70 second course. And I was on my crappy street tires and learning to left foot brake the entire day. I would say I more than held my own against all of them.
And I get to drive home with a Starbucks in one hand
t
Out of 40 or so Porsches I was about the 7th or 8th fastest in my X. All 3 of the GT3s there beat me but one by only a few 10ths and none of the top Porsches beat me by more than 3 seconds on a 70 second course. And I was on my crappy street tires and learning to left foot brake the entire day. I would say I more than held my own against all of them.
And I get to drive home with a Starbucks in one hand
t
Whatever floats your boat, I suppose.
It's a valid question, one that was started without any hostile intentions.
And I don't believe my logic is flawed. If someone is unable or unwilling to learn how to drive a manual, then their driving skills is not as good as someone who has learned how to drive a manual. Driving a manual transmission is far more intricate and complex than driving an auto (not to mention a whole lot more satisfying and fun). End of story.
By the way, have you ever drifted accidentally in traffic with a rear-wheel vehicle that had an auto in it? I have, and let me tell you, it's freakin' scary. That's what happens when the automatic puts way too much power to the wheels than what you are used to. That's why I decided to learn how to drive a manual and have better control over my car. It's too easy to think you know how to drive well in an auto, when the car's power may easily get away from you. That's when superior driving skills can come in handy.
BTW, the SL55 AMG has something called Traction Control (incorporating ABS and engine management). You might be familiar with it. This system is so formidable a monkey could drive the car well. This does not make the driver superior to someone who is better trained and skilled at emergency handling.
So driving an auto because of traffic, I can understand. Driving a high performance sports car with an auto because one is unable to drive a stick, well, okay...
And what's this about grown men? I love it when people take stuff out of context. Real grown up LOL
It's a valid question, one that was started without any hostile intentions.
And I don't believe my logic is flawed. If someone is unable or unwilling to learn how to drive a manual, then their driving skills is not as good as someone who has learned how to drive a manual. Driving a manual transmission is far more intricate and complex than driving an auto (not to mention a whole lot more satisfying and fun). End of story.
By the way, have you ever drifted accidentally in traffic with a rear-wheel vehicle that had an auto in it? I have, and let me tell you, it's freakin' scary. That's what happens when the automatic puts way too much power to the wheels than what you are used to. That's why I decided to learn how to drive a manual and have better control over my car. It's too easy to think you know how to drive well in an auto, when the car's power may easily get away from you. That's when superior driving skills can come in handy.
BTW, the SL55 AMG has something called Traction Control (incorporating ABS and engine management). You might be familiar with it. This system is so formidable a monkey could drive the car well. This does not make the driver superior to someone who is better trained and skilled at emergency handling.
So driving an auto because of traffic, I can understand. Driving a high performance sports car with an auto because one is unable to drive a stick, well, okay...
And what's this about grown men? I love it when people take stuff out of context. Real grown up LOL
spookyp said:
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And no one is saying that you're bad because you drive an auto.Jin1976 said:I love my auto. It may not be the fastest among the other NSX's but it is still a fast car to drive. One hand to hold the steering wheel and the other you could use to do anything. Hehe.
However, they may be referring to what you are doing with the other hand...
NSX_Dreamer said:
Am I missing something here? Why is it that "intricate and complex" gear changing makes you a better driver? Wouldn't you actually want less complexity so you could concentrate more on the actually driving? A good driver will always be the one that drives the car he/she is in very well. And that requires learning that car whatever it is. And that's the end of the story.
Tank said:
LOL that's funny.
You have driven a manual, haven't you?
If you haven't, well I've got news for you. It causes you to focus on the actual driving far more than anything else.
Driving an auto is so easy, that it's easy to become detached from driving and use that free hand to talk on the cellphone, do other stuff...
NSX_Dreamer said:
I guess that's what I don't follow with what you're saying. I drive manuals all the time, and yes, autos are easier to drive. Which is why when I drive competitively, the auto can be a lot of fun. I can easily beat most sticks with similar HP, and I do evey month. But that really only means I'm a better driver than they are. I don't understand why "how you change gears" has anything to do with good driving.
Hey, I'm just askin'
Er, you don't think someone who has mastered how to shift manual gears is somewhat better than someone who only knows how to drive an auto? The person who has mastered the fundamentals of driving his/her car with a stick will be able to handle an automatic much better, especially one with a tip-tronic tranny.Tank said:I guess that's what I don't follow with what you're saying. I drive manuals all the time, and yes, autos are easier to drive. Which is why when I drive competitively, the auto can be a lot of fun. I can easily beat most sticks with similar HP, and I do evey month. But that really only means I'm a better driver than they are. I don't understand why "how you change gears" has anything to do with good driving.
Hey, I'm just askin'
Auto's used to be real dogs, but the engineering in them nowadays make them so good that, yes, it's hard for most average drivers to beat them with a manual. However, a good stick driver will still beat the daylights off an automatic all day long.
So the fact that you can beat someone driving a manual with an automatic on a dragstrip does not necessarily correlate to the fact that you're a better driver. It just means that you are better at driving the automatic than they are at driving the manual. However, you may be worse at driving the manual than they are at driving the manual, who knows.
It's like comparing apples and oranges.And if you do know how to drive a manual, then surely you know then that you have to focus more on driving than when driving an auto, don't you? You have to anticipate traffic so you can upshift or downshift, and pay attention much closer so you don't crash. I can't count how many times in a day I see people who drive automatics putting on lipstick in the car, eating pizza, doing all sorts of distracting behaviors when driving.
NSX_Dreamer said:
I still don't get it. It's like a typewriter vs. keyboard kinda question. You want to limit a persons skills by the tool they use. It just doesn't make sense to me. It's just a car, it's just a transmission, it doesn't matter. The only thing that does matter is what you can do with them.... if you want.
Funny thing you should bring up drag racing (not the kinda racing I was talking about by the way). As you get into more professional drag racing the cars all use autotrannies. Because....... they can shift faster than manuals.
I agree it's great fun to be able to drive both and I would highly recommend everyone learning a clutch. We trade cars a lot on practice days and I always have a blast driving a stick. But they don't have as much fun in my car. They always want to put it in D. When I tell them no, you have to manual shift it, listen to the engine and watch the RPMs, they all have a problem. They have to learn a new shifter. And the fact that they don't realize you can get back into first at a fairly high speed (you have to learn the auto's gear ratios, too), it slows them down. They never beat me in my own car.
But again we're just talking about abilities.
I think what you mean to say is more good drivers drive manuals instead of autos. Which is true. And more probably true is that they drive manuals because they find it more fun. But there are enough great drivers out there driving autos that your saying 'to be truly great you have to drive or at least have learned a stick' simply isn't justified as an absolute, only a generalization.
Take care and have FUN! It's all about the driving.
t
What, you don't do those things in your manual transmission car?NSX_Dreamer said:
Just out of curiosity I called Level 10 today to find out how much will their "bullet proof" upgrade allow an NSX auto to take in power and they guaranteed up to 550 HP. The price to get this accomplished was not cheap either. Wonder what it would feel like to do 500-550 HP in an auto....
1TITENSX said:Wonder what it would feel like to do 500-550 HP in an auto....
Only one way to find out :wink:
FWIW, Feel's produces a "Super Torque Converter" that includes the converter, a transmission cooler, and sundry parts. Only for the NA1 auto. www.hondatwincam.co.jp with a phone number of 03-3394-7001.
Got a response back from them. They said they use the JMO torque converters, so no need to buy it from Japan. You can get info at www.jmousa.com.
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