^^WORD! that's what i thought .. :doh: .. i'd have to say the prelude .. sorry tsx .. i love you but i love the TL much more

 

But a beautiful car nonetheless, inside and out. Especially the gorgeous LED instrument cluster! And it IS excellent handling!

By the way, my 03 CL Type S (5AT) rips up on my "new" 5spd Prelude. Even from a launch.

The TSX is a great car, but it's designed to be a entry luxury sports SEDAN, for those of use who have grown out of the Fast and Furious age. It's just not a good comparison with the sports-coupe Prelude.

 

i house a 3.2TL-S automatic (pre 04') from a roll or launch.
dont generalize pal
the six-speed is the only winner in my book.
automatic = bitch

~kris

 

Except for the fact that my CL Type S is my winter car and no need for the 6 spd tranny. Every other car I own is a manual. Sitting in downtown Atlanta traffic, or on a snowy day in Omaha, NE SUCKS with a manual.

Never lost to a Prelude (manual), launch or top end. Both on street and track. Modded or not. My best ET in the CL is a 14.2 (generally a mid 14ish) with only the cold air intake. Preludes (stock and basic modded) are not near that. Cant wait to get the header and exhaust on it- 40ish HP!.

That said, I love the Prelude, and I'm glad I bought it! It's very enjoyable and attractive still, even after all these years! Can't wait for my JR to come in!

 

wow i wont argue with your 14.2 in an automatic vs my 15.049
but what was your trap speed? Every 350Z i saw at the track was besting 14.3 im very surprised that your CL pulled that off especially with the HP loss thru the auto.

i could see the TL-S six speed in the low 14's

~kris

 

I'll have to dig out the video and timeslips as I keep them all, but my trap speed was in the low to mid 100 mph range. The 5spd auto, with VSA (traction control) off can launch pretty well, and builds rev's quickly to get to VTEC (the car makes peak torque, all 232 ft-lbs at 3500 RPM) The stock intake is restrictive as hell. The stock CL runs a high 14 (about 14.7-14.8) at about 97 mph. Comptech's header gives this car 37 REAL hp, which will put very close to 300 flywheel hp (if not over) with the intake.

Oh and as far as the new TL 6spd, it's actually a bit slower than the CL because of its' heavier weight. Sure it has 10 hp more stock, but has a bit more weight to lug around. In handling though, the TL walks the CL.

 

ill be interested to see that video, are you sure you have it?

A car making 260HP thru an auto is going to suffer 'at least' 25% drivetrain loss. The Manual CL-S weighs in at 3400 or so and thats the manual model. Of course id assume the manual trim puts more to the wheels and weighs less than the auto, by definition.
So you have a 3400lb, 260HP automatic that runs a 14.2@?.
Not to mention my friend has a 2003 TL-S automatic with tranny problems at 14k miles, and his wife drives it.

I am extremely surprised, having raced 'several' TL-S manuals, as well and beating 'several' TL-S autos, at this point id have to say that the CL is in the low 15's to high 14's with mods.

~kris

 

Yes, I have the videos. And actually, if you check out the CL forum- a lot of the bolt on modded CL's are running high 13s and low 14s. The auto CL is in the high 14s stock. I haven't had any tranny problems with my vehicle *yet* I'll have to knock on wood for now. I surprised the hell out of a Mustang GT on that run too He ran a 14.35. I will try to upload them as soon as I can!

 

haha yea those new GT's are in the low 14's along with the 350Z's and S2000's. What i have learned from the track is that the magazines are NEVER accurate. Allegedly the S2000 runs a 13.8 stock...yeah right with a pro driver it does. I have never seen a stock S2000 break 14 flat. The same holds true of 350Z/G35, and of course the new GT. All of these cars are low 14 second cars. As you can see there is a wide spread between the engine types here.

~kris

 

I have to throw my two cents in on this one, since I have been rollin' my 98 Prelude for 98,700 (and counting) miles and I have test driven a TSX.

As everyone else here has detailed, oh yeah, the Prelude is faster, which is a "duh" given the TSX is heavier sedan. In the 'Lude you are into VTEC 800-900 RPM sooner, and the VTEC song is more clearly heard.

That said, the TSX is a pretty sweet card for a stock sedan. Yeah, it is not as fast, but I found it to have a similar dynamic to my Prelude. Let me esplain: The torque advantage the K24 has over the H22 gives the TSX squirtability in traffic despite its size, and the stock suspension tuning makes it a tossable, even playful sedan. The quality of the responses from the car make it enjoyable to drive.

I have to give a caveat for myself: I am in my mid 30's, so I suppose I am right in Acura's target market for the TSX. Maybe that is why I liked it.

Still, I say, "Honda, are you listening? BRING THE PRELUDE BACK!"