[ckonarske]

This is the first automatic I've had in my personal car since 1973 and I miss the control of a stick.

This is definitely not for everybody, but for any of you out there who miss your previous manual transmissions: try shifting your Ody manually once in a while. You might be surprised. It works a lot better than on other automatics I've tried.

It's not something I'd always want to do, but I've been trying it off and on for a couple of weeks now and have found that it adds a lot of control I wouldn't have predicted.

One of the best times is going around a slow corner where the trans would normally stay in 2nd gear, bring it down into 1st so you have it available as soon as you start to accelerate. Much more power, and coming on much smoother.

Also nice for gearing down or holding a slower speed under certain conditions.

I'm not talking about hot rodding or abusing the trans, just about gaining a little more control.

You may even find you like that long, ugly, much maligned shifter. It's in the perfect position to use with your elbow on the armrest.

Try it and let me know how you like the response.

------------------
Chuck
Click here for Ody pics, mods and fixes.

[This message has been edited by ckonarske (edited 06-21-2001).]

 

[peterk]

I have to say that I have accidently downshifted a bunch of times. For some reason I play with the control while driving. I think it is because my other car is a stick shift. An autostick transmission would be sweet in the Odyssey but it will never happen.

Peter

 

[DTKWOK]

Chuck,

Oddly enough I feel the same way, the shifting from D4 to D3 and from D3 all the way to 1, gets some use to though(i.e pulling straight down vs. pulling toward you, then straight down). In other countries, and especially in taxi's, they still use the "three on the tree" (I know they have more than 3 speeds) manual on column shifter style. But yes, I sometimes shift either into D3 or 2 when in traffic to avoid un-necessary upshifts.

 

[tvvinkie]

Swap a 3.2TL-S tranny in there. Better yet, wait for the 6-speed.

Seriously, it would probably bolt up to the block fine. Driveaxles can be custom fabricated, if necessary. The pain would be connecting it to the brain properly (might need a new ECU?) and installing the control in the cabin, with all necessary linkage.

I wanna see it!

 

[lookinco]

Really, is it possible to swap in a TL-S tranny ? I am really interested in doing that. How much do you think it would cost ?