Would you see a difference in performance in an automatic?

[L0veZHP]

If you add performance stuff (example: intakes and headers)
do you think it would be worth it? I kinda don't.

[kayger12]

Auto is just a different way of getting the power to the wheels. If you increase the power, you're still getting more power to the wheels.

If you're happy with your auto (which I'd imagine driving in NYC traffic you are), then I don't see it as a waste.

I'm sure one of the guys/girls who knows way more about performance modding than I do will chime in on this.

[Marcus-SanDiego]

If you add performance stuff (example: intakes and headers)
do you think it would be worth it? I kinda don't.

Yes. I have a friend here in San Diego who has a 500 HP 335. It's a steptronic. But he did more than just headers and intake. He added software management, meth, etc.

I have another friend who put a Dinan supercharger on his 540. It was about 375 HP. Very noticeable.

I have yet another friend who did under drive pulleys, Shark injector, and headers. He noticed it. That was on a 528.

Would you notice headers and intake? Yes. A big difference? Probably not. You'd want to couple that with engine management software (maybe something like AA or Shark).

[L0veZHP]

Thank you guys, I understand I know intake and headers would not make a big difference in any N/A car I was just wondering if it was worth it on an automatic. (Btw my friend took me driving in his manual civic, starting off is so hard! but just driving it after getting it going is easy) I'm just not sure if its worth putting stuff into a N/A car when a turbo car just gets so much more HP from it. And I do know N/A are more reliable im just saying tho.. If my car were a manual I would have bought some performance perks for it.. I just wanted to know how you guys would feel about an automatic with performance parts. (and i also know most true sport cars i think like f1 and nascars and stuff real dragsters are automatic, but when i was driving that civic i was having fun) it made me wish my car was manual

[nike001]

It's all about what you want. Its just the transmission. There are many things that can come into play here for you deciding these things.

I wouldn't really say f1 and dragsters are automatic...they're a few steps ahead of a normal automatic transmission. Nascar uses 4-speed MT's

[kpro]

You'll get the added benefit of extra HP/TRQ if you modify your automatic car with a header or intake. Some automatics eat up a lil' more HP(horsepower) than a manual would on the same model of car, with the E46's I'm not sure if that holds true or not. Thats a good question...if someone knows the answer

In my experience with this, I can only speak from the Honda/Subaru end of things. We've done countless dyno runs on our custom exhausts & intakes that the guys used to fab up for customers. They all made gains, some more than others depending on the application (car). We put these parts on automatics too, and they showed HP/TRQ gains as well. We never had the thought to test or document manuals VS. autos on the same products. This is mainly because 90% of our customers had manual transmission cars.

When I refer to your "butt dyno" its the feeling that your car seems faster after putting a mod on it. Its honestly really hard for us to notice a 5-10 hp gain that a header or intake will make for our cars by just driving it (unless you drive a 95 Civic that only had 90hp to begin with)...its more of a subconcious thing, you know you made your car faster so it feels faster. The NSX is prime example...a custom 3" stainless exhaust freed up an additional 24 WHP!! (biggest gain we ever saw from an exhaust on a non-turbo car, the stock was 2.25" pipe, lol) 24 WHP is about 10% of its stock dyno number, a 10% gain in power if you will. The intake being changed on the car only freed up 2 WHP...though it seemed MUCH faster once the intake was installed vs. when we installed only the exhaust, probably because it sounds meaner. Butt Dyno fail right there.

I would do some research on the particular parts you're looking at and see if anyone has dyno numbers to see if its something worth your time/money before you buy it. You probably won't feel the added HP, but then again...you might its all up to your butt dyno

*edit* LoveZHP: I have a turbo prelude (with no internal engine modification) thats been turbo'd for 5-6 years and has 60k mi. on it being turbo'd. I drive the shit out of that car and haven't had a single problem concerning reliability. If the car has been built right, upgraded fuel delivery and proper tuning for the amount of boost you're running, then you shouldn't have any issues with reliability concerning your engine.

[Marcus-SanDiego]

Kristen, I believe that automatics experience more parasitic loss than manuals -- whether it's a BMW or a Honda.

Can one of the physics gurus jump in and explain why autos do experience more loss, though? I'm interested.

[M0nk3y]

Automatic transmission systems use a torque converter to control gear ratios as the car increases or decreases in speed. The automatic gearbox uses a system of hydraulic controls that take the energy put out by the engine and monitor it, shifting gears accordingly. While most of the engine's energy is still used to do the same work as a manual system, it goes through an additional step which consumes some energy, albeit only a small amount. The torque converter will always use some power to do its job, no matter its efficiency.

Read more: Why Do Automatic Transmission Cars Get Less Gas Mileage Than Standard Transmissions? | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how-does_5801553...#ixzz1L1NgjxRj

Just a better way than I would phrase it

[kpro]

They do...I just don't know how much of a loss or to what degree. Not enough to forget about modding your auto trans car altogether Hondas are not that bad in comparison manual vs. auto, I just don't have solid numbers saying the parasitic loss is this much on a manual and this much on an auto. I was googling while trying to type out my reply...and gave up, lol.

[kayger12]

I would think that the auto trans has more HP loss because they generally have more mass than a MT. More mass requires more energy to move.

Some auto techie needs to give us the 411 on this.