Hey all,

I have a '04 TSX and it has around 74k on it. I haven't changed my air filter nor given it a basic tune up since I've had it (Bought it with 40k) and I have no clue if it got one prior to my ownership (I assume it did not since it was fairly new). What are some good suggestions for an air filter? I don't need anything fancy or anything 'GOOD FOR 10HP!', just something that will work like it's supposed to.

Also, spark plugs, when should I replace those? And I wouldn't mind a suggestion for those as well.

I'm really just trying to improve my gas mileage which has depreciated drastically over the past two and a half years (used to get 325 miles out of 13-14 gallons, now only POSSIBLY get 275 miles out of 13-14 gallons). I assume the age and lack of a basic tune up makes it so the engine isn't performing up to par which makes the power/weight ratio quite worse, resulting in my terrible gas mileage.

Thanks, will consider all suggestions.

 

For the air filter, you can get an oem filter on eBay, or if you want better mileage and throttle response, get a oem drop in sized K&N filter. If you want to be thorough, go ahead and clean the throttle body with some throttle body cleaner from AutoZone as well.

The spark plugs are supposed to be good for 100k change intervals, and I suggest you use NGK spark plugs, they seems to be the best for Hondas/Acuras.

 

Wow..... where to start. First off, you should read the maintenance section of the owner's manual. It will tell you what should be done and when. You're due (or more likely overdue) for some maintenance. Hopefully you've changed the oil and filter when recommended(as a minimum). Aside from all the various inspections, the following should be and/or should have been replaced:

oil: change every 10K miles

oil filter: change every 20K miles

air filter: change every 30K miles

cabin air filter: change every 30K miles or two years

auto trans fluid, mt trans fluid: change at 120K miles or 6 years

brake fluid: replace every 3 years regardless of mileage

spark plugs: change at 110K miles

adjust the valves at 110K miles

coolant: 120K miles or 10 years, every 60K or 5 years after that.

These are to be considered maximum intervals for a maintenance schedule (in my opinion)(20K miles for an oil filter? I don't think so.....). If none of the above has been done, you should consider it. The poor mileage may indicate a spark plug change early (may help, may not). Also, though there's not a service interval for the PCV valve, you should consider changing that. You may want to think about also changing out the transmission fluid and coolant early.

 

Ha I probably made it out to seem like I don't take care of my car at all from Simba91102's post. I always change my oil every 10k with Mobil 1 Synthetic and replace the oil filter as well. I changed my tranny-fluid early, probably around 65k. I couldn't care about the cabin air filter (unless it starts smelling like a skunk). And I've already changed my brake fluid last time I had my brakes replaced.

Can somebody link me to a good vender where I could find an air filter ?

 

i've been using products from http://www.fleetfilter.com since i owned my tsx. currently at 93k miles.

 

My maintainance table is old fashion:
-Oil and filter change- every 3mo./3k miles(I use Castrol GTX oil and OEM filter) allways have in everything and have driven over 200k in all other vehicles).
-Air filter and Cabin air filter-every 10k miles.
-Trani fluid- every 2yrs./30k miles
-Coolant/Anti-freeze-every 2yrs/30k miles
-Brakes-inspect every 5k miles when I rotate my tires.
-Tune up- every 30k (iridium plugs get changed @ 60k miles)
-Valves-inspect and/or adjust every 30k miles or sooner if tapping)
-Timing Chain(as the TSX has one and not a belt)-I will most likely replace the chain,guides, and tensioner @ 100k miles).

I was a ASE Honda/Acura/Mazda tech for 8 years before becoming a Manager for a Michelin Tire Store.I do alot of preventative maintainence.

 

Amazon (couple it with a few oil filters and you can ship it all for free).

 

I don't know what might constitute "good", but generally I just buy them from an auto parts store. I've changed a few cabin air filters/air filters this way and it's worked out fine.

Also, the cabin air filter in the TSX is ridiculously easy to change out- easiest of the 5 cars my parents, my brother, and I collectively have to change (the Civic didn't have one). And if I think it's easy, it's pretty easy. For some perspective on my technical abilities, I go to the Acura dealer for oil changes.

 

One thing that I wish i did earlier on was buy the K&N Drop in filter. I think of all the money i wasted on disposable filter and it just doesn't make sense. If you are keeping the car for a while, spend the money now on a K&N and never worry about it again. Clean it every now and then i guess.

 

Yea I've decided to go with the K&N drop in filter, I'll be buying it when I get my next pay check.

And jchan2, when I said 'good' I didn't mean it in a condescending way, it's just how I worded it unintentionally. I'll probably be changing my cabin air filter once I start smelling something funky, and like you said, I've heard that it's beyond easy to do.

 

Oh no! I didn't mean for that statement to be taken that way- but yes, the cabin air filter is quite easy, and you'd be surprised at how dirty it is. Mine smelled fine but when I pulled it out in December it looked absolutely thrashed. I figured the $16 for the filter and a few minutes of my time every year isn't too bad. Took me <30 minutes.

 

Just put in the K&N air filter.. and OMG.. it made a HUGE difference.. the throttle response is better and I can feel faster acceleration.. The engine even sounds better and different. Can't believe I never put this filter in before!

 

Just remember the trade-off on a K&N is increased engine wear and intake system cleaning.

 

Why is that exactly?

 

K&N filters let more air through and, while they do an excellent job of filtering some particles, others are allowed through due to design. Think about it; they claim more horsepower...their filters have no more filtering area...they suggest horsepower gains...this means more air is getting through the filter...hence more dirt is getting through.

There are any number of forums on performance to discuss the trade-off involved with K&N filters. The worst problems seem to be throttle body and airflow sensor issues due to contamination from materials the K&N lets through. However, at Bob the Oil Guy there are a number of threads that discuss oil analysis results that suggest increased en=gine wear after K&N use.

It is inherent that an oiled gauze filter will allow some larger particles and quite a few more smaller particle through. The whole oil as a magnet thing is bunk, as it's range of "attraction" is far smaller than the opening in the gauze it is "guarding".

That being said; a K&N will make you sound faster from the drivers seat, it will likely add between 3 and 13 HP (closer to 3 for a TSX), and will also likely cause a slight decrease in MPG. However, your mileage may vary...

In closing, here's a link to one of Bob's tests:

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/airfilter/airtest1.htm

 

Thanks for the write-up, appreciate your insight.

I asked because I got a K&N filter a few months back, mainly because of the lifetime nature of the filter (except the cleanings). Quite honestly, I'm more concerned about engine life than I am about horsepower. Would you recommend I switch back to the standard paper type filter?

 

idk man.. i'm calling some BS on this. The TSX is meant to be a high performance car.. And I doubt the engine would have any issues. I'll just make sure I get enough oil changes done to make sure it stays good. I have always heard good things about K&N filters.. it should be fine. and with increased airflow, the MPG would increase.. even with a HP gain. The engine breathes better so it gets less stress from being revved up.

 

Calling BS on what? More air through the filter means more particles...see some of the videos and pictures that compare filtering media downstream from paper and K&N filters and, lo and behold, the K&N media shows more particles.

Simple fact, particles cause intake system build-up and contamination plus increase engine wear (grants, by a small amount, but what increased rate of wear is acceptable to you?).

K&N filter will likely increase power slightly, it will certainly increase wear slightly, the "less stress from being revved up" due to breathing better is actually wrong. Better breathing means, well, it means little (unless you rev the hell out of the engine) except that you can make very slightly more horsepower at any given RPM..which INCREASES engine stress.

 

Well I don't live in an area with dirt roads or anything of the sort, it's technically a city but it's referred to as 'The City of Village Charm'. I think I'd be more than fine with the K&N filter due to the lack of contaminating particles in the air and I think the current filter I have in it is actually hurting my engine more than the K&N would IF I lived in a dirty area. My engine CANNOT breathe, it's like that kid on the soccer field having to run off to the side lines to puff his inhaler every 10 minutes.

 

read this:http://www.knfilters.com/filter_facts.htm

"Studies have shown most engine wear is caused by particles 10 to 20 microns in size. K&N air filters, like most quality disposable air filters, provide excellent filtration of these particles."

"To ensure our air filters provide a high level of dirt protection, we regularly test our air filter designs using the testing procedure described above. Those tests demonstrate K&N air filters generally achieve overall filtration efficiency in the range of 96% - 99%. The fact that our air filters at times reach overall filtration efficiencies as high as 99% while maintaining high airflow is a testament to the quality and capabilities of our oil impregnated cotton air filter medium."

 

Have you recently changed tires or have low tire pressure or alignment issues? That will also reduce your mpgs.

Have you changed your driving habits (new job, new home location, additional city driving, etc...).

The time of the original post was in Feb; maybe your gas station started using oxygenated fuel, ethanol blend, or a different fuel vendor during the winter months? I always get better mpgs in summer compared to winter mostly because of the oxygentated fuel in winter dropping my mpgs by 1-3 mpg.

The real test is when you take the TSX on straight hwy driving. Do you still get +30 mpgs at 65-70 mph with cruise control?

 

The tires were changed out prior to this post but the MPG's I was getting were the same prior to the changing. I don't have alignment issues either. Drivings habits are identical over the past 2-3 years now. Also, I've stuck with this one Sunoco in my town which has the lowest 91 octane in the area (Only gas stations that carry 91 are sunoco's around here, Citgo used to but don't anymore).

Funny thing is, I was finally going to invest in the K&N air filter the other day and someone revived this thread and I got an e-mail to my phone. This seemed kind of odd so I figured I'd take a look. Regardless I'll be buying it as soon as I get my next paycheck (Heard this before? ).

I'll be doing spark plugs as well, just to knock those off the list of possibilities and might as well do them 20k early. I also have an oil change schedule for this thursday morning (Synthetic of course).

I do generally get 30+MPGs on the highway at those speeds depending on the incline of the road. I just don't like how the engine is breathing now. If I were to floor it, it struggles to climb RPMs. It'll just sit at say, 4k, then slowly get to 4.5k, then stop again. Odd behavior.

 

If you're about to change your oil and spark plugs, consider doing a Seafoam treatment before the change. It's not that expensive or hard to do and in my case I did it at 80K miles and it improved my throttle response and mileage.

 

So instead of looking at objective results (the picture of filter media that was placed after a paper and a K&N filter and then had air drawn through the filter and the media) you trot out K&N's studies. Not to be cynical, but do you not think K&N might have a vested interest in those studies.

As for the city vs dusty country issue, the diesel particulates in the city are a significant threat to your lungs and your engine.

Consider the following summary from an ISO 5011 test of a paper vs. K&N filter:

"In 60 minutes the AC Filter accumulated 574gms of dirt and passed only 0.4gms. After only 24 minutes the K&N had accumulated 221gms of dirt but passed 7.0gms.

Compared to the AC, the K&N“plugged up” nearly 3 times faster, passed 18 times more dirt and captured 37% less dirt. See the data tables for a complete summary of these comparisons."

Also, a quick search finds plenty of people with dyno results that show a slight, if any, HP increase. By slight, it's about 1 to 3 hp. Overall, the views and data seem to indicate that a drop-in K&N air filter:

May slightly increase power

May slightly increase mpg

Will slightly increase engine wear

Will certainly risk gunking up your airflow sensors, especially if you re-oil yourself (and very much if you over oil)

May slightly decrease your costs in the long run.



It's your ride...

 

k&n filters have a nasty habit of killing MAF sensors. The oil from the filter sometimes will coat the sensor too.

I had a filter kill three sensors on our toyotas. Once i removed the filter and went back to purolator it fixed the problem.

 

kbh, what exactly is a seafoam treatment and how would I go about doing it?

DuckDodgers, I actually did read through the report, I just figured it was irrelevant because of the area I live in which isn't industrial or like your generic city, it's just considered a city because of its population. But I'll take your advice since I would rather not create more maintenance I would have to deal with by using the K&N.

What would you suggest? Just any generic paper filter? I looked into the ones from Acura when I originally made this thread and I can't see why I would pay such a large sum for a paper filter, so they're out of the equation.

And dallison, is purolator a manufacturer of filters? If so, could you link me? I just got my paycheck(s) and will be buying it within the week.

 

Wix filters are well regarded, and are also sold a NAPA Gold.

The part number is 46831, and generally runs about $15-20.

Handa-accessories sells the OEM part for about $20 too, and that's what I use. Acura/Honda designed the stock filter to filter well and provide the stock performance and prevent warranty issues...good enough for me.

 

One problem, I think the only NAPA store in town went out of business about a year ago, but I'm sure other vendor's around town carry it.

And regarding the Acura OEM air filter, I can't remember which website it was but they were asking for $70 for the basic filter, so I kind of just stopped my search right there. I'll look into the Wix though, and someone towards the top of my thread referred them too.

 

Seafoam is a petroleum product available in most auto parts stores. Before an oil change, pour 1/3 bottle into your oil crankcase, 1/3 into your gas tank, and 1/3 into a small clean open container. Disconnect your brake booster line, start your engine and and place the open end of the hose near the top of the liquid surface so it sucks in a small amount of the liquid at a time. If you dip it all the way in, your engine will stall. It takes a few minutes to suck in all the liquid. You then turn off your engine for five minutes. Reconnect your booster line and restart the engine and hold your engine revs at about 3000rpm and tons of white smoke will come out the tailpipe (hopefully all those years of built up engine deposits). When the smoke stops coming, turn off your engine and then change your oil.

https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-2004-2008-93/107-diy-seafoam-3rd-gen-tl-06-5at-specifically-638069/

 

Ah I saw your post after I changed my oil. Ohwell, next time.

Also bought the Wix filter ($18, not bad at all) and installed it. Not eye opening changes but it does seem happier. I'll test it on the highway next time I'm driving it. Also, my old filter was stuffed with leafs and such, no wonder my engine couldn't breathe.

 

Also, I went through the service records from the previous owner. One print out said at 16k miles, they changed spark plugs. Does this make sense? It also had a * next to it which indicated 'No extra price for platinum plugs'.

Side note, I drove my car on the highway to work today, the TSX is happy again! Instead of wheezing along the field it is now that kid hopped up on adderall. It even just pulls happier when I'm slowly leaving a light. So glad I swapped out that old filter.

 

Plugs at 16k only makes sense if:

Dealer had a boat payment due...

Car had drivability issues and fouled plugs...


So, did the previous owner pay for it?

On filters, I change air and cabin at 15k regardless...I get the cabin filters off amazon or e-bay, TSX's use the same as the Accord and the Odyssey, just like the oil filters.

 

I'm pretty sure the dealer paid for them, at least I recall reading that they did, I'll check again when I'm in my car later tonight.

I'll definitely be changing my air filter regularly now, cabin I'll do once I start smelling unusual smells and air stops flowing properly.

 

Don't wait on the cabim for that...believe me, at 15k it's foul looking, at 30k it is a biology experiment. At least take a look at yours...it's easy to do, so other threads...after you see it, you'll change it!

If the dealer paid, they it's for a reason, likely a drivability issue that caused fouled plugs, but it should be OK after that got fixed. What else was done on that service?

 

lol, the TSX is far from a "high performance" car.
It does have a relatively high revving, reliable engine, which is all the more reason I would prefer better filtering to keep it as long lasting as possible.