91 octane or lower grade?

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old 06-15-2004, 01:59 PM
  #1  
8th Gear
Thread Starter
 
schmeldorf's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2004
Age: 47
Posts: 8
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
91 octane or lower grade?

2 questions really.

Does anyone ever use a fuel with an octane lower than the recommended 91? IF so, could you tell a difference in performance?

2nd question... hmm crap... forgot it. Will have to post some other time i remember.

- s

p.s. 2 weeks till I get my TSX.. that is a long 2 weeks.
schmeldorf is offline  
Old 06-15-2004, 02:05 PM
  #2  
Racer
 
flopez82's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: miami fl
Age: 42
Posts: 286
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like on 1 Post
i think reading this post will help ....



http://www.acura-tsx.com/forums/show...ghlight=Octane
flopez82 is offline  
Old 06-15-2004, 02:06 PM
  #3  
dom
Senior Moderator
 
dom's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Toronto, Canada
Age: 47
Posts: 47,710
Received 801 Likes on 662 Posts
Did a site search on Octane and Premium Fuel

http://www.acura-tsx.com/forums/show...ghlight=Octane

http://www.acura-tsx.com/forums/show...ghlight=Octane

http://www.acura-tsx.com/forums/show...t=Lower+Octane

http://www.acura-tsx.com/forums/show...ht=Premium+Gas

http://www.acura-tsx.com/forums/show...ht=Premium+Gas
dom is offline  
Old 06-15-2004, 02:39 PM
  #4  
8th Gear
Thread Starter
 
schmeldorf's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2004
Age: 47
Posts: 8
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
danke
schmeldorf is offline  
Old 06-16-2004, 03:04 AM
  #5  
OCD in the OC
 
ccarbajal08's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Rancho Santa Margarita, CA
Age: 44
Posts: 784
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like on 1 Post
My mechanic friend told me that the "Check Engine" light will go on if you put less than 91. I don't know if this is true but is very interesting.
ccarbajal08 is offline  
Old 06-16-2004, 05:18 AM
  #6  
Moderator Alumnus
 
sauceman's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Windsor-Quebec corridor
Age: 47
Posts: 7,709
Likes: 0
Received 6 Likes on 4 Posts
Originally Posted by ccarbajal08
My mechanic friend told me that the "Check Engine" light will go on if you put less than 91. I don't know if this is true but is very interesting.
Not true, but the car does run like crap.
sauceman is offline  
Old 06-16-2004, 05:31 AM
  #7  
Race Director
 
biker's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Alexandria, VA
Posts: 14,334
Received 625 Likes on 504 Posts
Originally Posted by ccarbajal08
My mechanic friend told me that the "Check Engine" light will go on if you put less than 91. I don't know if this is true but is very interesting.
It's scary how little the people who should know something about cars actually do.
biker is offline  
Old 06-16-2004, 11:18 AM
  #8  
Instructor
 
toddstuh's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2003
Posts: 140
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
My other vehicle runs regular 87 octane and once when filling the TSX when new I mistakenly began filling it with 87. After realizing my mistake I decided to run a tankful of 87 octane to see what differences it made. My tank had some left over 93 so fortunately, it wasn't all 87.

All in all, I wouldn't say it runs like crap. It's not as if its madly pinging and bucking and running as if on 3 cylinders or anything. For moderate driving, and shifting at around 3000 rpm I found it to be slightly less responsive with a mild loss of performance, exactly as the manual states. You didn't notice that much of a difference until you asked for performance. You really noticed a difference when flooring it. It didn't perform near as well and I thought, Ahah there's the "Reduced Performance" which is likely a result of the engine having detuned by (retarding the timing) itself upon sensing the lower octane fuel.

In contrast, 91/93 octane will chirp the tires from a dead stop with significantly better acceleration all around.
The US Accord K24 runs reqular due to it's lower compression ratio and results inless peformance. Its torque is almost equivalent to the TSX (161/166) but the horsepower is about 40 less. if you want to run regular, and drive sedately then theoretically, you could run lower octane fuel if you weren't interested or felt that you didnt need the performance of the TSX but the TSX is a performance vehicle and requires performance (high octane) fuel to attain that performance out of its small high compression 4 cylinder engine.

Look at the specs on the Acura TSX web page..

It says :
Recommended Fuel:
Premium unleaded 91 octane or higher**

**Gasoline with an octane number lower than 91 may be used, with reduced performance.

Personally, I like the performance...or else I would be satisfied with driving a Hyundai.
toddstuh is offline  
Old 06-16-2004, 11:23 AM
  #9  
Obnoxious Philadelphian
 
jcg878's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: South Jersey
Age: 47
Posts: 5,549
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Was the 2nd question "Will there be a TSX type-s soon?"
jcg878 is offline  
Old 06-16-2004, 02:23 PM
  #10  
Got Ramen?
 
TypeRS's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Irvine, CA
Age: 41
Posts: 801
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
ur car will blow up
TypeRS is offline  
Old 06-16-2004, 06:19 PM
  #11  
Moderator Alumnus
 
sauceman's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Windsor-Quebec corridor
Age: 47
Posts: 7,709
Likes: 0
Received 6 Likes on 4 Posts
Originally Posted by jcg878
Was the 2nd question "Will there be a TSX type-s soon?"
Could have been. This octane topic sure comes in close at second place behind the never-ending TSX Type-s dilemna.
sauceman is offline  
Old 06-16-2004, 06:24 PM
  #12  
Obnoxious Philadelphian
 
jcg878's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: South Jersey
Age: 47
Posts: 5,549
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Originally Posted by sauceman
Could have been. This octane topic sure comes in close at second place behind the never-ending TSX Type-s dilemna.
Indeed!

Where did your avatar go???
jcg878 is offline  
Old 06-16-2004, 06:34 PM
  #13  
04 remembrance
 
iamhomin's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: NJ
Posts: 5,681
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Since TSX recommends an octane of 91, I'll use the TSX as an example.

Using a higher octane won't yield faster perfomance, however a lower octance would decrease the TSX's performance.
iamhomin is offline  
Old 06-16-2004, 06:40 PM
  #14  
I am Ahab!
 
tony4311's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: wisconsin
Age: 42
Posts: 2,077
Received 2 Likes on 2 Posts
lol I was thinking the same thing with the type S threads
tony4311 is offline  
Old 06-16-2004, 06:42 PM
  #15  
Moderator Alumnus
 
sauceman's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Windsor-Quebec corridor
Age: 47
Posts: 7,709
Likes: 0
Received 6 Likes on 4 Posts
Originally Posted by jcg878
Indeed!

Where did your avatar go???
It's back, and updated!
sauceman is offline  
Old 06-18-2004, 08:30 AM
  #16  
Three Wheelin'
 
DEVO's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 1,737
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
the same people that think a car won't run on anything but 91 also think that running higher than 91 octane is better. in both case they are wrong.

the car should run fine on 87 as long as you don't push it.

putting anything other than 91 (sea level 93) is a waste. now, in Canada i guess there are additives that f up everything and sunoco 94 doesn't have this additive... in which case using that is fine.
DEVO is offline  
Related Topics
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
MrHeeltoe
1G TSX Tires, Wheels, & Suspension
20
02-23-2023 01:54 PM
08KBP_VA
2G RL (2005-2012)
44
10-22-2019 01:55 PM
MrHeeltoe
2G TSX Tires, Wheels & Suspension
3
09-29-2015 10:43 PM
San Yasin
2G RDX (2013-2018)
21
09-29-2015 10:52 AM
rhdune16
Car Parts for Sale
0
09-28-2015 11:31 AM



Quick Reply: 91 octane or lower grade?



All times are GMT -5. The time now is 06:13 AM.