Greeting TSX nation,

I have a 2006 TSX, automatic and have only put 92 octane gas in it. I read in the owners manual that E 85 can also be used!!?? Wondering if anyone has used E85 and what kind of performance loss there was...Not even sure if this is a good idea.

Newbie here...Thanks in advance!

 

Really?!?! Didn't know the 06's could run that.

 

my 2005 manual says only put in 91. using less causes knocking and that will damage the engine in the long run.

 

I think that is wrong. You can only use up to 10% ethonal(sp) in the tsx. I never use that stuff cuz, it burns like water.

 

I haven’t read the manual close enough to know if E85 is acceptable. I’ve always assumed E10-E15 (10%-15% ethanol) was the most we could go with the TSX.

Ethanol is used by some gas stations to boost the octane numbers (those that don’t have E85 gas stations). Ethanol doesn’t have the same amount of energy/power/BTUs compared to an equal amount of gasoline. You will get a slight performance increase; BUT, a more significant mileage decrease. Cars are known to drop about 3-8 mpgs using E85 (usually SUV, V-6 engines).

Personally, I wouldn’t use any ethanol in my car. I rather use 90 octane 100% gas compared to 94 octane E15 or E85 gas. Don’t want to take the hit on my gas mileage.

 

(Its friday and I'm bored at work)

I’ve read a few web sites and it seems you can destroy your engine if it is not configured to run E85.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E85

“The primary differences from non-FFVs is the elimination of bare magnesium, aluminum, and rubber parts in the fuel system, the use of fuel pumps capable of operating with electrically conductive (ethanol) instead of non-conducting dielectric (gasoline) fuel, specially-coated wear-resistant engine parts, fuel injection control systems having a wider range of pulse widths (for injecting approximately 60% more fuel), the selection of stainless steel fuel lines (sometimes lined with plastic), the selection of stainless steel fuel tanks in place of terne fuel tanks, and, in some cases, the use of acid-neutralizing motor oil. For vehicles with fuel-tank mounted fuel pumps, additional differences to prevent arcing, as well as flame arrestors positioned in the tank's fill pipe, are also sometimes used.”

Check this link out:

http://alternativefuels.about.com/od...5compathub.htm

It shows all E85 compatible vehicles from 1995 to 2007. It doesn’t show any Honda/Acura cars on the list.

The link also shows the mpgs of the same cars/trucks/SUVs using E85 compared to regular old gas.

Chevrolet Monte Carlo
Mileage:
16/23 E85
21/31 Gasoline

Chrysler Sebring
Mileage:
15/22 E85
22/30 Gasoline

 

True. Ethanol is corrosive and will destroy your car if you use it in a vehicle that is not designed for it. This is the same reason why the big pipelines underground that carry gasoline from region to region cannot transport ethanol. However, in small levels, like what is now in regular gas at about 10-15%, is fine.

 

so what is merit in using E85? is it cheaper?

 

Some think it's a way to get us to be more energy independent, but so far it's not really working out. It produces less energy than gasoline, more farmland is being used to produce corn, and therefore raising prices of other crops, and the price of many foods are rising as well. Personally, I think it's a crock of shit from the US government and it's not the answer to the energy crisis.

 

+1 Its a scam

 

To the consumer, no. Mileage drops considerably using E85 (because it has less energy than regular gas), so your MPG goes in the tank. So whatever cost per gallon you save, you eat up by using more in quantity. At it's best, E85 is simply a way to reduce dependence on foreign oil. From the standpoint of cost to produce and use, it's a push. Actually, I've read reports that there isn't enough farm land in the US to actually supply the population with E85. Also, many (American) auto companies are using this as a loophole to meet federal MPG standards (i.e. Corporate Average Fuel Economy, or CAFE). For the purpose of fleet MPG calculations, E85 only counts the 15% of regular gas that you use. So a Surburban that gets 12 MPG on regular fuel actually computes to more like 80 MPG if it runs on E85. This is how auto makers with a huge fleet of very inefficient cars (i.e. Trucks and SUVs) get around the CAFE penalty. That's why you see every American truck and SUV that can use E85.

It's a good intent, but I don't think it will ever gain traction - especially if it's cost-equivalent or worse, more costly to the consumer than regular gas (at it's current price). Now if gas is $5.00 a gallon, this changes a bit.

 

Hmmm, I thought the other benefit of the E10 stuff was that the ethanol absorbs any water in you gas tank, so the water is burned in the engine, in the combustion process. The result is no gas line freezing in the winter, because the water which might have created a problem is gone.

 

^^ May be one of the side benefits, but I don't think that was the primary intent.

When I was tracking my MPG closely in my previous car, E10 dropped my MPG by about 3.

 

After receiving all the replies to my thread i went back a reviewed my owners manual.... You're right
it does NOT say "E 85" gas, it specifically says gas with only 10 o/o ethanol. I jumped to conclusions when I spotted the ethanol in the manual and thought it meant E85 since that's all I've seen around here... thanks for all the info and my apologies for the confusion..

 

Actually, the main reason why you can't transport ethanol by pipeline is because picks up water along the way (it's hygroscopic). It has to be blended at the destination market, pipes don't even work well to transport E10 for any long distance.

 

In order to have all the gasoline used in the US today replaced by E85 would require something like 150 bln gallons of ethanol (current cap'y is about 5 bln), or about 53 bln bushels of corn. Current US corn production will rise to 14 bln bushels (up from 12 bln) as a result of the doubling of corn prices. Imagine what they'd have to do to get to 53 bln! Not to mention what would happen oil prices if the US dropped it's demand for gasoline by 85%.

Plus all the issues of water use, fertilizer and other chemical run-off, etc. associated with enormous increases in ethanol production from grain crops. Of course, we're not going to just switch from gas to ethanol that quickly, but those trade-offs will become more and more severe. Corn ethanol is a gap-filler until technology provides a more reasonable solution.

 

What? Dubya and his boys scamming us? Say it aint so, Joe! (Yeah , just TRY to say it aint so!)

 

let people with Hyundai and kias run that shit in their cars ill stick with 93

 

Tell my lawn trimmer how harmless 10% ethanol is. Trimmers used to last years, now every other season I'm changing carbonators and fuel lines. I suspect similar long-term damage is being done to modern vehicles and typically the impact of corrosive components damage increases exponentially as temperature and or concentration increase.

 

Shit, you guys. Not that it even matters now, since my TSX is sitting in the driveway broken down, but...I'd been using that 88 flex-fuel in mine😳

Before anyone assumes the gas is to blame.....
"broken down"= bad starter, rack & pinion and tires.

I knew the manual said only use the higher octane gas, but because I'm a broke bitch, I could never afford that.

I just kinda assumed Honda/Acura had some type of deal with the fuel industry. (Like, "hey we'll tell consumers the most expensive gas is required,

 

Revival of an 18 year old thread.

That aside while what you say may be true - are you running your lawn trimmers completely out of gas and/or using Sta-Bil or something like that before putting away for the off season (assuming where you live has one)? Leaving fuel of any octane in dormant equipment is going to cause the need for changing carbs and fuel lines. I have a leaf blower and weed-wacker that are both 20+ years old and have never had their carburetors or fuel lines changed. YMMV

 

Oh shit. I just read the last comment on here and it reminded me that I'm pretty sure the last gas I used in my car was that flexfuel BS.

I also mentioned how my car has been sitting in my driveway broken down for years now. Even when I initially read this, a few weeks ago, it didn't really dawn on me that the gas has probably rusted the shit outta my fuel tank, etc.

Dammit. I'm a moron!

 

Oops!!

Gas probably hasn't rusted out your tanked but there is a good chance it has turned into varnish and gummed up your fuel system (fuel pump / lines / injectors, etc....).