CJW

After test driving the BMW 325, Audi A4, Subaru Legacy and Acura TSX, we decided the TSX was the best car for us. We bought a silver 6MT with Navi for just under 29k here in Connecticut. The BMW had a smoother ride, the Legacy was faster (turbo model) and the A4 got slightly better gas mileage but the TSX stood out as the best overall choice. Plus, it is less expensive than the BMW and Audi, and came with blue tooth and an i-pod connection.

What a pleasure to drive! And it handles like a dream. Only drawback I can see is premium gas..

Tsx536

Enjoy your car! The Bluetooth and Navi is sweet. Zagat restaurant guides

West6MT

Congrats and welcome to the forum.

joerockt

Another satisfied customer

Reach

Welcome! Congratulations on the new purchase! What colors did you get? Any plans for mods or upgrades you'd like to share?


And of course...

ianS

Congrats on your right choice 6MT. once you get used to the 6MT, you will love it even more. BTW, wasn't both 325 & A4 are require premium gas too?

GIBSON6594

Congrats, what happened to you probably sums it up for just about all of us

waTSX

Congrats, welcome and enjoy!

dj Dozhe

Congratulations and welcome! Enjoy that tranny. Great choice.

LuvMyTSX

Yup, most of the cars I considered did, so it wasn't a deal breaker for me! At least the TSX is not a gas hog.

LuvMyTSX

Yup, most of the cars I considered did, so it wasn't a deal breaker for me! At least the TSX is not a gas hog.

Congrats on the car!

TSX.Fury

Welcome! Just a note that most people don't realize to make you feel better.

If you drive the normal amount of miles a year (12k) and you drive fairly conservatively you will find that the difference between premium and regular is only about $96!

12000 miles a year/ 25 mpg = 480 gallons a year * $0.20 difference in regular and premium = $96!

Even if you drive double that or get worse milage you arn't ever looking at more then a $200 difference.

Now I don't know about you, but considering you bought a $29,000 car I'm guessing $200 a year isn't a big deal


Now me for example the difference is far less. I usually average about 28.4 mpg around town and will probably only drive a couple thousand miles a year next year so the difference should be under $50. With the price of gas being as high as it is this is really something people should be aware of because it def isnt as big of a deal as some people think. Gas mileage is FAR more important then the difference between premium and regular. But some people (I'm not saying you are) will complain about putting in premium and then floor it around town.

CJW

Thank you for the warm welcome! My TSX is silver with black interior -- I'll try to get some pictures up soon. I personally think all 4 bangers should take regular gas but we can live with premium. We'll probably put in middle grade, that's what we did with our Nissan Maxima and Saab 9-3.

My next car might be the RDX, by the way. I currently own a PT Cruiser, which has been a very good car, but I'm going to need a small SUV with all wheel drive next year.

No plans for aftermarket, though I'd love to one day add a turbo. However, I don't want to void the warranty and so far the car seems peppy enough.

chuson

I assume you got a 2006 model, read the Menu and the next thing you see is Anything other than Premium (91 octane or lower) will DAMAGE the engine.

Hondan53

Congrats on the purchase! Welcome to the board.

IlliNorge

This is a good example of how the cost of premium fuel really isn't that much higher (about 4%). In addition, 91 octane burns more cleanly and efficiently, which means that if the engine is designed for it (the TSX is) you will actually consume less fuel than you would if you used 87 octane, regardless of the price difference.

Oh yeah, and your engine won't be destroyed.

TSX.Fury

Even after my example? Shoot the difference between mid-grade and premium is only $48!

gsclifton

iTrader: (2)

^^^

Exactly .... will never understand the reasoning on using other grades of gas

:inbeforeanotheroctanethreadisposted:

helraiser

heh, this has been debated to death before but bottomo line, constant use of regular won't damage your engine. you won't get the power you need when you need it though and nor will it help the life of your engine.

Your engine will not blow up, choke, drop out of the car or anything else.

Premium is just well, best for your engine's life and performance.

Ultimately, you must've adjusted your budget to buy the car right? adjust it a lil' bit more to afford the premium petrol your car needs!

congrats on the purchase btw, you'll definitely enjoy it!

CJW

I never noticed any diminishment in performance when we used middle grade gas in the Nissan Maxima's V6 or the 210hp turbo in our Saab 9-3. While we're beaking it in we will use premium with the TSX, if it makes you feel better, but after around 1000 miles we're going to switch.

As I said earlier, I don't think any of the smaller engines should use premium gas. Chrysler makes a turbo that uses regular and Mazda has a V6 that also uses regular gas. If they can do it, why can't Honda?

ianS

I dun think to use regular or not is based on the size of the engine. Shouldn't it based on the combustion ratio and how high the engine can rev?

vitocorleone

There's no reason to use regular gas (except in emergencies of course). If you can't afford the premium gas, then that should've been factored into the decision as to whether to buy the car or not.

The size of the engine doesn't really have any relation to what type of gas it requires for optimal performance and efficiency. That parts inside the TSX engine are moving VERY fast - approaching F1 speeds if I remember correctly??

gcjin2007

that may be true but think, the tsx produces 205 hp in a 4 cylinder naturally aspirated car, and thats more than both of the cars. the only think that will happen tho is when u add regualar gas, the ecu wil adjust the timing so it may suit the lower octane regualr gas. this will result in less hp, your engine will not be affected at this point. BUT your engine will eventually start breaking down faster by just the mere fact that it was designed to run on premium grade... so some parts on the engine that the ecu cannot compensate for will start deteriorating. this will result in a couple of things, 1. youe engine will not perform as well even if u started to add premium 2. your engine may need some future serviceing i.e. the o2 sensor 3. you will have less fuel economy, because the engine was designed to run most effiecitly on premium grade.
so overall, its your choice, but i would recommend sticking to premium grade, even though it may end up costing more every year, but down the road, ull have to pay more for breakin parts, have less power, and finally less fuel economy(which will result in more fill ups and a ever growing money pit for regualr gas)

p.s. its ur money but i would suggest using premium, beside look at the mpg and hp that the tsx produces, it can and will do all that so just PLEASE give it the natural, authentic, purifed taste of premium gas

TSX.Fury

Just wondering why you are so intent of switching to mid grade. I mean, it doesn't really affect me but I would like to try to understand the rationale. After buying a $29k car is it really to save the $48? Or is it more of an ideological reason, like you just don't think 4 bangers should need premium so you refuse to give it premium.

bradykp

how are you averaging 28.4 city? thats right aroudn what i average combined.

bradykp

hahahaha. obviously you didn't read anything, since the manual clearly says that under 91 will cause lowered performance.

using lower octane will not damage the engine, despite what some people will argue on AZ. the ECU will adjust, and you get lower performance. not a good idea in the long run, but not horrible.

bradykp

i'm glad somebody on here knows the real deal.


to save money on gas....get the citi dividends card. gives you 5% cashback on all gas, grocery, and pharmacy purchases. there you go, a nickle on the dollar for all gas.

TSX.Fury

Not all city, I said around town I would say I drive about 70/30 City/Highway. But I also drive very conservatively for the most part.

TSX.Fury

I have that card!!

bradykp

were they designed specifically for Premium? probably not. this honda engine is designed to operate at full performance at 91 octane. can it operate at lower octanes? yes, but with diminished performance numbers. and that's just the facts. why have this car and sacrafice the performance to save a couple dollars at the pump?

bradykp

that's quite an amazing result. when we drive mostly city (ny metro area), we get closer to 24 mpg. i don't think we drive it that hard.

but on the highway i do go about 75-80. maybe if i scaled it back a bit i'd get better gas mileage?

but i'm really curious as to how you achieve 28.4 on average!

Yui

Wasn't there a thread about the TSX getting worse gas mileage on regular gas vs premium? Doesn't that kind of negate any savings you'd see from going with regular vs premium?

Even if it doesn't, assuming you fill up about 15 gallons each time, it's an extra $1.50-$3.00 to fill up the tank with premium vs regular... There are much more effective ways of saving money, honestly.

psteng19

It's compression, for the most part.

I don't know what combustion ratio is

TSX.Fury

Lol, sometimes I try to see how many rubbernecks I can destroy by leaving loads of room between me and the guy in front of me, lol try that

bradykp

hahaha, leave room in front of you in jersey, and you get cut off!

you get good mileage because you don't have a lot of traffic i bet. it's obscene in jersey/nyc, even if it's not stop and go, it's still traffic, no steady cruising at 65 on highways, since there's always globs of people blocking the way.

TSX.Fury

It's the opposite, all I drive in is traffic Ask someone that lives down here... traffic down here is the worst. In the morning I go 2.7 miles on a 4 lane highway and it takes me 25-35 mins, coming home from work it takes me even longer

bradykp

that's not so bad. it often takes me 45 minutes to go about a half mile, just to get onto the highway!


so if you're in traffic, i'm not understanding the 28.4 miles per gallon. makes no sense.

TSX.Fury

guess it's just the way I drive. My milage is actually worse out of traffic (not that there is some time without traffic around here) cause then I have fun. I used to live in NYC, that's where I learned to drive, so I guess I just calmed down about traffic early. I cruise in neutral alot, just let people cut me off if they want to. Lol, I'll try to make a video of my ride to work to show you

vidgamer

I typically get well over 27mpg. I just calculated my last fill, and got 26.1, which is about the lowest I've gotten. That's been all-city, but there are a lot of highways that I travel in-city.

I agree with the others. There was a thread where it was discovered that you get worse MPG with lower octane! So your savings would be less than you'd expect. It would be better to drive conservatively, if you want to save on gas.

CJW

You guys make a good case for sticking with premium. Love to see Consumer Reports do a controled study on this subject..