caliQT

Hello Fellow Honda-family loyalists!

I am an owner of a 13 yr old Civic and looking to purchase an Acura TSX. I see that Premium Octane 91 is "recommended". However, there is a follow up statement stating that lower octanes can be used with reduced performance. I want to know the scoop on who's actually using the premium and who's chosing the regular or middle grade. What type of reduce performance is seen with the lower octanes and what long term effects can be expected, if any?

cestmoi

Nothing but the best for my baby! 93 Premium BP gas! And don't want to find out what the long term effects are on my engine if I use anything less than 91 octane!

As an aside: To my fellow TSXers living in the North East (NY-Boston area), all I can say is... my condolences to the snow-down you've encountered! As Nelson Muntz would point and say: Ha! Ha!

Sorry, couldn't resist!

bluefang08

91 all the way (highest we can get in co)

caliQT

Thanks! Awesome that you are also a Simpson's fan!!!

Well, as you can see, I'm in Cali, so gas is taxing out here. However, when I did the math, it's not that much more than regular. Sounds like I need to suck it up and live the Acura lifestyle!!

I'd love to see additonal feedback from other owners......

gr8ness97

iTrader: (5)

93 only for my ride...

wong05tsx

iTrader: (6)

i live in the same area as you, nothing but 91 for the bad boy!

tried 89 once, back when gas prices were over 4$, car felt sluggish, havn't went back since

edit:

Ron A is in every thread, i swear!


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 17 (6 members and 11 guests)
wong05tsx, hyunk24a2, tarzan, Ron A, RTizzo, lanerton

dlee74

91 with Shell.

nj2pa2nc

87 try to get it a WaWa's or Sam's Club-
If any of you were to drive my car and did not know what grade gas I was using you would find out it has enough power and the performance did not go down any.
I average 32-35MPG
My opinion Use what works for you.
My car is now 15 months old with almost 37,000 miles

mrgold35

I use 91 octane from Sam's (usually .5-.8 cents cheaper per gallon compared to regular gas stations).

I knew the TSX needed 91 octane for peak performance and factored that into the price of ownership. I drive between 5,000-8,000 feet elevation in my 5AT, I want to use every available HP when I need it.

Junkyard

I typically buy 93 octane at Costco on a regular basis, but I have also tried 87 octane a few times with no noticeable effects (at least with a tame driving style during my normal commute, etc.) If I have a partial tank of 93 octane when I stop to fill up, I would probably just buy 87 octane...

LaZyPiGgY

You bastard! Haha, the snow wasn't too bad. It just took me over two times as long to commute yesterday morning.

I also use at least 91, I've been putting 92 lately since WaWa's only carry that.

EuRTSX

93 For me.

TheDukeZip

Always put 93 in my baby

CarbonGray Earl

91. I've tried lower octane for the hell of it once, but the difference is noticable.

WhiteDragon07

iTrader: (1)

generally don't find 91 octane here (only when i go to canada), so i use 93... the difference isn't much, and nuthin' but the best for my car!

malnik

I use 91 octane gas from Costco expect one time when used 89 octane at a corner gas station. I didn't really feel much of a different. I don't drive my car hard and I'm stuck in traffic 75% of the time anyway. I'm seriously considering switching over to 89 octane for good.

hunterk1

91 RON is the highest you can get at 5280 ft in elevation. Less air means lower octane works just fine. It's that Rocky Mountain High.

Someone should make this a poll.

aznboi2424

iTrader: (10)

Use premium as recommened by your owner's manual. Its better for your engine and the price difference is insignificant after you do the calcualtions versus midgrade and regular.

Dimitry

Oh crap... I always thought of midgrade as 'premium' and what seems to be premium as 'super' or w/e...

Looks like I'll be switching to the real premium ASAP

Question, should I get the tank to be as close to empty as possible or just switch right away?

CGTSX07

you will only find a handful of people here who don't run premium gasoline.

jlukja

Just like the title says

Audioserf

93 if available (almost always, Fairfield County CT), otherwise 91.

godfather2

nothing but 93

jlukja

poll added

Red@8

used 94 (ethanol blend) in Canada last year now 93 at BP.

chuson

91 Octane cause that's the highest Esso offer, never put anything lower due to personal preference. I've tried a few times of 89 Octane cause there's no choices out in the woods (went to ski trip) and gas mileage has decreased slightly. There will be more knock w/ lower octane gas as well. It's up to you what to use.

datadr

Nothing but the best. 93 always.

There isn't a big cost difference. Assuming a $0.20 difference in price between premium (93) and regular (87), a 13 gallon average fillup will cost about $2.60 more per tank. If you fill your tank once per week (average), then you're looking at about $135 per year more to feed your vehicle the right stuff.

Quit smoking and you'll have the money. If you don't smoke, skip a few nights out every few months and you'll cover it.

The manual says 91 or better. It's best to use what Acura says is best... They aren't making any money off of big oil, so they're not in some conspiracy to get consumers to purchase higher priced gas...

jlukja

91 octane for me. The brands may change but the octane stays the same. I have the Hondata reflash so I'm not going to take chances with lower octane fuels anyways.

cali4tsx

91 usually from 76 stations

TSX_Mambo

Always 91. Either from Shell or Chevron.

malnik

Has anyone ever experience the knocking noise from their engines when using a lower grade gasoline?? It's starting to sound like an urban myth that scares car owners to buy premium gas.

dlee74

Did anyone take a chance on ARCO on 91?

02type-s

For as little price difference it makes, and since its reccomended by Acura, why would you NOT use premium? They don't say that just to say it lol.

91-93 for me.

DixonTSX

94 from Sunoco (in Toronto) is what I usually get maybe 90% of the time, if not, I get 91 from Shell.

Fox137

Another Vote for 93!

only time i'll get 91 is if there is a Sunoco around...

acl06

93 octane where I am. The only place I know that even offers 91 octane only around where I live is Wawa, and that's about 40 miles from my place

SoCaliTrojan

I have when I put "87" in an accord. But I think the gas station was selling bad gas or gas that had octane lower than 87....

But for the most part, using lower octane will not make the car automatically knock. The car can retard/advance timing as necessary. The car will knock only if it can't cope with it (ie: the heat causes pre-detonation even at the max settings).

loojoohnnyl

i try to find 91 because it cheaper than 93 and not much of a difference between the two. last week i filled 89 because gas price was soo high and i didn't feel like paying 3.60 or something like that for 93 at wawa and so i had no choice but to fill 89 and yes i notice i lost some loss of mileage and power. i wish gas price was like 10 years ago where u can go to like exxon and fill 93 at like 75 cents a gallon.

jlukja

I used to fill up with ARCO 91 before I found a less expensive station. Never had a problem with it.

bobbyk2006

I've looked everywhere and I don't think the recommended 91 octane is available in Louisiana. Your choices are either 87, 89, or 93 octane. I tried doing half and half a few times. (93 + 89 / 2 = 91). When I used 89 alone, I did notice some hesitation and somewhat sluggish performance so I went back to the 93 octane. But now, just every once in awhile, the engine seems to hesitate. I hope I haven't permanently affected the original performance with the lower octane. I still feel the car is not running at peak performance. However, I do put my car to the test with rigorous driving, forced downshifts, etc. I don't know if that may be a contributing factor. Maybe I should have Acura check it out. It's only a 1996 model, but I'm gettting bored with the car. I really want a rear wheel drive car like the BMW. But I also miss my old SUV, simply for the height factor. It took a little getting used to the TL with so many pickups and SUV's blocking my view ahead. Maybe I'll settle for the RDX as my next car. Only real complaint with the TL is no split fold-down rear seats with access to trunk. Also, I think I need new tires already at just 21,000 miles. The Goodyears don't seem to have any traction in wet weather.