I'm thinking of buying the 2011 Sportwagon but am confused about whether it's premium required (like the brochure says) or recommended but not required (like the salesman said). Anyone have a definitive answer?

My current car is an 03 VW Passat Wagon which was premium recommended but not required. I've only used regular and never had a problem.

Thanks for any input.

 

It is recommended. Besides, you may lose fuel economy running regular. With premium I've been getting 10% higher than EPA estimates. I haven't put regular in any of my cars in over 10 years so old habits die hard.

 

91 octane or higher. unless you want probs..

 

I was told by the dealer and Acura not to use anything but Premium, despite what others seem to think it actually does make a difference. No hard facts though, just got the car.

Matt

 

The compression ratio is 11:1.
that's pretty high.
the car will ping/knock with anything less than Premium.

 

My salesman recommended sticking with premium... though I've read here that other people mix grades...

I've only filled premium... but I've only filled once at half tank... had the car for almost a month now...

OP u from hawaii?

 

you use regular at your own risk, i premium it up

 

I think I read somewhere that the extra money you spend on premium and the extra mileage you get on premium pretty much cancels it out?

Premium is recommended, and I'm sure most people on here, including me, use premium as it's recommended.

 

Page 215 of the owners manual states the 4 cyl TSX does not require premium (it is required for the 6), but it is recommended otherwise the engine may knock. If you run less than premium you will not damage the engine, but it will produce less power and fuel economy is likely to suffer as well.

The TSX doesn't produce a whole lot of power to being with, so I'm not about to reduce it even further by using lower octane gas. I want every single one of the 201 horsepower that I paid for.

 

premium fo sho

 

I've run only regular (4-5 fillups) and been getting 26mpg on average. I'm going to run premium my next 4-5 fillups and see if I get an increase. I know Ken has been getting around 28-29mpg using just premium, so I want to really see if premium gets that extra MPG.

FWIW my dealer said it didn't matter if I used premium or not.

 

I have also been told that Premium will burn cleaner and is more environmently friendy, so not only should you get better gas mileage and performance you are being Green.

 

^lol lies.

 

Thanks everyone.

cisobe, I used to live in Kealakekua, HI, but now I live in NJ. Not as exotic, right?

I might consider the Audi A4 Avant now because that requires premium also and has AWD.

 

Wow, big change in locals...

I briefly looked at a Audi a4 Avant too.. but they don't bring them in too often, and the damn thing was starting around $37k! But the 2.0T would be nice (a little more power and a lot more torque). I liked the styling too, but price was definitely the deal breaker... AWD to me, here in Hawaii only really useful when it rains...

So far, I'm really happy with my TSX wagon, for a sportyish car it has decent power... More would be great, but more would typically lower gas mileage...

My wife's CX-7 has a 2.3L turbo and it has ~244hp w/ 258ft/lb of torque and it has an enjoyable amount of power, but it does get only 21-22mpg with good driving... When I was playing with it, it dropped down to ~19 or less...

So far with a little spirited driving and traffic my TSX is still hovering in the high 25mpg range...

 

Just wondering what everyone's thoughts are about this article from Edmunds.com about using regular vs. premium fuel.

http://www.edmunds.com/fuel-economy/...g-premium.html

 

According to that the 11 requires premium, which is what I found talking to a Honda tech a few months back. Personally trying to save $.20/gallon on your cars fuel is the wrong direction. Just buy one less coffee a week.

Matt

 

Only the V6 TSX is on the premium required list. The 4 cylinder TSX is on the recommended list.

 

Whoops my mistake. Thanks for the clarification.

 

Yeah when you break it down the extra cost in negligible. I filled up on premium this morning before my drive to work and my MPG is already higher than what it was on regular. I'll wait until I get my full tank results, but the dash is displaying 31.5 MPG instead of 26.5 MPG

 

The bottom line is the TSX will not run as efficiently or powerfully on regular fuel as opposed to premium. So whatever savings you get at the pump, will be lost on the road with inferior gas mileage. Spend the extra 20 cents a gallon and get the most out of the car you paid $30k for.

 

Where are you guys getting .20 cent difference? In GA it's .30 cents!

 

Its always been about 20 cents difference wherever I pay.

Are you filling up on 93 or 94 octane?

 

$3.99 for Regular, $4.19 for Premium — At least here in Mass.

 

Pretty sure it was 93.

3.71 for Regular
4.01 for Premium

 

3.89 for regular
4.09 for premium

 

$4.48 regular
$4.68 premium

Oahu, Hi

 

I've been running the mid grade..I think it's 89 or 90, not sure. But last week I got my best gas mileage every..about 29 mpg..I've seen no decrease in power, no pings, nothing to say I made a mistake moving down one grade, plus saving some $. My fill up yesterday cost $66...$3.99.9 per gallon. I fill up now about every 7 or 8 days. I'm glad I didn't go with the TL!

 

F'ing crazy.. This is near my office, which is why it's so high, but still ridiculous. I can get Premium for < $4.19 near home so I only put in 5 gallons.

 

And I still remember only several years ago, GA had some of the lowest gas prices in the nation...

 

We do just not in Buckhead (little north of Atlanta). It's a rich area, and full of office buildings. I always try to fill up by my house, but just didn't have time, so I put a couple gallons in during lunch.

Buckhead is always $.25 higher than the stations around where I live. I just thought it was crazy how it increased $.30 between each fuel grade.

 

In Northern NJ the best gas price is:

$3.859 regular
$4.079 premium

As a plus, at least we don't have to pump our own gas for the money. Self-serve fueling is illegal in NJ and stations can't charge extra for full serve.

 

Ah, okay. I've been down to Atlanta a few times and I remember Buckhead. Was down there some years back for a wedding. Stayed at a hotel next to the Lenox (?) mall, across the street from a Maggiano's. I remember that because I went there to get dinner, haha. Nice area.

 

Yeah I work right around the corner from Maggiano's. The BP in the picture is right down the street. It's a very upscale area so everything is priced higher than the other areas around Atlanta.

 

I only have 1100 miles, I've only used premium since I got the car. The dealer told me I could use regular when I bought the car. I've been averaging 25mpg or so, 80% highway driving but I speed lol

Fuel here is $4.07 for premium and $3.90 for regular @ Sam's Club.

 

From Atlanta, GA to St. George Island, Florida

 

And I bet you aren't doing 65 mph the whole time either..

 

I don't think TSX can tolerate anything less than 93 without pinging issue. For me, even with 93, mine still ping. I heard Citgo has higher 93 rating. I already put one tank of Citgo 93. so far so good. at least it is better than Exxon 93 ( used for more than 5 tanks, but still heard the pinging, especially temperature is high and AC is On).

 

I probably averaged it but I noticed going 80mph was less efficient than 70mph. Most of it was two lane roads so wasn't going above 70 much.

 

Had it around 33mpg+ on the way back home, but had to make more stops than I wanted, so didn't get a true test on the way back. I think if you can cruise @ 70mph on a freeway the TSX Wagon will get 600+ miles per tank, which is really awesome.