Which type of gas?
#1
Which type of gas?
I read that Acura's require premium. My sales guy said he advises customers, and in his own car uses Plus (middle grade) with no issues. This is what I liked about my previous Genesis, I could put regular in it all day long. Can I scrimp a bit, or should I make sure I put in premium all the time?
#2
Safety Car
https://acurazine.com/forums/third-g...x-gasp-976228/
Basic factual summary:
Acura only requires premium for the NSX.
Acura recommends 91 octane for the RDX for optimal performance.
Less than 87 octane can lead to engine damage in the RDX. (like who does this anyway...lol)
AAA has done a study and showed that the % increase in premium gas does not translate to a proportional increase in MPG/HP. On a pure mathematical basis of dollar per MPG/HP, premium/mid grade is not worth the additional cost.
Up to each driver to decide if it is worth it to get mid or premium gas.
87 octane from a top tier gas station is perfectly fine for the RDX. But others want to maximize mpg/hp at a higher proportional cost and always go for premium. No wrong answer either way. But some people may feel very strongly about their personal decision one way or the other.
Basic factual summary:
Acura only requires premium for the NSX.
Acura recommends 91 octane for the RDX for optimal performance.
Less than 87 octane can lead to engine damage in the RDX. (like who does this anyway...lol)
AAA has done a study and showed that the % increase in premium gas does not translate to a proportional increase in MPG/HP. On a pure mathematical basis of dollar per MPG/HP, premium/mid grade is not worth the additional cost.
Up to each driver to decide if it is worth it to get mid or premium gas.
87 octane from a top tier gas station is perfectly fine for the RDX. But others want to maximize mpg/hp at a higher proportional cost and always go for premium. No wrong answer either way. But some people may feel very strongly about their personal decision one way or the other.
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asdecorazones (01-20-2019)
#3
Intermediate
I've always put Premium on my cars (Acura and BMW) as "recommended". I've heard other people using Plus with no issues and read some Article about no difference between using Plus and Premium, but my OCD doesn't let me do that.
I think you'll be fine with Plus.
I think you'll be fine with Plus.
#4
Yeah I feel like Plus is hedging my bet a little. I can afford the extra $80 or so per month, but hey if it's free money. Well with Plus I suppose it's more like $40 or so every month.
#5
Safety Car
If you have some time, this is a nice read: https://newsroom.aaa.com/2017/12/don...s-worth-price/
AAA actually parsed out the language and there is a difference between "requirement" and "recommended."
It certainly wasn't what I expected as I too would always go for what is "recommended" but the data appears to point otherwise.
In a parallel example, the NSX recommends 93 octane (which is not ubiquitous or easily obtained in certain cities/areas) and requires 91 octane. Whereas the RDX recommends 91 octane and requires at least 87 octane.
AAA actually parsed out the language and there is a difference between "requirement" and "recommended."
It certainly wasn't what I expected as I too would always go for what is "recommended" but the data appears to point otherwise.
In a parallel example, the NSX recommends 93 octane (which is not ubiquitous or easily obtained in certain cities/areas) and requires 91 octane. Whereas the RDX recommends 91 octane and requires at least 87 octane.
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spinedoc777 (01-09-2019)
#7
since I don't drive much, I live in NYC and take bus to work. I drive only during weekend, holiday and vocation. It is about 500 miles a month. The cost difference between premium and plus for 500 miles a month is probably $10 a month, so I go for premium as recommended.
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#11
Burning Brakes
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You totally missed the point of the comment @Yotrek !!! Why use 91 for the first 1K miles and then switch to 87??? What's the purpose of using 91 at all in this instance? Breaking in an engine with 91 will be no different than breaking it in with 87. You get it now?
#13
You totally missed the point of the comment @Yotrek !!! Why use 91 for the first 1K miles and then switch to 87??? What's the purpose of using 91 at all in this instance? Breaking in an engine with 91 will be no different than breaking it in with 87. You get it now?
Last edited by Yotrek; 01-10-2019 at 07:23 PM.
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nist7 (01-10-2019)
#17
Since you're not supposed to give the engine full throttle during the break-in period (600 miles) per Acura, I wonder if using 87 would actually be better? The engine would retard itself and shift sooner so you couldn't get that high up in the revs. Cheap Insurance! Cheap gas and you protect the engine from getting up to redline haha.
#18
Burning Brakes
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Yes...switching does save money but what are your thoughts on using 91 for the first 1K miles and then switching to 87 which was the real question as this is not about money. Will it make any difference in the longevity or wear of your engine to use 91-93 for the first 1K miles??? That's the point you are missing.
#19
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You totally missed the point of the comment @Yotrek !!! Why use 91 for the first 1K miles and then switch to 87??? What's the purpose of using 91 at all in this instance? Breaking in an engine with 91 will be no different than breaking it in with 87. You get it now?
#20
Suzuka Master
So the actual wording in the manual recommends 91, but does not require?
If it was my car, it would be getting 91 for optimal power. If cost of premium is an issue, Id be looking to buy a cheaper car.
If it was my car, it would be getting 91 for optimal power. If cost of premium is an issue, Id be looking to buy a cheaper car.
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nist7 (01-11-2019)
#22
Safety Car
Look at the AAA study. In regular driving they saw essentially no difference with usable power at 91 octane. Under WOT, the performance car (Mustang) saw a small % increase but the much higher increase in cost of the fuel means mathematically it is not a proportional increase/value-proposition.
Last edited by nist7; 01-11-2019 at 02:00 PM.
#23
Honda makes it easy for us by having a very similar 2.0L engine with 10 AT supplied in their other vehicles. Look at the recommendation for 87 in those vehicles and the quoted power rating and that's your answer on what you're losing by not using 91. The tuning companies already showed that the Accord put out a few more HP stock just by using 91. Again, this is all just marketing by Acura to make people feel like they are driving a special luxury car and can quote slightly higher power figures to differentiate themselves from Honda since they are testing the vehicle with 91 vs 87 in the Hondas. Whether the HP bump for the added fuel cost is worth it is up to you. The test below was done with 93 vs 87 octane fuel.
http://www.ktuner.com/dyno/AccordX/2L/93vs87Stock.png
http://www.ktuner.com/dyno/AccordX/2L/93vs87Stock.png
#24
Suzuka Master
I like to do “spirited” driving sometimes. If car would feel a bit less responsive with 87 - I personally would not like it. Would be intresting If someone did the compare. Also, on some cars(not saying its true for 2019 rdx) you acutually get worse MPG if you go with octane that is bellow recommended. When I had 2001 CLS, it would get worse milage when running on regular, so at the end of the day it would not even benefit me financially to run regular gas.
Do we have any stats on MPG with 87 vs 91 or higher? Is it exactly the same?
Do we have any stats on MPG with 87 vs 91 or higher? Is it exactly the same?
Last edited by russianDude; 01-11-2019 at 07:45 PM.
#25
Fwiw. I’ve owned several vehicles over the years that recommend premium. I did several unscientific tests to see if premium was giving me better performance or fuel economy. The results were the same every time. Zero difference. I would gladly pay the extra money for premium if I had achieved the results. It’s not about saving money for me but why waste it. Having said that, I’ve yet to test the Rdx, in the meantime, mid grade.
#26
Suzuka Master
Maybe it’s something new with “recommended” vs “required”. 1st gen rdx has 91 or higher as “required” and also has a warning that prolonged use of lower octane may cause damage to the engine. I only ran 87 once in 1st gen rdx and the performance was bad, Maybe in newer cars it’s less important.
#29
Suzuka Master
I like the conclusion of the video that says you should evaluate for yourself if you notice any difference in power or knock. My personal opnion, I am still getting premium. In costco its 0.30 more for premium vs regular. With decreased MPG (even if its 2%) and loss of few HPs its not a big deal for me to pay 0.30 more per gallon to get optimal performance. Engines do run a bit cleaner with premium gas too.
Last edited by russianDude; 01-12-2019 at 07:52 AM.
#30
Burning Brakes
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I like the conclusion of the video that says you should evaluate for yourself if you notice any difference in power or knock. My personal opnion, I am still getting premium. In costco its 0.30 more for premium vs regular. With decreased MPG (even if its 2%) and loss of few HPs its not a big deal for me to pay 0.30 more per gallon to get optimal performance. Engines do run a bit cleaner with premium gas too.
#31
Sorry to be bumping some of these old threads, but I just recently added the RDX to my list and am playing catch-up. Since I tend to use just about 1000 gallons of fuel and get 24 mpg combined in my current daily driver, stepping up to premium will cost an extra $500/yr for gas. I expect to get 22/23 mpg in the RDX so I am hoping to use regular gas right from the start.
#32
Suzuka Master
Sorry to be bumping some of these old threads, but I just recently added the RDX to my list and am playing catch-up. Since I tend to use just about 1000 gallons of fuel and get 24 mpg combined in my current daily driver, stepping up to premium will cost an extra $500/yr for gas. I expect to get 22/23 mpg in the RDX so I am hoping to use regular gas right from the start.
#33
“No matter what you've heard, premium-grade gasoline won't do more to clean deposits from your fuel injectors or other parts of the fuel system because today's regular gas contains the same detergent additives. The main difference with premiumis its octane rating — 91 or higher compared with 87 for regular octane”
#34
Suzuka Master
This C/P
“No matter what you've heard, premium-grade gasoline won't do more to clean deposits from your fuel injectors or other parts of the fuel system because today's regular gas contains the same detergent additives. The main difference with premiumis its octane rating — 91 or higher compared with 87 for regular octane”
“No matter what you've heard, premium-grade gasoline won't do more to clean deposits from your fuel injectors or other parts of the fuel system because today's regular gas contains the same detergent additives. The main difference with premiumis its octane rating — 91 or higher compared with 87 for regular octane”
#35
Yes you’re absolutely correct, stick with 91 sounds good to me, only for folks who’s thinking using less recommend octane which is 87 min., that this explanation is for...
#36
Suzuka Master
I am sick of these debates and conspiracy theories about why Honda recommends premium and supposedly its not needed and blah blah... I really dont care, I can pay $300 more per year and not notice it
#38
Burning Brakes
Ditto, higher octane the less the car will retard the timing and lower boost because of pre-detonations, what’s $300 a year anyways nowadays 😁
#39
Maybe cost more than $300 that you pay from where you are, how about other states or country? where it is clearly nothing wrong using 87 as stated and will not void warranty..just the thought..
#40
Suzuka Master
and costco is top tier gas.