kd2012

Hey guys i have a 2004 acura tsx completely stock right now. The gas mileage is kind of poor as i stated on another thread. I want to add an aftermarket intake for a little more performance+better gas mileage. My car is a 5AT. Can anyone recommend a good brand of intake i should put? and where i can purchase it for a good price. I am also looking to purchase some good quality NGK Laser Irradium plugs, and would like to know where i can find some good ones online. Thanks.

kbh

I doubt an aftermarket CAI will appreciably increase your MPG. So many other factors such as driving style, tire pressure, fuel octane, tire rolling resistance, air temp, overall car maintenance, etc. will each contribute or take away incrementally from fuel economy. I just use a Purolator air filter and change it every 25 k miles. NGK IZFR6K11 Laser Iridium is the OEM recommended plug. Get them at Advance Auto or other parts chain. Advance nearly always has some coupon deal going on and even at shelf price it's about $10 a plug.

princelybug

iTrader: (16)

Oem.

redpoint

Don't you think Honda has a skilled engineering group that knows how to design for both performance and fuel economy?

If you want a performance part, then ask this question in the performance section of the forum. This is the second thread you have started concerning fuel economy, and as already explained, you will get worse (although not enough to notice) fuel economy by purchasing intake related parts.

It sounds like you just want to spend money, which is funny because you are concerned about your fuel economy, which you still haven't tracked or posted here.

How can you possibly quantify fuel savings if you don't hand calculate your mpg or L/100K? If you are serious about saving money by getting better fuel economy, visit this site and educate yourself. Buying parts to get better fuel economy is almost always a waste of money. Even if you could get 2% better fuel economy by spending several hundred dollars on a part, I guarantee that there is 30% better fuel economy on the table for completely free, just by modifying the driver. You don't even need to accelerate like a granny. In fact, brisk acceleration is more efficient than slow acceleration.

R_R4

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

air filters dont affect MPG.

mrgold35

I've always got pretty good mpgs with my mix being +50% hwy (around 24-28 mpg combined depending on the hwy mix). Stop/go city driving and idling at a stop light for 2-3 minutes 5-10 times a day zaps my mpgs a lot. I kept my engine stock (except a K/N drop-in filter and Mobil 1 oil) and I do all scheduled maintenance. I don’t think there are a lot of cost effective mods out there that will increase mpgs beyond the manufacturers design? The breakeven point of the cost vs. benefit will take you years compared to just paying for more gas now.

Some car companies like BMW are using low resistance tires to help with mpgs like on their X1. The X1 can have pretty good mpgs for a SUV; but, the stopping distance is 20-40 feet further compared to regular tires. I will pay for the extra gas if it prevents me from getting into an accident.

MikeMurphy

Fujita is cheaply made but works great. Due to the thin metal your engine gives off a serious growl at full throttle. I'd buy it again. Do some searches.


Install it properly and you won't have any problems with it.

Gebby16

If you want better mpgs, you have to make your engine not work as hard. A dirty air filter might sap a little bit, but I think changing to a cold air or short ram intake won't effect it much.

You need to save some weight to increase mpgs - get lightweight pulleys and/or wheels. Your engine doesn't have to work as hard to turn them. They will also give you a performance boost. Neither will be cost effective - you'll never get your money back, but it will help a little bit while giving performance boosts.

MikeMurphy

No. The OEM intake is designed for reliability over all else.

Simba91102

I beg to differ (a lot). Honda's performance reputation, along with it's ability to build small engines with outstanding specific output (naturally aspirated) is legendary. And.... they're hugely reliable. Plus, a properly performing engine is also a reliable one. If you did a little research, you'd discover that the K24 used in the TSX uses an intake system that is hard to improve upon other than for looks or sound, unless it's turbocharged or supercharged.

MikeMurphy

I've been researching since October.

The K24 has huge potential but is strangled by its intake and exhaust manifold. I've been in this game for a long time and I've never seen such huge power improvements on other cars by replacing these same items.

I agree that they are very reliable. Honda builds the best.
I suspect the K24 was intentionally limited as to not cannibalize TL sales.

redpoint

The TSX has a 2.4L 4 cylinder engine that puts out 85hp/L
The TL has a 3.2L 6 cylinder engine that puts out 81hp/L

The TSX gets better fuel economy and has a higher power to displacement ratio. I don't think it was intentionally sabotaged to protect TL sales.

As to the restrictive intake/exhaust, are there any dyno charts showing vast improvements by modding just these 2 things? From what I've read, the TSX has an excellent exhaust system.

CarbonGray Earl

^^correct in that the exhaust from the cat on back flows as well as any aftermarket one.

The exhaust manifold (i.e. header) is somewhat restrictive...a change to an aftermarket header and a high-flow cat frees up a nice amount of power/responsiveness/torque overall.

808havok_tsx

the 5at ecu's are factory tuned for optimum gas mileage... the car will usually shift between 2.5-3k rpm under normal conditions. unless you drive a 6MT, i don't think there is much you can do to "improve" your mileage by really controlling the rpm shift points.

what exactly are your driving habits? city/highway mix? etc., etc., etc. as previously stated, low-resistance tires, lightweight wheels, and maybe even underdrive pulleys may help more than an intake. but that's a lot of money to get a couple mpg's more per fill-up.

redpoint

The easiest mod for better MPG is to increase tire pressure. I run 42 lbs. The trade off is more pronounced road noise and a harsher ride.

You will never be able discern the incredibly small mpg improvement that lightweight wheels and pulleys bring. They might be worth 1% in fuel savings. Of course, as the weather heats up, our cars can easily gain up to 5 mpg due to faster warm up, decreased air density (less wind resistance), and slightly decreased pumping losses. My point is that detecting a 1% increase in fuel economy due to a mod is difficult when environmental factors can increase fuel economy by 16%

Trying to improve engine efficiency is nearly pointless. It's already optimized. The biggest thing hurting fuel economy on the 6 speed is the low gear ratios. In general, reducing aerodynamic drag is where the biggest gains can be made, but who wants to make major modifications to the look of their car? I have a partial grill block to improve warmup time and decrease aero drag, but that's the only sacrifice to the aesthetic of the car I'm willing to make.

Project_CLean

iTrader: (2)

you're better off doing a tune up on your TSX and making sure you have a clean filter. IF in fact,you're looking for better fuel economy.

808havok_tsx

also less grip and potentially longer stopping distances..

agreed. my point was based on OP's inquiry to changing the element filter, which in my opinion, would be an "engine" mod

i wouldn't say the engine is optimized for efficiency; ecu's on 5at have a bigger role in that imho. slap it over to ss mode and shift at 4k-5k every time and watch your mpg go down... we all know what kind of power the k24 can make.

at the end of the day, i didn't buy the car for efficient mpg so its not a huge concern to me. our motor is a *big* 4 cylinder; to put things into perspective, lexus runs their 2.5 liter in a v6 config.

redpoint

Excellent points.

I did purchase the TSX with fuel economy near the top of my priorities. The IS250 was on my list and I nearly bought one, but I saw the v6 as a disadvantage from a fuel economy, cost, and maintenance point of view. The deciding factor was the excellent 6MT.

I've considered installing an RSX final drive to lower the RPM a bit, but I'm not sure it's worth the effort. 3000 RPM at 70 MPH is absurdly high, though.