New RDX A-Spec owner with a few questions.
08-09-2018, 11:39 AM
#1
10th Gear
Thread Starter
New RDX A-Spec owner with a few questions.
Hello everyone,
I just purchased the RDX A Spec over the past weekend and have 200 miles on the car now. My wife and I traded in our Mustang Ecoboost and Corolla for this 2019 RDX, both 2015s. I love the RDX so far, my favorite features are the commanding view of the road, the AWD, and the amazing sound from the speakers. I had a question regarding the rear seat center arm rest. Do you just pull it down or is there a button you have to press?
My 2nd question is about off roading with this RDX. I live off of a dirt road and there are off road trails around my area, How is the off road capability of this cross over?
Lastly, about the gas.. I know if says 91 octane is recommended. The gas around my area is 87 Regular, 89 Plus or 93 Premium. Is 91+ required (meaning premium gas only) or is it just recommended and will run fine on Regular/Plus?
I just purchased the RDX A Spec over the past weekend and have 200 miles on the car now. My wife and I traded in our Mustang Ecoboost and Corolla for this 2019 RDX, both 2015s. I love the RDX so far, my favorite features are the commanding view of the road, the AWD, and the amazing sound from the speakers. I had a question regarding the rear seat center arm rest. Do you just pull it down or is there a button you have to press?
My 2nd question is about off roading with this RDX. I live off of a dirt road and there are off road trails around my area, How is the off road capability of this cross over?
Lastly, about the gas.. I know if says 91 octane is recommended. The gas around my area is 87 Regular, 89 Plus or 93 Premium. Is 91+ required (meaning premium gas only) or is it just recommended and will run fine on Regular/Plus?
08-09-2018, 01:40 PM
#2
Hello everyone,
I just purchased the RDX A Spec over the past weekend and have 200 miles on the car now. My wife and I traded in our Mustang Ecoboost and Corolla for this 2019 RDX, both 2015s. I love the RDX so far, my favorite features are the commanding view of the road, the AWD, and the amazing sound from the speakers. I had a question regarding the rear seat center arm rest. Do you just pull it down or is there a button you have to press?
My 2nd question is about off roading with this RDX. I live off of a dirt road and there are off road trails around my area, How is the off road capability of this cross over?
Lastly, about the gas.. I know if says 91 octane is recommended. The gas around my area is 87 Regular, 89 Plus or 93 Premium. Is 91+ required (meaning premium gas only) or is it just recommended and will run fine on Regular/Plus?
I just purchased the RDX A Spec over the past weekend and have 200 miles on the car now. My wife and I traded in our Mustang Ecoboost and Corolla for this 2019 RDX, both 2015s. I love the RDX so far, my favorite features are the commanding view of the road, the AWD, and the amazing sound from the speakers. I had a question regarding the rear seat center arm rest. Do you just pull it down or is there a button you have to press?
My 2nd question is about off roading with this RDX. I live off of a dirt road and there are off road trails around my area, How is the off road capability of this cross over?
Lastly, about the gas.. I know if says 91 octane is recommended. The gas around my area is 87 Regular, 89 Plus or 93 Premium. Is 91+ required (meaning premium gas only) or is it just recommended and will run fine on Regular/Plus?
Cars labeled "Required" is a whole different ballgame. These are usually highly stressed, small displacement turbos. MINI 's need premium.
If there is one thing I would recommend, it's that you run Top Tier gasoline. That will make the most difference in the long run.
08-10-2018, 06:57 AM
#4
Burning Brakes
08-10-2018, 07:01 AM
#5
Drifting
Join Date: Apr 2018
Location: New Yorkie, Hudson Valley
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No.
It will only produce less torque and HP. Pull up a comparison of the power numbers of the RDX 2.0 and the Honda Accord 2.0 since the engines are virtually, if not exactly, the same.
You will see the RDX develops 280 lb-ft at 1600 and the Accord produces 273 at 1500. Since the RDX can sustain higher torque further up the rev range, it produces more horsepower. (HP= Torque * RPM/ 5252).
Further examination by the auto journalism industry will reveal if all of the difference is due to the use of 91 octane gas, or if there are some additional tweaks. But it is the same engine which runs fine on regular.
It will only produce less torque and HP. Pull up a comparison of the power numbers of the RDX 2.0 and the Honda Accord 2.0 since the engines are virtually, if not exactly, the same.
You will see the RDX develops 280 lb-ft at 1600 and the Accord produces 273 at 1500. Since the RDX can sustain higher torque further up the rev range, it produces more horsepower. (HP= Torque * RPM/ 5252).
Further examination by the auto journalism industry will reveal if all of the difference is due to the use of 91 octane gas, or if there are some additional tweaks. But it is the same engine which runs fine on regular.
08-10-2018, 09:08 AM
#6
This is just my $.02. The debate between regular unleaded vs premium unleaded is baffling. I look at this from a financial point-of-view. The 2.0 turbo four might be considered a high performance engine. Some experts claim the engine management computer will compensate engine performance regarding knock etc. Acura recommends premium, why not use it? The difference between regular and premium is about 30 cents where I live. That is about a $6 difference per week, about $25 a month based on a 20 gallon tank. We are spending between $40-50K on this vehicle, if an extra $25/week is hurting your budget, perhaps you should have bought a less expensive vehicle that uses regular. Some might argue that it is easy for me to say because I am not like most Americans who are up to their a$$ in debt. I will use premium when I get my RDX. The extra out-of-pocket expense is easily absorbed. Let the flaming begin!
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phillyman1998 (02-13-2020)
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08-10-2018, 09:25 AM
#8
Intermediate
Several years back I did the math on a different vehicle and the cost difference given the gas mileage drop and number of trips to the gas station per month made it an easy decision.
08-10-2018, 10:32 AM
#9
Drifting
Join Date: Apr 2018
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The delta here at the least expensive station is 46 cents. I expect to use regular in just putzing around suburban driving, but on a road trip, or some other time when I expect to press it, I will put in the 93 that is prevalent here.
08-10-2018, 11:00 AM
#10
Burning Brakes
08-10-2018, 11:41 AM
#11
Drifting
Join Date: Apr 2018
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The Sinclair station, only 1 mile away is $3.35 Premium and $2.89 Regular. Only a 46 cent difference.
ONE mile, both Top Tier. Gas Buddy has sure opened my eyes at just how different the prices are between stations near to each other.
02-13-2020, 08:57 AM
#13
I live in south philly/work in NJ. The premium is INSANE in philly sometimes almost a dollar more! I ALWAYS get premium gas in NJ. Even if you have to pay the toll on the way back, its way cheaper to fill up in NJ.
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fogdoctor (02-13-2020)
02-13-2020, 09:45 AM
#14
Instructor
Except when it's raining, then I get it in NJ so I do not have to get out of the car because I am a baby.
02-13-2020, 03:56 PM
#15
2020 RDX White/Espresso
Oh lawds, not another thread on gas grade...
1) no Hutton the center armrest
2) the RDX has good ground clearance and decent AWD. Put it in snow mode and it’ll handle dirt roads just fine. But it’s not a rock-crawler, so don’t think you’re going to be keeping up with Wranglers. Also, tires are really the important factor here, so as long as you’re riding on stock tires it’s not going to be great “off road.”
1) no Hutton the center armrest
2) the RDX has good ground clearance and decent AWD. Put it in snow mode and it’ll handle dirt roads just fine. But it’s not a rock-crawler, so don’t think you’re going to be keeping up with Wranglers. Also, tires are really the important factor here, so as long as you’re riding on stock tires it’s not going to be great “off road.”
02-13-2020, 05:36 PM
#16
What compelled someone to resurrect this thread?
02-13-2020, 06:37 PM
#18
Instructor
I had a question regarding the rear seat center arm rest. Do you just pull it down or is there a button you have to press?
My 2nd question is about off roading with this RDX. I live off of a dirt road and there are off road trails around my area, How is the off road capability of this cross over?
My 2nd question is about off roading with this RDX. I live off of a dirt road and there are off road trails around my area, How is the off road capability of this cross over?
To be honest, I view the RDX is a soft roader not an off roader. IMO, nice easy dirt camping trails should be fine but it does not have the ground clearance to even keep up with a Subaru. 5.7" of ground clearance and no options for diff protectors, etc. I would not take it off road. I mean my wifes Outback has 3" more ground clearance than my RDX. I would not even think of taking it some of the places I have taken her Outback.
As far as fuel, I use 87, others 91, my buddy only uses 93. Use whatever you want. 87 is the minimum and the specs are based on 91.
02-13-2020, 07:52 PM
#19
2020 RDX White/Espresso
Um, I thought the ground clearance was 8.2", but maybe the A-Spec is lower? If that's the case, yeah the A-Spec really isn't the best vehicle to take off of paved roads. Especially with those wheels.
Either way, it's a softroader not an offroader. Dirt roads are not offroad in my book. There are very few unmodified vehicles I would count as offroaders.
Either way, it's a softroader not an offroader. Dirt roads are not offroad in my book. There are very few unmodified vehicles I would count as offroaders.
Last edited by Waetherman; 02-13-2020 at 07:58 PM.
02-13-2020, 08:02 PM
#20
Suzuka Master
This is just my $.02. The debate between regular unleaded vs premium unleaded is baffling. I look at this from a financial point-of-view. The 2.0 turbo four might be considered a high performance engine. Some experts claim the engine management computer will compensate engine performance regarding knock etc. Acura recommends premium, why not use it? The difference between regular and premium is about 30 cents where I live. That is about a $6 difference per week, about $25 a month based on a 20 gallon tank. We are spending between $40-50K on this vehicle, if an extra $25/week is hurting your budget, perhaps you should have bought a less expensive vehicle that uses regular. Some might argue that it is easy for me to say because I am not like most Americans who are up to their a$$ in debt. I will use premium when I get my RDX. The extra out-of-pocket expense is easily absorbed. Let the flaming begin!
How about $2.23(87) vs 2.47(93) at costco. Its 24 cents difference. Costco gas is Top Tier and always fresh.
02-13-2020, 08:07 PM
#21
Instructor
Um, I thought the ground clearance was 8.2", but maybe the A-Spec is lower? If that's the case, yeah the A-Spec really isn't the best vehicle to take off of paved roads. Especially with those wheels.
Either way, it's a softroader not an offroader. Dirt roads are not offroad in my book. There are very few unmodified vehicles I would count as offroaders.
Either way, it's a softroader not an offroader. Dirt roads are not offroad in my book. There are very few unmodified vehicles I would count as offroaders.
I still would not take mine off road
02-13-2020, 10:32 PM
#22
Burning Brakes
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