nj2pa2nc

Boulder tsx-
We owned a Black 98 Eagle Talon TSI-AWD, bought new 9/97. When we sold it, it had the original engine, turbo, clutch, transmission and ran excellent. It had 135K+ miles. It was an excellent car for sharp turns but our mazda mx-6 was faster on straight roads.

Boulder TSX

That's funny, nj2pa2nc. It sounds like we have similar tastes in cars. I had the Mitsubishi Eclipse version of that car, and kept it even after I bought my TSX.

Like you, I had very good luck, with no problems after over 13 years of ownership. My wife felt we did not need 3 cars, (she was right), so I finally parted with it last summer...but I know the buyer and it is still running perfectly.

Yes, those were great cars. The combination was unbeatable; all-wheel drive for winter weather, sports car like attributes, all with Japanese reliability -- and a back seat! It was a formula that paved the way for cars like the Subaru WRX & Outback GT. (But in my opinion, they looked much better.)

Moose Muscles

Outside of Ariel or Noble (kit car's) I can't think of one. McClaren would be a moonshot from the 90's using Mercedes motors, but I believe they are one entity now (could be wrong).

I just cannot see the TSX as a HP car, which is my basis for giving it 87 octane. If it were forced induction or had built internals then yes, 93 all the way. If I tracked it all the time or ran it up to redline every time I could, yes 93 is what I would run. Since I have/do none of the above, again I stick with 87. You may do all of that, which would make the higher performing 93 octane more reasonable, for me...not so much.

Apparently TVR is planning on using the new vette motor?

http://www.topspeed.com/cars/tvr/201...1-ar98289.html

Hamtaro

Whoever has reflash I would require them to pump 93 due to Vtec lag in the future lol

SoCaliTrojan

Different drivers and their driving styles place different requirements upon a car's engine. That in turn makes the engine demand certain fuel requirements so that it can get the job done.

A regular commuter that rarely goes into the upper RPM bands (vtec) and doesn't need to accelerate quickly (or often) can get away with regular fuel. They don't need the maximum power of the engine, and so the engine doesn't need premium.

Enthusiastic drivers, on the other hand, who are rev-happy and spend time in vtec force their engines to stay close to where it makes its peak power. In order for the engine to do it gracefully (without knocking), premium fuel is needed. The engineers who designed the engine designed the engine to use premium fuel to reach its full potential. The premium fuel won't pre-detonate in the high-compression engine that is being forced to endure high heat from sustained high revs.

I drive my 6MT hard. At every green light my rpms hit redline before I even shift (including in first gear). When merging in freeways, the needle goes well into the red-zone (7500+ rpm) thanks to my hondata reflash (the ONLY time I don't hit 7500 rpm is when there is heavy traffic on the freeway when I enter). Even when cruising, I keep my rpms above 3k in case I ever want to just punch it. I heel-toe whenever I downshift. For my purposes, I absolutely need premium.

My sister, on the other hand, just drives regularly. She could certainly get by with regular fuel. However, she still buys premium because it is recommended. She bought her TSX knowing full well that it was designed to use premium. Premium is only $5 more than regular, so unless someone is unemployed or stingy with money, why penny-pinch? If something goes wrong with the car, saving $5 per tank won't help much to fix a $30k paper weight.

I can think of other things where I wouldn't mind avoiding spending extra money. For example, Sprint charges $10 extra per month if you use a phone that is 4G-capable. They charge it even if you don't live in a 4G zone. However, for our car, the extra $5 you spend is to get your money's worth (a 200+ hp car instead of a 190ish hp car).

All I will say is that the engine designers designed the engine to run on premium, but included safety mechanisms to allow it to run on regular fuel (ie: retard the timing and lower engine performance). The TSX might not be a high-hp car, but to reach the marketed hp numbers advertised in the brochures, you'd need to run premium fuel.

Designers take into account many factors in their design. They also need to foresee potential issues, such as an end user not using the designer's intended specifications. For example, a video game designer might expect you to roleplay and use a certain weapon on the boss to obliterate him. However, if someone comes along with a weaker weapon but is able to whittle away at the boss's health, those conditions should also let the uncommon player win.

Or maybe an amusement ride designer might design a thrilling ride, but on halloween, the amusement park wants to make the ride run in reverse. Hopefully the designer in this case puts brakes in all of the necessary areas.

What I'm getting at is that designers make their designs with ideal circumstances but include failsafes in their designs to prevent people from breaking the designs (such as using regular fuel instead of premium). A bad designer will run into issues, such as a bridge designer who doesn't take into account gusts of wind: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-zczJXSxnw

Just because regular fuel doesn't break the engine doesn't mean that the engine designer wanted us to use regular fuel. But, like I said, if one drives like a "granny," then he/she would probably not need premium.

Hamtaro

^ what you said is basically true

calisoulsurfer

Agreed.

First, what's the difference in cost between regular and premium? Maybe 20 or 30 cents at most? So, on a 15 gallon tank (assuming you go the whole 15 before a fill up which is a bad idea in itself for the fuel pump) you're talking $3 to $4.50 more than regular? Got to be honest, if you're that price conscious you shouldn't have bought an Acura in the first place. If that much per fill up is going to hurt someone, they've got more issues than can be fixed by switching to regular octane.

Second, burning regular gas in a premium car can be regulated by the knock sensor, but be prepared to buy a new knock sensor 4 times earlier than you normally would have. A knock sensor is a wear item, and the more it gets used the quicker you'll have to replace it.