[MARFONG]

The Honda Pilot and Honda Odyssey all have the same 3.5 Liter engine with 240 HP as the MDX. However, the recommended fuel for those vehicles is Regular gas, whereas the MDX recommends Premium. Why??

My salesman and the service dept. said its ok to use regular gas in the MDX. In fact, all the MDX loaners are filled up with regular gas. (I wonder if my initial tank of gas from the dealer was regular).

Let's check with other dealers if Regular gas is OK to use in the MDX. Could save us alot of $$$ in the long run.

 

[charlieinnj]

Marfong...

There have been many discussions on this topic. Try doing a search on "premium gas" and you'll find lots of helpful info.

 

[Acura3]

Fuel

Yes, quite a few threads on this subject. I have not been bold enought to fuel my new X with reg; I have with my TL and have not liked the results; definitely less performance, and one time my "fuel sensor" light went on. Had to take it to the dealer to reset. Dealer said type of fuel had nothing to do with it since the knock sensor takes care of everything. I dunno though.....
It is sorta funny though about premium car buyers, we will spend $40 K on an auto and then fuss about the fuel costs; but you're right, wish the X could take regular as an officially "reccomended" fuel...........

 

[Markedoc]

Fuel costs

>>It is sorta funny though about premium car buyers, we will spend $40 K on an auto and then fuss about the fuel costs<<

One of the reasons why I could afford the $40k MDX is because I don't throw money away needlessly. Premium fuel in the Boston area is another 20-24 cents/gallon - 15% to 20% more expensive than regular. Too bad you can't find 91 octane around here - only 89 and 93.

 

[Fireblade6]

Re: Fuel costs

>>It is sorta funny though about premium car buyers, we will spend $40 K on an auto and then fuss about the fuel costs<<

One of the reasons why I could afford the $40k MDX is because I don't throw money away needlessly. Premium fuel in the Boston area is another 20-24 cents/gallon - 15% to 20% more expensive than regular. Too bad you can't find 91 octane around here - only 89 and 93.

DAMN...I wish I can get 93 octane! We only have 91 octane here in San Diego, CA!

 

[charlieinnj]

Re: Fuel costs

>>It is sorta funny though about premium car buyers, we will spend $40 K on an auto and then fuss about the fuel costs<<

One of the reasons why I could afford the $40k MDX is because I don't throw money away needlessly. Premium fuel in the Boston area is another 20-24 cents/gallon - 15% to 20% more expensive than regular. Too bad you can't find 91 octane around here - only 89 and 93.

I don't know of anyone that wants to spend more money than they need to. I knew ahead of time before going into the purchase of the MDX that 91+ octane is the "recommended", "not required", fuel. I think that, thanks to this forum, it has been clearly shown that one does not have to use premium fuel if one chooses not to. If I spend 20% less for gas but, my MPG drops 20% as well (i.e., 18 instead of 20....), I don't think I'm truly saving anything at all. JMHO.........

 

[conradsmith]

I just found a Pure station here that has 5 grades of gas:
87, 88, 89, 91, and 93 octane. Even better, the price for the 87 is comparable to the lowest prices in town, and the price for 93 is less than everyone else's 91! I'm tempted to try a tank of each grade and attempt to quantify the differences.

- Conrad

 

[ghost]

Re: Re: Fuel costs

DAMN...I wish I can get 93 octane! We only have 91 octane here in San Diego, CA!

I'm with you, Fireblade, I get jazzed anytime I'm in a part of the country that sells 93. Most of ours are 91 sold as "Premium" (gimme a break), once in a while I'll find 92.

 

[msu79gt82]

Haven't I seen this thread ...

... somewhere else??

 

[Markedoc]

Octane

Why would you want MORE octane that your car needs? Wouldn't that be a waste of $?

 

[frostyra]

Yep.

 

[JerryL]

Is there a company in the Philadelphia area that sells 91 octane fuel. I can only find 93 octane in the area.
Thanks

 

[ardvarkus]

I was down in Australia last year, actually 6 times, on business. 97 octane there- AU$1.30 per liter, though...


Ard

PS 2 AU$ = 1 US$. 3.8liter = 1Gal

 

[accmdx]

I don't remember where, but on one Acura site, they stated that the 91 octane was only needed when hauling a heavy trailer or when accelerating hard (flooring it) on hilly terrain. They didn't say what octane to use otherwise.

I've been using 89 octane for the last few months and don't notice any difference in mpg. I still have plenty of passing power. I assume most of us would never need all 240 hp in every day driving anyway.

So if many manufacturers recommend or require 91 octane, why does nobody sell it? And if it only cost about 2 cents more to make (93 octane)why are we still paying 20 cents more for it?

 

[andrewip]

I own a 91 Acura Legend Coupe that requires premium gas. When the gas price was really high, I put the regular gas thinking it'll be the same as premium and the sales person told me I could use regular gas. However, after several tanks of gas later, I realized that I didn't get the same performance as with premium gas. First I thought it was the engine oil. But after the oil change it still happened. So I switched back to premium gas and it was fine again.

 

[dakster]

Not to really throw you guys off. But has anyone else noticed that different companies gas affect the cars differently?? In older cars I used to have problems with Shell Gas (premium), but not with the 'X. I always liked Amoco, because it had the least amount of additives in it, although the newer cars I have state that I *SHOULD* use gas that has the additives, like Chevron...

The question is: Has anyone noticed a different brand of gas has any difference on the 'X? (assuming same grade)

 

[msu79gt82]

Hey accmdx ...

... it really does not matter what anyone says on this or any other site regarding what is the right/wrong thing to do with the car.

All that really matters is what does the Official Book that CAME with the car say: It says 91 (minimum) Octane RECOMMENED. A lower octane CAN be used, but at a loss of performance.

 

[Markedoc]

>>>It says 91 (minimum) Octane RECOMMENED. A lower octane CAN be used, but at a loss of performance.<<<

I think the dilemma is that in many/most parts of the country, you can buy 93 OR 89 octane, but NOT 91. Personally, I use 93, but would love to find 91 octane and save some $.

 

[MrPrescott]

In Kentucky, I bought Premium 93 octane last week for $1.15 a gallon. With gas so cheap, who cares about the cost per gallon? I suppose if prices were pushing closer to 2 bucks and the difference between 87 and 93 octane was more than $.20, I'd care more.

Gotta love the low cost of living in the Ohio valley! If I lived in one of the big East coast or West coast cities, I probably couldn't afford the X

 

[srpbep]

Ship the Gas Here!!

Dear MrPrescott,

Would you please ship some gas here!! I just paid $1.60 per gallon for 91. This is not a big deal when driving the X on the open road [it really does get 23 mpg]. On the other hand, in stop n go city driving, it drops to 13-14 mpg ... oh well, such is life ... love the X