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Comments
I am an organic chemistry professor at the university level, and when introducing hydrocarbons to undergraduates I typically use octane (the molecule) vs. octane rating as an example to get the class' interest (with varying success).
I think bd21 is typically correct: running a higher grade fuel then suggested will not improve any performance aspect of your vehicle, while costing you more. I don't think the sulfur smell is related to this, however. As I'm sure bd21 knows, octane in gasoline is "isooctane", which is a branched hydrocarbon that will not spontaneously combust when compressed (at least not very easily), and is given an octane rating of 100. n-heptane, which is a straight chain hydrocarbon, combusts much more easily, and is given an octane rating of 0. So 89 octane means you are running a gas mixture with a combustion profile that is the same as an 89/11 isooctane:heptane mixture.
Sorry for the babbling, but I don't see how this would possibly cause a sulfur smell. I do understand that if your car's engine cannot take advantage of this, any performance enhancement is absent.
It sounds like bd21 has far more real-life experience with automobiles and gasoline than myself, but from a chemist's point of view I don't see anything that could be negative about running gasoline with a higher octane rating.
Sorry for the drawn-out response.
Re: turning off the A/C... to prevent cycling. Can I do that and still keep it in "Auto" climate control?
If my memory isn't failing, seems like it kicks out of auto as soon as the A/C button is pressed.
I live in Denver... typically on the dry side.... I wish I could select a checkbox somewhere to tell it not to cycle when in the heating mode... of course, unless I was trying to defog the windshield.
Of course, we really like our Accord... only had it a week so far. First time with auto climate control on a vehicle.
Bryan
Earlier discussion has questioned whether using higher octance than regular may have a detrimental effect rather than only providing the alleged higher horsepower output (no mention of higher torque from 89 or 91).
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
There is no outright "vent" setting - although this would be nice. If you just want fresh air, you still have to choose a temperature setting. I create a vent-like situation by choosing fresh air, dash air flow, fan speed 1 or 2, a/c off and a cool temperature (65 or so).
My only gripe with the nav system is all the buttons you need to press to perform simple tasks like this. Radio preset buttons would be nice too.
both Charles Baker (head of Accord development) and Yasuaki Asaki (V-6 engineer) have acknowledged that the v6 is good for another 10 hp and 10-plus lbs.-ft. on premium gas.
i'm not a mechanic like yourself and don't quite understand how they also designed the accord v6 to run on lower octane fuel without any negative long term effects.
i'm not recommending to anyone who drives an accord v6 that they should use premium fuel but doing so certainly won't hurt the engine. the manual recommends 86 octane OR higher. the improved performance would barely be noticeable and only at high rpms.
isellhondas: your comments were not appreciated and i certainly will take the word from the above two honda officials over you. perhaps you should be more knowledgeable about the products you sell.
The higher the octane rating, the higher resistance to ignition. In other words, premium does not ignite as well/quickly as regular. (Some of you didn't know that, did you.)
In other words, premium resists pre-ignition or ping or fuel knock. Usually allowing higher compression ratios to be used.
It is also my understanding that using premium in an engine designed for regular gasoline may lead to greater carbon buildup in the cylinders, on the rings, etc. This is because of premiums greater resistance to ignition, in a lower compression engine, it is possible to have a less complete burn of the gasoline, leaving more carbon...
So, using premium in an engine not designed for it may actually cause problems.
And Venus, I think that Isell was making a general comment about engines where the owner's manual recommends only regular fuel but the owner is absolutely convinced(from reading posts on this non-technical, but opinionated forum?)that if it costs more, it has to be better!! And if you are offended by Isell's comments, my feeling is, "if the shoe fits, wear it!"
Done this... proved to me beyond any doubt that this has no value with an engine tuned for 87 octane. Isellhondas hit it right on the head when he talked about a placebo effect.
But everyone should do what seems best for them.
The only reason for buying a new car is that you just want to have the first butt in the seat. But there is nothing wrong with used Accords or Camrys. This is coming from the owner of a 2003 Civic SI and a 2004 Acord EX-L.
But I do have a paid for 123,000 mile 1994 LS400 which I wouldn't part with even if gas hit $3.00 a gallon. There is no way I'm buying a new LS430.
"What's that sulfur smell coming from my vehicle?
All gasolines contain trace amounts of sulfur. The human sense of smell can detect sulfur odor in concentrations as low as 3 to 5 parts per million in air.
The exhaust on today's catalyst-equipped Honda vehicles will emit varying degrees of sulfur odor depending on operating temperatures and conditions. On normally operating vehicles, the odor is usually noticeable when the engine is cold, right after deceleration, or after wide-open throttle acceleration.
It may not be possible to eliminate sulfur odor completely due to the various operating conditions."
I've noticed this on my 03 V6 Accord from day one. I've experimented with different brands of fuel with no success. The odor is most noticeable right after a mild to hard acceleration.
now your comments about my comments about isellhondas comments weren't appreciated. the shoe part, not the general part. you may be right about that.
gregoryc1: out of curiosity, do you have the i4 or v6 accord? i like your nursing home comment (very funny), but if you have the i4 engine you're just helping out the good folks of the oil industry (more then you need to) buying their new cars!
me on the other hand, i buy cars so often that i pay for the college tuition of my salesman's kids!
This octane debate goes on and on - I can't see where anyone is going to change his or her perspective, so I'm not sure that there is an point at all ...
Continue it if you wish, but you need to do so politely, without slamming each other and you need to stay on the subject of the discussion, which of course is the Accord.
If someone states an opinion that you don't like, you are not required to tell the person that - just move on.
Okay?
premium fuel sure seems to be pushed in the luxury market. take the TSX, essentially the same engine as the accord's i4 but with more peek horsepower at higher rpms. there are other differences with the engines, but with its higher compression ratio it requires premium fuel.
Grand High Poobah
The Fraternal Order of Procrastinators
On the question of sulfur odor, it should be noted that this is hardly unique to Honda - the most vociferous complaints actually seem to be over on the Toyota boards.
In California, and any market that gets its motor fuel from CA refineries [some parts of Oregon, Nevada, and Arizona], there are generally no complaints about sulfur smells because CA already requires both gasoline and diesel fuel to be much lower in sulfur than the national average. All fuel in the US will get cleaned up under current law, but not until 2006 [since the Oil Barons pretty much own Wash. DC these days].
One of the reasons why switching stations and brands in a given market doesn't often do a lot of good is that [contrary to the marketing hype] most fuel markets are dominated by a couple of major refiners, who supply all of the stations, regardless of brand. Additive packages can actually be manipulated right where the trucks are loaded. Our Exxon refinery in Benicia CA, for example, put out gasoline that was sold under at least 5 different major brands, of which Exxon was actually the least important [having very little retail presence left in the Bay Area].
The point being, if the crude being processed is coming from high-sulfur sources, and the local refineries are not required to do much about it, then all the fuel in a given market is going to be high in sulfur content. I note that Honda stops short of blaming Washington [ very circumspect of them ], but basically, until the entire country gets on lower-sulfur fuel, this will continue to be a problem in many places.
Canadian and Alaskan crudes tend to be especially high in sulfur, incidentally, which means most of the country north of the Mason-Dixon is getting a lot of its fuel from these sources.
I had my oil changed a little over a week ago at the Honda dealer where I purchased my 2003 Accord. It was the 15K mile service, severe driving schedule, so all they did was an oil and filter change. My wife left to visit family for a week a couple of days later so I left the car parked in the garage and drove her SUV.
When I backed the car out of the garage (after it sat for a week) I noticed an oil puddle on the floor. My first thought was that they were sloppy when adding the new oil and this was probably just some spilt oil that was dripping off the engine block. I checked the oil and the level was fine. Also the engine was clean. Then I crawled underneath and noticed a drop of oil hanging off the drain plug. This is the exact location where the puddle was. I checked the tightness of the plug and it was barely finger tight! The dealer forgot to tighten the oil plug after changing the oil! I torqued the oil plug to Honda's specifications and all if fine now.
Imagine what would have happened if I did not park the car for a week. Or if I did not park it in the same spot every day and notice the puddle of oil. The leak was slow enough that I probably wouldn't have noticed it until the plug fell out and all my oil drained onto the highway while driving!!!
I have avoided oil change places with this car even though I despise paying extra for essentially the same work at the dealer. From now on I will take the car to my trusted family mechanic for all non-warrantee work. (I had been taking the car to the dealer while it was still under warrantee.)
I plan on calling the dealer on Monday to speak to their service manager about this. Hopefully they will give me the overpriced 20K service for free. After that, adios dealer service department.
Just my 2 cents.
More than likely, the 4-cyl owners would experience just the opposite.
Yes, we have an 04 EX V6 and I believe that the V6's are taking advantage of the higher octane gas, while the I4 it doesn't matter what octane is in their. Out of curiosity, when you put 93 or higher octane in, what is the trip computer reading with straight HWY miles? We are getting 33.6 MPG on the HWY with 89 octane.
First, I also have an EX V6. I've run only 87 octane in it since day one, and I've never had any problems with it being rough on startup. The engine performs flawlessly at all times with the recommended grade of fuel. And I live in an area where we experience temperatures from -15 to 95 degrees F over the span of the seasons, so we encounter just about everything.
Second, most experts will give you the following advice... if your engine is exhibiting problems while using the recommended grade of fuel and switching to a higher octane fuel helps, in almost all cases there's a problem with your engine that should be corrected. The higher octane fuel is just a band-aid, masking the symptoms of the problem. If it were me, I'd take it in for service.
I suppose if a peerson really thinks they need that ever so slight horsepower increase maybe spending the extra monsy makes sense.
Anybody?
To keep the same HP/weight ratio at 250 HP, you would need to add 141 lbs.
This is less than the avg weight of one person, so if you need another 10 HP, just throw out your significant other and bingo - more power. Now, this assumes that you have the engine at 6250RPM, where max HP is made.
- FAMILY SEDAN: Volkswagen Passat/Honda Accord. For the second year in a row, the Accord and Passat share the honors in this category. The Accord ($21,000 to $23,000) is our Top Pick among four-cylinder models, the Passat (about $30,000) among V6 versions. Both provide an excellent balance of comfort and sporty handling. There is no change in this category from 2003.
My '04 EX-L 4 cyl. AT sedan is the best car I've ever owned and among the best I've ever driven at any price.........Richard
thx
Honda has committed to making head bags available on ALL their models in the next few years. I would look for much wider use of the side curtain bags for the '05 model year in the Accord, but that doesn't help much if you want to buy now.
Side curtains are available as an option on all EX models. For the additional $300 retail price, side curtains are well worth the protection. That's only $150 per side (front and back) to protect you and your passengers' brains. IMO it's brainless not to have them.....Richard
Thoughts???
The 95, 98 were trouble free. I test drove the 98 in Feb 98 and very quickly decided that I had to have it. It was superior to the 95 with regard to engine, transmission, interior space and handling. The trans on the 98 was very smooth shifting. The 95 trans (V6) was not smooth - I recall that car magazine tests of that time reported this also. Also, the 98 engine (I beleive) was the first year for VTEC design and you could feel the extra power of it upon acceleration.