Teggy, Telly, and a Lead Foot

[rh77]

Hi all-

Finally! A site devoted to the questions I have been posted on other sites. At the Honda/Acura websites, the focus has been to make more power, which, as we know, generally results in more fuel consumption.

My daily driver is a 1998 Acura Integra LS Automatic 1.8 DOHC Non-VTEC. My wife drives the '99 Acura TL (SOHC-VTEC), which requires premium fuel. I have so many questions, I don't know where to start.

First, I have a tendency to like acceleration, which I know is bad for economy -- I'm working on that. But here goes...

Question #1: In the cooler months here in Kansas City, I recommend that my wife use regular instead of premium fuel in the TL as the incoming air is cooler and detonation is less likely -- am I sacrificing economy?

The project car is the Integra. I work at home and commute mostly to the airport and coffee shop, so mileage is 80/20 for highway/city. I have a K&N drop-in filter with a home-made cold-air intake. I've noticed the coolant temp is running low, so I think the thermostat is shot (108K miles). I've overinflated the tires and the engine is in fine tuning order. Where do I go from here? PCV Catch Can, Hi-Temp Thermostat, fooling the ECU??? I'd love to delve into the possibilities. Any advice would be welcomed. Thanks!

RH77

[SVOboy]

Sweet, another new person. Integra, eh, hehe, I'm a crxer, so I could prolly use a few of your parts. In any case, I dunno about the octane, I should think you are sacraficing the economy a bit because the engine would have to advance timing from what it usually takes a bit in order to keep up with the quicker burn rates of the lower octane fuel, but I also know winter fuel is mixed differently, so its hard to say about that, so I'm saying I don't know on that.

Things to try are the plethora of additives, like acetone, PIB, blah blah blah, you'll find a bunch on here. There is also water injection, the pcv catch can, which you've mentioned, h2 generators (flatland2d is working on one and you can get nicely made ones on ebay), and a whole bunch of other things. Poke around the site and ask anything you can think of.

[rh77]

Thanks for the welcome! I'll poke around and see what I can find. I used to run a mixture of Xylene in my Lancer Evolution VIII, which yielded higher boost and better economy. BUT -- on Thanksgiving of '03 while the in-laws were watching a parade on TV (read: escape to garage), I was mixing the Xylene in the garage and knocked the can over. Long story short, during cleanup it melted the soles of my shoes and created a big stink. Literally. It was the spill heard 'round the world. I don't think I'll be allowed to bring chemicals back into the mix for a while. I sold the EVO :-( since it was a gas-hog and not really practical. I used to have a '99 Civic Si which was perfect, but sold it for the EVO, go figure. I married into the Integra, which has found a good home -- my wife is the original owner and it's been maticulously maintained. It's generally parked at the airport, which is over 50 miles from home, so anything to increase highway economy will be added. The TL is about worn out, and we're looking at the '06 Civic as a replacement (the TSX is just too expensive). We test drove one and loved it, so it'll probably be in the garage by January. Thanks again for the warm welcome.

RH77

[SVOboy]

Highway mileage is the easiest thing to improve, luckily for you. In city driving a lot of the nice little modifications get eaten away by stopping and going, so there's less room to improve, but on the highway it is pure efficiency that comes into play, and so much less is driving style (besides speeding, which is a huge killer).

[Matt Timion]

Hey rh77,

Since your car is obd2, you can probably put any octane in your engine and it will adjust timing accordingly. Search for posts by Chasgood who has a newer pt cruiser. I remember him talking about this before.

You will probably get better fuel economy with lower octane, but your horsepower will be affected by the switch.

At the very least you can test it out and see if the lower octane helps. Since your car is newer I don't think you'll be able to damage the engine.

Oh yeah, and unless your car has a high compression engine, you actually don't need the high octane.

[SVOboy]

Acura TL is high compression, like chasgood's, and as I recall it gave chasgood's car some crap.