Car guys I need your input again.

[SteelBlue]

I'm buying my soon to be 16 year old son a car. I am from the school of teens having a crappy first car and buying their own gas. I have found what is actually a pretty cool car for him. It's a 1995 Honda Prelude with 145,000 miles. The only thing I don't like about it is that premium gas is recommended. There is no way in hell that he or I for that matter will be buying anything but 87 octane. So.... will it hurt the engine? Should I let this deal go and keep on looking?

[falafel]

I'm buying my soon to be 16 year old son a car. I am from the school of teens having a crappy first car and buying their own gas. I have found what is actually a pretty cool car for him. It's a 1995 Honda Prelude with 145,000 miles. The only thing I don't like about it is that premium gas is recommended. There is no way in hell that he or I for that matter will be buying anything but 87 octane. So.... will it hurt the engine? Should I let this deal go and keep on looking?

The first car I bought by myself was a 2001 Audi A4 (used). It was the first nice(r) car I had. I guess it still is the nicest car I've had. Anyway, the manual said it should have premium.

My FIL was in town after we bought it and saw me putting premium in it. He told me about an interview he read with a Ford executive. The guy basically said that the difference between the gasoline grades was negligible, and that he (the executive) never put anything but the lowest grade gas in his car.

The funny thing is a few years later my FIL asked me to put some gas in his car while I was out. He specifically told me to get premium.

[Surfah]

I'm buying my soon to be 16 year old son a car. I am from the school of teens having a crappy first car and buying their own gas. I have found what is actually a pretty cool car for him. It's a 1995 Honda Prelude with 145,000 miles. The only thing I don't like about it is that premium gas is recommended. There is no way in hell that he or I for that matter will be buying anything but 87 octane. So.... will it hurt the engine? Should I let this deal go and keep on looking?

Sweet first ride. That H22 motor is awesome. I doubt that car has had nothing but premium for 145,000 miles. Personally I don't think it's a big deal. But what does using 87 equate to in savings? $3 each fill up? How often is your boy going to be fueling up? Every other week? That's only $6 a month. For $6/mo more I'd probably maximize my engine's performance. I'd be more concerned about the car being ragged out and that engine worn. Fortunately that engine is incredibly popular and can be replaced pretty easily.

I'd also be concerned about that car being stolen. Those mid 90's Hondas are very popular among boosters. I'd check with your insurance and see what that's going to cost you. That particular car driven by a 16 year old boy is probably going to be more expensive to insure than you'd think.

[SteelBlue]

Sweet first ride. That H22 motor is awesome. I doubt that car has had nothing but premium for 145,000 miles. Personally I don't think it's a big deal. But what does using 87 equate to in savings? $3 each fill up? How often is your boy going to be fueling up? Every other week? That's only $6 a month. For $6/mo more I'd probably maximize my engine's performance. I'd be more concerned about the car being ragged out and that engine worn. Fortunately that engine is incredibly popular and can be replaced pretty easily.

I'd also be concerned about that car being stolen. Those mid 90's Hondas are very popular among boosters. I'd check with your insurance and see what that's going to cost you. That particular car driven by a 16 year old boy is probably going to be more expensive to insure than you'd think.

That was the first thing I checked. With good student discount and liability only it's going to be $86 a month. I am worried about the theft aspect as several people have told me this is a problem. It's really not in bad shape but it is a salvage title. A friend of mine owns a garage and he put it together. Says there isn't really anything wrong with it and if something goes he'll fix it for cheap. So I figure I can't really lose. The car does look nice but has just enough cosmetically wrong with it to keep him humble (bumper needs new paint, leather seats are torn and will need covers etc...

Your point about the gas is a good one. I'm thinking in terms of my truck which gets ridiculous because I'm getting 12 mpg. But it really wont be a big deal for this car.

[Surfah]

Your point about the gas is a good one. I'm thinking in terms of my truck which gets ridiculous because I'm getting 12 mpg. But it really wont be a big deal for this car.

That's the car salesman in me.

"That's a nice car, but I don't think I can afford the gas in it."

"Well sure you can sir. Let's do some math and figure it out and see if we can't get you home in it tonight."

[mUUser]

Used to own a car that required a minimum 89 octane (91 recommended). At the time, I could only buy 87, 91 or 93 (or was it 95?) octane in town, and decided to save a few sheckels and purchase 87. Wasn't long before upon acceleration, it sounded like the muffler was "loose" -- pinging as it were.

Mechanic insisted I try 91 octane before working on the car. 3 weeks later --pinging was completely gone. Lesson learned.

My advice based on my experience: Follow the manufacturers recommendation on gas & oil. Use the premium gas.

[Hallelujah]

Used to own a car that required a minimum 89 octane (91 recommended). At the time, I could only buy 87, 91 or 93 (or was it 95?) octane in town, and decided to save a few sheckels and purchase 87. Wasn't long before upon acceleration, it sounded like the muffler was "loose" -- pinging as it were.

Mechanic insisted I try 91 octane before working on the car. 3 weeks later --pinging was completely gone. Lesson learned.

My advice based on my experience: Follow the manufacturers recommendation on gas & oil. Use the premium gas.

In higher elevations, SLC/Provo/Ogden, the lower octane is just fine compared to sea level.

[FN Phat]

Maybe in a newer model Prelude I would go with the premium gas but in a 95, I would be shocked if they ran anything but 87 octane. Regardless of what fuel the previous owner and your son has/will put in the 'lude, it is a Honda and it will run forever. As Surfah mentioned, the H22 is known for it's torque (for an inline 4) and its performance. If anything were to go wrong with the car it will be an easy fix at a reasonable price. It could also be a great car to learn the basics of mechanics on. There are valuable online resources and forums that are focused on that particular car. Check out www.honda-tech.com. Especially this section of honda-tech... http://www.honda-tech.com/forumdisplay.php?f=4

That is a nice first ride, but where will you put the drums?

[SteelBlue]

Maybe in a newer model Prelude I would go with the premium gas but in a 95, I would be shocked if they ran anything but 87 octane. Regardless of what fuel the previous owner and your son has/will put in the 'lude, it is a Honda and it will run forever. As Surfah mentioned, the H22 is known for it's torque (for an inline 4) and its performance. If anything were to go wrong with the car it will be an easy fix at a reasonable price. It could also be a great car to learn the basics of mechanics on. There are valuable online resources and forums that are focused on that particular car. Check out www.honda-tech.com. Especially this section of honda-tech... http://www.honda-tech.com/forumdisplay.php?f=4

That is a nice first ride, but where will you put the drums?

Thanks for the info FN. There is a trunk on this thing big enough to hide a body. I figure between that and the fake back seat he can get it all in there. The other great thing about this car is that it seems too small to get into much trouble in the dating department.

[kccougar]

That's a perfect first car. Great choice. Manual transmission? That would be even better.

Don't worry about the gas for all the reasons previously mentioned. Start with the cheap stuff and if you start to get pinging (likely only in hot weather and going up steep hills) then switch up a grade. As long as you aren't getting premature detonation then there's no reason to go with higher octane.

[SteelBlue]

That's a perfect first car. Great choice. Manual transmission? That would be even better.

Yeah, manual transmission. He's going to love it as soon as I teach him to drive a stick. We don't currently own one but I told him that he can't consider himself a man until he knows how to drive one.

[kccougar]

Yeah, manual transmission. He's going to love it as soon as I teach him to drive a stick. We don't currently own one but I told him that he can't consider himself a man until he knows how to drive one.

Good for you.

[statman]

My FIL was in town after we bought it and saw me putting premium in it. He told me about an interview he read with a Ford executive. The guy basically said that the difference between the gasoline grades was negligible, and that he (the executive) never put anything but the lowest grade gas in his car.

That's not exactly true - there is a difference. An older car with a high compression engine that's designed for high octane gas will detonate prematurely with 87 octane. It's NOT good for such engines.

With newer high performance engines, virtually all of them have electronic ignitions with knock sensors that will automatically adjust engine timing based on premature ignition. in these cars, switching octanes will almost always give you a CEL (check engine light), that resets itself after it's adjusted the timing and no longer is 'knocking.' If you go back to high octane, you'll get another CEL as it adjusts again. It's not great for the car, and the lower octance means sub-optimal performance, but I've never heard that if you've got an electronic ignition with a knock sensor that it does any kind of damage.

But what I do believe that the opposite of what you report is true. That there is virtually no benefit from putting high octane gas into a car that doesn't require it. You might get a TINY boost in horsepower, but everything about the car is designed around the lower octane. You might get a tiny boost in HP, but would the car really even be capable of taking advantage of it?

Bottom line - if the car calls for super, you'll get some benefits from using super, but as long as it's a new car, you'll do no damage by running less than super. If the car calls for standard octane and you run super, there might be a minimal benefit, but that's questionable.

You're not going to damage a new car by running 87 gas in it...

[SteelBlue]

Picked it up today. It is a nice little ride.

[FN Phat]