Hi MarioB,
Read the article, and I think the key is "required" octane. Article also mentions owner's manual recommendation. The 2001 Owner's Manual says on page 196, "Your Honda is designed to operate on unleaded gasoline with a pump octane number of 86 or higher." Also, on the last page, "Unleaded gasoline, pump octane number of 86 or higher."
When we ordered ours, we were told by the dealer that they only use 87 octane. When we picked it up, it came with a full tank of 87 octane, the Customer Service Manager said to just use 87 octane, no need to waste money on higher octane. He did say that when towing, we may want to go to premium octane for a slight boost in torque. Which coincides with what the Owner's Manual says on page 231 concerning Towing a Trailer, "You may want to fill the fuel tank with premium fuel. Premium fuel provides improved performance."
So, I don't see premium as being required, I see it as 86 or higher being required and recommended. We also used to run higher octane in our Accord until a few years ago, after watching an expose about what people really are getting at gas stations. The gist of it was you were as likely to get 87 octane no matter what nozzle you used or button you pushed. They showed the same truck filling all the tanks, etc. They only found one or two stations in their under-cover research that actually gave the appropriate higher octane for the higher price. They summized that if your car ran okay on 87, you might as well buy it ... as that's what you probably are getting anyway. So, from then on we started using 87 in the Accord, and have never seen any difference, including mileage. Maybe, as your article suggests, since modern engines have computers that compensate, gas stations can more easily get away with it... who knows?
I realize on the Ody, you'll get about 205 hp on regular versus 210 on premium... but is 5 hp worth an extra 20 cents a gallon? Not to me, unless I'm towing. Now, if someone can demonstrate to me actual mpg improvement specifically on the Ody using premium over regular, ...enough so to more than compensate the higher price per gallon for premium, then you might have something. The article eluded to that for vehicles that "required" and recommended higher octane in their Owner's Manual... I'm not reading that as the situation of the Ody.
At this point, I plan to continue to use 87 octane.
Although, it's nice to know that no matter what car you siphon gas from... you'll have the right octane for your Ody! LOL, only kidding!!!
Best Regards,
Skybolt
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2001 Starlight Silver LX
Splash Guards
Cargo Tray
Cargo Mat
Keyless Remote Entry & Alarm
Trans. Oil Cooler
Tow Package
Fog Lights