98' accord LX
4 Door, 4 Cyl
173000

I bought the car in March with 170000. At that point I had a EVAP catalytic problem so I started using premium gas. 1) to help alleviated the evap and catalytic converter problem. 2) because it had high mileage i thought it would be good. I dont know what the previous owner used so im not sure if I changed anything. I have used regular before without any problems, but I have read that its better for a car to run on premium. I have also read that its a waste of money to use premium if it will run on regular fine. Im not worrying about losing a horsepower or two, and I clean it with fuel filter cleaner anyhow. Can anybody clear this up for me?

 

standard pump 87... you are wasting your money by running premuim.

if anything premium is harder on the catalytic converter because it burns slower in your car compared to the 87 it is designed to run on. so your leaving more hydrocarbons (unburned fuel) for the cat. to scrub on premium since it does not burn as quickly or completely as 87 will before leaving the cyl.

the evap problem is probably a leak or purge is acting up.

if you know the exact codes your throwing then post them and we could narrow down which part of the system could be the cause. if you dont have a scanner to pull codes, go to your local autozone... they will do a obd2 code check for free... and write down the codes before they clear them.

 

Thanks for the info about the gas. The code was P1457. I have since fixed it. It was the purge control valve that sits on the charcoal canister. It had corroded, as well as the two screws that held it in. It was very hard to get the screws off. One i grabbed with pliers and twisted it off. The 2nd, i ended up cutting it off with a hacksaw as the metal "female" threads had broken loose of the plasti housing it was in.