Two parts:

1. I was wondering what the big deal about these 'cold air intakes' with their air filters are? If it increases MPG how come they're not stock?

2. Also, with rising gas prices, does putting better gas in the car give better MPG over the cost?

Car: 1998 Honda Accord LX 2DR AT

 

"better gas" ? If you mean higher octane, then no, it is not "better gas" it allows for higher compression before combustion. It will serve no benefit in the low compression motor you have.

Cold air intakes come with risks, please just do a search. Both of your questions are answered all over Google.

To gain tangible fuel efficiency, do a search for gas mileage threads in the Accord section, there are plenty of suggestions.

 

kitt, my car is a 1998 Accord LX 4 DR MT.

As far as a new intake helping your MPG, its debatable. I have one (puts the cone filter right where the air box is on your car) and it definitely makes it sound better, but what you really need to focus on is the filter. I changed to a K&N and noticed a slight bump in MPG (this was on the stock airbox and I got one on the new intake).

Just stick with regular gas. As TheMuffinMan said, higher octane does NOTHING for our engine. And while we are on the subject of engines...

Make sure you keep up on maintenance! Use quality oil, keep up on tranny fluid changes, use injector cleaner every once in a while (Lucas, Redline, and Techron all do the job nicely), change/clean the air filter, etc. All of this stuff helps keep your gas mileage up.

Good luck!

 

^^^ + New plugs, wires, cap & rotor and maybe even a new coil if yours is still the original. I added an extra 100km /tank of gas by doing a full tune-up and replacing my 1996 coil and ignitor.

 

Ok, thanks guys. I've read keeping the air filter clean helps with the MPG. I'll consider purchasing a K&N filter to replace my stock filter once it gets dirty. Also I'll stick with the low octane gas.

I guess I'm not pro enough to do the nitty gritty tune-ups and upgrades, but I'll keep up with the maintenance.

 

Do as the others said.

But there IS a difference between good and bad gas. Personally, I ONLY use BP, Shell, and Mobil. I don't care if they are a few miles out of the way, I refuse to use gas from no name places like, Casey, Freedom, Qik n Easy, Thortons, and etc. There is a difference as I have compared multiple times before.

Personally, the majority of the time I use BP but every 3 fill ups I will switch and fill up with either Shell or Mobil.

 

Intakes allow your engine to produce more horse power and yes it increases your MPG to a certain extent. Both short ram and cold air intake have less restriction than your factory filter. If position correctly, it will allow your engine to draw in more dense air and the air intake temperature will be less. Lowering the strain on your engine will allow you to get better MPG. Think of it as to how hard your engine works with AC and without AC. Which on gets better gas mileage. The reason that they are not stock on most vehicles is because manufactures have to deal with emission standards, cost efficiency, and have to control the noise level that intake produce. Also as mention above ^ higher octane only allow the engine to be less prone to detonation.

 

I saw a post on here some time ago with a dyno chart from AEM Cold air intake, and the horse power actually decreased below 3k RPM and you get gains only in the higher RPM (where I practically never rev to).

A stock size K&N filter might be the best. Be sure to keep K&N oiled though, because it traps dirt with the oil using static electricity rather than a purely physical barrier from the stock filter.

 

Good point. This is more of a longer-term (with a varying definition based on each situation) problem, but an overlooked problem nonetheless.

So true. I can tell if I've been being a jackass too much every time I fill up because I'll have gotten like 450 miles instead of 500 or so in a tank. It definitely helps to keep your trip odo set to track your miles. Can help with making you more conscious of your driving style.

Was this test done on the 98-02 Accords? It wouldn't surprise me, I'm more curious than anything.

 

1994 accord got 27 average 34 highway 130hp i4 2880 lbs 4spd auto
1998 accord got 25 average 33 highway 200hp v6 3197 lbs 4sp auto
2002 cl typs gets 24.7 average 31 highway 290hp (headers) v6 3515 lbs 5spd auto

gaining 160 hp, 2 cylanders, 625 lbs but loosing only 3mpg = win in my book cause i keep my right foot out of the throttle.