niray9

LINK->Why You Might Not Actually Need Premium Gas

CTNYC

Consumer Reports is full of crap on a good day IMO...

Regarding their study, I doubt that they are testing these cars long term with regular vs premium - Their study was on one specific TLX i4 and one specific Maxima over the course of one tank. Statistically a horrible sample. Maybe there are no immediate effects that can be measured with one tank, but if someone uses a car for 5 years running regular when premium is recommended, would it be the same story? I'd personally say there will be a difference. Lower quality octane gas can lead to fuel injectors and fuel components with more gunk and crap in them over a long period of time.

CR just seems to be throwing out a controversial story to get readers IMO.

Also - Is that a clear/chrome accented tail light I'm seeing on the TLX?!

Hoosier_TLX

I agree with the assessment of how poorly CR obtained their results. How can 1 tankful tell you anything when the manuals and representatives state "long term" potential effects?

I know the debate about regular vs. mid-grade vs. premium has been discussed on this forum already, but at least in that thread there was some intelligent debate about the merits of each.

I said before in that thread and I'll re-state it now here. I don't know if it would matter using regular but why take the chance. I still feel using premium gasoline will be better "long term" on my car's engine.

CybrRdr

Hmmm... I'll just stick to the manufacturer recommended fuel.

mrgold35

I've always felt max performance requires the higher octane levels. That could be regular driving habits (merging into traffic, mountains, heavy loads, etc...) or emergency situations (extreme weather, need max mpgs, saving you $$ from engine wear/tear). I always used 91 octane because I don't want to find out in an emergency if 87 octane fails me at its limits.

Never made sense to me for someone to purchase a expensive performance machine just to cheap out and put 86/87 octane gas? It is like buying a 70 inch HD TV just to watch standard definition TV shows only?

baelim

try it. you'll feel the engine rumble from lack of octane as well as the drop in mpg seeing possibly a drop of miles for your dollar.

with gas prices as they are you'd rather pinch pennies than get the most out of your 35k car?

niray9

FYI, The following is also in the story:

Anyways, everyone can do their due diligence.

niray9

I have never run regular on my Acura. But I'll try it over the next few tanks to check it out.

CybrRdr

Well I looked in the TLX Owner's Manual and this was all I found....

CybrRdr

... and for the V6:

thoiboi

But why would you follow the owner's manual...

niray9

From the manual

BEAR-AvHistory

One thing to be aware of is the refiners not putting a full additive package in the 87 to make the low price.

Places like COSTCO run the full package in their regular but you should ask at the station.

Personally to me what you might save is not worth it.

thoiboi

why would you highlight the "recommended" part but not the


"can lead to engine damage"
selective reading much?


at the end of the day, it's your car. Do what you want to it, just don't try and convince others to do the same.

This isn't a new discovery and has been overanalyzed and discussed multiple times in multiple subforums of AZ:

https://www.google.com/search?q=site...hrome&ie=UTF-8

TacoBello

because it says using gasoline BELOW 87 octane can lead to engine damage... it does not say using 87 will do that.


Honestly, I think Acura only says to use premium to help distinguish itself from Honda. I just buy premium because I like the taste better than regular. Plus, those few additional octane points really help with the buzz I'm always chasing after.

Saintor

Their experience reflects mine with my TLX V6.

After having played with both fuel, I now always put regular in it.

This is the very same powerplant as in a 2016 Pilot and regular is recommended. Only a 10HP sacrifice at peak power, no big deal.

I was worried because regular presumably contains more ethanol, but I can't see a difference in fuel economy. Regular is 13% cheaper here.

niray9

Too much personal focus <highlighted in quote above in bold>

Recommended is highlighted because I searched through the manual for the Keyword "recommended".

I don't know about selective reading but properly reading a complete sentence/document is most important.

Your name ends with "boi", How old are you?

Have a nice day.

niray9

I always fill up from Costco.

Here's from Costco webpage:

Don't own Costco stocks , if anyone so suspects.

Link -> Kirkland Signature? Gasoline

CybrRdr

Honestly the last part was completely unnecessary. Let's play nice folks, it a forum and your subject is polarizing.

niray9

I agree. However, here's another quote.

The subject might be polarizing to some so, let's stick to the subject.

EricInMaryland

The dealer told me directly that I did not have to use premium. I did not use it on my TSX +2 years and my TLX. No issues.

neil0311

We're really not talking about a lot of money here to get premium. Let's do the math...

Let's assume you drive 12,000 miles/year on average, and get the EPA number of 25 miles per gallon combined average, and the difference between regular (87 octane) and premium (91-93 octane) is $0.20 which is the difference in my area.

Using those assumptions we get the following:

12,000 miles/25 mpg=480 gallons

480 gallons/year * $0.20/gallon = $96/year

For me, the risk isn't worth the roughly $100/year. Of course, if you drive more or fewer miles or the difference in price is greater or less than $0.20/gal, or you achieve better or worse gas mileage, then YMMV (no pun intended). 🙂

EricInMaryland

Not to be rude, but I will take their opinion over yours or anyone else saying CR is BS. In this particular case, having run regular gas in 2 acuras and a performance car that required premium I agree 100% with their assessment. I have never had an issue.

Perhaps what's really needed is your definition of performance. I bet your definition only applies to 1% of the driving public.

On my TLX I get 28 combined with mostly local driving. On the highway as high as 35 and thats from 30 mile trips.

EricInMaryland

For my area the difference is minimally 30 cents. And what did you get for the extra $99.....nothing. Seriously, what did you achieve. What do you think is going to go wrong with your engine?

CybrRdr

The point I was making is that the CR article is not accurate at all. The Acura TLX Owners Manual does not say 87 octane is okay and does specifically say to use 91 or higher octane.

The bottom line is you are free to do whatever you want to your car. If you feel regular is fine... Then good for you. However it is not the recommended fuel as per your owners manual.

Btw, my brother in law has always used reg unleaded in his TL. I don't approve but its his poor TL.

WheelMcCoy

Wow, fascinating article. 2012 TSX Wagon here, and this is counter to my experience. Running 87 instead of 93, I lose about 1-2 mpg. My butt-dyno isn't sensitive enough to detect differences in HP though.

The TLX, however, has an 8 speed automated manual. I'm wondering if it is good and smart enough to make the car fuel efficient regardless of octane, and also provide power for acceleration when needed. Note that CR used 0 to 60 times to determine acceleration "power." They did not put the car on a dyno to measure bHP.

The Nissan Maxima V6 has a CVT (infinite gears) which might also be negating the effects of 87 octane vs 93 octane.

My TSX Wagon has the traditional Honda 5 speed automatic. The spacing between gears would make the difference between 87 and 93 noticeable. In addition, new models probably have lower coefficient of drag, lower internal engine friction, runs cooler (more efficient), and uses lighter yet stronger materials. Driving normally, octane matters less to these vehicles. Driving on a racetrack, octane will matter (among other things).

neil0311

I don't think anything is going to go "wrong" with my engine, other than knocking, pinging, and decreased performance. I have a SH-AWD V6, so not sure what CR tested besides the 4 cyl.

Why do you think high compression engines come from the factory with either a requirement or recommendation for premium fuel? Do you think the mfg thinks it sounds cool or that more people will buy the car if they recommend higher priced fuel?

$100 a year (and for me it's probably lower) is a drop in the bucket. Maybe it's wasted and maybe it's not, but if I use premium I never have to be concerned.

Rae Rad

I would never use regular gas. I use nothing but the best
They can save that regular gas for regular cars.

neil0311

Your sarcasm is misplaced, at least on me. If I gave a rat's ass about status, I wouldn't be driving an Acura TLX. I'd be the first to put regular in the tank if that's what the mfg recommended, but it's not.

Acura could make a selling point of the car running on 87 octane, but they don't. There's a reason.

ggesq

iTrader: (1)

Follow what the mfg recommends. It's pretty simple.

Detonation and timing pulled is not worth it.

neil0311

Not for an average of $2/week. If you can't afford to put gas in the car, then don't buy a car that uses premium fuel.

dezymond

If you can afford an Acura you should be able to afford the gas, don't cheap out.

Saintor

Again the Pilot 2016 with the same powertrain runs on regular (280HP), while the TLX V6/MDX requires premium (290HP) if you are really, really interested by that 10HP at 5500rpm+.

Premium is waste of money if the engine tolerates it on everyday use and you are not on a racetrack. Not interested in the little religion.

ggesq

iTrader: (1)

I'm guessing the 2016 Pilot is tuned differently than the TLX despite same compression ratios.

If you're mostly doing highway driving, using 87 won't cause much detonation, retarded timing. If you're doing more city driving, you can bet the TLX will pull timing to adjust.

The engine will pull enough timing to try to keep knock at a minimum, but it's not just a performance issue, you're throwing unburnt fuel down the pipes.

Many of you could be losing mileage in the long run. The unburnt fuel is damaging the monoliths in your catalytic converters and could be fouling your oxygen sensor.

CTNYC

Oh - no offense taken - Everyone is entitled to his/her own opinion/thoughts. I personally found that long term, TL's that use regular had a rough idle/didn't accelerate smoothly as ones that only used octane 93 gas (Cars with ~100k miles on them) Did anything fail? no, but I also used to easily drive 40k to 60k miles a year, a good chunk of them relatively hard miles in DC and NYC, so I personally would rather spend more on whatever Acura recommends to have my car run smoother (at least in my head).

Also - To the others saying premium is only 20 or 30 cents higher than regular, I envy you.. Around me, it is common for premium to be 60 cents to 90 cents higher than regular Premium is currently around $3.09/gal around me... But as cheap as $2.39 for premium in the suburbs But then I'd need to go to the suburbs

spoiler900

My fathers 09 TL he bought new he only puts in 87, hes closing 100K and never had any problems.

Me, I ONLY put 91 in my car, I actually fill it up before loaning it to him so he doesnt accidently put 87 in it. Maybe for 100K-150K miles putting 87 in is fine, but I wanna keep mine till 200+ as long as the electronics dont fail on me first

BEAR-AvHistory

The 87 guys have been trying to justify its use in every web site with performance tuned engines from the factory. Seems like its a point of honor with the smartest people in the room.

When they pull out to pass under load & the engine starts ringing like a bell, despite the ECU pulling timing, its the cars fault not theirs.

Let them be happy saving $100 a year to prove a point & I will be happy with a car that can run up to the potential I paid for.

Saintor

Pilot 280HP TLX 290HP. They don't even need to be tuned differently; 3% can be attributed to the use of different fuel.

unburnt fuel means high fuel consumption: not the case. That's a far stretch, unsupported.

weather

WHY?!?! Why do people spend some much energy trying to discuss something that amounts to a few dollars a month?!?

Can we not be discussing more relevant and meaningful topics....

Here are the options:

1. Put regular and drive it
2. Put supreme and drive it

END OF STORY!

mapleloaf

There is a third option, if you are unsure about the mechanical science, and want to save a few bucks here and there - Alternate fills.