Is mid-grade gasoline OK for 2014 TL?
06-02-2014, 01:32 PM
#41
Touge Chaser
The car is tuned for optimal power, longevity, wear etc. on certain grade of gasoline. Sure you can put something different in and the ECU will make mild adjustments but it's not what the engineers have tuned the car for.
My wife's Prius recommends 87. We tried 93 on 2 tanks under her similar driving conditions and saw a severe drop in mpg. From 52mpg to 44mpg.
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VR1 (06-02-2014)
06-02-2014, 05:49 PM
#42
Burning Brakes
In Canada the difference between 89 Octane and 91 is about $9.00 a fill.
And a fill is $80.00. A U.S. gallon (3.8L) costs us about $6.00.
I'm just sharing info. I am not saying it's wise to ignore the mfr recommendation. I do agree that using low grade gas would be false economy if you did it all the time. But I also do not think it's a simple black and white issue.
E.g. my car never gets near the redline. Most of the time I'm putting around town or cruising at 2,000 rpm on the hwy.
And a fill is $80.00. A U.S. gallon (3.8L) costs us about $6.00.
I'm just sharing info. I am not saying it's wise to ignore the mfr recommendation. I do agree that using low grade gas would be false economy if you did it all the time. But I also do not think it's a simple black and white issue.
E.g. my car never gets near the redline. Most of the time I'm putting around town or cruising at 2,000 rpm on the hwy.
06-02-2014, 10:32 PM
#43
Taxes being the way they are, it makes it even more tempting to cheap out a little.
About a month ago, a liter or 87 was $1.51 around here. 91 was selling for $1.62.
For our American friends, that's like $6.15 / gallon. Most Americans freak out when the gallon crosses the $4 mark. So it's all a matter of perspective.
06-03-2014, 09:28 AM
#44
Touge Chaser
In Canada the difference between 89 Octane and 91 is about $9.00 a fill.
And a fill is $80.00. A U.S. gallon (3.8L) costs us about $6.00.
I'm just sharing info. I am not saying it's wise to ignore the mfr recommendation. I do agree that using low grade gas would be false economy if you did it all the time. But I also do not think it's a simple black and white issue.
E.g. my car never gets near the redline. Most of the time I'm putting around town or cruising at 2,000 rpm on the hwy.
And a fill is $80.00. A U.S. gallon (3.8L) costs us about $6.00.
I'm just sharing info. I am not saying it's wise to ignore the mfr recommendation. I do agree that using low grade gas would be false economy if you did it all the time. But I also do not think it's a simple black and white issue.
E.g. my car never gets near the redline. Most of the time I'm putting around town or cruising at 2,000 rpm on the hwy.
The original question was is mid-grade gasoline OK for 2014 TL? It is ok to use every once in a while, but it is not ok to use all the time.
If I was buying a used 4G TL and the owner told me that they used mid grade regularly I wouldn't move forward with purchase. That's my opinion your results may vary.
Last edited by DefMunkie; 06-03-2014 at 09:31 AM.
06-03-2014, 11:01 AM
#45
+1
Taxes being the way they are, it makes it even more tempting to cheap out a little.
About a month ago, a liter or 87 was $1.51 around here. 91 was selling for $1.62.
For our American friends, that's like $6.15 / gallon. Most Americans freak out when the gallon crosses the $4 mark. So it's all a matter of perspective.
Taxes being the way they are, it makes it even more tempting to cheap out a little.
About a month ago, a liter or 87 was $1.51 around here. 91 was selling for $1.62.
For our American friends, that's like $6.15 / gallon. Most Americans freak out when the gallon crosses the $4 mark. So it's all a matter of perspective.
(Op has a dilemma, asking for the right advise).
To each his own.
06-04-2014, 08:20 AM
#46
Account closed
High compression, High Octane
Here in Ohio, it costs me about $3 more on a fill up for premium and the car runs like a champ and for $6 more a month I'll eat that to drive the TL, however, my TSX gets about 12+ more MPG so if it's money you want to save, I4 TSX.
On a side note, if you drive an Accord and put premium in the tank, the mileage actually goes DOWN.
Here in Ohio, it costs me about $3 more on a fill up for premium and the car runs like a champ and for $6 more a month I'll eat that to drive the TL, however, my TSX gets about 12+ more MPG so if it's money you want to save, I4 TSX.
On a side note, if you drive an Accord and put premium in the tank, the mileage actually goes DOWN.
06-06-2014, 04:56 PM
#47
This thread brings to memory what I encountered when I was test driving vehicles before purchasing the TL. The Infiniti G37 demo cars at this particular dealership were all filled with mid grade gasoline and the salesperson boasted on how good performance was with just mid grade gas. I'm sure Infiniti recommends premium gasoline for their vehicles, but this dealership decided to make do with mid grade.
I've personally experienced significant mileage decrease when I had to fill the tank with 87 octane because the gas station was out of "premium" and "mid-grade" and I was too low on gas to run around looking for other gas stations.
The ECU automatically adjusts ignition timing if lower octane is used so as to not damage the engine (locked pistons, etc - as others here have mentioned already)
I guess prudence would have to be used, but the whole question arises to why even buy a vehicle which you've paid thousands of dollars for and cheap out on the gasoline which ends up damaging the vehicle you've put all this money into?
I've personally experienced significant mileage decrease when I had to fill the tank with 87 octane because the gas station was out of "premium" and "mid-grade" and I was too low on gas to run around looking for other gas stations.
The ECU automatically adjusts ignition timing if lower octane is used so as to not damage the engine (locked pistons, etc - as others here have mentioned already)
I guess prudence would have to be used, but the whole question arises to why even buy a vehicle which you've paid thousands of dollars for and cheap out on the gasoline which ends up damaging the vehicle you've put all this money into?
06-06-2014, 06:50 PM
#48
That is the question I ask myself all the time?! To me, buying a vehicle is not just the purchase price but the cost of ownership as a whole. If I wanted to save 50$ a month on gas, I would either buy a TSX or another cheaper vehicle, or a non premium vehicle (such as an Accord) and use the money saved to put the gas in. But again, that's just me and no disrespect intended towards any members.
06-06-2014, 08:34 PM
#49
Racer
Thread Starter
I am the original poster, and despite what a few people said (or implied), we never intended to put 87 octane in our TL. My question (as you can see from the name of the thread) was whether we should use mid-grade or premium. While I try to be a smart shopper, I certainly do not want to damage our car and we will probably start using premium, based on what has been written.
I asked the question because I would expect the Acura dealer to know more about this issue than I do, and everyone at the dealership said that they use mid-grade and that it ABSOLUTELY does not harm the car in any way -- it just lowers the performance a bit. Of course they could be biased, but I was not sure, so I asked the question.
I am willing to spend a bit more at the pump if it really helps, but why spend more if it does not help. Many of you are convinced that it does help, and in fact some seem convinced that it will cause harm if anything less than premium is used.
For those of you who say we should not have bought a TL if we didn't want to spend a few more dollars at the pump, I wonder how many paid MSRP for your TL? Were we "cheap" because we negotiated a discount? Did all of you pay full retail price? If not, then why is being concerned about the price of gas any different than being concerned about the price of the car?
If you have money to burn and want to burn it, then go ahead. I prefer to pay for what is necessary and not for what is unnecessary. I got enough responses that were in favor of premium that I will probably go ahead and start using it, but a few people seemed to give a somewhat nasty response to what I felt was a reasonable question.
By the way, the recommendation (or requirement) is for 91 octane, but none of our pumps have 91 -- it's all 87, 89, or 93. At least one person said that using too high of an octane could also be bad. I don't really want to mix mid-grade and premium during the same fill-up, but I suppose I could alternate between mid-grade and premium from one fill-up to the next.
Gregg
I asked the question because I would expect the Acura dealer to know more about this issue than I do, and everyone at the dealership said that they use mid-grade and that it ABSOLUTELY does not harm the car in any way -- it just lowers the performance a bit. Of course they could be biased, but I was not sure, so I asked the question.
I am willing to spend a bit more at the pump if it really helps, but why spend more if it does not help. Many of you are convinced that it does help, and in fact some seem convinced that it will cause harm if anything less than premium is used.
For those of you who say we should not have bought a TL if we didn't want to spend a few more dollars at the pump, I wonder how many paid MSRP for your TL? Were we "cheap" because we negotiated a discount? Did all of you pay full retail price? If not, then why is being concerned about the price of gas any different than being concerned about the price of the car?
If you have money to burn and want to burn it, then go ahead. I prefer to pay for what is necessary and not for what is unnecessary. I got enough responses that were in favor of premium that I will probably go ahead and start using it, but a few people seemed to give a somewhat nasty response to what I felt was a reasonable question.
By the way, the recommendation (or requirement) is for 91 octane, but none of our pumps have 91 -- it's all 87, 89, or 93. At least one person said that using too high of an octane could also be bad. I don't really want to mix mid-grade and premium during the same fill-up, but I suppose I could alternate between mid-grade and premium from one fill-up to the next.
Gregg
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Strippers4Me (06-09-2014)
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