Stupid question, but when my mom bought the car she said the dude told her you have to pump premium into the car. I drive a 97' 3.0 soo I mean I've always disagreed, because I don't really think it is ever necessary to pump premium gas. Any input, she's been putting in premium for almost 2 years now... so it would suck if we didn't have to lol

 

you didnt have to, but i think all the other acura's did except slower tegs and rsx. just check the owners manual for recommended octane, then show your mom if she doesnt believe you.

 

I pump regular unleaded.

 

97 3.0 only needs regular unleaded.

All new Acuras need premium. (RSX was the last regular)

 

actually. premium is really good for olderish cars. helps clean injectors and lines. but you can run the cheaper shit, just makes sure every 3-4 fill ups you throw in the high stuff. and id use BP as much as possible. i know youre thinking all gas is the same. but thats like saying coke is pepsi..BP really keeps their shit clean. and thats not a plug, haha.

 

most name brand gas has special detergents and additives that help the engine run cleaner and better, but other than that its all the same............ regular is fine, I personally had best luck with Chevron

 

You don't NEED premium, but it sure helps the 3.0 run better. Both my CL and 4runner only get premium

 

its been proven that all the octane levels have the same amount of cleaners.

 

higher octane for higher compression ratios. if you put lower octane than your car needs you risk encountering knock. if you put higher octane than your car needs you risk not burning all of the fuel. but you would have to be at either extreme for real problems, ex: 110 octane in a stock engine or 87 octane in a boosted car.

basically give it what it asks for if you wanna run as close to the stoichiometric ratio.

 

It depends on the car. Some REQUIRE it, others don't. The manual will state what the car needs.

Higher compression, and FI cars run on premium, as well as a lot of the luxury cars. Again, run what the manual states to use.

 

okay.. thread jack (sry)

how high is the "high-compression-ratio?"

 

To be honest with you, I don't know. But in my opinion 11:1 is where is starts getting high for me.

 

I have the same question regarding premium fuel in the 3.0. I have always been using shell v-power because its suppose to have more detergents to clean the fuel system. But Car and Driver in 2001 tested many cars for loss of power by putting in premium when its not required. The accord 3.0 was one of the cars tested and it actually loss power. I am confused if I should still pay the extra money for premium and keep my engine cleaner but also loss some power.

http://www.caranddriver.com/features...r-premium.html

 

I think it was just a coincidence or like they said a phenomenon that the results may fall within normal test-to-test variability. I garentee if they tested it 10 more times they would see a slight advance in the premium each time. If you run premium its not going to give you 10+ hp and most def. not going to hurt you in any way but if you do use it it will make your car run better and longer in the the long run. Same goes for oil standard vs sythetic...you get what you pay for (esp. in the long run)

 

just run 89 and your set. if you run a higher octane that your engine is not needed it will ruin the motor. or so i heard. lol i just put 89 and once in a blue moon if gas is cheap 91..

 

this is so NOT true. running premium in our cars will not make them run better or longer.

in any case, just dont put diesel and you shouldnt really have to worry. long before you encounter an issue with your CL and running the wrong octane it will be broken two dozen other ways.

 

if it doesnt require premium then you dont need it. ive heard that you can actually lose MPG with premium on a regular octane engine. dont know if thats true but you'll save some money with regular. if you want the techron in premium or V-power detergents then just pump premium every few tanks or when its cheaper. their not gonna clean when its already clean. thats what i do with my mom's camry which just went to 213k. dont you want your CL to last that long?

 

The way I figured it was... a GSR needs premium b/c it has vtec so... i figured our CL's would need premium too... BUT... i always got the cheap stuff b/c I didn't hit the vtec too much on my luxury boat. hah & it ran great for the wonderful time that I had it.

 

General rule of thumb for a normally aspirated engine, anything over 10:1 you should use premium.

Octane is essentially a rating of how combustable the fuel is under pressure. By running low octane in a high compression application runs the risk of combustion under compression instead of combustion through ignition.

Unless you drive a deisel, you only want combustion with ignition.

My old 88 accord would get about 350 miles per tank on 87, I could only get 300 on premium. The engine was designed to run on regular and it ran most effeciently when using the manufacturer's recommendation.

 

gsr needs premium cuz it has a higher compression, as do all honda dohc

 

I don't know about that: compression being aside, I think it has to do with vtec.

The compression on my gsr is 10:1

The compression on a 2.3 CL 9.3:1

& the compression on a LS motor which is also DOHC 9.4:1

LS motors do not require premium & they are dual cams. I've own a few tegs in my time, no 93 octane needed buddy. b20's (8.8:1 b20z- 9.6:1) are dual overhead & they take regular octane too. & both ls & b20's don't have vtec.

 

I'm not saying if you use regular your car is going to die at 100k but I'm just saying premium gas has certain additives that might help it esp. in the winter (ohio winters at least). I had a 95 integra LS always put premium in it and I sold it with 180K miles and the guy just emailed me the other day and said its still running strong with 250k (don't know if he runs premium though) Just from my experience premium is worth the money. just my

ps. my CL-S is SOHC vtec and requires premium so its not just dohc...but may be due to compression..I don't know.

 

its due to compression.

but look at the v6 on the new accord. i heard it was the same engine as the TL but it can take regular.

 

This is false.. the oil companies would love for people to believe this.

I was using STP fuel injector cleaner every so often then I read an article that says you don't even need to use that.. all name brand gas contains enough detergents to keep the injectors clean

 

In Car and Driver also, Brock Yates wrote (after the test) in his column, "if you engine doesn't knock, then you don't need premium... period".

 

i reading something years back saying how its good to use the premium gas once in a while... not all the time... can anyone confirm this? oh btw, ive notice BP gas works real good on my car...

 

the gsr has a "high" compression ratio. as far as ive seen, dohc hondas have higher compression ratios than their sohc counterparts (when comparing similar displacements).

i guess the real question is what compression number does honda consider the cutoff between regular gas and premium.

i also agree with that statement that if your engine doesnt knock with regular, use regular.

 

Next time I need to fill up I will try regular and see the difference. Seems like I am wasting my money with premium if its actually not doing anything. BTW, should I let the gas get down to "E" as much as possible before I put in a lower octane fuel?

 

I already answered this, it's 10:1 (unless you are dealing with forced induction)

Acuras in 05
RL 11.0:1 runs on premium

TL 11.0:1 runs on premium

TSX 10.5:1 runs on premium

NSX 10.2:1 runs on premium

RSX 9.8:1 runs on REGULAR
RSX type S 11.0:1 runs on premium

MDX 10:1 runs on premium