I thought about this as I was at the pump today, fellas: Why does Acura recommend premium fuel only for our CL's? I haven't researched the topic enough, but the way I see it, it's a Honda engine and I never use premium. Any opinions?

 

The theory is that high compression engines (like the one in our CLs) are more prone to pre-detonation. Using higher octane reduces the chance of pinging--more octane makes gas less explosive.

I've heard people say that using lower octane will cause the car to lose power, and this is what the owner's manual says too. Could be B.S. but, then again, it's not that much more per fill-up to go with 91.

cheers,
--Seth
03 CL-S, MT, Navi, Red, Parchment

 

yes you do lose power.. trust me.. when premium was 3.24 and around that range i put in premium... but now that its sooooo freakin expensive i have had to start putting plus.. I dont work alot so i need to save money. :/ it sucks that my car is gettin 89 but theres not much i can do about it.

 

Has nothing to do with what brand it is. It's all engine design. High compression engines require a higher octane gas while low compressions engines can use lower octane.
this.

You guys that are not using premium may actually be getting worse gas mileage requiring you fill up more often then if you put in the right gas.

 

I agree with fuzzy. Plus if you really look at it gas is just expensive period. Going to premium is what twenty cents more than regular. So if you drop in a full tank (average like 13 gallons) you'd save almost three bucks. Not really breakin the bank. Gas is just expensive period. We're all feeling it...

 

I just bought the CL S because 3.25 per gallon regular @ 12 mpg hwy/9mixed in my Landcruiser sucked.

I just got 27 mpg 90% hwy/10% city at 3.49 per for premium. I am very happy with the decision. I can't believe I went 247 miles on 9.1 gallons and filled up for "only" 32.00

 

I did the experiment myself when I first bought the car in 2003.

10 gas tanks on regular unleaded, 10 gas tanks on unleaded plus, then went to premium. The increase in gas mileage alone, paid for the price difference in the premium grade gasoline.

Don't skimp at the pump, you're only costing yourself more money.

 

Go buy yourself some Lucas fuel injector cleaner, its a great product and I notice that I get about 2-3 mpg better for the next 5-6 fill-ups for $4 a bottle.

Great product, and no I don't work for them.

Not till someone wins the next X-prize and develops a car that gets over 100mpg will these prices ever stop going up. Its a very very interesting article and puts the emphasis on developing a new car in the hands of individuals who don't only work for the car companies.

http://blog.wired.com/cars/2007/08/automotive-x-pr.html

 

I Live in Mass and we get 93 octane!!!!

I think its around $3.70 per gallon..

But who's complainin?? We're styling!!!!!

 

Just filled up $16 for 4 gallons. Sucks ass but you gotta pay to play. We drive a sick car!

 

I can get 100 octane right around the corner from work. $7+ per gallon.

 

Man... I just filled up today.
My Gas light came on just as I was leaving my place and it cost me 75.00$ to fill it up.
This is getting ridiculous. I remember thinking it was expensive for my parent's van, or truck to have 50-60+ for a fill.

But I love my car so pay it I will.
16$ for 4 gallons?
4 gallons is almost equivalent to 4 liters right?
So that's a dollar per liter?
If so you Americans should be laughing and content with your gas prices. Premium for me today (91) was $1.37/L
ftl...

On a side note, I think last time I filled up on gas I had the gas attendee check my oil and they threw in some. But when I did my routine check myself it was just over the top dot... Is running a bit rich extremely unhealthy, should I drain some? Or not worry about it? I'd like to know before I got on a 1000+ km journey to visit a friend in Calgary. Last time I let those bastards touch the dipstick...

 

Err... Can't edit...
"1 gallon is almost equivalent to 4 liters right?"

 

Yeah man 1 gallon=3.8 Liters. That is crazy, I guess when you think you've got it bad there is someone else who is always worse off. We're not that high yet.

 

just a feeling of the times, boys-that's all. I guess I should have mentioned that I filled up on premium petrol when I started this thread...........in tough times we may all question our own purpose and existance and what we stand for....that goes for our cars as well, as I believe that what you drive is an extension of one's self (a true "car guy" belief). Yes, a true "feeler" post, this is.

P.S. I test drove a 2006 S2000 today................................thoughts on that..bring it on-I'd like to hear some comments.

Look on the bright side, i just vacationed in Maui for the past ten days, and 87 is $4.10/gal there!

 

Yep it sucks, I checked my MPG 90% Highway, 10% city and I got 27MPG. (01 CLS no mods) Thats at an average of 5000 feet elevation. I was pretty happy with that. I pay about $3.63 a gallon, for 91 oct wich is super unleaded for us in Colorado.

Correct me if I'm wrong but I think our Comp ration is 10.5 to 1. Thats pretty high! I took the 350 SFI Chevy motor out of my 98 Tahoe and had a bunch of work done to it, including shaving the heads to get 10.5 to 1 Comp. Even with Super it was pulling a lot timing out. Only time I got it to run full time was on a trip to Vegas in the middle of summer. Were were fully loaded and pulling a 28ft boat. Between the heat 115 degrees, and all the extra load it started pinging really bad. So I went to a Rebal station and filled it up with 100 Octane at $7+ a gallon. Only then did it run right. I really shot myself in the foot doing that to the Comp ratio. I hit a couple of deer back in OCT so it was totaled.

I would not try to save money and use regular in a CLS, pre-detonation is a engine killer. It's not worth the 2 to 4 bucks you save.

 

Greetings:

I feel you on the gas prices. I just filled up today, but I'm actually happy with the gas mileage I'm getting from my 03 clp. I just filled up today, got 420 miles to the tank, and the fill up was 16.2 gallons, which ran me to about 55 dollars. You look at it, this is a beautiful car and you need to maintain it right way. An average fill up of 15 gallons with premium over regular is about a 3 dollars difference. This is a luxury car and if you can't afford the 3 extra dollars per tank, why did you get a CL anyway? I'm sure everybody did research and knew that engine was 3.2 liter, and you knew the gas mileage, but its a beautiful car and some sacrifices have to be made. I commute to school everyday and I fill up at least once a week, but I have piece of mind by putting 93 in my car, because I know I'm getting the most out of my car performance wise.

My dad tried to argue this with me as well. Saying that 93 is just a scam. All in all, he would not listen to me and said to just use regular. I continue to ignore him and put 93, because I want the car to last as long as possible, its my pride and joy!

If you are that worried about gas prices, you should change the way you drive, perhaps avoid vtec and avoid short trips, this kills your gas mileage. If your in stop and go traffic, shift to D4, that way it will avoid shifting to 5th gear and it will be easier on your car. All in all, the Acura is a luxury car and it needs to be maintained like a luxury car, thats my

 

gas prices are only going to get worse, so get yourself some vaseline and get ready for

 

theres no point in getting a lower octane fuel to save money. if gas was 1.00 per gal for 87 then it would be 1.10 for plus and 1.20 for premium. if gas is 8.00 per gal for 87 then it would be 8.10 for plus and 8.20 for premium. either way the difference is 2.00 per 10 gallons between 87 and premium.

 

3.70 per gallon for 93!
i hope you burn in hellllllllllllllllllll

Gas in California right now is not even funny. I pumped 87 into my girlfriend's accord three days ago and its 3.94 a gallon. I would jump for joy if i could get 93 for 3.70 lol

 

anyways, back to the compression deal. Does the CL-S engine have higher compression only or does the TL-S engine have high compression as well. they're both j32a2 so i cant see why there would be a difference. can anyone confirm that?

 

Same engine, same 10.5 to 1 comp ratio.

 

We've gone over this 100's of times...

Any car with high compression requires premium. If you put in regular, the ecu will sense the detonation, and back off the timing, which while saving your engine from burning up the pistons, also results in lower Horsepower, and lower gas mileage...

If you're running regular, you probably can't afford to own a Acura

I ran the numbers a couple of times, and I use almost 600 gallons of gas to drive a year (13K miles at 22mpg). If regular costs 30 cents less than premium, than the savings from running regular vs. premium is $180 per year...

When you do the math, it's only $180 a year to run premium. Seriously, if you can't afford $180 per year, you really should consider selling the Acura and buying a (non-SI - the si requires premium) civic

 

The CLP and TLP 225hp engines have a lower comp ratio... 9.8:1. Maybe that's where the confusion comes from.

EDIT: Oh, and Acura recommends premium for the CLP and TLP models too..

 

From the 03 CL brochure:

 

Unfortunately thats the highest octane (91)we get up here in Colorado. There are a few Farm Crests around Colorado Springs that you can get 93 oct.

 

Yeah, we get 93 over here on the east coast...

 

More info:

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=139370

Which basically means that engine efficiency is going to be limited by the gasoline you use...

 

87 here. i have a heavy foot, so i dont get any gas milage increases by putting in 93 octane. i rarely see over 250-275mpt no matter what octane i use.

everyone that says you cant afford the premium you shouldnt drive the car....try driving 600 miles/week. it gets expensive.

 

X2 i cant repeat enough how overly excited i still am about my gas mileage, I used to average 12-14mpg in my trucks driving conservatively over the past 7 years...

Filled up last night -189.8 miles at 8.28 gallons, roughly 23 mpg - i may have been on the highway for less than 30 miles, the rest city driving - it still brings a smile to my face that i can enjoy the car for what it is and not be worried about gas mileage...

On another note, ive realized the winter conditions and winter mix really do take a toll on gas mileage - i can remember i got an itch to drive the CL about 3 weeks out of the winter when it wasnt snowing and there wasnt any shit on the roads yet and got around 19-21 with about half city and half hwy

but yes ive only used 93 octane (very few stations carry 91 around here) - ive heard the pinging in my parents Impala SS when they use 87 and its not a soothing sound

 

If your driving that much, you may want a hybrid.

 

Ross, do you think that those C2's will fit a Prius? LMAO....sorry bro, could resist!

 

X2
Any high compression engine requires high octane to prevent detonation. You might get away with 87 in winter when the air temp is low enough to help prevent detonation but the bottom line is the ECU will try it's best to prevent detonation which will cost you a lot of mileage. When you run the numbers, it's just not worth it. Not to mention if the ECU is not able to prevent the detonation, you will send your engine to an early grave.

 

You know what, Colorado Springs police dept. had baught a bunch of thoes Impala SS's and they are only using 85 oct, and thew blew everyone of them up within a year. They burnt all the pistons up. Laneris Speed/machine shop bought them all up, rebuilt them and made a pretty penny!

 

I go to the 7-11 by my house which carries 87, 89, 91, and 93. I usually get 91 because that's all our cars' manual suggests we need and it's 5 cents a gallon cheaper

 

Ok, so you're saving 1.17 a day... or 425 a year... You're about 2 1/2 times (31200) the national miles per year average (12500), so that an extreme case...

 

Same here. I used to drive my truck as a daily driver but now switch out to my CL-S again for its gas mileage and drive the truck sparingly. Now everytime I fill up I get to smile of how much I only need to spend .

 

Drive slow. Problem solved.

 

You know what, I've tried that, but for some reason it does not work for me. Can't figure it out. It's like my left foot has a mind of it's own??????

 

You drive with your left foot?

Ross - it would only cost you $3-4 more a tank to run premium