Oh, I see. You read somewhere that excess octane is bad for the engine and you believed that author. You also read that Acura recommends that you use fuel with an octane rating of 91+ and you didn't believe them.

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John

2000 TL WDP Nav

 

quote:

BTW, the BRAND of gasoline doesn't matter, but the STATION does. If you go to a run-down brand name gas station with rust on it's eaves and overhangs, imagine the condition of the tanks underground...

__________________________________________

Since 1984, underground storage tanks and piping are universally made of fiberglas. Condensation water is not a problem either. But goofy product mixing, bone-head delivery guys and cheap operators are definitely a problem. Sometimes there may be small amounts of residue from the tank-truck or the refinery. I don't know that anyone can tell how low the level of product is in the tanks.

I would stay with the mfr request at 92 octane.

 

I never said I read that. The
brochure the dealer gave me was the
general acura brochure with all of the
vehicles. No fuel type specified.
Why are you so hostile?

 

Nothing brings out the old wives tails like fuel debates.

Here's the truth from an engineer:

1) You can use regular - it will drop power slightly at the higher revs - just a few HP - perhaps 5 at most
2) Higher octane than the 91 recommendation will not produce any power increase, and actually can cause a drop in power. Why, because higher octane fuels have slower burn rates. The engine is optimized for a certain flow, compression profile, piston crown design, exhaust port and air flow, valve designs and angles, and other variables. If you raise the octane too much, the lower volatility of the fuel may allow more of it to be burning as it passes the exhuast valve. This will lead to a drop in power, and possible valve damage down the road. Also, the unburnt fuel will tend to accumulate in the catalytic converter, rasing its temperature and the possibility of a ceramic meltdown. So it is a waste of money and a possible trouble spot.
3) Those that feel the power increase are prime examples of what is known in scientific circles as the placebo effect.
4) Regular gas is fine for the highway where the engine load is low, and the fuel rates are slow enough that the increased volatility and burn rate of the fuel will not cause the problems in #2.
5) Some off-brands regluar gas do not have adequate detergents in them to keep the valves clean. Use Redline SI-2 regularly if you use that combo. Quality gas (Texaco, Chevron, Amoco, etc.) use detergents in all blends.
6) If you intend to drive the car regularly at very high RPM, use premium. It will maintain the best homostatic combustion chamber environment.

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Rage On!
2000 TL w. Comptech header/exhaust
SSR Integral A2's
17x7 45mm offset
Pirelli P7000 (Summer) 215-50/17
Fender lips rolled

TL-S on order: Silver/NAV

 

Sprocket - sorry. I'm not usually like that and I would hate to be the reason you wouldn't come back to this forum.

JimboH - If the gas station "in the ghetto" as one person put it is in bad shape, it's probably old and QC is probably also pretty low.

Road Rage - I do not disagree with you. I just have some questions. I majored in ChE with a focus in Fuel Science, and it has been quite a while, but are you sure that the octane rating is directly related to burn time (i.e. higher octane rating -> longer burn time)? If so, then volatility would be decreased as you stated. But wouldn't the fuel injectors atomize the liquid enough to minimize burn time, regardless of octane rating, in order to maintain the full potential of the "power stroke?" I know for a fact that the lower octane would begin combustion before the optimum point thereby reducing the potential power from the fuel & power stroke. I understand that volatility is related to vapor pressure which is related to combustability. Anyway, with the premature combustion you are going to lose power no matter where you are in terms of rpms. It would probably be a % of total power which happens to increase as rpms increase. I still don't see how you will lose power from a fuel with a higher-than-necessary octane rating.

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John

2000 TL WDP Nav

 

There is a gas station down here that sells 102 octane gas!!! It runs about $2.45 a gallon! Guess who'z runnin?

Shyne--Open 24-7 lika damn 7-11