I went to the 76 station at Bundy and San Vicente in Brentwood and added two gallons to my tank and the pinging completely stopped.

Again, the pinging was only happening when I drove up steep canyons in So Cal, but it was pretty pronounced at those moments.

I imagine their is still a problem, and I want Keyes Acura to look at it, but the 91 Octane fuel available may be the cause. I'm going to keep a record of where I fill up, and how the car performs on each tank of gas.

Thanks for all the input, and hey, keep it coming if you've got other things to share about this issue.

 

hmmmm interesting....

i used to put 76 gas in my cars.... until it did something weird to my accord... and this TL (when i first got it)... the one (and only) time i used 76 on this TL, my RPM was going weird for a little bit as i was just cruising @ about 45mph. i noticed the RPM going up and down like 3 times (between 1500 and 2000) and the car wasn't changing gears... it's so weird, and i haven't (to this day) find out what happened... perhaps i never will.. so i thought it's probably just bad gas... so i switched to chevron. (the same happened to my accord before.. i was cruising at about 70 on the freeway and there is NO WAY my RPM should fluctuate like that.... (i believe it was fluctuating between 2500 to 3000 RPM... it was a while ago.. so I dont remember)

 

its been my experience that gas is highly variable in the SoCal area. I am a Shell guy myself. I always buy it, unless I am somewhere I can't get it. But in this area it seems very dependent on the gas station, the area of town that they are in, and when they got the gas last. There are a few stations in the south bay area that have consistently sold me bad gas. I just stay away and pick a different one.

As for the region that you buy gas. I think here in California, the sellers of the gas have to buy regionally formulated gas. Each area here has a different content of that cleanser that they put in to clean the air ( wonder if the AQMD site has anything on this?). I am guessing that is why the car runs so much better on the Way back from Mammoth than on the way there.

just my opinon...



iv'e been meaning to try that 100 octane stuff from 76...

 

My 76 dealers don't have 100 octane. Where can you get it and how much does it cost?

 

Sounds to me that your "91" gas doesn't live up to its claims. I use Texaco 91 gas here in Kansas City and I've never heard a complaint from my engine. Remember that the TL-S computer will retard timing to prevent knocking. The fact that you're hearing pinging under load suggests that either the computer has retarded the timing to its limit or that there's something wrong with your computer. The fact that 100 octane gas improved the situation makes me lean towards the former.

Try going to a different gas station. I used to buy QuikTrip gas in Tulsa, OK because it was cheap and my (cheap ass) Geo Prizm was always pinging and knocking. I switched to Texaco gas of the same octane and the pinging stopped immediately.

 

Well that may have stopped the pinging, but I'm sure you are hearing lots of ding ding dings. The ding ding of the pump as the $$ spin like crazy.

RUF

 

Oh yeah, the 100 octane is $5.00 per gallon. My car felt like it was on cocaine for about two days with that racing fuel in there.

 

It's weird - I'm pretty much a Chevron guy - but they don't carry anything above 91. I keep reading (in other posts too) about people using 93 - is that fairly common? I would have figured Chevron, as a major retailer, would carry it?? I guess each region is different...

 

I use Chevron as well, I thought their super was 93. I thought their octaine levels were 87, 91, and 93 for their grades of gas. I'll have to take a closer look when I fill up today.

 

It is different for each region. That because, as I remember it anyway, they formulate the gas for the different topographies and weather I think.

I'll check into it and see what I can find out. I know a couple of guys in the petro industry and will check with them.

RUF

 

It started August, California now only has 91 octane.

 

Anyone in Fla ever heard of 100 octane?

 

Thanks bioyuki - that actually reminded me of an earlier thread that mentioned that:

http://www.acura-tl.com/forum/showth...threadid=17424

About 1/2 way down, "Wash n Wax" answers for us CA folks....

Thanks!

 

Five bucks for a gallon? I don thin so, Lucy! I can probably get jet fuel cheaper.