Car and Driver article addresses that longstanding question.

http://www.caranddriver.com/xp/Caran...e_gasoline.xml

 

Doesn't the manual say that you should put 91 or higher octane? If it does, then I guess Premium all the way. Can't be cheap when you drive a $30K+ car.

 

Premium all the way. That's what Honda recommends, that's what I'm putting in.

 

Am I reading that Car and Driver M3 acceleration chart correctly--that an M3 can do 0-60 in under 5 seconds using premium gas?

Assuming that it's stock otherwise, I don't think an M3 can do sub 5-second 0-60's...or can it?

Tony

 

Yup, I've seen sheets with numbers saying the new M3 can hit 60 in 4.7 with a very very very good driver. With aneveryday average driver 60 can be hit at aboout 5.0-6.0.

 

PREMIUM only!

 

I use premium only, but didnt the article say that the V6 accord lost power with premium fuel. Aren't the engines similar to ours?? Has anyone tried the TL on both fuels and tested them?

 

Just out of curiosity, I tried a tank of unleaded 87 octane gas one time. I immediately noticed a decrease in the car's ability to accellerate. The car felt sluggish as compared to normal. The transmission was dwelling in the lower gear for longer and the engine was revving higher if I would step on the gas pedal harder to compensate for the loss of power from the cheap gas.
My poor TL felt like it was anemic.

I will stick to 91 octane or higher from now on.

 

91 octane or above is all mine gets. This topic comes up over & over again. This will come again but as I posted the first time over a year ago. I filled up from empty by mistake with midgrade gas. The car was sluggish on the highway going up a few steep hills. It did not have its normal pick-up going up the hills at highway speeds. I drove around in town with no noticeable problems with that tank of gas. I refilled with premium when the I had about half a tank. I would not do it agian unless I had to.

 

Sunoco 93 all the way... especially since the manual states 91 octane or higher. Even if it didn't, I'd put in 93 (like I did on my CL).....

 

Sunoco 93 or 94 ONLY, since I bought the car, almost 2 years ago

 

91 Octane is the highest most gas stations sell in SoCal. It used to be 92, but they reduced it to 91 ever since the price hikes. Prices have fallen now, but I'm still waiting for them to reintroduce 92 octane. I think our octane # is lower because of their additives to improve SoCal air quality.

 

The TL Type S is a good performer, and Honda recommends 91 Octane fuel--it should be a no-brainer to put in the "good stuff".
I am told you can put in 87 octane but it will decrease the performance. I use Amoco 93.
Right now, premium fuel is about $1.50 a gallon, so it pays to do it. Save the 87 for your Hyundai




2002 TL Type S
Diamond Pearl White
Gold Pinstripe and Gold Kit
Parchment interior

 

Marathon 93 only for the TLS and Maxima - the QX is so slow, I wouldn't notice any difference.

Both the Max and the TLS were a bit more sluggish on regular gas (back in June when regular was $2/gal, they both received a couple tankfulls).

I had the VR6 in my old '99 Jetta that really dogged on regular. A couple tanks of 93 octane, and it would be back to full power.

The C+D article showed that the Saab lost almost 10%!! Guess I'd be sure to run premium all the time in that.

Bottom line: Acura says Premium, for an extra $0.20/gal, it's worth it.

 

Premium(93) only for me...why would you put any less?
Ed

 

Because here in CA we only have 91 octane premium...

Yeah, I know you were referring to premium vs. mid-grade or regular gas...

Tony

 

93 Octane

 

That's understandable......We only have 87, 89, and 93(and 94 in some places)...I am thinking why anyone would put less than 91..
Ed

 

the reason the saab lost so much poer was the fact that its turbo.

o and i dont get why some of u guys use 93,94 octane manual says 91 im pretty postive anythin above that is useless

 

The Acura TL 2002 brochure recommended Premium Unleaded 91 octane and its footnote stated "Gasoline with an octane number lower than 91 may be used, with REDUCED PERFORMANACE."

 

I don't know about you, but if I wanted "reduced performance" I would have gotten another car to start out with. Something like...er....a COROLLA or its ugly twin sister the ECHO!:p

 

premium all day.

 

This is true. Our engines are similar, but the J32A1 in your cars runs a higher 9.8:1 compression ratio and is designed and setup for use with 91 octane fuel. Use of less than 91 on a J32A1 will most likely result in knocking, and thereby cause the ignition system to retard timing and result in a loss of power and mileage.

The J30A1 in the Accord V6 runs a more mild 9.4:1 CR which is perfect for 87 octane because of the lower CR and there is no danger of knocking. Use of higher octane fuel in our cars will actually result in a LOSS of performance becasue our ignition system will not advance timing to take advantage of the higher octane fuel. So when we put higher octane in our J30A1, the timing does not advance, and this results in the ignition timing being off, and therefore causing a loss of power.

So if you've got a J32A1 or A2 engine, stick with 91 or higher.
If you've got a J30A1 Accord V6, stick with 87 octane.

 

True that the timing will not advance when you put premium gas in an Accord engine, but I still don't see why the performance would decrease. Timing MUST be delayed when using a lower octane than recommended gas to prevent knocking. When using a higher octane than recommended gas, advancing the timing would help performance, but premature combustion (knocking) won't be an issue even if you don't advance the timing. The car&driver ppl were confused too, not knowing why adding premium fuel would slow down an Accord. They attributed it to test variations.

 

Torque = Force x Distance

To get the most torque, you want the maximum force against the piston to be created when the piston is at 90 degrees ATDC (After Top Dead Center). This is the point where maximum torque will be generated. The ignition timing is tuned and set for the burn rate of 87 octane fuel in the AV6 such that the point of maximum force is generated precisely whent the piston reaches 90 degrees ATDC.

If you put a higher octane in an Accord such as 91, this fuel burns slower. Since the timing does not advance on the Accord, the point of maximum force against the piston in the combustion stroke will occur sometime after 90 degrees ATDC, and therefore the maximum torque generated will be somewhat less since peak force isn't created at the precise moment needed for maximum torque.

This is why you need to advance the timing several degrees (not sure exactly how much) when retuning an ignition from 87 to 91+ octane to get performance gains. So you need to match up your ignition timing with whatever octane of fuel you're running for optimum performance

 

I would be tempted to use a lower grade fuel (below 91 Octane) because of gas prices here in Hawaii. We pay on the average about $2.20 per gallon for premium gas. Despite the costs, I use only premium fuel because of the TL's engine compression ratio and the engine was designed to run on premium gas.

 

What else is there besides Premium? Oh yeah, the cheap crap! that goes into the minivan!!

 

Like is it worth it to get 94, or that octane booter stuff they sell?

 

ummm...... wondered about octane rating above 91......if it
would give you increased performance , I tried below 91
and noticed loss of power. 91 octane is the highest I can
get here , which is what is recomended anyway.

 

I don't know why everyone here thinks its soo important. I've been using 87 for almost 3 years.. I do use 94 once in a while for a couple of fill ups and i don't notice any change in power, but when i do go back down to 87 at first it feels a little slugish, but after the the first tank it all feels the same. Acura recommends 91, i don't think it should make any difference really non that we should be able to notice. I live in vancouver and we have tons of hills and mountains and my baby does fine with 87.. tons of power . I guess whatever makes you feel good about your car. Some people have the money to put the gas in.. I fill up every 2 or 3 days.. so it begins to add up after a while. I'll stick to my 87 for now.

 

People who dont use premium = cheap morons.

 

The Acclude
Silver

People who dont use premium = cheap morons.
________________
cheap i guess (rather spend the money making my car look good, you should try adding mods makes a difference, much more than gas will do).. but morons , go **** your self.

 

I used regular for a few months during the high gas prices....i noticed slower acceleration and lower gas mileage...after i went to premium, the accleration got better and the gas mileage went up...never went back since

 

Sunoco 94 only for mine. I switched from Esso cause I hated the performance of the car with it. Although I see a slight decrease in gas mileage, all I have to do is step on the gas, and it's all worth the less gas mileage.

 

i dunno aobut that..i doubt i could ever tell the difference between the premium of different brands...it cant make that much a a difference

 

it can

 

I guess some people didn't read the article through.

"Cheapskates burning regular in cars designed to run on premium fuel can expect to trim performance by about the same percent they save at the pump. "

 

Lets take another Poll.........Whos sick of the Gas Poll And what type we use...etc etc etc etc etc

 

BP premium is the way to go!

 

Premium only, the diff. is less than $3 for a tank full.

I would rather skimp on a cup of Starbucks than the TL if I was low on cash.