ftafel

I bought a 2002 TL last fall. A friend of mine had the original lease. I noticed the owner's manual specifies premium gas (92 octane), but he told me he had always just used regular (87 octane). The motor runs fine, no pings, knocks or sluggish performance. I've been putting the good stuff in because I intend to drive the car into the ground, but if it's not going to make any difference, I'll put in regular gas. Anyone had any experiences in this area?

brakejob

do a search b/c it has been covered many times, even in my short time here...

I use nothing less than 91, everything else requires the knock sensor to retard the timing and you're going to get lower performance... that is not usually debated here...

the debate is usually whether the reduction in power is noticeable and/or worth the gas savings... YMMV

personally i figure that if i purchased a 34k car, i can afford the good gas

PenancE

my gasoline always supreme

TL_S_Driver

if always used premium but w/gas prices climbing the way they have been i'm thinking bout knocking it down a to 89 but i wouldnt feel comfortable going as far down as 87

bkzjimmy

so why put anything else

Jputt

Honestly it's worth putting in the super just for peace of mind and it's tops only a couple of dollars difference.

TL_S_Driver

well the difference between super and regular varies in my area from 15 - 20 cents so lets take 18 cents as the average and say i filll up from empty once a week

17.2 (fuel tank capacity) * 18 = 3.10 add'l per fill-up * 52 weeks =

cost savings of regular for the year is: 161.20 avg owner keeps a car 5 years

cost savings through ownership of the car $806

not sure if thats worth it to some you but i like breaking it down into numbers. damn thats 806 that could've gone toward mods.

ftafel

Looks like I'll stay with the higher octane. It wasn't intended to be a financial question, especially since the relative price difference between the two grades gets smaller as gas prices rise. I just really enjoy the car, intend to drive it for a very long time, and wanted to get some feedback from other owners who might know more about it than I do.

fsttyms1

now like in my case i got horrible mileage with 87 about 45 miles less to a tank (which would be roughly 2 gallons worth of fuel), now factor that into the equasion and see if your actually saving money to make it worth it.

ftafel

Good point - when I went from 89 to 92 octane I noticed a definite increase in the number of miles I got out of a tank, although I can't remember exactly what it was. But I remember thinking along similar lines at the time. It sounds like we have a definitive answer. Thanks to all.

brakejob

806 in mods to bring performance back up to your missed octane

806 over 5 years is nothing, thats about 44 cents a day

ftafel

And I already quit smoking, so I guess I've got the money! Seriously, I guess it all just makes too much sense. Excuse my ignorance, but I bought a Taurus several years ago and was specifically instructed by the dealer NOT to use premium gas because of sensor issues. It led to a totally genuine question on my part. It's obvious that there are huge engineering differences between a Taurus and a TL, and I'm just trying to figure stuff out.

suj220

Stop buying fast food and eat home cooked food. You will be able to afford the gas no problem.

ftafel

roflmao

TeknoKing

yeah, 91 is what recommended, so I use 93. expensive in NYC, but, no choice.

I've seen some gas stations having an octane of 106, which is a total waste of money (7 bux a gallon, lol), anything more than recommended is just a waste.

ftafel

I'm in the Cleveland area, and typically the "premium" grade ranges from 91 to 93 octane depending upon who you're buying it from. And it's always 20 cents per gallon more than regular, regardless of how much regular costs. Does anyone know how they increase the octane? It would appear to be totally unrelated to, and much more stable than, the price of basic gasoline. I don't care about the frigging 20 cents - I would just like to know how it works.

03CoupeV6

Okay, the TL-P's engine is a lower compression engine than the TL-S. Which do you have? I run both regular and premium in my TL-P on a regular basis, and my gas mileage nor performance neither improves nor decreases with either. If you can notice an increase in performance and gas mileage on premium, use it. Otherwise, I don't think you're going to harm anything by using regular. After all, the J32A1 is a bored/stroked J30A1 from the AV6 and it ran happily on regular.

If I'm not mistaken, you can search using google and find an article where a Honda executive said all Acura cars will perform fine on regular.

EDIT: I'd also be willing to bet stuff like the catalytic converter is the same on the 6th gen AV6 and 2nd Gen TL. The TL "requires" premium so it can have it's advertised 225hp.

fsttyms1

mine is the tl-p and i cna notice a difference in mine. worse gas mileage and a little less responsive, and id be willing to bet the 1/4 times would show the difference. (maybe ill try to do that this sumer is a test on gas????)

03CoupeV6

It seems some do, but mine doesn't - or I'm just not paying as close attention? I run regular and premium both on a regular basis, most of the time it's a mix between 87 and 93 somewhere in the tank.

ftafel

So maybe it all depends on how much shoe you put into it and what you expect from the car? My performance requirements are minimal - I drive like the old man that I am. My major concern is will I be damaging the motor, or setting myself up for an expensive repair or recalibration that I can avoid by using the manufacturer's recommended octane? The more this thread goes on, the more trivial the issue appears to be. Then again, I came here to learn. Hope I'm not boring you all.

ftafel

Oh, and I know that I don't have a TL-S, so it must be a -P. It's my first TL, and I apologize for my lack of familiarity with the nomenclature.

03CoupeV6

Use regular and see how your mileage is. If you can get 330-350 from a tank in the city on regular like I can, then just use it. If it seems horrible mileage, maybe you can't. I have the same car you do.

ftafel

My local mileage is nowhere near that, even with the good gas. At least I don't think so. I don't run it down to the bottom of the tank and don't calculate my mileage anymore, but my best guess is that I'm in the high 20's per gallon when I'm driving a mix of city and freeway miles in D5 on the freeway, and only in the low 20's when driving locally on D4 on premium fuel. Avoiding that big spinner gear in local driving seems to take a load off the transmission. I think the motor likes to run between 2000 and 2500 rpm, and when you run it below that, you're setting yourself up for maintenance problems. It stays in overdrive way longer than it should. Once again, it's not so much the cost of the gas as much as it is treating the motor right. I don't want to damage the car through negligence or ignorance. For what it's worth.

03CoupeV6

Actually, it's recommended you use D5 for normal driving. The fact you're using D4 and running it between 2000-2500rpms probably explains why your mileage isn't even close to mine. I use D5 in normal driving, and even in city, I get 330 miles before the light comes on.

ftafel

A couple of observations. I started using D4 last year when my commute involved some fairly hilly terrain. The transmission takes forever to downshift from fifth gear on an incline, and it's my gut feeling that leaving the car in overdrive is the wrong thing to do in that environment. And, the mileage difference probably isn't as big a deal as I made it out to be. I usually fill the tank when it gets below a quarter. I never let it get low enough for my light to come on. So maybe I'm underestimating my mileage. Guess I'll have to do the arithmetic and figure it out.