I've been reading reports of poor to fair city fuel mileage for the '04 TL, but what octane fuel have you all been using?

The higher the octane the less the spark advance is retarted and the better the fuel mileage.

 

I have 350 city miles, 21 mpg - 93 octane

 

I have 250 miles on mine, 93 octane. When I picked up the car, I was getting 16...now I'm up to 18 (1/4 Highway, 3/4 City driving).

 

With my first fill-up the gas station attendent mistakenly put in regular instead of premium. When I looked at the miles to empty after the fill-up I was shocked to see it was 200 km lower than at the same point when I picked the car up. After I got rid of that tankfull and filled it up with the proper gas everything went back to normal. I don't know if there is a sensor that detects the octane level but it seemed to know the quality of gas. The car ran fine with the regular but I didn't push it as its still being broken in.

 

Aside from using proper fuel, your mileage will be directly attributable to your driving habits no matter where you are. That's why some get 20-21 in the city while others get only 15-16.

 

Plus, where you are... the crowded NYC traffic would definitely make it difference... even though you never push hard or WOT...

And, how cold it is... what roads you drive...

The environmnetal issue is definitely the factors.

 

I would like to agree with this comment and add to it. Fuel mileage CAN be increased IF the computer is setup to take advantage of it. It doesn't do you any good to buy more octane than you need as it is a waste of money.

IF however the computer is setup so that it can take advantage of the higher octane you can get both better mileage and better performance. If you adjust spark advance up to the point JUST BEFORE detonation (often described as pinging) takes place you will be operating the engine at its most efficient point. The trick is this optimum values changes depending on the load placed on the motor. So many engines have some sort of detonation/knock sensor to retard the time in the event of this.

Having said that most manufacturers are very conservative with air/fuel and timing. That is one of the reasons why often aftermarket "chips" give both better mileage AND performance. They have more agressive timing. Another benefit with proper timing (spark advance) is that the engine's repsonsiveness is greatly improved. Throttle respons is "snappier" and more immediate. Where this can become a problem is in icy or very slick conditions. There you would want "softer" reactions to your inputs.

Another factor that can affect mileage besides the obvious (driving habits) is oxygenated fuels. They have less energy content so mileage is typically worse. Many cities that have certain pollution guidelines must run oxygenated fuels. Many Northern cities like Chicago, Minneapolis are stuck with them in the winter.

Of course winter brings issues as well. Air is colder, denser with more oxygen and needs more fuel to run at the proper stoichemetric ratio. When engines are cold (during warmup) they don't run as efficiently and burn more fuel. Of course even road surfaces, tire pressures and weather such as rain all impact cars. Then we also must factor in production variations between different cars but of the exact same brand, model and configuration. Don't forget when running the A/C that it is often more efficient than having the windows down at higher speeds. Having your lights on and stereo cranked reduces fuel mileage as well. So many factors affect mileage from the signficant to insignificant. It is up to you to control the ones you want to or can.

So to recap, if Acura has been agressive with timing, higher octane fuel can provide benefit both performance and mileage. Normally though manufacturers err on the side of caution and even when specifying "premium" they only figure on 91 but of course your mileage may vary!

 

Has anyone noticed this.... I filled up car today and used premium gas , drove just about 15 miles and the gas gage really moved ALOT , just under a quarter of a tank... the first fill up my husband did and he didn't know the car took premium ,so he used regular ... I am wondering if the needle is broke or something ...because with the first fill up it seemed to take a long time for the gas to go and we thought .. WOW ,this car get's really good mileage ,now after this I am wondering whats wrong..

 

May sound like a stupid question but did you both use the same technique? For example when I fill up one of my cars a TDI Beetle, I can get an extra 2 gallons in the tank which on that car equates to an extra 100 miles per tank!

Do you keep filling after the hose kicks off or what do you do? I think the answer is there rather the type of fuel.

 

I stopped when I heard a click ..I really didn't want the gas to spill and such .. But when I first got into the car after my fill up ,it was OVER the full mark .. I thought I read something similar in the forum as this.


Now that I am at it ..I want to mention some other things I noticed ..I just got the car Friday and have not driven it once throughout the week as I have a work vehicle ,but today here is the rundown..

1. Sounded like the wheel was rubbing tires ow wheel well when I made a turn.

2. I have had vibration since day one at all speeds,but noticed today that steering wheel vibrates too even just sitting in idle .

3. Something rubbing when backing down my driveway ..my driveway is on an incline and it is LONG,like over 100 feet ?

4. There is static in my front stereo speaker.

5. There is a terrible smeel at times ,like this terrible exhaust smell ..I know people have smeeled this before ,I did noticd this last Friday and asked my hubby what the smell was about ,he said it's not me ,its some car around here ..well today I figured it out ,it is MY CAR that is smelling~!

6. I think I have the memory seat issue ....DUH ..because everytime I get in the car I have to readjust mirror's ,seat ect . That doe's get agravating ...I'd rather not have the memory at all ,that way it would never change .


I do love the looks of this car though ,the interior ,exterior ect ..these are issue's that I have noticed ..I really don't want to go to the dealer where the car was picked up though.... they know all about the accident in my 03 tl and they make me feel funny going in there ..but I do need to take these issue's somewhere... I was going to today and my hudband said to wait..


Anyway if anyone here notices any of these things i mentioned let me know ...