rp555

Thinking of buying an 07 TL w/ Nav and noticed it requires premium fuel. With the price of gas skyrocketing I'm having a little concern. Has anyone tried using regular and if so, how did the car run?

Ron A

Hi and welcome to the forums. I moved this thread from the Frequently Asked Questions forum to the applicable 3G TL forum . Please click here to read the announcement at the top of the FAQ Forum for more information.

Indy Paul

We bought our 07 TL w/Navi on 31 March and I asked the same question of the dealership. Both my salesman and the finance officer (both drive TL's) said they run regular with no problems. My wife asked my son-in-law, who is an ASE Certified Mechanic, and he told her that if the Owner's Manual calls for Premium that's what she should use... So, now my wife is paranoid and I'm stuck paying for premuim fuel!

Moral of the Story, be careful who you ask, and who's around when you ask it!

JimiThng

i too was curious of this.

Modulus

The owner's manual states the minimum octane rating that should be used, which I believe is 91. Since many gas stations sell 87, 89, and 93, you're stuck buying premium, but you can find stations that sell 91 if you look around.

In most cases the vehicle will run on lower octane by 'decreasing performance' which is a fancy way of saying 'when you run low octane fuel in a motor with 11:1 compression, it's going to detonate before the spark, and we'll have to pull back on the timing'

01tl4tl

run anything less than 91 and expect problems and any warranty issues it will come into duscussion
TLs have required it for years, thats part of owning a sports car

Hooligan317

*warning* generalization coming *warning*

If you can afford the TL, you can afford to put premium in it.

ttribe

Agreed! You're talking about buying a car with an MSRP in excess of $36K. If a few cents a gallon is really that grave a concern for you, then you may be purchasing the wrong car.

x03BlackAccV6x

Running regular fuel is possible but will provide you NO benefit.

The vehicle is designed to run on 91 or higher octane but can run on regular octane fuel in case the others are not available. When a lower octane fuel is used the vehicle needs to make certain adjustments to work with it and the result is a decrease in performance (including a decrease in gas mileage). Whatever money you save at the pump you'll lose by driving the car getting less MPG. Over time you'll also get excessive carbon build-up from running a lower octane fuel.

ankur914

+1. Your compression ratio is 11:1. So it needs high octane fuel (fuel more resistant to detonation with increased temperature and pressure) Higher the compression ratio, the higher the temperature and pressure of the compressed mixture in the chamber. If you detonate the mixture before the spark from the plug, you can most definitely expect problems. Our acuras, i believe, retard timing so as to compensate for lower octane fuel....Also, someone in a past thread did a mini-study about the cost of running 87 v. 91 octane. Its cheaper to run 91 octane. More miles per gallon, less money per gallon!

weedeater

that would be $0.20/gallon or more around here, which is a bit more than 'a few cents'.

I've seen articles where the dealers/sales/etc folks say 'use premium' whereas the Honda engineers who designed the motor say 'I use regular'.

Go figure.

As to how it runs, I would say 'lethargic'. Better on midgrade, happiest on premium.

Hooligan317

Even at .20/gallon even if you fill up completely we're talking $2.50 a tank.

Search the couch.

ttribe

Sorry, but that is still just a few cents - let's do the math .20x11 gallons (we'll call that an average fill-up for argument's sake) and you get an extra $2.20 per tank to comply with the owner's manual guidelines and treat the car better. Still doesn't wipe away my previous comment that someone who is considering the purchase of an '07 TL shouldn't be worrying about what octane gas the car runs on. If it's really that much of a concern, consider an Accord...it's a nifty sedan that'll run on 89.

MisterFubar

iTrader: (1)

When gas was .99 a gallon for regular and premium cost 1.19 I never heard anyone complain about the 20% more money they were spending on premium.

Now that gas is 2.99 and premium is a whopping 6 or 7% more at 3.19 everyone starts complaining about having to use it. I just don't get it.

If you can't afford an extra 2 bucks everytime you fill up your car I suggest you buy one that doesn't take premium.

The TL will run just fine on regular, but it's going to cost you in performance and fuel economy. You'll probably end up spending more on fuel if you run regular.

ChianMing5

You're not really saving that much more to make a substantial difference. My roommate and I talk about it all the time and we've calculated that you'll save maybe $100 a year, of which that really isn't that much, with all things considered.

Like others have said, if you can afford to purchase a TL, you can definitely afford the extra few dollars. So, save money and get less mpg or pay more and get more mpg? Almost works out the same, but in the long run -- which will be better for your engine? I say go with the premimum.

Cocoa

iTrader: (2)

It'll put itself in limp mode. (there are others names for that)

ankur914

But are you really saving any money when you go regular? You get a few more mlies to the gallon on premium, and this washes out the extra amount paid for the premium, and I think (geez, i cant find that post of the mini study! ). You actually save like 2 cents a gallon going premium (if i remember the post correctly)

MisterFubar

iTrader: (1)

All I can get around here is 87, 89, and 91. Very few of my area stations have 92, and a couple of the racing shops have 104 or 114.

I guess I'm at a little higher altitude.

Modulus

Just don't get excited and mix race fuel with standard gasoline, or if you do, make sure it's unleaded. Anything higher than 94 octane is just going to smell good

MisterFubar

iTrader: (1)

I wouldn't even think of it.

Cocoa

iTrader: (2)

Leaded fuel wont hurt. Valve seats for today's cars are made harder to compensate for the unleaded fuel of today. Leaded fuel in the past provided cushion for the valves back then.

BUT, it will kill your 02 sensors.

avs007

Leaded fuel will also kill your catalytic converter.

Meek32v6

iTrader: (7)

I think its just more of a shocker because this is unheard of for America. This is history in the making. Gas prices have jump from one extreme to another in a matter of months when before it would happen gradually over an elongated period of time like a year.

Or cut back on the fast food once a week

I would advise not to cheap out because its gonna cost you down the road. Yes, someone did mention its a Honda engine but it's ECU and engine are set a little differently than a regular honda. My 04 V6 Accord was made to run on 87 and performed no differently as far as mileage goes. It's almost like the gas evaporated with high test/grade gas. The only difference I could feel was when I cleaned the fuel injector, change the oil, change the air filter and clean the throttle body/butterfly.
Im not going to lie, it irritates me too but i get over it once get back in the car and behind the wheel

FrmrMaxOwnr

I've done my own "research" on the regular vs. premium debate. I travel frequently between Mountain View and Sacramento (125 miles each way). I normally use regular and I will fill up in Sacramento, reset the trip computer, set the cruise at 67 and when I get home my trip average MPG is always 32. The last two trips have been with full tanks of premium and the mileage...32! As for the difference in power, I just don't notice a difference although I'm not the type to Stop Light Grand Prix every other sports sedan out there, just a few . Another thing I have always wondered is why the 3.0 liter engine in the Accord produces 244 HP on regular for a specific output of over 81bhp/ltr where our TL needs premium for 258 hp from 3.2 liters for a LOWER specific output of 80.6bhp/ltr. Anyone have an answer?

AdamNJ

As it has been mentioned already. You shoudl use Premium/91/93. If you don't the car will lose performance (horsepower/torque) and gas mileage will be worse. There are plenty of threads on this issue if you search for them. Members have done there own testing and discovered that the drop in MPG is not worth what you 'save' by using regular...you lose more mpg (meaning you will drive less of a distance) then your 'save'.

a) They'll say anything to get the sale.
b) They are probably driving the dealership's cars...they don't care about them

The bottom line is that it is not worth using regular. But in a pinch it will be fine.

weedeater

I can do the math.

(15kmiles per yr / 25mpg average) * $0.25 price difference = $150/yr using premium over regular.

In case it wasn't obvious, I use premium.

leedogg

How come nobody ever complains about the $10 per gallon bottles of water???

ankur914

^^ HAHAHA! I know right!

Indy Paul

Half right... The Finance manager was driving a demonstrator, in fact it was the very car we negotiated a deal on (not knowing at the time he was running regular in it), so I'm glad we purchased a new one instead of the demonstrator. The salesman owns a 2004 TL. Reguardless, we've put premium in it since we've owned it and will continue to do so unless it's an emergency situation where no premium is available, but I haven't seen too many gas stations that don't offer premium!

Desert_TL

This is directly from the Acura Owner Link maintainence FAQ section:

"Refer to your Owner's Manual for the pump octane number recommended for your Acura. Use of a lower-octane gasoline than recommended can cause a persistent, heavy metallic rapping noise in the engine that can lead to mechanical damage."

pohljm

wow........already two pages of comments on this subject that has already been beaten to death many times before. It all comes down to the fact that you will not save any money using regular fuel because of the decreased efficiency.

JD TL-S

iTrader: (1)

With a high compression ratio you should use high octane gas. I use BP 93 all the time. You WILL get a little better MPG and the car WILL run smoother. Its worth the extra 20 cents. If you want better MPG buy a Toyota Hybrid. I talked to many people at diff Acura dealers and most agreed to use high octane.

JD TL-S

iTrader: (1)

This is EXACTLY what I always say. I see people at work paying 65 cents for 8 ounces of milk out of the machine. Thats $10.40 per gallon. I personally take all food to work from home. 13 cents is much cheaper then 65. But I drink only organic anyway.

Buy the high octane and stop crying Or ride your bike
Better yet go buy a Toyota Hybrid.

lunat1c

Just got my TL and needed to fill up today. It was on E with the light on and all, so I pulled into a gas station and filled it up. It stopped a 13.5 gallons, but I know the tank is 17 according to the manual. Is that normal? Is there really around 2.5-3 gallons left when the light turns on?

JD TL-S

iTrader: (1)

If you really want to find out, put a lawn mower gas can in the trunk. When the light comes on, reset A or B trip odometer and run until its gone. But do it when its warm out. You never really want to run your tank out. Especially if its cold out and you might have condensation in the tank.

lunat1c

good idea JD

mishar

Using lower octane rate gas is one of the worst things one can do to the engine. Probably even worst than not changing oil at all. An I bet that some of guys who are using regular change synthetic oil every 3000 miles.

chasieboy

Wow..Im surprised 2.50/Gallon..here in cali bay area its 3.56/g

avs007

He said $2.50 per tank, not gallon. Even when I was in Cali, and paid $3.49 a gallon, the difference between 87 and 91 was still 0.20, which is what the previous poster was talking about. At 12.5 gallons, that's a $2.50 difference between filling with 87 and 91.

aznboi2424

iTrader: (10)

its 3.59 in sac, but thats for the premium brands. I only use top tier gas in my CL. and i think 76 has the cheapest top tier gas. (cheaper than 3.59). for a list please see toptiergas.com