With gas prices goign through the roof in NY. The price for super will be aprox 2.50 a gallon maybe more by june. what would really happen to the car if i decided to put regular gas in?
Can I do this or does the car require ONLY super?

 

You might not only ruin the engine, and also suffer from loss of power, but you could also get hurt or killed. I put in regular to see if the mileage changed, which it didn't, but found out the computer would not allow the engine to rev over 4,000rpm in 2nd gear, which could severely limit your ability to pass that other car before the big truck creams you.

The manual calls for a minimum of 91 octane premium. so use it. If you got in a situation where you needed to put in regular fuel in order to keep going until you could find premium (a rare situation, but could happen), be aware that you will severely limit the engine from achieving full power, and drive accordingly.

 

The main function of the higher octane gas is to prevent combustion under high loads and compression before it is supposed to combust.

Not that I necessarily recommend it, but you could use reg/mid and put in a can of octane booster. This used to be about the same as just getting super, but the gas prices are insane now. OPEC needs to pump a bit more out... :bigun2:

Just a thought.

 

not worth the mere $1500-2000 a year saving to go lower... keep premium

 

Pue,

The loaner I had was filled with reagular by the previous driver. It drove like crap until it was empty and I could fill it back up with the good stuff, amazing transformation!

Remember, the TL has 11:1 compression, regualr unleaded forces the car to hold back timing and make other adjustments, it will drive with it, but it will get MUCH worse mpg, less power and cost you more in the long run than it would have with 91 or better.

 

Yes, gas prices are going up, but ALL gas is going up. The difference between 87 and 91 is usually less than $0.20/gallon. You would be saving less than $3 per fill up by using regular. Unless you fill your car 3 times a day (yes, I mean day, not week), I don't think it would be worth the risk. And if you are using that much gas, you bought the wrong car.

 

What I have done in the past with my Legend was to alternate between premium (91) and next grade down (89). It saved a little money, and no significant difference in performance. BUT, once I lent the car to my roommate and he put in a full tank of 87. You could clearly tell the difference the way it drove. On-board computer has a tough time handling lower grade.

 

its not even that much of a difference. if you fill up 20 gallons a week its going to be about 100 dollar difference. 1500-2000 its going to be 300 gallons a week, that's a whole lot of gas. the cost difference between regular and premium is about 10 cents(sometimes going up to 15 cents). if you get 20 gallons a week that is 2 dollar difference, 52 weeks in a year and that's 104. even if we make it 20 cent difference it comes out to 208 dollars a year extra for 20 gallons a week. if you get 40 gallons a week(which is quite a lot of driving), its double so at most 416 dollars.

i swear i answer this question every day when this topic comes up. yes we are paying more for gas lately. but the difference in regular vs premium is not that much to risk using it in your new TL.

 

I agree, give your car the good stuff. I mean, its your $32k, but for a mere $2-$3 each fill up, I would stick with premium. WE simply need to get the gas prices as a whole back down. Maybe a price war between gas companies would do it.

 

Comments like this make me laugh. Not a big deal to me but to assume $150-$175 extra a month for someone is "no big deal" is absurd.

 

Surely they mean $150-200 dollars. Think about it - if it's $3 more per fill up and you fill up your car about once a week, thats about $150 per year more. :o

 

I think you need a calculator and a math course....

If you think you would save $2000.00 per year you must be using approx 13,333 gallons of gas a year and at approx $2.15 a gallon, that amounts to $28,665.00 of gas per YEAR. That would calcualte to 266,660 Miles per year based on 20 miles per gallon.

Now do you really think you can possibly save $2000.00 per year; use over 13,000 gallons of gas per year and drive over a quarter million miles a year?

I dont think so.......... LOL

 

DON'T USE 87 OCTANE!! Would you feed a gorilla grapefruit or bananas?

 

Oh you need a calculator and a math class too I see.

 

I occasionally fill the car with 89 octane. After this thread I will just pay for SUPER. I figured since the car is not turbo charger or super charged it shouldn't make much of a difference.

I recently opened a AAA Visa card to reduce car fuel costs. This card gives 5% credit back on all fuel purchases. That like paying PLUS but getting SUPER. You also receive points, once you have acquired so many points you get a $50 voucher to be used a AAA office. Also NO Annual fee. I am not sure if you have to be AAA member to get this card.

The card will save me about $120 annually. Dam MDX is a gas guzzler!!

 

umm i used Super at first but then i switched to Regular.... Regular gas will cause the engine computer to slow down timing and lower compression, which reduces power by about 10 HP, but will result in better gas mileage. I can rev just the same with regular gas, the Engine Computer automatically detects the lower Octane and makes proper adjustments... Regular Gas lowers power but increases gas mileage. There are no drawbacks except losing about 10 hp

 

What did he say? Especially the part about "Regular Gas lowers power but increases gas mileage"? And how does the computer lower compression? That's a neat trick.

 

ok where did you get this from? how can the lower octane lower compression. doesn't the bore and stroke of the engine determine the compression ratio? you would have to get a new crank shaft or make the cylinders larger in order to lower compression. the most the ecu can do is retard the spark timing to adjust for the slower burning fuel. but from what the manual says it will not garauntee this and might cause the engine to knock. stick with premium gas, why mess with something acura has spent time and money on developing.

 

if you wanted to use regular gas...you should have gotten an Accord. Unfortunately TL's do require premium gas. You'll probably be ok filling with regular but you'll definitely be hurting the engine.

 

Tell me you're joking, please tell me that you are kidding and just posted this for a laugh..... if not, please post how you can say this and mean it.

 

I hope it's not a lease car.

 

Ron,

Do people just make this stuff up, if not, where the heck do they learn this stuff?

 

i have no clue but its clear that some people have no clue what compression is.

 

WRONG on all accounts. Regular does work in this car but AT THE COST OF GOOD fuel economy. The ignition is retarded (ie. slowed down). This also reduces power AND fuel economy. :rocketwho :rocketwho :chainsaw: :enforcer:

 

I don't know, but I give up. Just thinking about what this guy said is making me sick.

 

Went to a car care clinic put on by Acura here in Vancouver a few days ago, the question was brought up pertaining to use lower octane fuel on the TL. The response from the service manager was "yes you can use lower octane for short periods of time without damaging the engine but the engine will compensate to the lower grade fuel. It will not only lower the performance but can also increase fuel consumption to maximize combustion. There is a chance that the check engine light will come on during hard accelaration. If lower octane is used for a long period of time, permanent damage may occur". Furthermore he indicated that our cars have a "black box" that record abnormalities, grade of fuel and over-revving are 2 of the items it tracks.

The only Acura cars that he would say ok to use regular permanently was the EL and base RSX, all other cars should use 91 or higher. Here in Canada I use 94 Octane on my TL.