87 vs 91 vs 93 Fuel
87 vs 91 vs 93 Fuel
03-15-2018, 12:13 PM
#2
You should use only premium unleaded fuel. It is outlined in the manual. I use 91 or 93 if I can find it. I’ve never used anything else. That said, I doubt a few tanks of 87 will wreck the motor, but you won’t get the performance you should and over the long run if you ALWAYS use 87 octane fuel, you’ll probably end up with a motor that doesn’t last as long.
Last edited by WNY PAT; 03-15-2018 at 12:18 PM.
03-15-2018, 12:26 PM
#4
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03-15-2018, 12:27 PM
#5
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Been discussed many times. Google "site:https://acurazine.com/forums/fourth-...2009-2014-123/ octane" for a plethora of threads relating to this subject.
Quick answer - Use the manufacturer recommended "premium" fuel. Either 91 or 93 depending on your elevation and where you live. Regular will not cause problems in the short run but due to higher compression, it's generally recommended to use premium to prevent knock.
Quick answer - Use the manufacturer recommended "premium" fuel. Either 91 or 93 depending on your elevation and where you live. Regular will not cause problems in the short run but due to higher compression, it's generally recommended to use premium to prevent knock.
03-15-2018, 12:51 PM
#6
Drifting
What the others are saying^^. I'll add that I use both 91 and 93 (Phillips, BP and Mobil). The car runs a bit better with slightly better mpg on 93 versus 91.
03-15-2018, 12:56 PM
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Yeah, if 93 is premium and 91 is mid grade where you are, it might make a difference.
Some say they haven't ever noticed any difference regardless of octane. I'd guess you might not unless you're really in tune with your car. It's not like it would run super crappy. The ECU would pull timing on occasion, whenever knock was detected - which would be more often. But it's not like it would be night and day. I don't push mine really hard very often, so I'm guessing I wouldn't notice if for some reason it mysteriously was filled with regular. But I've literally never filled with anything other than premium so I can't say.
Some say they haven't ever noticed any difference regardless of octane. I'd guess you might not unless you're really in tune with your car. It's not like it would run super crappy. The ECU would pull timing on occasion, whenever knock was detected - which would be more often. But it's not like it would be night and day. I don't push mine really hard very often, so I'm guessing I wouldn't notice if for some reason it mysteriously was filled with regular. But I've literally never filled with anything other than premium so I can't say.
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03-15-2018, 02:57 PM
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Couldn't hurt. And although people constantly bitch and moan about gas prices, the price difference between regular (or certainly mid grade) and premium isn't much in terms of total cost of ownership. Around $200-$300 a year at normal mileages. When you're talking total transportation costs (the 2nd highest expense among the average American), $300 annually is a drop in the bucket. Especially when dealing with potential reliability issues. Knock can be mitigated by the ECU but can potentially cause engine problems over the long term.
03-15-2018, 03:17 PM
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03-15-2018, 03:21 PM
#13
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We have things pretty nice here in New Hampshire, I typically pay about $2.65 for Premium 93. 
03-18-2018, 11:05 AM
#14
Before this 2013 Acura TL I had a 1997 Nissan Maxima SE so I’m use to using 93 all the time and I would recommend it over using lower grade fuel. I remember one time I put 87 in my Maxima and the thing felt like I lost half the power of the engine. I had to put a bottle of Octane booster in just to feel the power I lost from using the 87 octane. Never again did I use 87 besides on a 2007 Honda Civic I had.
03-18-2018, 11:28 AM
#15
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Before this 2013 Acura TL I had a 1997 Nissan Maxima SE so I’m use to using 93 all the time and I would recommend it over using lower grade fuel. I remember one time I put 87 in my Maxima and the thing felt like I lost half the power of the engine. I had to put a bottle of Octane booster in just to feel the power I lost from using the 87 octane. Never again did I use 87 besides on a 2007 Honda Civic I had.
03-18-2018, 01:11 PM
#16
The good news for those whom would prefer to use lower grades of fuel is that since your 1997 Maxima, huge advances in engine management have been made by the World's auto makers, and these advances allow even a highly strung engine to run acceptably on say 87 AKI (not, this is not a single octane rating). That said, the same highly strung engine I just mentioned would clearly be more responsive and powerful if fueled with the peak fuel grade the engine was designed for (typically 91 AKI these days).
03-18-2018, 02:17 PM
#17
The inconvenient truth
Speaking of funny gas stories, back when I was in high school and my friends and I were all really poor, my one friend had a supercharged 1994 Pontiac Bonneville SSEi. He was always driving around on almost empty and one day he saw on someone's driveway two big metal gas tanks and decided to steal them and put the gas inside them into his gas tank. Well as you can probably guess those metal tanks were for a boat so the gas inside had oil mixed into it. Anyways his car made some funny smells and noises but it ran that gas relatively problem free. He never even maintained that car he just beat the shit out of it and it still ran fine for two more years after the boat gas. A couple of accidents later and neither passenger doors could open but it still ran ok until the transmission finally broke.
03-18-2018, 03:12 PM
#18
Speaking of funny gas stories, back when I was in high school and my friends and I were all really poor, my one friend had a supercharged 1994 Pontiac Bonneville SSEi. He was always driving around on almost empty and one day he saw on someone's driveway two big metal gas tanks and decided to steal them and put the gas inside them into his gas tank. Well as you can probably guess those metal tanks were for a boat so the gas inside had oil mixed into it. Anyways his car made some funny smells and noises but it ran that gas relatively problem free. He never even maintained that car he just beat the shit out of it and it still ran fine for two more years after the boat gas. A couple of accidents later and neither passenger doors could open but it still ran ok until the transmission finally broke.
03-19-2018, 12:54 AM
#19
Pro
I use non oxy gas in my TL. My car tells me, she likes it. I personally think throttle response is better. Plus extra octane point or 2 vs extra 10pct BTU per volume, ill take the energy per. Non Oxy in my area, one is at small gas station know the owner and the others are at Quik Trip and their premium is non oxy. That my car quirk.
03-19-2018, 10:30 AM
#21
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Agreed; during my travels I occasionally encounter a station with non-oxy fuel; exactly zero difference in throttle response or acceleration. That said, in theory there should be something like a 3-4% bump in fuel economy with non-oxy fuel; haven't noticed that either.
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