Showing your age my friend.

 

On a serious note, I wont run Premium gas in my 3.7 unless it is non oxy premium. I pull far better highway mpg on my cross state trips.

 

Apparently you don't travel to New England; last time I checked there were something like three stations which sold E0 Premium within like a 200 mile radius of where I life in New Hampshire. Then again, I only pay $2.609 per gallon of 93 AKI E10 Premium, so really, who cares about the 10% ethanol at that price.

 

I don't have to theorize about oil, if Wal-mart is using the current API category oil it will be exactly as effective as the wonder oil from some magical little shop that somehow has manged with 3 engineers to come up with oil the major producers haven't been able to with 50,000+ engineers.

I don't recall the exact year (in the mid 1990s I think) but Consumer Reports did an extensive oil test on NYC taxi cabs over multiple years where they actually removed the pistons afterwards and measured the wear.

The result ... no measurable difference among any brands. I doubt they included AMSOL though. And of course they got dem "special" additives that are secret and super dooper good.

Not trying to change anyone's mind. If more people get $80 oil changes the tax collected can only benefit me.

And I don't recall ever selling a card that recommended premium but I wouldn't advertise that I didn't nor would I lie about it if asked. It's just a non-issue to me as I've never had any car (or motorcycle) with engine knock.

 

^ I believe it. But I still believe there's value in using synthetic vs. conventional. I've thrown in my opinion on the oil matter about a dozen times:

- DIY oil changes 2-3 times per year with a good synthetic and high quality filter = $30-$40 per year extra over conventional.
- Benefits of synthetic and good filters is relatively well established.
- Oil is probably the single most important maintenance item in an engine.

Conclusion - $30-$40 a year for even the potential benefit of a higher end oil is worth it. BTW, I'm talking about mainstream synthetics like Mobil 1, Pennzoil Ultra Platinum, Castrol Edge, etc. Not Redline, Amsoil or even Royal Purple. /discussion. Moot issue at that price point.

Premium fuel is another matter. With that, you're talking about several hundred dollars per year. That's a consideration worth addressing. The oil issue? Moot IMO.

 

Acura calls for synthetic anyways. Conventional sucks ass in cold weather, look up leaving conventional 5w30 outside at -30C compared to synthetic 5w30 outside at -30C.

That being said, 91 Octane Premium Unleaded Fuel. If you can't find any and NEED gas, putting in 5 bucks of 87 to go to another gas station isn't gonna hurt.

 

Not for my car they don't; this is straight from my Owner's Manual:The above said, I exclusively use 0W-20 synthetic oil in my car.

 

A trip from St Paul MN to Flandreau SD(~240miles) in the past I would get 26.5 to 27.9 MPG using ethanol boosted premium, turning to the non-oxy premium I can get 29.9 to 33.9mpg. There are plenty of rolling hills to go and a crap load of small towns where you have slow down to 30mph. I have been amazed at the difference in acceleration and gas mileage even city driving. Most of the trip is on cruise control. Granted MPG is a rate and you get diminishing returns the higher you go however for nearly the same price (~$0.10 to 0.25 difference) at least in my area I can get 3 to 5 mpg better. So I have used non-oxy premium (pure gas) since like 6k miles on my car.

 

Hmmm, did you factor in the prevailing westerly head winds you were drving into on the way out to South Dakota, and then the prevailing westerly tail winds helping to push you home; that in and of itself can account for the difference in your fuel economy.

 

Rofl ya humidity temp and weather conditions are always observer when I do these numbers. Plus we dont get alot of westerly winds with all HI and Lows sitting on us.