CanTex

Actually, I believe they have an extended-family relationship with Joe Average. There are millions of them out there. Some of them even selling cars that have requirements for Premium fuel.

Mr Hyde

Fuel threads are funny..

Am I the only one who thinks the "required" to "recommended" wording was changed for marketing purposes in order to not scare away the buyers who wanted to save money at the pump? Gas prices are the lowest they have been in years, but they were pretty high when these cars, and all their documentation were finalized.

I may be the only one, but the video where the fuel requirements were discussed seemed like someone reciting the company line while the engineer inside bit his tongue.

All modern cars have knock sensors, and can retard timing as needed. An S63 won't blow up if you put in 87. I've seen it done, so it does happen. Yeah you can do it without grenading the engine, but should you really?

No one has discussed this, but even when using top tier fuels, all grades meet a certain minimum for detergents. Even among top tier brands though, the premium grades typically contain more detergents than the regular blend. On a car where premium is "recommended", and not "ehhhh if you want to" why sacrifice that as well.

Majofo

You're assuming you can retard timing enough to stop knock..

I've seen J32 heads that looked like a grenade was dropped in the engine due to saving at the pump on low-grade horseshit fuel. I'm talking a single tank of gas according to the customer.

JDMaccord3.5

BEST way to decide: if you are leasing... f-it use regular until you return it, but if you own... I would definitely use premium (that if you plan to keep it over 5yrs)

Mr Hyde

Usually you can, as evidenced just by this thread, and the same thread on so many forums out there, but why rely on the knock sensors to keep you out of trouble when the difference in price is less than the cost of a cup of coffee. Just follow the "recommendations"

vbx

Funny how people talk about speed, 0-60 times, autos "shifting" faster than manuals etc etc. All this talk about performance. Yet they want to use the cheapest fuel possible. LOL

hddnav

Could it be that the people who only talk about how their cars might perform in the Fast and the Furious are different people from those who are talking about fuel grade?

Acura owners, including those on this forum, span quite a wide range of education, intellect, maturity, social-economic class, criminal background, retirement planning and savings, and income, which should not be surprising. I doubt that the RLX owner (yes, all 200 of them in the US last month) have much in common with the ILX (or TLX) owner outside of this forum (and the dealership waiting room during their oil change).

Hmmmm...

Quandry

^^That is a bit of a leap to link what may be two completely different groups, particularly as the performance group could be people with the V6 models. But it would be interesting to do some analysis to categorize people into driving styles and type of gas preferences.

panamera125

Criminal background. That's funny! Covering all bases here!

I agree, that'd be interesting to find out. As the son of an owner of an ILX and a considerably higher end vehicle than Acura makes, I'll just speak to my situation alone.

There was no discussion whether or not to fuel the Porsche with premium, but as for the ILX, when purchasing, we asked if we could use regular, plus or premium. Acura officially says "premium recommended, speak with your dealer." We did that, and the salesman's simple response was (this could be incorrect, depends on how you take it): It's a 4-cyl, so you don't have to use premium, but we recommend plus (mid-grade) for this car to retain the best fuel economy.

I wasn't so sure about this answer. I think we'll be putting premium in the ILX, although it uses the Civic R motor, it's a higher compression one, and we're in it for the long run with the ILX, so premium makes sense. But using premium does not always give you better fuel economy. Nor does having a 4-cyl mean you can use regular. That's why I didn't like the answer we got.

So in my case, I'd say no, the "type" of buyer doesn't really have to do with what fuel goes into the vehicle. Although, it may be that the cheaper the vehicle, the more likely the person is to put a lower grade fuel in the car. Let the fuel thread continue!

One more thing. I guess people from all over the place buy different cars in different price categories. I know some people with a lot of $$ who drive old Toyotas, and others with much less money who drive brand new, top end Mercedes. So it's hard to really tell what kind of buyer is buying a car just by how expensive it is.

vbx

What's even more interesting is that people from States with the CHEAPEST gas prices are the ones using the cheapest fuel. lol

Let's compare shall we? Here's list that sorts it out by State.

USA and Canada Current Average Gas Prices By City/State/Province - GasBuddy.com

I'm in CA, and only use Premium because it's required (Q50, G35). My Previous Integra was Turbo'd. So that car only used Premium.

Majofo

Basic stuff people don't understand. If there's preignition.. it's going to pull timing and you're going to lose fuel efficiency. So the pennies you saved at the pump is going out your exhaust, and in the long run (or short), cause damage and become a big expense. Not just engine damage, there are dozens of threads regarding failed catalytic converters.. why? maybe because all the excess fuel being dumped is melting the monoliths. Indeed, a 50 cent differential is ~$8, and that's conservative, most differentials at the pump are < $0.30.. FFS.. most of you spend that on a blended chai pumpkin spice decaf latte with extra whip.

BEAR-AvHistory

My two cents would be performance oriented people regardless of what they drive are more aware of why you use premium vs regular.


When anyone in the family gets gas the BMW's & Cobra get premium(recommended) the Fords & Xterra get regular (recommended).

My TL got premium (recommended)

Agree in many cases especially cars with high static compression ratios or boosted its a wash on the money saved due to retarded ignition timing.

Stew4HD

Wasn't Premium "required" on the 3 and 4G? Seems to me that is what was labeled inside the refill door.

baelim

Out of curiosity, do I get anything out of going above the "recommended" 91 octanes? The ultra 93 always lingers when i'm filling in.

Majofo

Seriously you guys, this is basic stuff here.. The 4 banger and V6 for the TLX are 11.5, 11.6:1 CR. You should be using nothing less than premium.. and by that I mean 93 octane. Some of you guys can only get 91/92 and that's really cutting it close. On the J32A3, which is 11:1 CR, knock was observed w/ 92 at idle. Can you run on 87 without the engine blowing up, sure, but why cause any damage for such little money.

ggesq

iTrader: (1)

but but it's only recommended.

Majofo

Gus, we have a smilie for that..

Colin

Goodness, put whatever gas you want in the car, it's your car. You won't blow anything up, and if you did, it's under warranty because in the end, it's only recommended.

CheeseyPoofs McNut

Look - as long as you change your oil every 3,000 miles it doesn't matter what kind of fuel you put in it. After all - this isn't a Hyundai Genesis

Majofo

Honda covers their craftsmanship, not damage caused by the fuel you use. It's case by case and is at the discretion of the shop and corporate to cover it or not.


Just when you think it couldn't get any denser in here..

LaCostaRacer

What I wonder is if the people compelled to using regular cut back in other areas of life with their 30-50k cars? I figure the regular .vs. premium savings is about $3.00 for most people (15 gal x 20 cent difference between grades). I fill up about once every 2 weeks so I'm spending an extra $78 a year. I've owned my car almost 9 years so that would be $702 in extra money spent on premium.

I figure I save a lot more money changing my own oil and washing my own car than skimping on gas. I'm probably also saving more money buying premium from Costco than regular at Shell too.

For some, the interest on credit card debt will over take the expense of premium- that might be a better area to look at for savings. For others, a pack of smokes will cost a lot more than the gas difference each week as well.

clocks

Again, this is misleading. Cheap smallest delta I've seen is 45cents, and have seen as high as $1 between grades.

Mr Hyde

In one satirical post (obviously missed by the "geniuses" ) Cheesey hit the topics of fuel choice, 3k oil changes, and the Hyundai genesis.

Now if you had also incorporated 0-60 times, the lack of a M/T, german reliability, and "why not buy a 10yr old s63 AMG instead of a new TLX", then this post would have truly been amazing.

Majofo

satirical, you must not be familiar with your own resident DS postings.

csmeance

Lots of debate here but lets get to the real meat of the subject, money!

87 Octane costs 10-30 cents less/gallon x 14 gallons is a savings of $1.40-$4.20


In my 3G TL and 4G TL I've also had a loss in MPG switching from 93 to 91 and yes, I've used 87 and I've gotten horrible MPG.

I lost about 4MPG (34MPG) in the TLX Rental I had and my 4G TL (27.5MPG) going from 93 to 87 octane and lost 2MPG in the TLX (36MPG Hwy) going from 93 to 91 and lost 1MPG (30.5MPG) going from 93 to 91 in my 4G TL on the hwy route that I regularly take.

So 4MPG x 14 gallons is 56 miles of extra range that you get with 93 octane for the $1.80-4.20 more. At $2.25/gallon for 87, the $1.80-$4.20 savings only nets you about $1-2 dollars of extra range sometimes and might cost $1-2 dollars more esp in city traffic.

clocks

Anyone in IL(esp the Chicagoland area) see this often mentioned 20cent difference, please take a pic with your phone and post. Since I got my TLX, I have seen 45cent-$1.04 delta. Usually it is 45-60cents difference.

That said, I will probably continue to use 91 (I've never seen 93 around here), as I suspect I'd lose most of my savings in lost MPGs.

Majofo

Again..

Sure some places are going to have a big differential, but that doesn't mean you need to fill up there. Most of the nation sees a much smaller differential. The price differential from the lowest for regular and the lowest for premium is ~0.30 there.

Gasbuddy / chicagogasprices / gaspricewatch all list reasonable prices for premium across Chicago.

Mr Hyde

Quoting his satirical post, and saying it is dense is not satire.

A few of you seem to have confused this forum with O/T. Conversations, nonsense, and memes can go back there.

Majofo

You misunderstand on all levels.. if it quacks like a duck, you best believe it's butthole is water tight. I've yet to see an intelligent post by cheesypeen (TLX resident DS), so it's best to take any advice he offers literally / face value.

Mr Hyde

It wasn't really you, and I am not going to single anyone out, but his post was a graduate level thesis compared to the ones I just cleaned up.

Thanks for the input, but you'll have to forgive me for deciding to judge the intelligence level, and validity of any posts for myself.

hddnav

As I've said, although there's always a possibility that I could be wrong, there appears to be huge spread in Acura owners when it comes to maturity, education level, socio-economic class, and written communication skills.

Mr Hyde

I just realized that the previous fuel discussion thread is still on Page 1.

https://acurazine.com/forums/fifth-g...proach-922527/

The posts seem more informative, so