Gasoline Brands
05-24-2010, 01:34 AM
#81
Advanced
I decided I was going to save money by using 89 octane gas in my car. Then I looked at my container and saw about $50.00 change. Then it dawned on me I haven't checked my air pressure in a month. I won't mention the numerous short driving trips I take. So I have decide "what the hell I'm going 91 octane". If I was 100% commited to penny pinching I wouldn't have been doing all of those money spending things.
So basically what I am saying is unless you are 100% commited to good gas saving principles just go 91
So basically what I am saying is unless you are 100% commited to good gas saving principles just go 91
05-24-2010, 03:56 AM
#82
I think it means if you are trying to save money with 87- you're better off to make sure the tire pressure is correct instead~- especially for short trips when mileage suffers most
I heard the TL is made for 96 but what you can get in the usa is 91 or 93 depending on where (I dont know why- does anyone have factual answer? altitude?)
So acura says 91 minimum
if your area has 93 thats your premium and is what goes in
I heard the TL is made for 96 but what you can get in the usa is 91 or 93 depending on where (I dont know why- does anyone have factual answer? altitude?)
So acura says 91 minimum
if your area has 93 thats your premium and is what goes in
05-24-2010, 08:25 AM
#83
Keep Right Except to Pass
Here in the DC area the only stations to sell 91 are the Sunocos (they carry 87, 89, 91, and 93). Everyone else sells 87, 89, and 93, with the exception of the Wawa down in Woodbridge that sells 87, 89, and 92. (92 was the standard in the 1980s and then Exxon started selling 93 and everyone else followed.) I've used 91, 92, and 93 and haven't really noticed any difference between any of them. So I buy 91 if I need gas and I pass a Sunoco (it's usually 2¢ a gallon cheaper), otherwise I buy 93, and I'll buy the Wawa 92 if I'm in Woodbridge but I'm almost never down that way. Gas there IS usually 10¢ a gallon cheaper, but I'd waste a gallon or more driving down and back depending on the traffic in the work zone on I-95.
05-24-2010, 12:09 PM
#84
Octane does not control the mixture nor does higher octane it burn significantly slower. Octane is just it's resistance to uncontrolled burning or detonation. Too much octane only hurts the wallet but on certain high output engines it's cheap insurance to keep the engine from blowing.
Once you have enough octane to stop detonation you're just wasting money but everything burns the way it should. Our TLs are octane hungry and there seems to be a little benefit of going higher than 93 octane. I don't suggest 109 unleaded or anything like that but if I were going to track mine hard for a day I would run a mix of 100 unleaded with 91 to get at least 96 octane.
But yes, that first part is right. The only problem is I belive the TL's engine is "optimized" for something higher than what Acura recommends unfortunately.
Once you have enough octane to stop detonation you're just wasting money but everything burns the way it should. Our TLs are octane hungry and there seems to be a little benefit of going higher than 93 octane. I don't suggest 109 unleaded or anything like that but if I were going to track mine hard for a day I would run a mix of 100 unleaded with 91 to get at least 96 octane.
But yes, that first part is right. The only problem is I belive the TL's engine is "optimized" for something higher than what Acura recommends unfortunately.
05-24-2010, 01:19 PM
#86
Team Owner
Fuel is put in a variable compression one cylinder engine and compression is increased until pinging or detonation occurs. They use this to get the RON and MON numbers and average them for the octane rating.
Too much octane hurts your wallet with no power or mpg benefits but the only negative is price.
Too little octane causes pinging which causes a loss in power and mpg and if bad enough, engine damage.
When I make what I call balls out runs at the track or dyno, I run 116 octane along with a large shot of methanol. It's not needed but it's cheap insurance to keep the engine together if it accidentally leans out, I have a boost spike, or I add too much timing.
Having "too much" octane will give you a large safety net when running outside of the OEM parametres such as nitrous or turbo. If you get the tune wrong, chances are the octane will save the engine. With a new setup or program I start out with way more octane than I need and once I get the bugs worked out I run whatever is needed.
I'm not suggesting anyone fill their stock TLs up with 100 octane, just that there are benefits to 93 octane and maybe a few points higher.
05-24-2010, 03:03 PM
#87
Nah, AF ratio stays exactly the same. It's just a little different chemically. The octane number is just a rating of the fuel's resistance to uncontrolled burning or exploding.
Fuel is put in a variable compression one cylinder engine and compression is increased until pinging or detonation occurs. They use this to get the RON and MON numbers and average them for the octane rating.
Too much octane hurts your wallet with no power or mpg benefits but the only negative is price.
Too little octane causes pinging which causes a loss in power and mpg and if bad enough, engine damage.
When I make what I call balls out runs at the track or dyno, I run 116 octane along with a large shot of methanol. It's not needed but it's cheap insurance to keep the engine together if it accidentally leans out, I have a boost spike, or I add too much timing.
Having "too much" octane will give you a large safety net when running outside of the OEM parametres such as nitrous or turbo. If you get the tune wrong, chances are the octane will save the engine. With a new setup or program I start out with way more octane than I need and once I get the bugs worked out I run whatever is needed.
I'm not suggesting anyone fill their stock TLs up with 100 octane, just that there are benefits to 93 octane and maybe a few points higher.
Fuel is put in a variable compression one cylinder engine and compression is increased until pinging or detonation occurs. They use this to get the RON and MON numbers and average them for the octane rating.
Too much octane hurts your wallet with no power or mpg benefits but the only negative is price.
Too little octane causes pinging which causes a loss in power and mpg and if bad enough, engine damage.
When I make what I call balls out runs at the track or dyno, I run 116 octane along with a large shot of methanol. It's not needed but it's cheap insurance to keep the engine together if it accidentally leans out, I have a boost spike, or I add too much timing.
Having "too much" octane will give you a large safety net when running outside of the OEM parametres such as nitrous or turbo. If you get the tune wrong, chances are the octane will save the engine. With a new setup or program I start out with way more octane than I need and once I get the bugs worked out I run whatever is needed.
I'm not suggesting anyone fill their stock TLs up with 100 octane, just that there are benefits to 93 octane and maybe a few points higher.
05-25-2010, 12:37 AM
#89
Running 87 or 89 costs you MORE money. The TL is designed and tuned for 91. Running less octane causes knock which retards the timing. You lose power and mpg and it's hard on the engine.
In reality, the gain in mpg from running 91 more than offsets the cost and you get more power to boot.
In reality, the gain in mpg from running 91 more than offsets the cost and you get more power to boot.
I'll be honest, I did what the OP did. However, I decided I had some money just waiting to be spent, so I jumped on 91. I will say I was retarded for not doing it earlier. Jumping from 210 to 250/60+ miles a tank was a big welcome, granted I'm still filling up maybe once every 10-12 days.
My only irk is that when the car has been sitting for a while, I'll notice the needle drop a peg or so after 10-15 miles, but once I've been driving for a while, I'll easily hit around 60-70 miles under a quarter of a tank. That & if I get on the gas, the car will like to take a big gulp of gas.
05-25-2010, 08:19 AM
#90
Running 87 or 89 costs you MORE money. The TL is designed and tuned for 91. Running less octane causes knock which retards the timing. You lose power and mpg and it's hard on the engine.
In reality, the gain in mpg from running 91 more than offsets the cost and you get more power to boot.
In reality, the gain in mpg from running 91 more than offsets the cost and you get more power to boot.
We had a gas shortage here in the fall of 2008 and the only gas around was regular. Now, my truck requires premium and I had always thought about putting less octane to save money and during the shortage I had my chance to try out my theory. Well, I really had no choice since 87 was all that was available for about 3-4 weeks.
On 87 I averaged about 14-15mpg.
On 93 I average 20-21mpg.
So in the end, the $1-$2 saved per fill up got burned away very quickly and it ended up costing me more with the "cheaper" octane. Once things settled and premium was available again I went straight back to it. Better performance, better MPG.
Bottom line, put in what the manufacturer recommends b/c in the end, you're not saving anything by being cheap. You're only costing yourself more and possibly damaging your engine and voiding your warranty. Checking your air pressure regularly helps as well.
And yes, the OP's post is odd and confusing which is why it was merged with the gas topic.
Last edited by juniorbean; 05-25-2010 at 08:21 AM.
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