SupaRookie

I just sold my 1989 Acura Leged Coupe on Saturday midnight. I got a 99 Acura TL with navigation and 95,616 miles on friday night. The color is pearl white, preferably I like the blue on the Type S. My dad didnt want to buy anything from dealer, so it made the choice a little bit limited. I like the way Legend feel and drive; that's why I was looking at the TL. At first I was looking for a civic because of the awesome mpg, but then I decided not to get it because I dont like the way it feel when I'm driving. It's not smooth like a Legend, obviously big price difference when comparing the same year. My Legend got 20 mpg; this TL get 29 mpg!! The fuel tank is huge, 17 gallons. I'll be driving it in a few days after I get the insurance and transfer done. I will also post up pictures too. I'm going to start off with a few questions; my knowledge about car is limited.

1) Premium gas only? The manual said that if you pump anything lower than 91 octane, you can damager the engine. Does that ever happen? Nowadays, gas is expensive, not to mention pumping 91 octane! If I were to pump it 87 for the rest of it's life, will the car have mechanical problems? Please answer this if you fill up 87 or you are a mechanic. I'm looking for facts not opinion. I always "assume" that all gas and octane are are the same (shell, chevron, 76, etc.). I figure the higher octane give it a faster acceleration and more power. Is my thinking wrong?

I will use this thread to ask about maintenance, problems, and other things related to my car. That's it for now. I'm very excited about this car, I always wanted it since 4 yrs ago.

SupaRookie

2) Using synthetic oil. In the owner manual it said change engine oil every 7,500 or 12 months. The previous owner uses synthetic oil, so does that mean that from now on I need to use synthetic oil? Can someone tell me what makes synthetic oil better than Pennzoil? The price for synthetic oil is pretty high vs the regular one. What would happen to the car if I change between synthetic and the regular one?

Sweet Acura TL

Acura recommended using 91 octane or higher in their 3.2TL, even though the gas prices now are expensive. I agree with Acura. I myself pump 91 octane, its only about 10 cents different than 87 octane. What can you do with 10 cents these days, so why not use it to make better for your car. Running with high octane will make the car smoother respondse and accelerate according to your engine needs. You will feel it with your right foot. If you think 10 cents is a big different just try using the lower octane 1 time in the gas tank and see for yourself. You make your own judgement with that dime in your pocket.

Adding that synthetic( around $5.75 per quart ) oil to your engine of course will empty your pocket sooner than using regular( around $ 1.90 per quart ) oil. Have you heard of " You get what you pay for " . That is if you want to keep your TL running for a long long time, running smoother when you accelerate with that right foot. It will also last up to 7500 miles or higher before your next oil change. When it come to car i don't mind spend that money, because i know that with the right investment i can save my car for a long period of time. Knowing that when i insert that key i have my car up and running, getting me from point A to point B without worrying.

inssane

I too would reccomend premium gas.
Do the math real fast...
93 octane here is 20 cents more than regular - 87.
You are only spending one dollar more for every five gallons roughly.
So what is three dollars per fillup?

Also, only use BP or Shell. Best gas around, at least here in IL.
Nick

FL3.2TL

Congrats on the TL & welcome to the forums. I also agree with both of those members. Spending a little more extra dollars at the pump can save u from spending big amounts to get the engine repaired. If u want more information, do a search on gas, various topics have been discussed. Take it easy

joe80055

:welcome: congrats on the tl! If you ever need anything, feel free to ask anyone of us, we'll be more than sure enough to have the answer for you

Let the modding begin!

Spene

Congrats man, I just got rid of a 92 legend and picked up a 99 TL with Navi, really enjoying it so far, there is a lot to learn here...

special e. dition

Welcome to the land of TL's..

Joe got any updated pics of your machine? i havent seen it with the fogs and wheels on!!!

AznWay

iTrader: (8)

Welcome to Acurazine...
I alway use 91 octane, I know when we do have 87 in gas tank we loss about 50 miles to tank. Reason i can say this is Because when my wife fill up she alway try get 87 scent cheaper. That why i didn't fill gas tank anymore in my TL. ( I ALWAY reset my mile gauage after every fill up.)

Rpappi

well think of how long its going to take you to go 7,500 miles and figure out how much longer the syntheic is going to last it evens out and its better for your engine.

Topher707

I know my question is off topic, but why do different places have different types of gas? i never see 93 here in California. the highest is 91, does anyone know why we dont have 93 in california.. or atleast nor cal/bay area?

SupaRookie

Alright, 91 octane it is!! I guess I gotta bust hump to keep by baby up to speed. I recently got out of college and wasnt that successful finding a job. Now I'm building custom gaming computer for a wage I'm not that proud of. I do it for the experience for my next job. So what about synthetic vs regular engine oil? Arent synthetic suppose to last longer? 4-5 quart of those baby sure will be expensive. My dad is going to flip when if he see me using synthetic....he's very money oriented. Can someone tell me how synthetic is suppose to be better than regular? Yes I know about the smooth acceleration when filling 91. My gf has a 92 Legend and my friend has a 91 Legend. My friend fills up 91, and my gf fill up 87. I am planning to keep the TL for awhile until I can make some more money and buy myself a new TL or something comparable in the Acura family.

When I was looking for a TL, I found this forum and about the BayArea meet. I look forward to chit chatting with everyone on the forum. Appreciate all your comments and welcome.

SupaRookie

Question regarding gas stations. Arco, Shell, Chevrons, vs the non franchise gas station? Are all gas created equal? The manual said something about pumping good gas, so there's no deposit.

2Rude

I myself am a new acura 3.2tl owner! This thread gave me some good advice...thanks guys!!

Trojanman750

i used synthetic for a while then changed back to regular....didnt notice that much of a difference in anything

ALWAYS USE PREMIUM...if you use anything else you will feel it. i notice at least a 500 RPM difference when driving. for example, on 91 octane going 80 on the freeway, my car is usually at 2000 RPMs....when using anything else it goes up to 2500 and the car feels noticeable slowly and laggier


i personally dont fuck with naything except Shell Vpower

Trojanman750

your from the bay area meet?? them shits are usually cracking, a whole bunch of cars show up...check out page two of my cardomain for some of last years flicks


sadly i just sold my TL but i still plan on rolling through to a few meets, those twisty drives are so god damn fun, those guys know the best routes hands down

Trojanman750

sorry..heres the link for some bay area meet pictures
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/453610/2

CL Platano

I use 89 octane

2Rude

From now on 91 octane it is!! I would also stick with synthetic oil...

SupaRookie

Alright, synthetic oil. I notice before that I got these star lug nuts attach to my wheels....but the owner doesnt have something the tool to remove it. I'll take a picture later to show you guys. The weirdest thing is that the two on the front match, but they stick out and the rear pair dont match with the front. So where am I suppose to buy this tool? So if I have a flat tire, I wont be able to change the tire w/o the tool....

MikePA

Are you sure the previous owner didn't leave the key in the glove box or, perhaps, with the lug wrench in the trunk? If the locking lug nuts are from Acura, your local dealer will have them.

joe80055

I'll post pics later on tonight in my Ongoing Mods thread... sounds good?

GreeneggsandHam

hey congrats on the TL and welcome to the forums! When it comes to gas, I always pump w/e the manufacturer recommends. But when it comes to oils, I use regular oil. Synthetic oils do last longer but the oil filters don't. I find it more cost effective to just buy Honda oil filters (w/oil bolt washers) for $5 and regular mobil 5w30 oil to go with it. If you were to switch to just regular oil, nothing will happen to your car and you won't even notice a difference.
I just don't think it's worth spending so much money on synthetic oil, when :
1. the manufacturer does not require it
2. engine internals are completely stock and it's not a high performance racing engine.
3. does not give any gain in power.

but again, these are only my views. It's up to you what you want to put in your car and how you manage your budget for the maintenance of the vehicle. Many people only give the best to their cars and some only give w/e the manufacturer recommends and then you have some who do oil changes every 10k miles and expect the car to last past 200k miles...hehe.

Bob_F

I bought a 1999 TL a couple of months ago and I've been running 91 octane in it. The caution in the owner's manual that the use of lower octane fuels could result in engine damage did catch my attention. I know that some TL owners are running 89 octane but, for now at least, I'm sticking with 91.

On synthetic motor oils, I think you'll be fine running non-synthetic.

Bob

Trojanman750

using anything less than 91 is retarded. if you can afford a TL you can afford the extra 3 bucks fillup...the car feels noticeable less powerfull and responsive with lower grade gas...my stupid brother filled my TL up with 89 and the car felt much slower today on the freeway

SupaRookie

I know the manual said the TL gets 17 gallons for fuel. Do you guys really get the full 17 gallons? Also how many mpg does your '99 model get, highway? city? I'm not talking about what the manual says, but what you actually get with your driving habits. When I fill up the car the 1st time after buying it, it fill up with only like 14 gallons. I was little bit surprise because on the fuel meter, it said it's like low low....unless that fuel meter is like retarded and not trustworthy.

SupaRookie

Was looking around and saw this on ebay:

Screen Protector

Has anyone bought from this guy before? Just curious; I know it's not that much money...maybe this will be my first mod!!

Topher707

I think the most I ever put in was about 15.5 gallons.

SupaRookie

Pictures!! Today I woke up @ 8 AM and started cleaning my car. I also clean my sister and mom car. Dad didnt want his car to be clean...ohz well. Everything is stock, I would like to get a blue color, but dad didnt want to buy from dealer.










I dont know any scenery place around my house, so this will do for now.