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Sedans Acura TL Acura TL and Premium vs Regular Gas
78 messages, Last post on Aug 03, 2009 at 5:44 PM
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Replying to: igiban (Jun 28, 2006 8:57 pm) |
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Regarding octane, the premium gas is actually harder to ignite therefore tolerating higher compressions and you get more power output. Cheaper gas is actually has a lower flash point under higher compression therefore having spontaneous ignition before top dead center (producing the detrimental knock). Most new cars do have knock sensors that in fact retard the timing to ignite the gas at a lower compression (to protect your engine). This does lower power output and the driver will inevitably push harder on the gas pedal to maintain drivability. This will in turn decrease your MPG. This is a round about way of saying, pay for the correct octane. You will get the satisfaction of having the correct amount of power output, better MPG, fewer fill-ups, safer fuel for your car, and will ultimately spend the same if not less money in the long run. If this aggravates you, go bland and buy an accord. |
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Let me go out on the limb with a saw in my hand - I bet if Acura offered a no charge re flash on the control module (assume its that simple - lets not get too technical) for the 3.2L engine in the TL that reduced the HP down to the Accord's "pitiful" 240  6244 RPM and the "doesn't have enough torque to get out of its own way" 211 foot pounds 5,000 RPM - rather than the AMAZING 258 HP at 6200 RPM and the OUT OF THIS WORLD 233 foot pounds at 5,000 RPM found in the TL - but allowed regular gas to be used that MANY people would ask for the change. By many I mean between 35 and 50 percent. For some warped reason Acura, Lexus, BMW & MB (plus others) think a car that requires premium fuel somehow equals more prestige. What would the 3.2L have for power if it was programed for regular? I don't know - but it must be somewhere between the 3.0L Accord's power and the 3.2L TL? How much more power did premium really give us? Best would be a button on the dash so you could switch between regular, plus or premium fuel. Most would not even miss the puny increase in power as a result of the extra octane. But then some would be shamed at the gas pump when they select regular gas! But then I guess most would just send their servants out to fill up their cars! I will burn premium in the TL - because that is what it was designed to use - but I doubt my wife (its her daily driver) would ever miss the extra power (over the 3.0L V6 Accord). |
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Replying to: z71bill (Aug 08, 2006 5:51 pm)
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| Actually I had a typo in that post - the Accord has 244 HP at 6,244 RPM (not 240). | |
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Replying to: z71bill (Aug 08, 2006 5:51 pm) |
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Replying to: z71bill (Aug 08, 2006 5:51 pm) No offense, but I think you may be a little warped in your thinking about why premium gas is required in premium brands. Maybe your definition of a premium car is "fine Corinthian leather". Many or most premium buyers - especially of sport sedans and sports cars - want to see some premium engineering and performance as well. Yes, Acura, BMW, Mercedes and even Porsche and Ferrari could dumb down their engines to the big block 1970's push rod design still used by GM. And you could probably run those on compost. Is that what you want? Assuming a TL runs about $8,000 +/- more than an Accord, the purchase price difference is equal to the difference in cost of 32,000 gallons of premium vs. regular (at 25 cents per gallon). You'd have to drive nearly 1 million miles using regular in your TL just to save the purchase price premium you are already paying - assuming no loss in fuel economy. The point is, if you find it painful to dish out an extra hundred dollars a year to put premium gas in a premium car, buy a nice standard sedan like the Accord or Camry. But please don't ask Acura, BMW, Mercedes, or Porsche to dumb down their high compression, free revving engines to accomodate your bipolar wallet. If you don't care about performance, there are plenty of automobile alternatives that will save you bundles compared to the pennies premium gas actually costs you. 
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I could agree with your thinking - if the performance difference was larger. But look at the facts. The TL's - 258 HP VS the Accord's 244. They are basically the same engine - the TL has slightly larger diameter pistons (larger displacement) - thats why it is a 3.2L VS the Accord's 3.0L. If you think the TL's engine has some level of advanced design PLEASE EXPLAIN what the difference is I would like to know. I think your advanced engineering theory is just plain wrong. What level of power would Honda get if the took the 3.2L engine and tuned it for regular gas? No way to know for sure. It would be above the Accord's 244 - below the TL's 258. 250 HP would be a good guess. Do you agree with this estimate? So my point is - is it worth the extra 8 HP to require premium? Obviously if you gained 25 or 30 HP by using premium it would be well worth it - but that is just not the case. I used Acura VS Honda as my example because it is so easy to compare. I don't know if MB or BMW (whoever) have this clean of an example - same engine - same technology - one using regular one premium. If they do I would think the power difference would be about the same as the 3.0L VS 3.2L example. But wait Wouldn't true PREMIUM engineering be getting more power out of an engine while using regular gas? Wouldn't the easy -cheap - low tech way to gain a few extra HP out of an engine be to just tune it to use premium gas? BTW - I owned a 69 Chevelle SS 396 that required premium gas. Fun car - wish I still had it. So do you think GM was using advanced engineering back in the 60's when they designed cars with bigger displacement plus required premium? Not sure why (or how) you come up the "dumb down" comment - or why you want to drag GM into the discussion - But it seems like Acura did the same exact thing - increase the displacement (3.0 to 3.2) - and also required premium gas - just to get a small increase in power. So when GM increases displacement and requires premium gas in the 60's you think that is dumbing down - but when Acura increases displacement and requires premium gas in 2006 that is PREMIUM engineering. I stick by my opinion - main reason MB, BMW, Acura require premium is mainly due to marketing concerns - because the performance difference does not explain it. In a strange way - the extra $ for premium gas is not as significant as it was a few years ago. When regular gas was $1.00 a gallon - premium was $1.20 - Yesterday I paid $3.019 per gallon for premium - regular unleaded was $2.819 - same $.20 but far smaller %.
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