My previous car, an '04 TL, wa using regular 87 octane gas and ran great. I just got a new TL with the SH-AWD and the manual states it requires premium, and regular gas can damage the engine. So there goes using 87 octane. If I use 89 octane am I at risk of damaging the engine? I would like to use 89 octane and see how my car performs and then change to premium if need be, but not if it can do any damage.
Thanks!
Difference is 10 cents/gal x about 15 gallons = $1.50 per fillup. Stick with premium as recommended.
My dad was grumbling about his MDX and premium fuel, and I did the math for him--and over the last 20 months, he's spent an extra $200 using premium.
When I pointed that out to him that way, he realized that it really wasn't enough of a difference to worry about.
My Dad tell's me I'm crazy and the company doesn't know what they're talking about. LOL. He doesn't understand hi-compression, knock sensors, computer controlled retard. His idea of preventive maintenance on an engine is to replace the belts when they actually break, the hoses when they blow and the plugs whent he center and ground electrodes no longer exist. Interference engine? What the hell is that? LOL I pointed out that using the recommended premium fuel for the life of the car comes to a small fraction of the probable cost of a new engine should I blow a piston under load and that using regular would mean I'd have to drive on egg shells even in emergencies where I should just be standing on the pedal to get out of trouble. And even then, I could hole a piston if a knock sensor went bad or the computer couldn't react fast enough if knock was sensed.
My 2005 TL requires at least 91 octane. That and better is what I feed it.
Still, it's a personal choice to bet the sensors and computers will protect the engine, if you want to go the 87 or 89 octane route.
Next visit, I'll introduce him to the requirement that tires need to be replaced when 6 years or older, even if they still have most of their tread. You can guess his response to that.
Paul
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