Gasoline

[chiggaraccord03]

what gas are your putting in your new accord?

please state i4 or v6


myself:
i4
sunoco regular - octane 87

[kutiepotpie]

i4. chevron or mobile 87

[Wardsweb]

My wife is a petroleum chemist in fuels and lubricants research. I have spoken to her on many occassions about fuels both for street and strip applications. Something most people do not know is that not all gas is the same. Let me explain and this will be true for all gas companies. There are differences in geographical location and time of year. This has to do with additives and "light ends" used in the fuel. The winter fuels have more of what are called light ends that vaporize to help when starting your car in cold temps. So, southern states don't get this fuel, they don't need it and it cost more to add it. Southern states get additives to help with heat that northern states don't see as much of.

Now have you ever notice the writing on the fuel pump ( R+M/2 )? This is an abbreviation for RON+MON/2 which is the formula to determine octane. Octane is a general term used to indicated a gasoline's ability to resist engine knock. The pump octane is also referred to as the Anti-Knock Index (AKI). AKI is determined based on an average of the Research Octane Number (RON) and the Motor Octane Number (MON). What this means to you a variation of octane of 2-3 points. Meaning there is not a lot of difference in buying the higher octane fuel unless your car actaully knocks with the lower octane. Now this is for street cars, the high compression engines of race cars need very high octane in the 105-116 range to avoid detonation under compression. These fuels burn slower but hotter and are not recommended for streeet use.

Well enough for todays lesson. Hope I haven't confused you even more.

[hondacuraworld]

I've always run premium in everything I own, down to my snowblower and lawn equipment. Perhaps it's a feel good thing, but I've never had any fuel system difficulties in any of my engines before.

[chiggaraccord03]

I heard the v6 running with higher octane gets better hp.
how about i4?

I'm confused, why acura's engine requires premium but honda's engine requires regular. Aren't honda=acura engines the same?

chiggaraccord03

[RiceBoy]

The general rule of thumb is to use whatever gas is recommended from the manufacturer.

Car & Driver did a test and found that putting premium into a vehicle where only regular was required resulted in a negligible performance increase (in comparison to cost), and in some cases, a performance decrease. Putting premium fuel in a vehicle that doesn't require it does nothing but put more money into the hands of the already rich oil companies and less money in your wallet.

Just the same, putting in regular in a vehicle where the manufacturer recommends premium results in a performance decrease. Whether or not it will damage the engine, may differ from manufacturer to manufacturer.