Who doesn’t love the sedans and SUVs made by Acura, right? They offer incredible driving experience along with utmost comfort. Acuras’ cars are luxurious cars that are engineered to excite the minds of everyone.
That being said, before purchasing your desired Acura car, you must be wondering if it needs premium gas or not. Let’s find out which Acura cars require premium gas to run smoothly.
Does Acura RDX require premium gas?
Acura RDX doesn’t necessarily require premium gas to offer a smooth driving experience. However, it is recommended that you use premium gas on the Acura RDX to maintain the engine’s health. By using premium gas on this car, you can boost fuel economy, optimize power, and reduce engine knock.
It is not mandatory to fuel up your Acura RDX only with premium gas. It will run just fine with regular gas and midrange gas. But, the Acura RDX will give the best performance when you use premium gas.
Its fuel economy will get better and the engine will stay healthy for a long period of time. Let’s take a look in detail at why it is best to use premium gas for your Acura RDX.
Better fuel performance
The Acura RDX SUV has a higher compression ratio than most other SUVs available on the market.
As a result, when you use premium gas, this SUV will reach the maximum potential in gas mileage. Premium gas will also reduce the emission of carbon dioxide from this SUV.
Extend the life of the engine
The premium gas has an octane rating of 91 to 94 and the regular gas has an octane rating of 87. So the premium gas will be much smoother than the regular one.
To combust a smoother fuel, the engine of the vehicle will require less effort, so using premium will extend the engine’s life.
Reduce Engine Knock
Engine knock occurs if the engine combusts improperly. This unregulated engine combustion can severely damage a vehicle’s engine.
It mainly occurs due to impurities in the fuel. The impurity in the premium gas is minimum. So by using premium gas for your Acura RDX SUV you can reduce the chances of engine knock.
Can you use regular gas on Acura RDX?
You can definitely use regular gas on Acura RDX. It will provide the expected mileage and performance even with regular gas. This SUV has a moderate compression ratio, as a result of which using premium gas is not mandatory.
However, the regular gas has a lot of impurities in it and the octane rating is also quite low. This can cause improper engine combustion, which is known as engine knock.
So, if you use regular gas on your Acura RDX you should make sure to check if your SUV’s engine is knocking at an abnormal rate.
That being said, if you use regular gas on your Acura RDX regularly, you should use premium gas once in a while.
This is because it will improve the overall fuel quality in the fuel tank and will also make the engines’ pistons smoother. It will also help the fuel filters work more effectively and efficiently.
Although the Acura RDX will run on regular gas perfectly, not every regular gas has the same octane rating and impurity level. If the impurity level of the regular gas is too high, the fuel performance of the car will be very low.
So, you should use high-quality regular gas on your Acura RDX to get proper gas mileage.
What is premium gas?
Any type of fuel that has an octane rating between 91 and 93 is considered premium gas. The most common types of premium gas have an octane rating of 91 and 93.
The premium gasoline that has an octane rating of 93 is not only known as premium gas, they are mostly known as super-premium fuel or ultra premium fuel.
Since the octane rating of the premium gas is high, its ability to withstand the internal combustion engines’ compression without shattering is very high. The texture of the premium fuel is also very smooth and it has the minimum amount of impurities.
What is the difference between premium and regular gas?
There are numerous factors that differentiate regular gas from premium gas. The factors include octane rating, impurity level, performance, and more. Let’s find out the difference between premium and regular gas.
Octane rating
The octane rating of a fuel is basically how much compression it can withstand without setting off in an internal combustion engine. The higher the octane rating of the fuel, the better the fuel performance will be.
The octane rating of premium fuel starts from 91 with 93 being the highest. Whereas, the regular fuel has an octane rating of 87 in general.
Impurity level
Every type of fuel has some form of impurities in it. The impurities are usually natural minerals and chemicals.
These impurities are filtered out through the fuel filters. If the impurity level of the fuel is high, it won’t be able to provide the desired gas mileage as some fuel will also be filtered out.
The impurity level of the regular gas is quite high and its texture is also a bit rough. On the other hand, the impurity level of the premium fuel is quite low and its texture is also very smooth.
Can you use premium gas in any car?
You can definitely use premium gas in any car. It won’t impose any risk to your vehicle’s engine or your vehicle itself. In fact, using premium fuel in your car will improve the performance and also increase the fuel efficiency.
Since every vehicle on the road will run fine with an 87 to 89 octane rated fuel. Using an octane rated fuel of 91 or above that is the premium gas is even better. It will make the car reach its desired and expected horsepower.
What are the benefits of using premium gas?
As the name depicts, the quality of the premium gas is much better than other types of fuel. This gas has an octane rating of 91 and higher. There are numerous benefits of using premium gas. Let’s take a look at the benefits of using premium gas.
Environmental friendly
The premium gas is comparatively more environmentally friendly than other types of gas. This gas reduces the emission of carbon dioxide when the car is accelerating and working hard.
Boost overall performance
The premium fuel has a higher octane rating. So, it has the ability to tolerate compression without erupting in an internal combustion engine. As a result, with premium fuel, the overall performance of the car will get boosted.
With premium fuel, a vehicle will be able to provide power up to its maximum potential. A vehicle will also be able to reach the expected horsepower when premium gas is used.
Reduces engine knock
The main function of a spark plug in an engine is to ignite fuel. When the engine combusts fuel without using spark plugs, it is known as engine knock. It happens mainly due to improper timing of combustion due to the low quality of fuel.
This engine knock can be very harmful to the engine and can significantly reduce its lifespan. By using premium fuel, you can reduce engine knock from occurring immediately.
What happens if I don’t use premium gas in my Acura?
Most of the cars and SUVs made by Acura work best with premium fuel. The manufacturers even recommend using premium gas if you want the best performance and driving experience from the vehicles.
Various issues can arrive in your Acura car if you don’t use premium gas. Have a look at what happens if you don’t use premium fuel in your Acura.
Bad fuel performance
Regular gas and midrange gas have a lot of impurities and dust in them. When you refill your fuel tank with these fuels, it goes through a fuel filter which takes out the impurities. Along with those materials, some fuel is also filtered out.
If you don’t use premium fuel that has a very low impurity level, a lot of fuel will be drained out of the car. As a result, your Acura will give a very bad fuel performance if you don’t use premium fuel in it.
Unoptimized power
Most engines of Acura require premium fuel to work at their full capacity. It reaches the maximum horsepower only with premium fuel.
If you don’t use premium gas in your Acura car or SUV, you won’t be able to get the desired power. The car will also accelerate a bit slower if you don’t use premium gas.
Heavy engine knock
Regular gas will cause engine knocks at regular intervals in your Acura vehicle. This happens due to the smoothness of the fuel and the texture of regular gas is quite rough.
So, your Acuras’ engine will face heavy engine knocks if you don’t use premium gas in the car.
Final Thoughts
Although most of the Acura sedans and SUVs work quite well in regular gas, it is recommended to use premium gas. The premium gasoline helps the Acura vehicles to accelerate smoothly and offer better fuel mileage. This premium gas also helps cars reach their full potential in terms of power.
I am an automotive enthusiast and have been interested in cars since I was a little kid. I have worked in the automotive industry for many years and have extensive knowledge of vehicles and their engines. I am a father of two and I love spending time with my family.
Read more about the author here.
