Do you run regular unleaded or premium? Can you tell a difference? I inherited my fiance's Maxima and it says Premium Recommended for best performance. I know she never put anything but regular in it.

 

I would do that car a favor and put premiun in it for now on.

 

I'd just put in whatever it suggests.

 

Good Lord.. how many times.....

Simple. If the owner's manual, fuel gauge, and/or fuel filler door recommend premium fuel, that's what you use. How could it be any simpler?

 

Only use Premium. The owner manual states that you should use premium gas which is what you should use.

However, if your in a remote place without any premium, you may use regular 87 oct. Prolonged usage of regular gas may cause detonation and premature wear, as well as well reduced performance.

The long-term damage to the engine is not worth saving a few dollars here and there.

 

What if the car is leased

 

If you have any engine problems during that lease and its linked to fuel, you'll be responsible for it. Chances of that happening are slim to none, but they are still there.

Also fuel economy and performance will suffer dramatically, if you don't want to run premium, get a car that doesn't require it, my

 

You should take care of it like its your car. I wont but junky gas because its leased car. Just few bucks more..

 

My 02 Maxima requires premium but my 05 Murano can run on regular, unless I want optimal engine performance...at which case premium is the way to go.

 

wait a minute. you inherited your fiance's car? what happened? hope all is well.

 

nevermind. i read your other thread.

 

my dad puts regular in for one fill-up and premium for the next in his G35...It runs fine with the 87 but its slightly better with the 93. I'd say the difference is even less than driving with the AC on versus not. But in my opinion, it costs an extra 3 bucks or so per tank so why not just go for the premium.

 

I put in 87 in my G35x with no problems whatsoever. Most cars will run on 87 with no problems, although manufacturers suggest a higher octane level for best performance.

 

There will be long-term damage to your engine. Visit my350z.com and run a search and you will find many detailed explanations as to why the VQ engine will show long-term damage using lower than recommended fuel consistently.

Many cars will run it with no problems, but not the VQ. Yes, the car will run, but running at a lower octane, your engine will experience internal detonation that will eventually cause undue wear and tear.

It is not worth it, trust me. If you are going to cheap out on gas, at least use 89 octane.

 

I'm on the verge of buying a G35 sedan, so this thread will be one to watch. I've been running regular in my 00 TL since Katrina hit, with no discernible performance drop, but I better err on the side of caution with the new G's engine, according to cussdaddy.

 

If the J32A1 is anything like the J30A1 (6G Accord V6) then you are probably correct about the performance of your 00 TL with regular gas.:



(And on the J30A4, it seems that the opposite is true. )

OTOH, the VQ35DE/HR is definitely designed with premium fuel in mind. That said, one is likely only saving about $3-4 per fillup by using regular over premium, at the expense of engine performance and longevity.

 

For me, it's not worth it. My Murano gets premium each and every time. And my G35 did as well.

 

I use to use 89 and my car hated me for it but Cusdaddy is absolutely right, the same applies to the J32A2 engine.

 

I am about to turn in the car, and most of its live has been running Premium.

My experience, fuel economy is exactly the same, although I can hear engine pinging every now and then. Same pattern with my Altima, although premium is not required.

Yeah my next car will be "take any" gas like the XC90.

 

I have taken care of the care very well, believe me. Even my estimated cost of extra wear and tear, as per Acura/Honda, is $0.

 

had a VQ35 in my 03 Maxima, always put in premium

have a VQ40 in my Pathfinder now, and I always put in premium.

 

Sounds good, thanks for the advice guys. I put premium in it tonight and will continue to do so.

 

I'll be the one of the few but we started putting regular in our '01 PF (VQ 3.5) after Katrina and my wife never noticed a difference in it. Same MPG and no issues in over 20K of regular driving. My feeling is that premium is "recommended for best performance". I believe I remember reading that in my manual...I'm too lazy to go and check, especially since we've had no issues in feeding it regular.

 

From the 2001 Nissan Pathfinder owner's manual:

"VQ35DE Engine:
Your vehicle is designed to operate on unleaded gasoline with an octane rating of at least 91 AKI (Anti Knock Index) number (Research Octane Number 96)."

Owners Manual

 

Thanks for indulging my laziness

How about this straight from the sticker on the gas lid: "Premium fuel is recommended for maximum performance".

I'm no walking Webster's dictionary but there is a BIG difference between "recommended" and "required". Therefore, I'll stand by my original assertion that premium is not required for the VQ in my PF.

 

My Maxima says the same thing- that's why I started this thread.

 

I drive a VQ30 and i do notice a difference int he gas i put in my car. I only use 94 the others make the car run rough and when the car is just sitting still you can hear that you did not use the correct gas. What maxima do you drive. I drive a A33 AE Edition 01 manuel

 

....and this sign does not exactly state 'do not touch:



Hence, I would read the writing on the wall.....so to speak.

Prudently, the same rationale should be employed with regard to said "fuel label" particularly in conjunction with the statement printed in the owner's manual.

 

My direct experience with both types of fuel (80K w/premium and 25+K on regular) says that there is no need to run premium. My wife noticed no difference in performance (whatever the heck that means in a SUV ). I noticed no difference in performance. MPG did not change at all. Most importantly....truck still runs as smooth as the day we drove it off the lot- my father-in-law was amazed at how smoothly the truck runs/idles with 105K on the odo.



"Prudently, the same rationale should be employed with regard to said "fuel label" particularly in conjunction with the statement printed in the owner's manual. "



I'm not sure that we're talking an apples to apples comparison with your sign

I'm not sure what I'd put the most faith in either....a manual that many owners don't read or a sign on the gas lid that slightly more owners notice.

My experience has been that there is no need to run the VQ on premium....unless you're trying to extract that last couple of HP. That is not an issue for our PF in the driving conditions that it encounters. YMMV

 

I'll probably get flamed for this....but I have 2 VQ's right now and I use Regular. I've had both cars for 3 months. With the I35, I spent the first month using Premium, the next with Mid Grade and the last month with Regular. I have not noticed a difference at all. The mileage is the same and the performance seems to be similar.

I haven't used the Pathfinder enough to tell. But when I do, I think it works great.

I had a 1995 Maxima, and when I used JUST premium, I think it ran worse. That car got 99% regular, and I sold it with about 200K and it was still running.

 

My cheapness compromises with the owners manual...
Both my CL-S and the fiance's I30t have gotten mid-grade for the last 50,000 miles with absolutely no problem what so ever.

 

I'd change all the spark plugs, do a top end cleaner and hope for the best in the long run. But hopefully Nissan is as smart as honda, and the worse thing the car did was switch to limp/protection mode or pull timing with the regular in it.

 

From what I read about the VQ in the 350Z which I own (it may be different for the lower output VQ's such as the one in the Maxima) but the timing will be cut to deal with the lower octane gas to prevent pinging, and it will work fine for 89 octane, albeit producing lower HP, but with 87 it can't pull timing enough and you will experience pinging, hence the excessive engine wear.

Again, my only knowledge is the "rev-up" (300hp) VQ in the 350Z, but I'd definitely recommend using 93/91 or 89 at the lowest.

 

I have had many VQ powered cars. And I will say anything you use 87 octane, which I have tried, the car loses a great deal of power. It was dyno proven as well the VQ in a G35 lost over 30 hp to the wheels due to low octane.

The car is tuned for Premium, the manufacture says use premium, USE IT.

The car can retard the timing back so it can run on 87 for a temporary basis but that doesn't mean its good for it.

I had a 96 Maxima, and it started up more rough with 87.

 

^^^

I have never dynoed my car. But I really have never noticed any of what you are saying. And I drive a lot. I would think I would definately notice a 30 whp loss. And like I stated before, I didn't just try from tank to tank. I do about 2500 miles in a month some times, or more. So, I'm basing the mileage and what I view as performance on about 7 to 8 tanks of gas, not 1 or 2.

Never once with my Maxima did I notice knocking. I did notice it with the CL. That's why I put premium in the CL. I haven't noticed any problems with the I35 that can be attributed to the fuel.

 

If you are using 87 octane, for a long time and just try one tank of 93, it takes the ECU a long time to adjust BACK for 93 octane. Going from 93 octane to 87 is instant.

It knocked, just the timing was pulled back so you wouldn't notice it.

 

That's why I started out using Premium for the first month and then worked my way down. I'll switch back for a month and see what it does for me.

 

I don't have a VQ, but my mom has one in her '01 Maxima GLE. She's one of the cheapest people I've ever met when it comes to things such as gas. She'll drive 6 blocks further to get gas for 3 cents a gallon cheaper. She's 53 years old, and bought the Max new. In the past 5 and a half years, she's never put anything other that Shell V-Power in that car, just because it says to, and she hasn't had a single problem out of the car, as of 97,000 miles. It's almost time for her to be getting a new car, and when I went to visit mom and dad for Christmas this year, I planted the RL seed.
Buy the good stuff. It's just a couple bucks a fill-up extra.

 

Do most of the 87 octane users who claim it makes no difference even know what pinging is? I drive about 30 different cars a day every day, and I can tell what grade gas every car has in it, when you become very aware of how a given car is suppose to perform noticing these subtle, yet damaging noises is very important. This is not a case where ignorance is bliss.

 

I certainly know what pinging is, and I know that modern cars also have knock sensors. I have never heard ONE ping from my TL and it seems just as happy on regular. I call on the 30hp loss due to regular vs premium. Would race fuel ADD another 30
??