peterkv7

I recently purchased a '91 SE 5 spd. Beautiful superblack mint hottie.
The most confusing thing to me is this whole issue with premium fuel. The manual says that it can run using 87 octane, but vaguely refers to 91 octane being recommended. I want to know if anyone consistently uses 87 octane and has anyone had engine problems possibly associated with the differing octanes. Thanks.

Vince the newbie

nismo1989

Yes. I only use premium. You end up saving in the long run. Do you want to save on gas now, or save on engine repair later? That is my take on it...

ObsidianIce69

iTrader: (11)

I'd skip the 87, you don't have to use premium until you start playing with things under the hood, you can use 89 and be fine as LONG AS YOU"RE STOCK!

jim90gxe

Really and why is that?
IF your manual says to use 87.. use 87. There is no reason to go premium on a VG unless you've advanced your timing or have gotten boost.
When I first got my 90gxe I used 93 premium exclusively. I then realized how ridiculous it is and I switched to 87. I've been using 87 for 3 years on a car with 200k+ miles with 0 problems.

nismo1989

I have NO2.

Even when my car was stock it would run worse on 87 octane. I have had mechanics tell me not to use 87 octane. Do you use gas that contains ethenol? I don't care what the manual says, it was written by people who never drive the thing. It also says in my driver's manual not to start and stop the car and not to drive in stop and go (city) traffic because it's excessive wear on the engine. I don't listen to that either...

maldogs

don't use 87 octane I know gas prices are high but you definetly save using 91 or 93 octane. I know because I experienced the difference using regular & premium in my max better performance and you get a little more mpg on that so hands down use 91 or 93 octane

D-sta

iTrader: (6)

I use 93 octane for my car. 87 octane is really good for a rotary engine such as an RX-7 like my brothers. It makes a huge difference. Anyway don't be a cheapo use 93 or 89 being the lowest.

ChrisCheezer

thank you! .. boost here i come LOL!

Magik93Maxima

iTrader: (1)

I use 89 unless im going on a trip out of town, then i switch to 93... it just seems to run better on 93, but prices are too high for everyday driving with it....
*Deposits $.02*

Chris

Magik93Maxima

iTrader: (1)

I use 89 unless im going on a trip out of town, then i switch to 93... it just seems to run better on 93, but prices are too high for everyday driving with it....
*Deposits $.02*

Chris

davis4005

I use 85 and it works fine. As long as it isn't pinging or knocking, it will not hurt the engine. Gas is gas.

James92SE

iTrader: (31)

85?? Where in the heck can you even get 85 Octane??

DA-MAX

iTrader: (10)

there is a Citgo up the street from me, they have.....

85,87,88,89,91,93,94.....

aside form that the VG manual clearly states that the car uses 87....and for those(w/o boost, or advanced timing) of you who claim 89 is better(maintence or performance wise) please explain??

James92SE

iTrader: (31)

Weird....

Most gas stations by me only go 89, 91, 93...

I've been using 93 Octane for the past few months. Although I did find out that the whole time my mom had the car she was mostly running 87 and 89. I'm not sure what VE's are supposed to be running but I'm sure it's not 87 or lower.

DA-MAX

iTrader: (10)

yeah I was surprised when I saw it too!!! I know a few cars are directed to use Premium unleaded(like my friend's Eclipse and anothers Vigor), but as far as I know the VG is fine with 87! yeah I think the VE is premium only(89+), but I'm not too sure either

Maximan190

iTrader: (8)

i always use 93 whether it be everyday driving or trips...Exxon every tuesday - Tiger tuesdays 6 cents off premium

Delvin

For those with VEs read the gas filler door. Mines answers the question when it says 'Unleaded Fuel Only. Premium fuel is recommended for MAXimum performance.' Hmmmmmmmmmm? I think I'll stick to 93.

Tom

I've tried 91 octane a few times and I know I get better performance, but I use Chevron 87 octane regular 99% of the time.

I have 140K miles on my car. Never had any problems.

davis4005

Colorado, the highest we have is 91, it goes 85,87,91.

jim90gxe

Just a placebo effect
For VE's it's 91 octane. Nissan Engineers would NOT state false information in an owners manual.

I wouldn't be surprised if some of you put 50psi in your tires because you think "more is better".

DA-MAX

iTrader: (10)

"so how much boost you running man???"

"man I pushing 50psi....in my tires!!!!!!!"

max95q

iTrader: (10)

One of my friends consistently used 87 octane and the sludge built up in the engine so much that she had to get a whole new engine in her car. Not too much of a good Idea if you do consistently use fuel system cleaner.

davis4005

On the VG it only says unleaded fuel, if it really made engines blow up I don't think they would sell low octane fuel.

White93SE

Why don't you explain to us how we will save in the long run by running premium octane gas? Running high octane fuel on cars that were not designed to accept it can hurt the engine instead of help it. 20$ says the gas you're pumping now has ethanol in it too; idiot.

As for your finanical situation, you aren't saving money on gas right now nor will you on your repairs from your nitrous usage.

Michael

iTrader: (21)

Man whats your problem...I have seen you call people dumb asses and now your calling someone an idiot.

You can post differing opinions without the name calling...that is immature and uncalled for.

Just my .02

<badboymaxima>

well i got all of u's beat. I use 94 0ctane gas on my car for about 3 months now. i have an 89 maxima with 146,000 miles and going strong. I've only seen one kind of gas company carry 94 and that is what i use. The name of the gas is sunoco 94 super premium.

White93SE

I dislike morons; no idiots = no problems. I have no problem with facutal information, or an opinion when somebody says that's what it is; but when people post misguided information and pretend they're correct THAT I have no tolerance for.

jim90gxe

Does anybody here have a clue as to what the octane # means?
Go enlighten yourself...

nismo1989

If you read my post, you will see where I clearly said :that's my take on it..." If I were you I would stop calling me an idiot, you fuking dikhead. I have had enough of your **** in the past two days. Higher octane gas burns cleaner, it is fact. I like higher octane, that is opinion. You are a jerk, that is both fact and opinion. I have mislead no one. You, on the other hand, seem to have made it your personal mission in life to make yourself out to be a complete a$$.

240sxforums.com

HEre is the deal. On a low mileage car you are better off using High octane, it does burn clean and promote healtier engine life. Performance wise is not a big difference. This is a fact, on high mileage cars it is not recommended to use high octane, unless you have a fresh rebuild. Heres why, Higher octane creates a larger explosion/expansion in the cylinder head, punishing the motor more. In a newer engine the motor handles it no problem since everything has less wear. In a high mileage car the motor actually suffers more, although some may think there is a hughe advantage, there really isnt. Specially in a N/A car. If you are running N20 or S/C or Turbo then yes higher octane is better since it burns faster and cleaner and helps to prevent detonation thus making it operate smoother. You can run any fuel you want, you will loose a few horses with lower octane, also did you know the lower octane fuel will last the least, Higher octane will increase miles per tank since not as much is require to complete a cycle.

medic

I've been using 87 for 10+ years, but my car is just under 100K miles. I've never had any engine issues related to using the lower gas. I do notice slightly better milage witht he 91/93 octane stuff, but that's probably becasue I get some more power so I don't need to punch it as hard.

Nissan mechanics have told me it's fine to run 87 as long as you don't car about maximum performance. For normal city driving in a stock car, 87 is just fine.

Figure it like this:
10K miles/yr @ 22mpg(usually it's lower mpg) = 454 gal of gas used
say you save about $0.20 per gal using 87 instead of 91/93 (usually it's more then that in CA)
454 *$0.20 = $90/yr savings
over 10 yrs, this is $900 and if you drive more miles (e.g those of you with over 200K miles) this is about $2K in savings.

I figure by the time I'd need a new engine on my ride, I'll either have sold it, wrecked it, or a new engine would not cost me as much as I save by running lower grade gas.

White93SE

Present the facts clearly and don't pretend to be knowledgable with things that are above your level of understanding. You like high octane, that is your opinion; you also stated:

This is misinformation. No where does 87 octane fuel correlate with engine repairs. A few posts later you say:

Misuse of nitrous oxide will lead to engine damage, not use of 87 octane, which the owners manual states. Written by Nissan the manufactuer of your car who "written by people who never drive the thing". Obviously your car is having problems because of your misuse of it, not because of your fuel..." I don't listen to that either..."

I may be a jerk, but you're a complete moron.

Maximan190

iTrader: (8)

bill, jeff, matt...somebody please lock this thread before i blow up on this guy

Badaxxima

Hey Geoff,
Is it me or are we suddenly on a rice-board?
You have White93SE with a horrible attitude and no manners whatsoever, 240sxforums who thinks higher octane gas is nitromethane and medic's fuzzy math.

Octane is detonation resistance. That's it. Detonation is an explosion, when the entire fuel/air charge in the cylinder ignites more or less at the same time. This is bad, because the piston cannot move fast enough to relieve the enormous pressure buildup, which consequently turns into an enormous heat buildup. Hence, detonation = grenade. What you want is a smooth, controlled burn that lasts throughout the entire stroke. Higher octane ratings = more detonation resistance. Therefore, Higher octane gas is LESS likely to explode. Why? Simple, it has a higher flashpoint, making it more suitable for higher operating temperatures, more compression, higher loading, more timing advance, aged engines with carbon buildup in the combustion chamber (which creates more compression), etc. You want to know why most people on the board who actually DRIVE their cars swear by 89+ octane? Because they use more RPM than most and therefore, they need the detonation protection of more octane instead of the computer just retarding the ignition timing to protect itself and rob power. On 87 octane I get around 24mpg (VG, hard driving), with 89 I get 27 mpg and with 91 I average 28mpg. I use only 89 now since I advanced my ignition timing to 18* BTDC. I also don't get that slight ping at highway speeds that occurred on hot days around 2400RPM going up hill at WOT.

medic, those savings would only occur if you got the same mileage with 87 and 91 octane. You said yourself that you got better mileage with higher octane. Well, so do I:
I acquired ~300 miles before each fillup on 87. This translates to 12.5 gallons, or roughly 3/4 tank, on 24mpg.
With 89 however, I get 27mpg, which would add up to 337.5 miles per fillup. In other words, if I drove 1000 miles a month, I would use 37.04 gallons per month of 89 octane versus 41.67 gallons of 87 octane. At Meijer and some other stations, 89 is only 7 cents more per gallon than 87. Let's say 87 is $1/gal;

41.67($1.00) - 37.04($1.07) = $41.67 - $39.63 = $2.04

Basically I'm saving $2.04 per 1000 miles using 89 instead of 87. With your 10 cent difference it comes to:

41.67($1.00) - 37.04($1.10) = $41.67 - $40.744 = $0.926

Still a 93 cent savings per 1000 miles.

Sudesh

I want you to stop what your doing and think about this for a second:

Who gives a sh*t what you have tolerance for?

The fact is most of these guys here have been here long before you. Until you earn some status or get more known go blow your fart somewhere else. There's a whole lot of knowledge to be aquired when it comes to cars and no one should be blamed because they happened to know little about one area.


STFU newbie.

240sxforums.com

Where in my post did i say i think higher octane is nitromethane???

sharky

Speaking of gas quality - how many have had to replace fuel injectors?
Pretty costly eh? How about fuel pumps? filters etc.
The more expensive gas is not more expensive just because it has more octane.
The gasoline refining process is an extremely complex chemical process.
The cheap crap has all sort of stuff that has not been refined out of it. Like varnishes. This will eventually mess up your injectors,pumps,filters and tanks.
Also the cheap crap is cheap because of what's not in it. Like cleaners and conditioners.
Anyone thinks that gas is gas is an ignoramus. And a tightwad to boot.
If you truly love your car and want to take care of it then there is no other answer than to use the highest octane it will run well on.
The 94 has even more flamefront retardants in it and may not work well without slightly advancing the timing. Don't do this. It's not worth it and just causes more wear and tear for an unnoticable power gain.
Its not just the octane anyways. You can have high octane but the gas was refined in an aging low tech low cost budget refinery.
I use 91 octane in my 93SE. Also I only get it from the big name companies that have money to keep their refineries updated and the quality policies that make them include various cleaners and fuel system conditioners.
It's the same old story - you get what you pay for.
These people who swear by the 87 probably don't realize the source of
various fuel system,ping,starting,varnish buildup,plugfoul,carbon buildup,etc problems.
So they just pay for the repairs and then keep on using the 87 and swearing by it. Too funny.

nismo1989

Hey Justin, good to see your still alive . Saw you ly by the other day, but you didn't stop and I got held up in traffic trying to catch up with you. You should stop by and let me know how I can get ahold of you now. I need to make a trip down to see you...

nismo1989

Nope, no ehtenol for me, thanks. BTW: jsut noticed that you joined 4 days ago. Welcome to Maxima.org, keep this up and you won't be here long, idiot...

DA-MAX

iTrader: (10)

I use 91 everyday in my Max......my #5 injector still died. please explain why this happen?? I'm holding you respoensible beause you claim hat this wouldn't happen if I use Premium fuel...so please explain why this happen? can I sue Exxon???

I love how all of you know so much about gasoline and its affects on these cars YET as usual in these STUPID internet arguments....no one has or ever shows any direct/concrete proof....ah well, keep arguing!