Ok ive read alot about we should use 91 or higher. Now heres my dilema, i get free gas which i believe is the cheap stuff reg unleaded...So anyway if you guys got free gas would you say screw it and pay for the good stuff. Me im saying um no, so is there anythingi can put in tank to make it better or something? Thanks

 

93 Octane Only. No exceptions. Run it in both cars. Chevron 93 at that.

David

 

I always use the highest octane I can get (92 or 93). If I was getting low octane for free, I'd put in something like Outlaw Octane Boost or 104+ Octane Boost. You'll still be making out like a bandit money wise, and meeting the octane requirement specified by Nissan. And with as often as the VQ's knock sensors go out around here, I'd want the extra protection of higher octane to prevent knocking. Remember, knocking is accumulative damage. Won't necessarily kill your engine right away, but it will add up to a shorter engine life. You might want to pull any codes to see if your knock sensor is working correctly before using lower octane gas for any length of time (bad knock sensor won't trip your MIL, but it will store a code 03 04). Hope this helps.

Dave

 

Thanks Dave for today's best lesson... nothing worse than pings and knocks when you go WOT.
i stick to Mobil or Sunoco super.
as far as the free gas goes.. work it out with the attendant so you slip him a fin if he gives you super instead of regular.. remember, everyone has a price.

 

i only use 94 octane gasoline...

what makes me angry, is the first time i didn't use 94 octane was at the track, where i almost ran out of gas on the way, and had to use 91. how ironic is it, that when i actually NEED the higher octane gas, i get screwed over like that.

with that day as an exception, everything has been 94.

and for the question, i would go with the free stuff, and add octane boost.

 

98 RON, usually Mobil or BP. Regular unleaded here gives me 0304's.

 

i use to get free gas, i'd go to the sunoco and get 94 octane, and this was when it was 2.17 a gallon, but i didn't care because it was free but now i use 93 or 92 i don't remember which one, always

 

When I first got my car in 99, I use to put supreme. But the Nissan service manager told me that I should just use the regular gas. That is what is recommended in the manual. So I have been using that ever since. I never had any problems.

 

I cant imagine using anything less than 93. I was even using it on my previous car, just because. Now that i know all this pinging **** happens on the Max, ill definately pay for premium.

 

i always put in exxon or mobil 93 in my car, my knock sensor still died on me

 

Out here in NorCal, 91 is the highest it goes and its still $1.89!

 

In CA, 91 is the highest unless you manage to find a 76 that has 101.

*Preps for flames*

What I don't understand is why you guys experience all kinds of pinging and knocking. My mom has owned her Maxima for 7 years and it's had nothing but 87 and there has been no problem. In the Max I just purchased, I've used 87, 89, and 91. No problems what so ever. I'm also unaware of any replacement of knock sensors or O2 sensors.

 

manual recommends 91 but allows you to use lower if you can't find any. i can only find 87 89 and 93. I use 93. i get slightly better gas mileage with 91. engines shouldn't knock cause computer should retard timing if you knock. lower octane gas burn hotter, but will ignite faster(before it is supposed to) under compression which is what causes the knocking. there's an article on octane on howstuffworks website. the site might be in a sticky on this forum.

 

Tht manager must be a moron because it clearly states use premium only, on the inside if the gas lid and in the service manual.

Using 87 instead of premium will give you worse performance but have a much smaller effect in the long run. You're basically sacrificing horsepower because with the maxima's high compression lower grade gas will ignite before the spark plug goes up and the cylander is at it's high point. You'll loose some power basically if you use the cheap stuff. It's also easier on you're engine. Lower grade may/may not damage it in the long run...also depends on how long you keep the car...

 

93 ONLY!!! (Mobil, Texaco, Sunoco for me)

 

i use regular unleaded if you fill up with super and reset your odometer and then fill up with regular and track the miles they are identical so that tell`s me thier is no diffrence in performance

 

this must be like the 50th thread on this board on octane

 

I am truely an idiot! From when I bought the car brand new in 99 I have been putting regular gas in my car. For some reason I could have sworn that I read that it said regular (and that idiot service manager). So I checked it today and it said premium (91). Any suggestion other than putting premium in my car to improve the performance, and possible fix and damage that I may have caused. Thanks in advance.

 

well here in Louisiana we have 87 89 or 93 and i always put 93 and then i got poor and had to switch to 87 b/c its like 30 cents cheaper a gallon. well my car is running worse than ever and i think its the reason, so today i put back 93 and we'll see how she does.

 

If you read the owners manual or gas door label, it says "regular unleaded only - for maximum performance use octane 91 or higher"

Using 87 will not harm your car.

Sprinty is right this is like the billionth time people talk about gas. Do a search folks.

87 will not cause your car to explode, melt down, or otherwise send it to an early grave. Hundreds of thousands of Maxima drivers use regular everyday, and I have yet to hear of a single Maxima break down because of that. 91 is best, but 87 is ok too. Just keep an eye on that knock sensor, which malfunctions unrelated to 87 or 91 I would wager.

 

what about now a days? LOL i know id use notthin but 93 in 03 but now what do u guys run? i been running 87 chevron and getting bad gas its a 95 maxima with 280k miles runs great. wondering if i should go to 93 or 89?

 

If you would use nothing but 93 back in 2003 why would you use 87 now knowing that 87 is crap, just like I don't know why you bumped a 7 year thread

 

Things haven't changed in seven years buddy continue using 93 octane.

 

stick with 93, if you really think about it the difference between an 87 octane fill up and a 93 octane fill up is like 2-3 dollars. what's $3, unless your a penny pincher aka cheap a$$ lol you shopuld be fine...