I have a chance to pick up a '98 SE 5-speed with 112K on the clock for $3400 from the original owner, who is a friend of ours. I found out today that he has been running 87 octane in the car since he bought it. I doubt that the car has spent much, if any, time at all above above 4000 rpm's as this gentleman is in his late 50's and just generally conservative in nature.

I know that 91 octane and above is recommended for the '98's. Are there any reservations you guys would have about puchasing the car. I have not inspected the car yet but plan on pulling the plugs and going over it in my garage.

Currenly my dailey driver is a 215K '97 Altima which runs like a top.

Thanks for your insight in advance,

Chuck

 

The 87 is not an issue. It's what a knock sensor is for. Look over the guy's maint. records on the car. If motor, trans. and susp. are OK jump on this.

 

it shouldn't be a big deal... 3400 is a great price, especially since it's driven by an old man who prolly didn't race it.
buy it and just run premium from here out. The maxima will be very happy with the change.

 

get that max, put 93 and change your knock sensor

 

I agree...it is a good price. He is offering the Max to me as the price the dealer is giving him on a trade-in value on a truck he is buying. So, I wont be able to try to lowball him for $3000 as JwaxMax99 suggested

 

wouldn't all that 87 over time have ill effects on the motor? I guess if its not pinging buy it.

 

I put 87 in my 95 beater maxima and noticed absolutely no difference in performance.

 

I bought my max about a month ago with 86k miles on the clock from an elderly gentelman who told me he put regular in it for all its life. Car runs like a champ, and since putting in 93 octane I have noticed absolutely no difference in performance. In fact, the manual says that you can put in regular if premium fuel is unavailable. The key is proper car maintanence, which from his lengthy instructions on how I should treat it told me a lot about the previous owner. Car probably needs a new knock sensor but I got no codes for that yet so Ill have to wait and see. Runs like new

 

the guy that i bought my maxima off of ran it on 87 from brand new. i still run it on 87 at 115k and it runs awesome. its just reccomended, not required. ur car will not run much different, just cost you more every week.

 

my 96 has been runing on regular since i got it back in april, about a 6 weeks ago i started using plus but i think i am about to ga back to regular bcause gas prices aren't looking o good right now.

 

Check the maintenance records and determine when all the fluids were last changed, eg. transmission/transaxle?/clutch?/radiator/power steering/oil.

If you're worried about the car being babied, you might want to run some AutoRX throught the crankcase to give the combustion chamber and ring packs a thorough cleaning. See www.auto-rx.com and bobistheoilguy.com

A Seafoam application through the brake booster cable, a bottle of Chevron Techron before the next oil change and a throttle body and IACV cleaning also might be in order if needed.

 

At 87 octane, your engine will have detonation = bad for engine. Sure it'll run til 112k miles but will it keep running past 200k? These engines are made to last a very very long time. Don't be cheap, your saving 20 cents per gallon at your engine's expense?

 

Only if your timing is advanced enough.

Knock sensor > you..

That's what it's there for

 

True but in our case, the Maxima timing is automatically controlled by the ECU. I'm not sure if you can even advanced the timing on our cars. From experience, I got more MPG when I use 91. I tried using 87 once and gas mileage was horrible. That settles it for me.

 

...

 

What are you talking about? Both your posts in this thread have been chock full of bad info...


BTW my beater has 185k miles on it, miles clearly full of abuse and neglect if you look at it, and it still runs like a top.

 

Well, I finally took at look at the car today. I pulled the plugs and looked at all of the fluids(even the brake fluid was clear) and perused all of the work receipts he kept from the dealer only maintain records.

I'ts a nice clean car that drives great.......I'm buying it.

A couple other particulars about the car..............

Leather seats
Heated seats
Moon roof
Bose CD system

 

I'm simply restating what is in the FAQ! So I guess the info there is not reliable. Oh no!!! I pissed off a Maxima gawd.

Here's what it says in the MaxFaqs:

Why should I use premium gas? Prices are so expensive these days.
For the 4th and 5th gen Maxima, it is important that you use a premium grade gas (i.e. 91 or greater octane). Using premium gas is not for increasing performance (not directly) or for giving you extra horsepower. What it does for you is to prevent detonation or pre-ignition. Detonation means that the fuel and air mixutre ignite at the wrong time due to the high compression and heat. This is VERY bad for the engine. The effets of detonation is cumulative, meaning the damage adds up. Higher octane gas will be more resistant to detonation and allow your engine to run as intended

 

You are correct, some of it is not reliable. They should be updated but that is a large undertaking.


Don't like being corrected I can see. You didn't "**** me off" in the slightest. But you did post bad info which needs to be corrected so as to stem the flow of bad on this site. You've already been the recipient of bad info (from the FAQs), it stands to reason that you would rather not be the recipient of bad info again. Thus correction was necessary unless you'd rather continue to be a conduit for misinformation. This stuff is basic common knowledge for everyone (well almost everyone) on this board. The comment you made in your first post about the low octane gas is understandable because it's a fallacy that is quite prevalent. However the comment about not being able to advance the timing was the comment that made me think "what the heck is this guy talking about?"

 

You just love to play with words. Whatever floats your boat man. It's in the FAQ and that's that. If you want to give your own scientific proof, be my guest. It's not that I don't like to be corrected. Your manner of speaking was on the defensive by using words like "chock full", you seem to love exaggerating that.

I know you can adjust the timing using some sort of controller or chipping (ie: JWT ECU). But with just the stock ECU, you can't...from a stock maxima's perspective.

Anyhow, I'm not gonna argue with who's wrong or right. The fact is there and that's that.

 

How was I playing with words? I was being honest and accurate. If someone is dispensing bad information they need to be told so. Two posts - both of which had bad info in them. I don't know what your definition of chock full is, but two strikes in two attempts is chock full in my book. I understand that you didn't like being corrected, no one does, including myself. Which is why I make every attempt to be correct in what I'm saying before I say it.

 

Get a motel room you two.

 

 

This thread has been jacked, raped, and left to die in some alley.

Just call up Nissan and ask them what they think, Im sure they will have an informative answer for you. If it was bad for your car, I highly doubt the manual would say its acceptable to use. In fact it says 'for maximum performance' use premium. I think Nissan would have been sued by now if their reccomendation caused Maxima owners engine damage.

 

I guess so.............I hope this is not what I can expect from Maxima.org


Maybe I'll just stick with my Altima

 

My mom has been putting 87 in her 95 maxima since she got it in 1996, the car has had no problems stemming from this.
Interestingly enough I've been putting nothing but 91 in my '96 and I just recently had to replace my knock sensor

 

Okay, guys, I'm new here, but I wish I could figure out the RIGHT answer on this thread -- the sniping back and forth isn't helping. If the FAQ on this issue is WRONG (and this is a pretty important question given gas prices) then someone should please go in and delete it until it's right, or fix it.

My 97 GXE has 154,000 miles on it. It's been a really good car (my last car was a Ford LTD I put 261,000 miles on without any engine work). I have religiously put 91 octane in it, until recently with the gas prices. I dropped down to 89 for a while, then decided to try the 87. No discernible difference in how the car behaves, with mostly in-city and city freeway driving, and a little highway driving thrown in.

I don't do my own mechanical work. Service engine light came on over the weekend. My knock sensor is being replaced even as we speak. So, do I go back to 91? 89? switch back and forth between hi and low octane? Thanks in advance.

 

I don't see why there is an issue with using premium fuel when it says it on the owners manual to use premium fuel. It even says it by the fuel tank access lid. Those were put in there by Nissan. Anyone can dispute the FAQ and offer no other supporting proof for this other than "I put regular unleaded on my car since day one and never had problems". That's their perrogative and that's their investment that their dealing with. Sometimes I wonder why it is so hard for many people to just simply follow directions even when its in black and white.

 

The guy who owned the maxima before me is a mechanic. He has a 800hp stingray corvette that he built from scratch and a built harley as well. This was a man who knew about cars and he told me that it is fine putting 87 into the maxima and he has been doing it since he got the car. I bought the car with 86k on it and it still drives like new. You should be more worried about oil changes and things like that instead of the octane. If you can afford 93, then do that, but if money is an issue 87 will more than suffice. Premium fuel is only required in the 5th gen+ models.

 

IDK about you but my manual says that premium fuel is "recommended", regular is ok if premium is unavailable. The point is that if money is an issue 87 is ok, it wont kill your car.

 

Big HP engines like drag racers use top fuel (very high octane) to achieve max power. And you say this mechanic builds a 800hp engine? Does that engine really put out 800hp.

 

wth are u talking about....why would he say that it puts out 800hp if it doesnt? are u shocked that a motor can put out that kind of hp or something? i personally kno people with mid 700hp n/a chevys that still run on pump gas. nothin higher then what i put into my max. u have been saying alot of odd things in this thread

 

So here's a hypothetical situation: Your doctor recommends that you eat the right foods and exercise regularly to stay healthy. Does it mean that going against the doctor's recommendation would keep you healthy? I don't know about you but I'd rather follow the recommendations. Of course, not everyone does which is why this country accounts for one of the highest obesity rate in the world. Staying on topic: the same analogy can apply to the "recommended" premium fuel by Nissan. Your only saving a few more cents by going with cheaper gasoline.

 

Ask Ceasar's Chariot or anyone else in the org who hits the track regularly, what octane they use? Would you use regular unleaded before you hit the track?

 

DR Max-

I've always been one to do pretty much as I'm told by people who know more than I do about something. That's why I put the 91 in all these years. I remember someone asked this question of Click and Clack a few years back ("do I have to run premium in my 97 Maxima?") and they said yes, for various reasons related to the computer and performance.

I am concerned about long-term effects on the engine. I intend to drive this car "until the wheels fall off", and I do take care of it. So, I think I'm going back to the premium, and just try to cut down on driving a bit. Taking the bus to work a few times a week is way more economical.

Thanks.

 

I dont know what kind of fuel he uses, and I never said he used regular. I was referring to the maxima.

Dr-Max,
Your doctor analogy is irrelevant. A better one would be a doctor tells you to eat 300g of protein a day and you eat 225g. Sure, eating 300 would be optimal, but 225 wont kill you or cause any sort of lasting damage. Especially if you live in poverty where your money has to be spent elsewhere. My point is if you are on a tight budget and putting in regular makes more sense to you, then by all means do it, you are not harming your car.

 

Couldn't have said it better. It's not just doing as you are told. But when a manufacturer recommends something, I tend to take that seriously because they designed that engine and they really know what would work well with it. I tend to find it hard to follow when some people give a different answer and not back it up with hard evidence and only to keep saying that they have been putting regular unleaded on their Maxes since day one and have never had problems thousands of miles later. What do they really know about the engine? Do they really know what Nissan knows? Unless that person is a Nissan engineer, I highly doubt it! So everyone else can tell me that Im weird or whatnot, all I know is that my Maxima is going to get premium leaded fuel and I'm going to drive it til the wheels fall off. Again, your only saving a few more cents or a couple more dollars at most. I guess if $2 is too much for them, then its on them....its their car.

 

What does this have to do with anything? We already acknowledged that premium fuel is optimal.

Dr-max,

Obviously,if there are even minor enhancements in performance, Nissan is going to recommend higher end fuel. Does this mean that 87 is bad....NO, all it means is that Nissan recommends premium.

 

So what difference would it make if you use premium fuel on or off track? Same engine! You said that if you are on a tight budget and putting in regular unleaded makes more sense to you because you are not harming your car. Do you have hard evidence to show that you really aren't harming your car in the long run?? Have you opened up your engine and did fuel/oil analysis proving this? Has anyone done this and posted it in the FAQ disproving the other FAQ that explains why premium fuel prevents engine detonation? If you do, then paste it in here because all I keep hearing is that using premium fuel is a fallacy and that correcting the FAQ is a huge undertaking...yeah right!

 

Do you have any proof that putting in 87 harms the engine besides what Nissan "recommends"? Those stickies are not the word of GOD. Yes, its true that putting in a higher octane reduces detonation and in some cars that is very important for their well being. Show me evidence that a 4th Gen Max is one of those cars.

There is no point in this argument, both of us have said what needs to be said and both of us have people who agree and disagree with us. Lets let this rest.