9378max

iTrader: (1)

guys, i know that 93 octane gas is the best for the maxima, but my question is that is one brand of premium gas better than the other? (ie. shell v-power, bp ultimate, quiktrip premium, exxon mobil premium, ....). i currently use quik-trip premium because it is cheaper than other premium gas, but my friend told me that shell v-power was better and so i was considering switching.

mastercater7

iTrader: (2)

I use shell v power. I have been told that, atleast in my area, shell and chevron are the main companies that dont put water in their gas.

MaximaSE96

iTrader: (8)

baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah....its all refined at the same places

jxkim

iTrader: (18)

i like sunoco since i can save some pennies on 91 versus 93

dgeesaman

iTrader: (10)

In theory there is no substantial difference between brands, assuming they are of the same composition.

However, now they are blending ethanol in the gasoline, and this can make a significant difference in power/consumption. It will depend on the brand and where you are buying since it's driven by local regulations.

Octane again should perform the same, however there is always the question of whether the station manager actually put in the fuel they claim is in there. I know a truck driver who would fill his tanker truck and go around filling up the tanks at all different kinds of stations. Not only that, but some stations they had him putting the 87 octane in their 89 and 93 octane tanks. On Maximas, a bad tank of gas could cause a little bit of detonation and timing retard. But on other cars this can be disastrous (e.g. RX-7s, which will completely destroy the engine). But this will always suck since there is no practical way to measure the octane of the fuel you buy. Unless you know the station manager or the trucker who hauls their fuel, it can't be verified.

FWIW I fill up with whatever 89 I feel like buying. It hasn't set off my knock sensor yet and I've never noticed any detonation or loss of fuel economy.

Dave

Bassman607

I usually just price shop. But my seat of the pants testing says that for pump gas Exxon gives a little more power. This comes with the penalty of less feul milage. I think they formulate with lighter distilate fractions that vaporize faster that other brands. This would also account for lower milage, less energy content per gallon. I suspect their gallons are lighter than other pump gas brands.

albo

i usually put chevron, specially on long trips... il get shell too depending on which one of both is cheaper.

'96 B-rad

I always get sunoco ultra 93

Max07Ridr

I just bought an 07 Max 3.5 SE, is it ok using 89 octane or should I use 93? Im a little confused on whether it is ok to use it or not b/c one of my friends uses 89 and his car seems to run fine. What do u guys think?

Mxrider52

iTrader: (8)

I would go with the recommended fuel. It probably 91. But I would run 91 or 93 especially for it being a new car. There ppl that claim that 87,89 vs 93 makes no difference but it just a piece of mind to know that your running the right stuff.

Cdg2125

iTrader: (7)

It's gas.....run 91 or 93 and that's it. It doesnt matter what its called as long as its 91 or 93.

Bassman607

Cdg,
yes, if you're just running out for doughnuts ,gas is gas. If I were in some type of competition I'd want some VP unleaded race fuel in my tank. If you've ever tried it you'd see a significant increase in throttle response and max power. It cost $10/gallon when pump gas was $1.50

Apparition

iTrader: (5)

Opec 93..............

moogotzskillz2

shell or BP 93 octane, is all my maxima drinks...

Cdg2125

iTrader: (7)

Well I'm pretty sure he's not talking about spending $10/gal for driving on the streets. I dont think race fuel has relevance to that.

sachmo

i usually stick to Sunoco Ultra 94

mastercater7

iTrader: (2)

When I have a low tank and im feeling like going fast, I go to my local Home Depot and buy 2 gallons of xylene paint thinner and mix it with 2 gallons of V power. Higher octane than jet fuel for a short time.

Max96-97

I used many different brands in the past. Now most of the time I fill it with Chevron when convenient due to their claim that the added Techron is good for the fuel injectors.

natty99

iTrader: (6)

you do that too? damn, I thought I was the only one! j/k

I'm thinking that premium gas is premium gas, but my seat of the pants test (and my calculation of MPG from multiple highway trips to Philly trying different brands of gas) tells me that my max loves sunoco first, BP second. It doesn't like the V-power too much, actually, i seem to get ****tier MPG with that. But I won't start with that, I know there was a thread a while back that talked about MPG and the best brand of gas to achieve that and it turned rather ugly.

Having said that, I'm sure there are differences (in performance) between brands of gas, but just too miniscule to actually detect a difference. Too many factors play into the whole equation of what gas is better for our cars when comparing fuels of the same octane rating. Get what you feel comfortable with and call it a day.

ILLeSt MaX

iTrader: (1)

paint thinner in ur gas tank? i never heard of that.. how does that work?

Cdg2125

iTrader: (7)

It was a joke.....

ALSOUSA99MAXIMA

iTrader: (10)

mastercater7

iTrader: (2)

Xylene has an octane rating of 120 i believe, so you mix it with premium and do the problem and depending on the difference in amounts of gas and xylene you get a higher or lower octane level.

mastercater7

iTrader: (2)

and no, its not a joke

mountain people

What's the composition of Xylene? Wouldn't that mess up the stoichiometry and the combustion?

mountain people

I've also heard from thev-dub people that if you add 3oz (if i remember correctly) of pure acetone to every 10 gal of fuel, they get better mpg. Anyone heard of that before?

natty99

iTrader: (6)

messing up the stoichiometry? so you think that when using just the fuel we have in our tanks that the stoichiometry is ideal? We dont live in our chem books where rxns are balanced, nor do our cars operate in such a world. The stoichiometry is already messed up, and thus, that is what the ECU, sensors, and in general, tuning is for: balance air/fuel mixtures to increase performance and efficiency. But yeah, the xylene would mess that **** up even more. You would most likely have to lean out the air/fuel mixture in order to compensate for the more dense organic component of the air/fuel mixture.

Apparition

iTrader: (5)

I'm sure that mixing acetone, paint thinner or mineral spirits into your gas isn't the best idea.. I've been wrong in the past, but most fuel additives aren't too great for prolonged use on certain seals and such on cars. With that said, what does that say for thus mentioned chemicals..

Cdg2125

iTrader: (7)

Ok you do that then.