I just read in the other section that I need premium gas for my car. I bought it used and since than have been using regular gas. And the previous owner might have been too. What can I do to repair the damage that it might have caused?

 

Just start putting premium in it and you should be good to go.

 

Just for good measuere you should check the o2 sensors and spark plugs and see if they liked the regualr gas. If not, they will probably need to be replaced.

 

Throw in a bottle of Chevron Techron fuel cleaner and start using a good reliable brand name gas station like Sunoco, Chevron, Mobil, Shell for some premium gas. Your Maxima should be okay if no engine light came on so far.

 

hmmm.... fuel additive hey?? "Use at your own risk"

 

Why u say use at your own risk what is wrong with fuel additive?

 

Some of them, not all, have corrosive chemicals in them that will start to breakdown some of the components in your fuel system.

Using 87 octane shouldn't cause any damage to the engine and won't trip the Check Engine Light unless there is a problem with the knock sensor.

To whoever posted the O2 sensor thing, what do you mean see if the sensors liked it? How would using 87 affect the O2 sensors?

 

http://library.cbest.chevron.com/lub...7?OpenDocument

I have been using this product for my Maxima a few years already. It works great on the car. Just don't use those cheap one that sells for like $1.50-3.50. Another thing is you do not have to use the Chevron Techron every 3,000 miles. One or two bottle a year is good enough.

 

The o2 sensors may have gotten 'poisoned' with the cheap gas. I wish DBM was here to explain thouroughly

 

Stealth: How do you tell if this stuff works great for your car? Does it seem more powerful or fuel efficient as a result of the cleaning? I'd like to know because haven't put any additives in my tank, but have been faithful to using 93 octane gas.

 

How can they be poisoned. I was under the impression that an O2 sensor was pretty much an O2 sensor and the same one can be used in many different cars. How else could you buy a universal O2 sensor at any auto parts store and have it work? Are their different sensors for 87 octane cars and 91 octane cars? I guess I have to do a little research now that my curiosity is piqued.

 

Guys, it's really easy. The max is supposed to be run on Premium gas only, it says so on the fuel door. Part of the reason is because the car is equiped with a few sensors that when you use cheap gas will cause them to possibly trip (the knock sensor being one). Either way, you have to remember that all gas is not created equal, they vary from station to station so just run the premium and avoid headaches. The difference at most is like $3 per fill up anyway.

 

 

When I used a bottle of the Chevron Techron in my Maxima the mileage improved and the car started up easier. The car also run smoother during daily driving. It's not a BIG BIG difference like day and night but it does help. Many of the veterens on this forum like myself have used it with success. Make sure you get the 20 oz. size in the black bottle. It usually sells for $9-12 a bottle. If not then the 12 oz. is good for one tank. Chevron makes a fuel injector that looks the same but it costs cheaper and has less Techron in it. You want the bottle to say Techron Concentrate on it. If you live in a state and uses Chevron gas then you are all set. It is pre-mixed in their gas they sell at the stations. Hope this info helps you guys/gals out.

 

Although I started always using premium a month ago after reading octane related posts, for 5 1/2 year on my 96 Max I have used lost of 87, maybe 80% 87 and 20% 91, either from name brand station and from some almost unknown name to me, cheap stations (I don't stick to brands). Based on my own experience and on my own Max, there should be absolutely no damage to the engine if 87 is used. I never saw "check engine" or any other possible engine problem warning light on. Well there is always a chance that the warning light system is not working but I don't think it happened on my Max. It drives perfect except it does look old...
Manual says premium is recommended for better performance but it doesn't say it is a must.

 

Unless you've been using really bad gas from a no name station, you should not have significant deposits built up in your fuel system. Contrary to popular belief, regular has just as much detergents in it as super unleaded. Perhaps back in the 80's super had more detergents, but it is now federal law that all gasolines must have enough detergents to prevent buildup of deposits.

It's good hear that people have been using regular with no problems. I've been saying for years that using super is a personal choice, and if you do not notice the performance increase, then using regular is fine. I'm glad no one is saying "use super of your engine will explode" or some other nonsense like that.

I've always filled up with Chevron Super. It's a personal choice, but I've used regular without any worries as well. I run a bottle of Techron Concentrate once a year.

 

Guys, I don't know if this will help, but it can't hurt.....Two weeks ago I replaced my spark plugs, air filter and cleaned my throttle body. My car ran fine afterwards (actually better) until I was on my way home.

I was running out of gas, and had to stop at a no-name gas station on some side road. Now, keep in mind I always use premiun. This no-name gas station didn't have premium, as a matter of fact they only had one grade.....87. So I figured, what the heck, I'll throw in a quarter tank just to get me home. I was lazy, and didn't "mix it out" like I was planning on with premium.

About two or three days later my car started doing the classic "It turns over, and then the RPMs drop until it almost stalls" Well, it took me a while to realize that this was quite possibly the cause. (at first I was nervous that I had messed up the TB or something) It happened three days in a row, and on the fourth day the car turned over, and then the tach nosedived into a stall. I had to actually give it gas to get it to stay running. That's about when it clicked.

I went to the gas station, filled her up with premium, drove it around for a while in a feeble attempt to flush the lines of the old gas. When I got home and let it sit for a while it started right up next time. I know it doesn't affect EVERYONE, but it affected me, so I thought you should know.

Kyle

P.S. It set off my knock sensor also.

 

Wow, it sounds like that gas really sucked.

 

wow, i didn't know the choice in gas was such a major point...i fill my 97 GLE up with regular unleaded most of the time, flushing it out with premium every couple tanks, don't seem to have any problems...and i don't fill up from a no-name station either, so maybe the quality of regular i put in is good enough, don't know...but does the effectiveness of putting in premium really justify the increase in price?...i mean, i put premium in every few tanks, and do all the maintenance stuff on time, but i usually fill up with regular...thanks

 

Premium = better performance in the Max. Regular won't hurt it, though. Going with a good quality name brand is definitly the way to go, espescially considering the post above, I had no idea the symptoms could be THAT bad.

 

Premium 91+ Octane: 91+ octane is what your Maxima was designed for. When you use 91+ you get full advance on the timing, and therefore maximum performance, and maximum efficiency (mileage).

Regular 87 Octane: Your Max was not designed for this fuel. While you can use it, the side effects will be that the engine will always be at the onset of knocking. The knock sensor will tell the ECU to retard timing because of this and the side effect will be reduced performance (because timing is now off) and reduced mileage. Also, power delivery will not be as smooth because the timing is constantly being adjusted and the knock sensor is working non-stop to keep the engine from knocking.

One could make a reasonable argument that putting 87 octane in a Maxima could reduce the performance and fuel mileage to the point where operating costs would be cheaper (and performance better) if you just put 91 octane in to begin with.

The only places where you can get away with 87 octane in a Maxima without reduced performance or mileage is in high altitude locations. Up there where the air is thin the pressure in the cylinders is reduced enough such that higher octane fuel is no longer needed. 89, or maybe even 87 might work just as well as 91+, but only at higher altitudes. The manual talks about this.

The Accord V6 was designed specifically to use 87 octane, so that's all that I ever put in it.

The sweet VQ in the Maxima was designed for 91+ octane, so 91+ is all that I'll ever put in the Maxima.

Feed your baby what it was designed for

 

Chevron fuel system cleaner is an excellent product! As is Chevron fuel injection cleaner. STP, Christie's dry gas, and a few others that are similar are junk and not good! Fuel injection=1 bottle per week. Fuel system cleaner once a month. 96se auto (since new) 164,100 miles all Amsoil lubricants/filters. Once and a while i would use 104+ octane booster (red bottle only) with acceleron. This is another excellent product, it does not contain the old out dated chemistry that other fuel additives use like MMT, MTBE, ALCOHOL AND OR TOLUENE. It does not foul spark plugs (and believe me I have checked) or damage cats, and or 02 sensors, and it last about 3 tankfuls. When i drove my car I literally feather my gas pedal! 99% of my driving is all highway at an average rate of 1,000-1,200 miles per a week! I use nothing but Sunoco ULTRA 94 and or Texaco Super unleaded. Like i have stated to you guys before, beware of the gas stations that you go to, regardless of brand name. Simply because a lot of service stations are lazy F**KS (not all), because they fail to change their inline filters for their pumps, thus allowing a lot of PIG SH*T sediment to be pumped into your tank. And once that happens it can really screw up your VQ.

 

I've just changed my spark plugs because there was a lot of powder build up. It could could be from milages or the regular gas. I will use premuium and see how it is. Thank everyone for their knowledgable feedback.

 

I have a 95 GLE with just over 100,000 miles and I used to use 89 octane all the time. I got between 340 and 350 miles per tank. After reading quite a few posts about this I switched to 93 octane and did not notice a difference right away but after 3 or 4 tanks I started getting between 390 and 400 miles per tank. I guess the ECU takes a little time to adjust. I don't believe that running lower octane gas saves any money at all, if anything it costs more because of the lower mileage, not to mention the (slightly) lower performance. For me premium is the best.

Has anyone ever used Lubri-Moly fuel injector cleaner or valve cleaner? I used them the first time at about 75,000 miles and noticed quite a difference in throttle response and got a little better mileage. I just used it again and got the same result. Good stuff...

 

Be very careful, you should research the product/company for any negative inquiries. As I have stated before 104+ Octane Boost (red bottle) and Chevron are proven excellent products. Again i don't know much about that particular product that you speak of? I have 164,300 miles on my 96se auto and get between 475-500 miles per a tankful using Sunoco Ultra 94 and or Texaco super unleaded (all its life), in addition to a super strict preventative maintenance regimen, that would drive a dealer out of his mind!Best Wishes!

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Steve Marsh
[B]...I have 164,300 miles on my 96se auto and get between 475-500 miles per a tankful...

Do you drive mostly on the highway? I have gotten an absolute best of 430 with mostly city driving so I think I would probably get close to that on the highway too. Gotta love the VQ...

I wonder if our ECU's would advance the timing enough to feel the benefit right away if we were to reset them right before adding that 104+ octane boost.

 

hey.....
How many miles do you have on your car? How many miles have YOU been using Regular for?

I don't think it caused any damage.. I know people with high milage cars which require premium, they always used regular, (this 1 guy is a mechanic, although a very ****ty one lol) but still.. he has around 200k on a V6 Camry, he said premium is reccomended and he never used it, car is running fine, no engine problems.. he claims it's all a gimmick and some sort of a consipracy in the whole automotive/gas industry lol. Whatever.. point being, it shouldn't do much damage, if any at all.... There are other people here,, i don't remember who... but they always used regular in their Maximas and they continue to do so. Haven't had any engine failure's yet.. Hey, some people have 100k miles + and are running NOS, S/C and drive it like stole em' and don't have any problems with that.. so I don't think regular gas would kill a VQ if they do all that stuff to their cars and they are still fine after 100k miles don't worry... VQ is built to last.

 

i agree with you...there may be slight benefits into using premium, but so far, using regular has been no problem for me...we have both a 96 I30 and a 97 GLE...and both have been filled with regular gas since we bought them brand new off the lot, always filled up with regular gas, except for the occasional premium tank...90k on the I30, 50k on the max, i know, not very many miles, but still...haven't had any problems on either car...but i might try filling up a couple times in a row with premium...see if i notice any major difference...who knows?

 

I live in CO. I have read that the lower octane at higher altitude is true for carburettors but not for EFI. It sucks that we can't get higher than 91 here. It sucks even more that we pay the same price for 91 as other states pay for 92 or 93!

What you say actually does make sense. This is what I read ... in more than one place! I always put the best in my baby!

 

Yes i drive 1,000-1,200 miles within a 7 day period (each week), WHICH 99% of is highway driving. These VQ's are the best! One would be wise to buy an extra used motor and tranny for the future! Try the 104+ Octane booster (red bottle) this stuff is excellent. Regular gas burns at a different rate than super unleaded. All i know is my sparks are tidy, and i feather my gas pedal each time that i drive, its like the pedal is not there!

 

Not true! The octane requirements have nothing to do with fuel injection or carburetors. Engines at altitude don't make as much power so the margin over detonation increases dramatically, due to the lower effective cylinder pressures, which allows the use of lower octane fuels.

 

Like I said, I agree with your statment, but here's one article:

http://www.koaa.com/community/featur...ne_secret2.asp

 

I respectfully disagree on that one. Regular is fine. But premium is so cheap there's almost no reason not to use it at this point, I pay less today than 1999 for super. I don't know why people seem to think knock sensors on Japanese cars are different than German. German cars have them for the simple fact that 98 octane is not always available in Europe. The Euro M3 is designed for 98 octane, but can use 93 because of the knock sensors. So again, there is a difference between "recommended" and "required."

My buddy who is cheap uses regular in his 2001 330Ci. That's a car which I would use super but it's his dime.

 

buddy who's cheap also drives a 330Ci...i wish i could be cheap and drive one of those

 

I don't know about the fuel cleaner I try to stay away from them. Maybe the Octane boost but other than that I don't put nothing in my baby.

 

Huh, interesting article.

 

98 octane? Are you confusing the research octane number with that other octane rating (forget what's it called, but the pump octane rating is the average of those two).

 

Sister has been using regular on the '95 GXE for 170,000 miles.

I go back and forth between reg and premium, but now start putting regular in all the time. I can't feel the slightest difference in anything, I hear no pinging, fuel consumtion the same, same performance, ect.

Point is, If you don't wanna shell out the extra $ for premium, regular is just fine and won't harm your engine.

 

Not at all. The UK M3 could do 0-60 in 5.2, while the US version did a 5.9. UK has 98 octane unleaded. This doesn't mean one should pour a can of Kwasi Bonsai Pseudo Sumo Ninja-ZX12R octane boost in your tank, because sports fans, the compression ratios were different, 11.3 vs. 10.5. My point is some Max owners seem to insist the knock sensors don't have any compensatory effects if 87 octane is used.

Like I said, I think super 93 is worth it due to the fact it flows for $1.10/gallon. But if you use regular, no biggity, no doubt.

 

AHHHHHHH, I can't even get regular for $1.10 a gallon