SG01MaxSE

I'm hoping someone here can help me. This past weekend, I drove about 850 miles, to Columbus, Ohio, and back. No spirited driving, as I had my 6 month old nephew in the car, and never over 90 mph. When I got home, I washed the 2 inches of salt and road grime off of the car, and then pulled into my parking space. I revved the engine a couple of times (just habit, I guess) and noticed that the car didn't wind down from the revs very quickly, and that as it revved down, I could feel a vibration through the accelerator pedal. I chalked it up to the long trip and went inside.

Today, I go out and detail my car, inside and out, and then, of course, I decide to go for a drive and show it off (heh heh)! So, I'm pulling out onto the main road, and I floor it. The car seems very sluggish! Couple of punches from 30, 40, and 50 mph, and same thing, sluggish acceleration. I got home, and parked and revved, just like last night, and had the same rough accelerator feel as yesterday. I popped the hood and checked all the vacuum hoses I could find, and double-checked the attachment points on my Injen intake, and all seemed well.

The ONLY thing that I did any differently on this trip was that I used 87 octane instead of 93. Could three tanks of 87 fuel make my car run so sh!tty??? Or, could 850 miles of salty highway driving be the culprit?

Please, someone tell me that they've had this problem, and that everything is fine!!!

Thanks for any help, .org!!!!!

soundmike

iTrader: (24)

My hunch is, the gas. It takes 3-5 tanks to cycle through the entire tank IIRC.

nismotech

Yes it could be the 87 octane gas. If you see the fuel door there is a sticker that says:

"Premium Fuel recommanded for Maximum performance"

87 octane is a big No No for Maxima

MacAlert

iTrader: (1)

you probably got water up in the intake. i think someone had the same problem.

SG01MaxSE

I know, I know.

I just figured that, since I'd be burning right through a tank in 6 hours, I'd save three or four bucks (God... I AM a dumba$$!!!) and get the cheap stuff. I guess it also didn't help that this was probably a winter blend since two of the fill-ups came from up north.

Well, at least I'm beginning to feel like the problem is correctable, since none of the gurus here have come up with anything else.

Sounds like time for a bottle of octane booster (psyche!!!), and a fill-up with some good ol' southern 93 octane!



Hydrolocked engines don't run rough... they just don't run.

PHATMAN5050

I highly doubt it is the gas, and that premium gas is bull****. My mom's Suburban says premium, my dad's camery says premium, every car now-a-days says it needs premium gas and as it says 'recommended' not required. I used to put regular in when I had to pay for gas, but now that I have the parent's speedpass, its premium all the time, and to tell you the truth I see absolutely no difference. The only reason why I fill it up with it, is because maybe when I'm racing an F50 or M3 I will have that extra .001 in my 0-60 time to my advantage.

TimW

iTrader: (6)

errrr, what? Does your moms suburban have a 10:1 CR ratio? Doubt it... Yes, the maxima needs premium. Your grandmother can drive all day on 87, but if you want to stomp on it, you need to have some premium. You do not want detonation and knock sensors only sense knock thats occuring, so you are opening yourself up to damage before the timing can retard.

Not only that, I've watched them around those fuel farms, most operators dont care at all what goes in the 87 tank. They will put anything in those tanks.. :/

slickrick

iTrader: (12)

my mother has a 99 suburban and its supposed to take normal. but at about 20k it started pinging and knocking, so she uses midgrade or premium. her car still knocks if she puts in regular. pos american cars/trucks.

njmaxseltd

iTrader: (19)

You'll never notice the difference between 87 / 91 octane gas. Some cars will ping under heavy loads in hot conditions with 87 and thats why the mfg. tells you to use 91 or higher.

His sluggish engine is indicating something isn't right. My thoughts are with the MAF sensor. If the MAF isn't working correctly, the ECU will not be able to make maximum power from the engine.

If 87 octane gas was bad for engines, 1/2 the population would be driving around in cars that don't run right or are being damaged. Do you think thats happening?

Ma><iManiac

I think a lot of people don't understand the engineering that goes into high performance cars. If you don't want to use high octane fuel, then don't. But the manual says to, and if you aren't gonna listen there, then why listen when the manual tells you not to put a child in the front seat? They know what they're talking about.

Zog

iTrader: (1)

Yeah my buddy's Dodge Ram pings like hell if he doesn't use premium. I had a little gas trouble this weekend also. I had traveled about 3 hours to some friends house, and after letting it sit all weekend (w/ about 1/4 of a tank) the damn thing just didn't want to turn over, and so i get really scared, but it finally did. So went and filled it up w/ some texaco 93 and it turned over thisfast. Wierd

TimW

iTrader: (6)

ok.. go load up with 87 and tow something over your closest mountain. Tell us what you are going to use your old pistons for, paperwieghts? doorstops?

Oh and 1/2 the population drives Accords and Civics.. : /

It could be his MAF, but telling someone who drives agressively that they dont need premium is BS.

My dealer wouldnt even look at my rough running engine until I showed them reciepts for prem gas. Luckily I had a whole stack with me.

CCS2k1Max

iTrader: (2)

I'm with the side that thinks water got into the tank somehow (compounded by 87 octane gas). Try a can of heat before you go and deal with the friendly service dept. (no wonder they treat all of us like morons [see sebaxx's tranny thread]).

As for the octane rating, all you're doing is comparing apples to oranges. A high compression engine requires higher octane fuel (unless you're at high elevations). If you don't belive this, go to Colorado and pump 85 octane and then pull a trailer down to lower altitudes and see how the car does.

If all you want to "save" money "cause you can't find 91 octane", pump 50/50 89/93 octane or 1/3 87 and 2/3 93. Better yet, get a Camry.

SG01MaxSE

Thanks for all of the replies, guys.

I really hope that it's not an MAFS problem. As sensitive as those things are, wouldn't it throw an SES light?

As soon as I leave work, I'm topping off the tank with 93 again, so I hope that does the trick.

I have become a true believer in higher octane fuel in the last several years (since I've driven Nissans). People that say it makes no difference are usually the people that ONLY use 87 octane, and have never felt a difference because of it. The reason that I pumped 87 is not to save myself money, but to save money for the people who were paying for the gas (I didn't pay, since I was driving).

Anyway, if anyone else can think of something different for me to check while these next couple of tanks run through, let me know.

Thanks again for your help.

hokiemax

iTrader: (2)

You get my repect and props for all your suspension help
but, you are wrong on this. I do notice a difference between regular and premium in my car, not only in MPG, but also in performance. Also, my max gets the best MPG with Chevron. I get 34 MPG on highways with chevron fuel. Cant get that with any other brand. Also, my bro's 2k 5spd pings real bad with 87, but a full tank of Chevron 93 will fix that. I love Chevron !!

Quicksilver

iTrader: (1)

A bit off topic (but not off your post), if your buddy has a Magnum engine ('92 or later) in his Ram, tell him to switch to Autolite 3923's. Pinging will disappear. I'm sort of a Magnum engine guru.

Zog

iTrader: (1)

I'm pretty sure he's in that range. What are autolite 3923's.