I just bought a 2002 SE and I absolutely love it! I was glancing through the owners manual and noticed that it stated that 91+ octane was recommended. It also stated that if it is not available, 87 octane could be used. I bought the car in another city and before driving it home, I filled it up with 87 octane (not having read the manual yet). So far, no knocking or pinging heard but I don't want to screw up my new car. Should I be using the 91 octane or does 87 also work. Any feedback is appreciated. Thanks.

 

87 will work but if you want to keep your car, i suggest you start using 91 from now on..as it will prevent knocking and pinging..also gives the best mileage, or so i've noticed.

 

I concur. The few cents you pay extra for quality (CHEVRON etc.) premium gas will payoff down the road in mileage, performance and smile factor when you kick someone's butt off the line with NO hesitation, knocking, etc.!! Good luck!

 

it won't knock with 87 octane if you keep it low in rev... but the chances get higher as the revs go up... I too suggest to use the 91 octane.

and about pinging, I've been told that the car of today is often too well insulated from engine noises for us to hear the "slight" pings... you'll hear the strong ones, but the smaller one will go unnoticed, and meanwhile your engine will get more and more damaged.

the few cents are worth it IMO

 

There is not a production (non-performance) vehicle that should not run just fine in daily driving scenarios on 87 octane gas. With computer controled timing pinging should not occur in these situations. I think Nissan has used this 91 octane recommendation as an excuse for design flaws. I was given this excuse from a dealer and the factory support line.

 

Nissan doesn't recommend 91, just premium, as some locations do not have 91 octane.


Check the article in the FAQ/Stickys, you might learn a few things.

 

I have heard (from my own engine and other orgers) of pinging even with 91 octane at ~1500-2000rpm with moderate load. I've heard theories of lean fuel mixtures being the culprit. Higher octane reduces detonation (pinging), expecially in high compression engines. Like spotbass says, the engine will run on 87 (my ex-boss runs 87 only, because she's cheap), but the ECU must compensate. I spend the extra few $ and avoid any pinging I can. I don't need any extra wear on the engine, I was driving 70 miles a day.

 

Thanks everyone for the input. I plan on keeping the car for a long time, so the few extra cents for the "good stuff" would probably be worth it. I agree with everyone that it's better to not take any chances. Anyways thanks again!

 

I've never ever heard about the VQ engines have design flaws. A best engine 9 years in rows has design flaws??? Sounds weird. Actually more and more new cars now have more than 10:1 compression ratio for better efficiency. This is where the higher octane requirement comes from. For the vehicles over 10:1 compression that claim only need regular, just because the knock sensor retards timing when knock happen, what almost guarantees the engine always perform poorer than what it should be on a good premium, and of course prepare to replace the knock sensor soon.
my .02