That's just business sense, with all the cars dealers are filling up, the price difference between one grade to the next can be a substantial difference, a friend of mine works in a dealer doing billing and she told me the phone bills is like 40k a month, during peek selling months, usually it's around 10k I don't think the average individual realizes the extremely high amount of money these dealers need to run day to day, just the one dealer I worked in years ago needed 40k to break even a day, now 10 years later when they are 5 times the size and still expanding one can only imagine

Back to premium, it's a must with these high horsepower modern cars

 

I've used 93 or higher since day one.

I dont drive the Max a whole lot (41K since 5/03) so gas prices werent a problem.

Although lately the gas prices sure make it easier to fill up.

Took this shot this morning...



The other station I usually hit has prem. for under 2.19.

 

^^ Those are some good prices. I wish it was that cheap around here.
Oh and I'm using premium.

 

Some folks are really lucky. About ten days ago on another thread on this board, I mentioned that my nearest gas station was shown on the evening news on WSB TV Atlanta (on the news because they finally had premium gas for the first time since August), and the pictures accompanying that coverage showed the posted prices, and the difference between regular and premium was 60 cents (SIXTY CENTS; over $10 per 17 gal fillup difference). The difference has since dropped to forty cents, but nowhere near the closeness KCmaxx has.

All my Maximas from 2nd gen through 6th gen have run wonderfully well on regular gas, with no difference in MPG or performance that I was able to measure or detect. But this '09 Maxima is a horse of another color, and I will not be using regular in this high-compression beast.

 

I put 93 in today, 3.40 per gallon, much better than it was a while ago.

 

The only good thing about living in Missouri is the price of Gas, I am not sure why but this state has averaged the cheapest of the Nation.....I am about to eat my words because I told all of my co-workers that we would never see gas go below $2.00 ever again.....well 87 Unleaded regular today here in Warrensburg is at $2.01 with 93 premium at $2.20 I can't wait to see the $1.99 threshold once again!!!!

 

is that right?

does this apply for all gens or just 6th gen?

 

dewd - I used regular in all five of my Maximas from 1985 up through my '04 SL with absolutely no problems whatsoever, and put as much as 206,000 miles on one of them.

BUT

Some individual Maximas don't seem to run quite as well on regular, and those particular cars should not be fed regular gas.

In each case, I ran premium for around a year, then midgrade around a year, then regular until I let the car go. And in each of those cases, premium was RECOMMENDED by Nissan, not required. And there had been no modification to the engine/ignition system on any one of those five cars. The engine/ignition system on each Maxima can function very slightly differently, even on two cars coming down the assembly line together. Had I ever had a whisper of pinging or knocking, or noticed any change in performance or MPG, I would have immediately gone back to a higher octane.

In the case of the '09 Maxima, Nissan is much more strident in their insistence that PREMIUM FUEL IS REQUIRED. After the technical explanations jcalabria has presented in this thread, I certainly will not be using regular gas in my '09.

 

Very informative. Thanks

 

Just FYI gas did break the $2.00 threshold today here in Warrensburg MO, it is now at $1.96 for regular unleaded today!!! Waaaahhhhooooooow! 93 Premium is at $2.15 sweeeeeeet!

 

Interesting results from extended trip last week...


Due to a death in the family I had need/opportunity to (seemingly) circumnavigate the southeast region of the US last week - well over 2000 miles. What was most startling during this trip was the marked drop in fuel mileage when using 10% ethanol blend. In Charlotte area, I have never seen any ethanol blended gas whatsoever, so virtually all of my experience has been on straight petrol. During this trip, I ran a total of three fill-ups of 87 octane gas and three fill-ups of 87 octane 10% ethanol blend. All of the driving was flat terrain interstate, 75-80 mph steady state cruising. All fill-ups were at least 16.5 gallons. The fuel mileages for each tankful, in order, were as follows:

1. 100% Gas - 27.8mpg
2. 100% Gas - 28.4mpg
3. 10% Ethanol - 24.9 mpg
4. 10% Ethanol - 23.7 mpg
5. 10% Ethanol - 23.6 mpg
6. 100% Gas - 27.2 mpg

Average on 100% gas: 27.8 mpg
Average on 10% ethanol: 24.1 mpg

That's a huge 13.3% difference and makes you realize what a sham the whole "stretch our fuel supply with ethanol" deal really is. Even if the pump price is the same, it ends up costing more per mile driven and using just as much (or more) dino-juice to boot.

BTW, this is the third time this car has ventured into the "ethanol-zone" with similar results every time.

Amen... The politicians will never allow it, but I would absolutely love to see the fuel mileage ratings on the Monroney be listed (as many as) four ways:


For all vehicles:

• MPG - w/ minimum fuel octane (100% gas)
• MPG - w/ minimum fuel octane (10% ethanol blend)

and... if there is a recommended fuel octane higher than the minimum:

• MPG - w/ recommended fuel octane (100% gas)
• MPG - w/ recommended fuel octane (10% ethanol blend)

Having all those ratings certified under the rigid and exacting EPA test conditions would put an end to a lot of political pork-barrel crap (not to mention points of discussion/argument in forums like this)... but again, we'll never see that happen because it would be one less area of public confusion for the politicians to take advantage of... "Never educate the public when you can bamboozle them instead".

 

BTW, I took my own advice and ran 87 octane for my all highway trek.

One other thing I noted was the marked difference in price spread between grades in different areas. Here in Charlotte, 93 is anywhere from .15 to .20 more per gallon than 87. In south Florida, the spread was as much as .49, with a .35 jump to midgrade and then an additional .14 jump to premium. Regular was ~2.65/gal in both locations.

Low price during the trip was 2.25 in SC. It all seemed cheap compared to the $4.29 that we were paying (if we could find any gas at all) just a few short weeks ago here in the Queen City.

 

Is that at 87th street right up from Hillcrest? Damn, I miss KC.

 

My 85 Max was (!) running fine on 89 wwith occasional bursts of 93 til it keeled (ouch). Maybe there's an age factor involved.

 

I use regular fuel and I really don't see any difference when I was using premium. Honestly the only difference I felt was in my pocket. Now I'm able to buy an extra pack of cigarettes.

 

for 35 grand if it says premium it's getting 93....91 at the least.

 

jcalabria - Thanks much for mentioning the ethanol thing. I have never really felt comfortable using fuel with 10% ethanol. I doubt the engine in the '09 Maxima was designed with idea it would be driven regularly on fuel with ethanol.

Ethanol has proven to be environmentally unfriendly for many reasons. One very subtle effect of using ethanol in fuel has been the great increase in corn grown resulting in a much larger runoff of fertilizer-laden water running into the Mississippi, creating the largest 'dead zone' (no fish) ever measured off the mouth of the Mississippi delta in the Gulf of Mexico.

Another reason I dislike ethanol in fuel is that the resulting increased price of corn has caused Captain D's restaurants to add a surcharge to each ear of corn I eat (and I eat plenty).

 

That's what it really comes down to... Nobody knows better than Nissan what is required to safely operate your Maxima.

Everyone needs to realize that Nissan engineers did not just wake up one morning and decide "Hey, lets screw the customer and make this one run only on premium gas". During the design process they made enlightened engineering decisions that, in the end, made it unsafe to allow unrestricted use of regular grade fuel. The positive result of those decisions, however, is the high output/high efficiency beast we now have available to us.

If the rewards those decisions have brought to us do not mean anything to a particular consumer, and they can't see anything but the price differential at the pump, than that consumer is probably better suited to another more "bread and butter" sedan instead of the Maxima.

 

Nothing less than 93 goes into any of my cars.

 

93 only.

 

Very informative thread...

I have filled up my 09 Max three times since I got it, about two weeks ago. (Strictly Premium Gas)

Here in Northern CA, the cheapest price that I have seen for Premium is about $3.15
I am definitely not complaining, considering how much it was, just a few months ago.
e.

 

premium all day long....worth it now (performance) and in the long run (maitenence)

 

New to the forum... hello and thanks for all the posted info.

I took delivery of my 09SV last Thursday and when I picked up my car they had just filled the tank with 87 Octane. I had read this whole thread before picking it up and had a meeting with the General Manager, Service Manager and Sales Manager concerning what they had done to my new car.

All three of them told me that the Maxima would be fine on 87 Octane as long as I didn't keep changing from 87 to 89 to 91/93. They said the the engine and computer want consistency.

I have had a lot of performance cars and have always used Premium when required, but this car is confusing. I sent an email to Nissan HQ for clarification, but have a feeling I won't get any better answers.

I obviously don't want to hurt the engine in the new car, but am no closer to having a comfort level on this subject then I did early last week.

 

I already use premium 90% of the time in my "premium-recommended" 6G so, to me, it seems an absolute no-brainer to use 91/93 in a "premium-required" 7G.

The 7G VQ carries a higher compression ratio and possibly other less conservative engine parameters (such as leaner fuel mixtures and more advanced base timing). When running regular grade gas in such an engine, the same "fail-safe" mechanisms that could have saved a 6G VQ from knock induced damage may not be sufficient to save a 7G under the same range of circumstances.

Nissan may be acting a bit on the conservative side by changing the word "recommended" to "required" - but the potential for knock-induced damage IS greater with this car and they are pretty much telling you that YOU are accepting responsibility, not them, if damage is caused by knock. If I wasn't already in the premium camp, that alone would put me there pronto.

Using premium fuel in a 7G is the only way to ensure that you are getting the full experience (performance + fuel economy) that Nissan engineered into the car. It also the safest way to keep from having little craters burned into your pistons:


(The above photo is from a very comprehensive discussion on octane and its interraction with engine control systems and its effect on performance and economy: http://www.thor-racing.co.uk/Octane_Rating-149.asp)

As far as "consistency" is concerned... that's bullcrap. As I noted previously, the engine does not know or care what gas is in the car. There is no "gas sensor" in the car, only a "knock sensor". Everything is based on the instantaneous presence or absence of knock, not what gas is in the tank.

 

Thank you!! Sold... that works for me.

 

Good luck with the new baby!

 

I've played around with different fuels for years, if it says premium, use premium.
Takes a couple of tanks, but I do notice a difference in performance, a slight mileage increase (I drive mostly hi-way, can almost squeeze 900km on a tank, mostly getting around 825 to 850km on a tank). Of course, I've figured the mileage increase is not enough to off-set the price difference, but when yo take into consideration, better performance, cleaner injectors as well, it's worth it to me.
Having said that.
Todays cars have computers and sensors and can handle the different fuels.
Ethanol, by the way has a lower BTU than gas, which kind of makes sense for lower power output and lower mileage, although I didn't expect to see 13%
I also run an UDP, K&N drop-in, hi-flow exhaust, front to back, Mobile1 synthetic.
I've also tried oil additives, the only one I've found to make any noticeable difference is Duralube. But nothing in this Maxima (05 auto).
In order to get the best mileage that I can (I drive a lot, so I watch the mileage as much as I can), I usually keep it around 100 - 105kph (about 65mph). For me, this is where I get about the best mileage. Not always possible to drive like this, but I try.
So, that was my experience and 2cents, carry on.

 

09SV - You are getting some good advice from the preceeding posters. I have found jcalabria to be the fuel guru. I would not be too concerned with the fact the dealer put 87 octane in your baby. BUT, just to be doubly safe, I would avoid situations (like full throttle accelleration) where there could be a tendency to have engine knock until I had a higher octane in the tank.

After several years of higher octanes, I have used regular the past few years with my '04 with no noticable change in MPG or performance. But then I don't fo full-throttle takeoffs very often.

The '09, however, with its higher compression ratio, will be where I draw the line on regular. You will be absolutely fine with one tank of regular used with careful driving. But I would not recommend using 87 octane on a regular basis with the '09.

 

Im 93 all day.

 

21.5 city
27.5 highway

 

Thanks Lightonthehill, I added 93 octane today since I used half a tank to raise the octane level. I will start using premium and not look back... for $3.50 a tankful it's not worth the risk.

 

yeah with prices down why not...also I get such awesome gas mileage compared to my 99 Z28 it's like I barely ever fill up, it's great.

 

93 Octane is now $2.21... even more of a no brainer

 

Yea... My daughter put premium in her ES300 yesterday up in Greensboro for $2.01!!! Saw premium @ $2.22 here in Charlotte yesterday (regular was $1.98).

Prices are less than half what they were not that many weeks weeks ago (regular was as high as $4.39 in Charlotte - and no premium to be found at any price).

 

i went to 91 for a while, but with the prices now i might be going to 93 again ntm i felt embarrased using 91

 

Where are you that you have a choice?... in most places its either/or on the 91 vs 93 octane for premium grade (I have never seen 91 anywhere in this area, and other places I travel to seem to have 91 but no 93).

91 vs 93 shouldn't really matter anyway, as 91 was the design target for the motor anyway.

 

i'm in MD some stations have 4 choices 87 89 91 93 some go as high as 91 some 93, 91 is fo the motor but why not give it better u kno......

 

Just got my 09 max a few weeks back and filled it up twice thus far... only used 93!!
at it costs roughly 40 bucks to fill her up!! before it would have cost 60, 70 bucks if i used 93 a few months back... so no complaints here!! if nissan says its recommended that we put premium then they must say it for a reason!!! remember when we fill it up the money is not going to nissan so if they say use 93 .. then im using it!!!

 

Better use a brass funnel, xylene has a lower flash point than gas. One spark and you won't have to worry about the price of gas any more. Make sure you have your health and life insurance paid up. If you have to worry about the price of gas don't buy a car like this. I use BP 93 all the time, I drive about 2300 miles a month. 09 black Max every option.

 

Actually, they don't just recommend premium, they specifically require it on the '09.