Ghozt

Agreed. Don't be cheap on your fill-ups it is only 5 bucks more to get Premium than Regular. Just because Regular "works" doesn't mean it is healthy for the car. I'm sure you could ignore oil changes for a while before things came to a grinding halt, but by then the damage would be far more expensive.

Ultimately though, to each their own. There are a lot of people who don't wash/wax their car regularly or vacuum/wash/condition the interior either. I think it simply comes down to how well you want to take care of what you have...arguing with what is printed on the inside of the gas cap though is confusing.

PetitFrereMaxima

iTrader: (2)

I almost thought of starting a new thread, but just thought I should throw this in here. This is for some of us who use only 91 and above. I use 93 here in Houston, Texas.

Well, with 93 at over $3.24 at some gas stations, what is the highest a fill-up has cost you?

I just did a fill-up from empty and thought there was a problem with the pump when it went all the way and stopped at $57.14! I thought my gas thank was leaking too, lol! $57.14???? Is this an SUV??? (3.24 X 17.6 = $57.14)!!!

I bet some people must have spent over $60, if you fill up from really empty, lol and a price of over $3.24 a gallon! Let's know some figures.

Mreim769

Haha, my figures would probably mean nothing to most of the viewers on this forum. I can say that on average I spend about $65 CDN on a fill up. However, I always fill at a 1/4 left in the tank. A habit I picked up from driving older cars that didn't always quite tell me exactly how much gas I had left. Also, myth or not, there is crap that accumulates at the bottom of your tank and the further down you go the more likely it will get picked up and sent through the fuel filter.

lightonthehill

The three stations I use are all charging $3.49 for premium. If I filled up with one gallon left in the tank, it would cost me $66.31.

But I always fill up with several gallons left. Here is why:

1 - We never know when there could be a regional power outage. These things sometimes happen. Gas stations are useless when the pumps (which require electricity) don't work. I actually had this happen in western Texas while enroute from NC to AZ about forty years ago, and being low on fuel, had to spend both the day and the night in a motel (without lights or air conditioning). That sort of ruined what had been an enjoyable trip.

2 - As Mreim769 mentioned, any silt or debris will usually be with the last gas drawn from the tank.

3 - Any water or substance of any kind floating on top of the gas will usually stay well above the fuel pump, which is located at the bottom of the tank, unless we let the fuel level get very low, when the fuel pump will draw in whatever is floating on the gas.

4 - The fuel pump, located in the bottom of the tank, generates enough heat to run hot unless immersed in gas, which serves as a coolant for the pump. Nissan designed things this way. Letting the fuel level get low enough to expose part of the pump reduces the pump's ability to cool itself.

5 - By starting to look for gas with half a dozen gallons left in the tank, we can be very flexible where we fill up, which means we can wait until we find a clean, well-lit station in a seemingly safe area with a good price.

6 - We never know when we will have an emergency that necessitates a trip on short notice at inconvenient times, and having to stop immediately for fuel can be bothersome. I received a phone call at 2AM on Christmas eve of 1981, when my Dad was suddenly taken to the hospital in very serious condition. We immediately piled into our '78 Datsun 200SX and raced to the hospital, which was 400 miles and two states away. We had let the Datsun run low on fuel, and we ended up immediately leaving the interstate four times searching for gas in the middle of the night on Christmas eve. By the time we finally reached the hospital, Dad had passed. Talk about learning a lesson the hard way . . .

Ghozt

If you want to feel better about how much you have to spend to fill this car up, this site should help.

http://money.cnn.com/pf/features/lis...bal_gasprices/

At least we're not at $6+ per gallon. I think I'd get a bicycle at that point.

smarty666

What hurts the Max is that is had a 20 gallon tank which is by far the largest I have seen in a sedan in this class. So even if you can get good fuel economy, the longer you go the more gas its going to take to fill up that huge tank. Here in NJ, premium is $3.23 and my fill-up have been hovering around $60 bucks and that is with 2-3 gallons left in the tank . Its really the gas prices that are starting to hurt, not the tank size or mpg. Right now I'm getting 23-24 mpg out of her with the cold weather so I can't complain about that.

lightonthehill

Not really on topic, but something to keep in mind - China and India (among other countries) are just beginning to become mobile. Those type countries recently had only a very small percentage of their population owing automobiles.

But that is changing very quickly. Folks in emerging nations are now buying millions of cars each month. Those countries are now grabbing the oil we used to grab off the world petroleum market, and the price per barrel of crude has leaped from sixty something bucks a barrel to around 100 bucks very quickly, and continues to rise.

The sort of scary thing is that I see only a continuation of this growing demand. I sincerely believe we will see $5 a gallon for premium within a year, and it will only go up from there. I also see $10 per gallon as the point at which Americans begin to get very serious about hybrids and electric cars. That point is not far away.

I think back to days of yore, and such TV ads as:

'See the USA, in your Chevrolet,
America is asking you to call . . . '

I have had the great fortune to have driven in an exciting and fun time for driving automobiles in America (from the 1940s into the third millenium). But the best of those good times is coming to an end. Having about 200 million too many people (and their vehicles) in this country, 40% under the influence of some type of drug or stimulant when driving, roads and bridges that are crumbling, with no money to fix them, drivers distracted by cell phones or texting or endless entertainment functions right there on the dash, a growing number of arrogant, rude, aggressive, even nasty drivers, and $10 per gallon gasoline are just not that much fun.

It was a great ride while it lasted. I will enjoy telling my great grandchildren about the REALLY good old days for driving in America.

Ob4Real

hahahaha...great point ...i hadnt thought of it like that!

VQ'rInWLA

iTrader: (83)

91 all day....yet I just developed a ping at 3k in all gears

Deucekegler

With all due respect, Light... Water is more dense than gasoline. Therefore, it will always settle to the bottom of your tank and will be pumped through the fuel system inevitably no matter how much fuel is in the tank. The same applies for any sediment in the tank.

Unfortunately, dirt and water are commonly introduced into gasoline underground storage tanks (USTs) during bulk refilling operations. I always try to fill up at a station with newer tanks, for this exact reason.

waynejs

Hey guys,

Do you think there would be any problems if you alternated between midgrade and premium with each fill up?

How about if you did your fill up with half midgrade (89) and half premium (93) to get a 91 blend?

platinum300

91 Octane

dgoodwin39

I use 87 one tank and 92 next tank.

lightonthehill

I would avoid alternating octanes, which requires the fuel system to readjust every time you add fuel. This readjustment is not an instant thing.

Mixing 89 and 93 would be fine, but that is added work, as you have to reset the pump and pay twice.

If you do not wish to pay the exhorbitant prices being charged IN SOME AREAS for premium, the simple solution is to use 89 octane, which has worked extremely well in my Maxima, and where I live, costs 20 cents less per gallon than premium. I get the same MPG, and have not been able to detect any change in performance.

What I would NEVER do is put regular gas in this car.

lightonthehill

As I mentioned in my previous response, alternating octanes requires your fuel system to analyze what it is getting, and make decisions at to what octane it needs to set itself for. This adjustment is not an instaneous thing.

I have owned nothing but Maximas since October of 1984, and after around 18 months or so after purchasing each one, I switched from premium to midgrade, and was never able to detect any change in MPG or performance. I'm sure an elapsed time run may have shown a slight difference, but I have never needed to do an elapsed time run.

It is so much simpler to just stick with either premium or 89 octane, which, despite urban rumors, works extremely well in this car.

But NEVER run regular. It may seem like the car is operating OK with regular, but it is NOT. Several here ended up with regular gas by error of the person filling the car, and the car would hardly run. The owner's manual gives dire warning about putting regular in this car.

waynejs

Thanks Light, I've been putting premium in, not sure yet what grade I'll ultimately stick with.