Decided to buy middle grade gas last time and I have not gotten very good mileage on this tank... Gas is so expensive... ...

 

i noticed the same when using 87, less gas mileage, when i use 89-93 my mpg improves 2-3mpg

 

Between mid-grade and premium, how much are you really saving? If gas is getting to high for you to run premium, trade the car in.

 

Yeah this is basically what I was thinking too. Yeah it hurts to fill up, but we knew the car required Premium when we got it. You can save yourself way more money by being easy on the pedal (never go above 2000 rpms) than switching gas types. My normal DD commute in traffic I get 15-19 MPG depending on traffic and how fast I go when it opens up. I restrained myself for the last tank and saw 20.5 as my average instead, so trust when I say that this car will eat gas above a certain RPM.

 

I am going to buy some premium, see if can move my average up.

 

 

Lets be honest. The 30 or so cents difference from unleaded to premium u save, u end up wasting on b.s. things anyway. Just get premium or get rid of the car.

I've been on premium since 2002. (02 Sentra SE-R Spec-V needed it and my 2004 Yamaha R6 needed it) it sucks but its my life of nice toys :-)

 

I noticed on 87. I'll get 19-20 maybe 21mpg
Now when I use 93. I'm getting 21-23mpg

 

I know what I gots to do, since I dont want to get rid of the car.

 

ii just did it once to see the difference-

 

Higher then normal gas prices suck but whatever, back just a couple years ago when I had my 06, I routinely filled it up with premium at a gas station that charged slightly more then other stations cause it was easy and convenient and I could pull up and fill up, not to mention it was Sunoco and they also have a 94 octane which when you say premium that is what you get, I hated sitting in line for 20 minutes, even if you save money, your fooling yourself sitting at idle

 

I have a couple friends with 4cylinders and they ***** about gas more then people with big engines, and then SUV/PU drivers, I want to shoot them in the face when they complain

 

I use mid grade, always have, when i get 20-21 in the city and 25-26 on the hiway

 

+1

 

yea not using premium isn't terrible just you'll see a slight dip in mileage, potentially engine knocking sounds, and lower power. me personally ill chip in the couple extra bucks and put the recommended fuel in the vehicle. as you said most people will blow that extra couple bucks on something else like a Starbucks coffee anyway. heck even go drive fast for like 5 minutes, you'll burn up that extra savings.

if you put in mid-grade or regular and keep it under 2k rpms, then yeah you can definitely save some loot. honestly though if money was a concern, why'd you get a car that requires Premium?

 

For real I use Premium all the time in my 02....so on one of these new ones only common sense to do the same....

 

I don't buy Premium because its required, I buy it because of the smell . All honesty, I average 17-20mph per gallon when in NY and Going to Nassau->Suffolk and Vice Versa. It costed me $70 to Fill Up Yesterday.

 

You (or the car) have not mesaured correctly. Besides, I would never make any kind of judgement until at least a dozen tanks.

Since around 1984, I have used premium gas the first 18 months with my new Maximas, then midgrade the rest of the time I owned the car. I always got exactly the same MPG with both the premium and the midgrade. That makes sense, because, as long as the fuel system is able to adjust to the octane involved, the octane does not affect the MPG.

But those using regular (87 octane) may have their MPG lowered, because the fuel system on this 7th gen was intended to run on 91 octane, and 87 is getting just a little too low for optimum operation.

 

From everything I've read and heard, Nissan's way of dealing with spark knock is to richen the mixture. That'll cool the combustion temp down (the fuel absorbs heat as it vaporizes...which is a very common and simple but HORRIBLE answer to controling combustion temps).

I ran 87 octane for about 5 tanks to see what difference it made. I couldn't tell any difference in power or acceleration. I could definitely see a drop in fuel mileage. I watched the spark timing and it never pulled timing. It would always settle in at 46º under light load and around 25-26º at WOT. No difference in 91 vs 87 octane other than fuel mileage for me.

I think there's a different fuel map for low octane versus premium.

Late,
Trav

 

Picking mine up today and that was one of the questions i had for the dealer. The general manager said he has had a 12 since december for a demo and lives about 30 miles away one way trip and said he tried both 87 and premium. With keeping it at speed limit of 70 on cruise and 55 on the side roads he never saw a difference in mileage. Now my wife is only driving 2.5 miles to work each way so it the type of gas really a concern for us? and what about long term in the valves and such. I know some vehichles if you run premium it will burn out the valve seals really quick.

 

I got 15.6 MPG on that tank- I decided on premium for this tank.... it is not that much more for premium- I just meant gas in general has gotten so high-

 

Just got the Maxima last week, my dealer filled it with regular, i just put premium in last night and noticed a performance and fuel economy difference already. there is no reason to cheap out. cutting corners doesn't necessary mean saving money.

 

I've done 50 mid and 50 premium mixes on occasion with absolutely no problem with mileage or performance. Only hassle is the extra stops for the mid tank top-offs.

I would never run reg unless it was due to an out of gas/stranded car situation and nothing higher was available.

 

I use 89 3 out of 4 fill ups, then adding premium...i get 28-32 MPgs on highway, 45 minute commute, everyday regardless of 89 or 93... 70 mph cruise control

 

Just get premium, with one of those 5% cashback gas credit cards. Problem solved.

 

I enjoy reading your comments.

FYI if this car "requires" 93 it wouldn't crank or if it does it will miss fire with 87,89 octane. Happened once on my E500 when the moron put 87 at the station when I told him 93.....which was a issue.
So saying "requires premium" is not true "recommend premium" yes

I always put 93 cause I really don't care how much gas is, if I did I would own a hybrid


*waves*

 

Exactly, I still think alot of folks are still getting it mixed up......Partly Nissans fault. As in the 09 manual it says Premium required than in '10 the reverted back to the old staple mate of premium recommended for Max performance as they have always stated prior on the Max. Nothing changed in the fuel system, just confusing a bunch of folks.

 

That would be so sweet for me. Yall wouldn't be hiring would you? I need a job like that.

 

You figure if 87 and 93 are .30 difference and you put in 15 gallons, that is like a $4.50 difference. If you fill up 4-5 times a month, that is like $20-$22.50 extra a month. If you are hurting for $20-$25 extra a month for gas for a $30,000+ car, then I have to tend to side with the people saying that this is not the car for you

Never understood how people can mod their cars with rims, exhaust, suspension, etc. but yet complain about gas...

 

Or cut out 1 or 2 of those 4 to 6 buck Mochiatta or whatever they are called that you get at Starbucks every week.

 

As the saying goes "there will always be someone richer than you and always someone poorer"

for Bill Gates, he only has one person to keep his eye on

 

We have used 89 in the 2007 car since it was new. Got 23-25 mpg for first 85K miles. Now it is semi retired to my DD with only 5K miles a year.

The 2012 has 9K miles with 89 grade. I've tried both 93 and 87 and results are same 23-25 mpg for GF's daily commute of 50 highway miles. No noticeable change in performance on either car when I go to 93 or 87.
I'll stick to the midgrade 89.

 

Bought my 2010 one year ago. Already had 30k miles on it, now 45k. Been using 87 octane 100% gasoline for 90% of the time. The average mpg has been stuck on 23 mpg for almost the entire time. 50/50 mixed driving. No knocking or appreciable performance difference when i tried premium.

 

i do kinda care but not really because its not like my opinion counts to the oil companies ..... LOL

Maxima for me is a Daily driver...ive heard some people using it as a weekend car? which sounds pretty ridiculousness to me, someone with the SV premium said ITS MY WEEKEND CAR...i was like WTF

 

It isn't my "weekend car", but I do drive on Fridays to work and on the weekends. I do so because I have an old DD beater and just want to keep the miles lower on the car for now. I go about 38 miles one way to work everyday so they would add up quick if I drove it everyday.

You gotta remember though man, it may just be a Max to you, but for some people this $30k+ car could be a lot more to them. I must say though, I am thinking about getting another DD soon and I have been eying the 5th gens to do just that for me.

 

yea mines my DD too but if i still had my lil sentra id be using that as a DD just cause i simply didnt care if it got lil nicks or dings and def had better mileage.