Is premium gas truly necessary? I don’t use the 290 hp that the car has so performance isn’t a factor for me. Just wondering if the additional cost is necessary for the long term health of the car? 2010 maxima with 155,00
miles that has always been fed premium since I got it at 56k

 

Truly necessary? No. Will it hurt the car in the long run either way? No.

It helps with knocking and pinging which is very common with our engines. I almost always use premium just so I don't have to listen to the engine ping.

 

There's a knock detector on the intake manifold. When the computer detects knock it retards the ignition a bit to compensate resulting in a few lost HP.

 

Premium is recommended, not required. These cars run excellent on premium, and run fine on regular. You can run it on regular with no issues except maybe some slight pinging on hard take off. I use regular for the most part and opt to feed it Premium every so often. Some will argue that it has to be premium but I assure you that isn't the case, it's just a recommendation. Save your money during these tough times, opt for premium when the cost comes down.

 

100% Agree. The 2009 model is the only 7th gen that says "premium required" all the others say Premium Recommended. So save some money on your 2010
. Just try and get ypu gas from a Tier 1 provider, mo matter the octane.

 

Thanks all for the help! Will save about 25$ a month.

QUOTE=LtLeary;9241689]100% Agree. The 2009 model is the only 7th gen that says "premium required" all the others say Premium Recommended. So save some money on your 2010
. Just try and get ypu gas from a Tier 1 provider, mo matter the octane.[/QUOTE]

 

How many miles do you put on your Max every month?
Where do you live?
What's the price difference between 87 and 91/93 where you live?

 

In Pennsylvania, I put about 13000 miles a year. Premium is about 50 cents more a gallon

 

I agree with what has been said but I would suggest filling up 2 times with premium when you're down the first 1/4th of a tank. That way you still have some higher octane gas in the tank.