my girlfriend just bought a 96 maxima.can she use regular unleaded or must she use premium?

 

Use premium, it's for the good of the country, I mean her car...

 

just ask youself if you think they would tell you to use premium if they didn't need to.

 

i still use 89 i'd say 50% of the time since gas got so expensive. i just hit 169,000 last night... you tell me if you think it makes a difference from 91+. i still get 93 on occasion, but 91 doesnt exist around me anymore.

 

Do a search for "super unleaded." There are like a thousand posts on this subject.

 

I ran all grades of gas from 87, 89 and 93 octane. I tested the 93 oct for 1 month and showed no result at all. not even in gas mileage or response.

I just went back to 87 oct and still can chirp my gears and gas milage is no diffference.

I say run MID grade at least and then go back to regular grade and see if you see an difference. I am sure you will be back to paying the cheapest.
IMHO.. if I can pay 18 buks to fill up my ride versus paying 24bucks for higher premium gas... i say hell nah... I will just pay the 18 bucks. Oh and my car has almost 90K and got it at 60K and no probs what so ever

good luck man!

 

never put anything lower than 91 in...it hurts your engine!

 

Please read the 4th gen FAQ and also do a search.

My opinion: don't keep switching back and forth because your engine is more prone to knocking in between high octane - low octane switches. The engine has to knock first, before the ignition timing is adjusted. If you keep switching back and forth, how many times are you going to knock?

If you wanna be cheap, get lower gas mileage and some power loss, go 87. You might save a few pennies.

 

the car will definitely work on 87, but using 93 will give you peace of mind.

 

In my fuel door, it says "Premium unleaded recommended for maximum performance." IMO, I feel a difference when I fill up with 91, but with 91 costing 1.99/gal, I currently use 89.

 

...penny wise and pound foolish. You save what? $2or$3 per fill-up once a week? That's $100/$150 a year.

What's next? Going to narrower 70-series tires? They're cheaper, too - and less rolling resistance will save you even more money.

If you buy a high performance/luxury car, be prepared to spend a little more than you would on a Chevy Malibu.

 

AGREED!!!
In the end, its only about 10-20$ a month, and COULD save you much
more ca$h if something goes wrong...a bad knock sensor is over $100!

FLO_BOY

 

Who is it?


89 octane gas



Why are you knocking?



Because I burn to quickly for the VQ motor

 

HAHAHAHAHAHHA....damn, THAT's funny

 

if I hear a knock. I will just slam the door!!

 

cmon dont skimp on the max .. put that premium shiat in there!

 

Premium here in metro Detroit isn't cheap or expensive, usually ranges from $1.61 to $1.79 per gallon depending on the gas station.

I always fuel w/ Mobil 93 (before was Amoco 93, saw a huge benefit w/ Mobil), gives my max real nice pickup & keeps everything clean inside

It's entirely up to you to put whatever octane of gas you want in your max but personally I put Premium (Mobil) since the VQ was designed for it

 

yes - i heard about that.......the VQ working best with mobil and exxon fuels(which are exactly the same)

 

Just use premium it doesn't really make that much of a difference, unless you live in Chicago!

 

That's why I use a prepaid Speedway gas card. Save $0.04 per $1 of gas, it's not much but it's so much more convenient (and less transactions on my credit card).

And Speedway is usually among the gas stations with the lowest price.

 

In my manual, if I'm not mistaken, it states that you can use whatever grade you want, but you may notice a loss of performance with lower grade fuels. I don't see where it says that 89 or 87 will damage your engine....

 

Exactly. The people who post that not using super will damage your engine are incorrect. It won't harm your engine, but it will reduce performance. How much reduction is not really known. Personally I do not feel any performance decrease using regular. I use super anyways though, for peace of mind that I will get every last drop of power from the engine, even though I know that 95% of the time I will never notice the difference.

This topic has been beaten to death...just check the hundreds of other posts on this topic...regular vs. super. If using regular cause the VQ to suffer major problems, I have never read about it, and I have been on the BBS longer than most people here.