While I was coming home from six flags(nj) the other day, I saw one of the gas stations had "ultra" with a 94 octane rating. I was just wondering if anyone has every filled up with higher than 93. If so, what differences did you see?

 

94 seemed to be a fun filled tank for me. I bought 2 gallons of 104 race fuel at the track on 1/8th a tank but didn't notice anything crazy. Ran well though. Never filled with less than 93 since owning it.

 

you should go to cali... we only get 91 with every emission additive available

 

wouldn't running 100 octane be non beneficial to stock maximas? unless we have an upgraded ECU with some kind of advanced timing?

my friend has access to some cheap 76 racing 110 unleaded octane race gas....i'm planning to buy some off him in the summer and mixing it with my 91 to achieve approx 100 octane....will it do any good for me? or do i needa get something to really advanced the timing...btw I'm running the 17 degree mod that 5th gens have...+2 from stock

 

I am using only 95 octane because it is the regular gas in Europe (high octane is 98). I didn’t notice any difference sine I brought the car from Canada where I was using 91 octane. But you wouldn’t like to pay the European price for the gas.

 

Europe and America use different ways to measure octane. 95 in europe is not the same as 95 in america. There is a conversion formula but I dont remember it right now.

 

I've found with 94 I generally get a smoother acceleration, but it is very slight

 

Found no differences in driving/mileage in comparo to 93

 

I generally use 93, but I have noticed that at most Sunoco gas stations you can get 94.

 

To stop the perpetuation of the myth of 'higher octane = higher quality/power,' here's a brief explanation on what the octane rating of fuel actually means.

Premium gasoline has a higher octane rating. Higher octane is only one thing: an index which indicates the gasoline's ability to overcome knocking or pinging in engines. That's all. If your car doesn't knock or ping on lower octane gasoline, paying for higher octane is a waste of your money.

Higher octane does not mean better quality and it will not result in more power, better performance, greater gas mileage or anything else.

Anyone who tells you differently really has no concept on what premium fuel actually is. If your car doesn't knock/ping with 87 octane -- run it. If it does ping with 87, but not 89, run 89. If it does ping with 89, run 93. In essence, the higher octane having the ability to not knock or ping means that it's harder to burn and thus doesn't end up igniting under pre-ignition in the cylinder.

 

few times I filled my Maxima up with C16 race gas, which has a effective ratting of bout 116 octane, it does run really smooth and doesn't hot soak as eassy. Other than that it has no other benefits than the really nice smell from the tail pipe

 

Why the hell would you put anything over 91/93 in? Its a Maxima, not an exotic.

 

doesn't c16 have lead in it? if so won't you damage your oxygen sensors from lead?

mike, do you gain benefits from higher octane fuels if your maxima has an ECU with advanced timing?

 

I've been using Sunoco Ultra for the past 2 years (intermingled with the occassional Hess 93) but it's moreso because the closest gas station to my house is Sunoco AND I dont drive often enough to be overly bothered by Ultra's relatively high price.

If I drove my Maxima daily, I'd probably be using Hess 93 more (cost being a more prominent factor). That said, I feel NO performance difference between Ultra and Hess 93.

 

If boosted or S/C then you can run higher boost without detonation. N/A will not benefit, unless.... you are running in extreme heat and or altitide. My bro and I drove our parents Subaru out to Arizona to help them move. Filled with high octane and mobil one. There are higher ambient temps outside and hills (115 Degrees!), and it was loaded down. The higher octane will help to reduce detonation under conditions such as this. Regular driving will not see much benefit, unless boosted again.

 

You can actually get by with lower octane at higher altitudes. The higher octane is of benefit when climbing hills, under load, in the summer time.

 

i've used 94 plenty of times because sunco seems to be cheaper because they offer four grades of octane. but i never noticed any differences

 

I Live in Toronto, I normally always fill up at Sunoco with Ultra 94. Don't really notice a diffrence from 93. The price diffrence to 94 is insignifigant compared to the diffrences between 87-89-91. Besides gives me peace of mind knowing im putting in the 90+ stuff the VQ likes

 

I put 94 octane into my bike all the time now...

I put 94 in my maxi once in a while. There was no difference, but I knew it was better for the car. I also put in Aviation gas (100 oct) a few times because I had easy access to it

 

Do they have Husky gas stations in Toronto? In BC they're selling 90 octane at the price of 87. I can't tell any difference in performance between it and Chevron 92 octane, other than the 11.5 cents/litre.

 

Reprinted from How Stuff Works:

The octane rating of gasoline tells you how much the fuel can be compressed before it spontaneously ignites. When gas ignites by compression rather than because of the spark from the spark plug, it causes knocking in the engine. Knocking can damage an engine, so it is not something you want to have happening. Lower-octane gas (like "regular" 87-octane gasoline) can handle the least amount of compression before igniting.

The compression ratio of your engine determines the octane rating of the gas you must use in the car. One way to increase the horsepower of an engine of a given displacement is to increase its compression ratio. So a "high-performance engine" has a higher compression ratio and requires higher-octane fuel. The advantage of a high compression ratio is that it gives your engine a higher horsepower rating for a given engine weight -- that is what makes the engine "high performance." The disadvantage is that the gasoline for your engine costs more.

 

I use 94 all the time because Sunoco is the closest gas station to my house, and same price as 91 or 93.
If you use 87 and your engine doesn't ping, it's because the engine control module is retarding timing to eliminate it. IMO this would affect performance slightly. Fuel alone does not increase power.

 

I am using 94 because I will have timing advanced ALOT soon.

 

Don't go too much, it wont help ... Courtesy of BlackBIRD VQ ...

 

I notice the same thing a smoother accelereation throughout the entire range. I don't know if there is really any performance gains but the engine in general operates noticably smoother even at idle.

 

quick question what octane are we suppose to run

 

The one recommended in your owners manual which I believe is 91 for a 5th Gen.

 

Yeah they have Husky Gas stations in Toronto, I never have filled up there, only stopped in for a bite to eat. Nothing like some trucker grub one in a while to keep those arteries lubed

 

wouldn't reccommend running anything more than 94 or 95... used to work for a wrecker service and seen the longterm effects...

 

I have to call BS on this one!

 

The lowest we have available is 93. I put 98 in it as soon as I bought it then some 93 and I'd have to say it performed better on the 93.

 

Apples --> oranges, you're foreign dofferent conversion factors ...

 

how can you tell the difference between 93 and 94...there is no way you can.
its almost the same

 

The same applies to telling the difference between 91 and 93/94 doesn' it?

 

What would the long term effects be?
Low octane could cause excessive carbon build up, causing sticking valves or rings (maybe not common on max), pinging, detonation, or burning valves, but I've never come across a problem caused by use of high octane.

 

First of all (as stated several times above), using higher octane fuel doesn't necessarily mean your car will make more power. In fact, some cars (like my Sentra) could actually experience a loss in power output if you were to fill them up with 93 instead of 87 without making any timing or compression alterations.

Second, please keep in mind that not all high-octane fuel is created equal. One 100+ octane fuel available in some parts of the USA and Canada is E85, a 105 octane mix of ethanol and gasoline. Car enthusiasts don't like E85 because it has a reputation for producing poor power and poor fuel economy in the vehicles that can use it. My family's Dodge Grand Caravan can run on either E85 or traditional gasoline, but we've never tried it on E85. SAAB has released a vehicle that we should have here in the USA soon that can run on either traditional gasoline or E85. It is a turbocharged vehicle that automatically adjusts boost in response to what type of fuel is being used. It actually makes MORE power on E85 than on traditional gasoline.