CAR HEADS: Does it really matter if I get regular or premium??

[emaych417]

With the price of gas the way it is, getting premium octane is somewhat digging into my pockets.

My '04 Maxima apparently requires premium, but i bought the car used like a month ago. And so far, I've been using nothing but premium, except for thefirst fill-up; i got regular.

So, does it really make a difference in my case?? Also, does it matter where the gas is from (local station, BP, Exxon, Getty, Valero, etc)?

someone please drop some knowledge

 

[marty cone]

yes, you get what you pay for
your car will drink up regular like its water
well i know mine does

 

[awash242]

You dont need premium in a maxima

 

[sunny559]

i didnt know maximas needed premium...
or do they?

 

[barondavis5]

i never knew that it need premium, my friend has one and im 99% sure he uses regular. atleast he did everytime i have been with him at the gas station.

 

[mr delorean]

a maxima is not a high performance car and does not require premium for any reason. i drive a high compression ls2 v8 but the computer has automatic electronicknock ****** by adjusting to the octane rating. either way, i changed to regular over a year ago with zero problems....your nissan will be fine.

then of course there is the question about whether or not the ratings are even legit, but thats another topic entirely.

 

[emaych417]

i guess it apparently doesnt need premium.

 

[23mcpizzle23]

not in that car but i could be wrong try to search on a maxima forum...

 

[jkickz1334]

You need premium, you'll get better gas mileage and if you dont you will have engine knock after awhile. I own a Maxima and an Infiniti.

 

[STooK]

the vq engine could probably run regular but i wouldn't recommend it. AT LEAST get midgrade but i think it's all upto the person. some ppl say u canuse regular some ppl say u must use premium...you know what try what works. use up all the gas till the light comes on, fill it up with 87, and run it tilllight comes on again. and observe what happens. then fill it back up w/ premium and see if it is any better. (car might not run as well with regular, gas mightgo down faster, etc) for my car, a stock 240sx 4 cyl, nissan also "recommends" high octane but i tried using midgrade and noticed no difference. beenusing 87 for more than a year and running perfect.

 

[awash242]

Originally Posted by JKickz1334

You need premium, you'll get better gas mileage and if you dont you will have engine knock after awhile. I own a Maxima and an Infiniti.

No offense, but thats just not true about the engine knock....Maximas run fine on regular. Of course premium is better, but regular will work 100%fine.

 

[wj4]

It depends solely on your engine. On my old 2004 Accord, it takes anything. I used to give it 91 because it was the highest octane at gas stations in Calishort of race gas. I later switched to 87 because there are dynos out there that showed the engine actually made more power on 87 octane...which it wasdesigned for (economical). I saw roughly the same MPG. On my last car and my current car...Evo and 335i, I dare not use anything lowered than the recommended91 octane because it's going to cause the engine to knock. I must say that I did get decent MPG on my Evo when I ran it straight with 100 octane race gas,but the price to MPG ratio doesn't make it too feasible.

 

[wj4]

I would also stay away from Arco gas. I filled it up once in my Evo because I was running on empty and it was the closest gas station around. It gave me acheck engine light right away,

I thought it could've been other factors..checked the code on the OBD2, we couldn't find anything else to attributeit to the code number. After I killed that tank, I went back to my choice of gas station..Mobil, everything was good after that.

 

[kixsr4kidz]

Just put in what the manufactor requires, they made the engine so they made it to be fuel effecient as much as possible so if it says 87 then put 87 Im surethe people that made it no more about it then those who just drive them.

 

[stork]

Originally Posted by JKickz1334

You need premium, you'll get better gas mileage and if you dont you will have engine knock after awhile. I own a Maxima and an Infiniti.

pretty much, if the manufacturer says put premium 91 or 93 then do it, especially if the engine has a turbo that's a must.
Also I would recommendstaying away from places like Valero, 7-11's, AM PM's that sell gas, etc. those places are known to add water or something to make more gas.

Chevron and Shell and legit. I pump at chevron specifically because they are the only ones around still with the 3 pump system.

 

[chris boshs neck]

Why does my crappy tsx engine need premium?

 

[ross is here]

If the manual recommends premium...use premium. I used regular gas on my E46 and that %*!% did not run well...after a couple of full tanks with regular gas, myengine light came on and I messed up a couple of sensors in my car...I'm just glad my car was still under warranty when it happened and I only had to paythe deductible ($50) to get it serviced.

 

[da xplicit one]

premium FTL. My 07 honda civic si takes only premium

I want a hybrid now!!!

 

[lazyj10]

I mean really though, I know gas is expensive, but lets say there's a .30 cent difference between premium (assuming its required for your car) andregular...is $5 going to break you that bad? IF so, then you should have looked into a car that doesn't require it.

Not hating, I just don't get it.

 

[czur1127]

fill it up c how ur car reacts to it .......

 

[jkickz1334]

No offense, but thats just not true about the engine knock....Maximas run fine on regular. Of course premium is better, but regular will work 100% fine.
None taken, but I have had engine knock due to me experimenting with regular gasoline in my Infiniti. You can get away with mid-grade in theMaxima. Im sure some engines from other companies may be able to handle regular gasoline, but I'll stick to to what Infiniti recommends.

 

[mases apprentice]

price of gas is only going but by 2-5 cents a jump. does it hurt us that bad???

it really doesnt matter. when you see a gas station with 3.99 for super and 3.97. your going to 3.97

and the dude who puts regular in his ls2..... WOW

 

[mstare]

It depends on what the manufacturer recommends.

Premium Recommended translates to: use premium to get the 'most' out of the engine, be it MPG or HP, but using regular will not damage the engine.

Premium Required translates to: To run the engine properly, use premium.

They say nothing: use whatever, there will be no benefit to the added burn/knock protection potential of higher octane fuels.



Typically, engines with higher compression need higher octane fuel.