What gas do you use? premium or regular?

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netslacker
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What gas do you use? premium or regular?

Postby netslacker » Thu Apr 07, 2011 8:24 am

We just got our 2010 pathfinder and I'm curious to know what gas people are using. Inside the gas door it says "Premium gas is recommended for best performance" (or something like that) but it didn't say that premium was required. So I'm curious, what gas do people get the best mileage out of premium or regular?

Any harm in just using straight 87 octane? or should I keep it at premium (93 octace)?

Cheers!


webmastir

Postby webmastir » Thu Apr 07, 2011 11:37 am

some other ideas at the poll i conducted below. i use 89 nowadays in my '06 path. seems to be fine & haven't noticed a major mpg difference when using that vs 93

http://www.thenissanpath.com/viewtopic.php?t=4234

I do use seamfoam a couple times a year, which does help some.
Last edited by webmastir on Thu Apr 07, 2011 12:38 pm, edited 1 time in total.

kazeej
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Postby kazeej » Thu Apr 07, 2011 12:31 pm

I got my 2010 a few months ago, and noticed that sticker the first time I filled it up. I alternated the first few tanks with 93 and 87. I didn't notice any difference, and the Pathfinder didn't seem to care either. I'm sticking with the 87 octane.

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gond34
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Postby gond34 » Thu Apr 07, 2011 12:38 pm

I've had my Pathfinder since Decemeber and filled up once with 93... Been filling up with 87 ever since and haven't noticed any difference.

skinny2
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Postby skinny2 » Thu Apr 07, 2011 5:05 pm

I get a little bit of knock when running 87 and pulling the hills. I'm basically up and down hills all day with my commute. I run 89 and it doesn't do it. Performance wise...you really only notice it when you're hammering on it. I also do a lot of passing and like the extra oomph.

Npath
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Re: What gas do you use? premium or regular?

Postby Npath » Thu Apr 07, 2011 5:10 pm

87 octane minimum, that is what the 06 pamphlet @ the dealership printed.

Been using it ever since and no problems.

I thought the 08+ were suggested to use 91 octane? Guess I read wrong.

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ShipFixer
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Postby ShipFixer » Thu Apr 07, 2011 6:40 pm

My mileage drops a 1-2 mpg when I use 87. The engine also runs a little rougher above 3,000 RPM and definitely feels like the ECM has dialed it back a bit.

Normally an engine designed for 87 will run very slightly better on 87 due to higher energy content and there shouldn't be any advantage to premium fuel. But my family has owned almost nothing but Nissan's for 25 years and it seems as though half of the V-6 vehicles rated for 87 really wanted at least 89... :?

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volvite
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Postby volvite » Thu Apr 07, 2011 7:25 pm

Using the lower octane you have a higher chance of Ping or knock. You will lose some performace out of the engine, this will be seen as ascending hills, towing etc. For everyday use, 87 won't hurt, but if your doing some towing etc, I'd recommend the 91.

netslacker
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Postby netslacker » Thu Apr 07, 2011 8:06 pm

Thanks for all the feedback.

I think my plan is to use premium for a while and see how that goes then try reg. Since gas is so expensive I'd like to see if using premium gives me a little jump in mpg where the extra expense makes it worth while. I figure if I can get ~3mpg more (or 20% better fuel economy based on 15mpg mixed use) but the extra expense is only a 6% cost gain then that'll be worth it.

cbacarisse
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Postby cbacarisse » Thu Apr 07, 2011 8:14 pm

I've never used anything but premium in mine. If the sticker says premium, that's what it gets. My OCD tendencies would melt my brain if I tried to use regular. I think I would actually lose sleep over it.

skinny2
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Postby skinny2 » Fri Apr 08, 2011 5:35 am

netslacker wrote:Thanks for all the feedback.

I think my plan is to use premium for a while and see how that goes then try reg. Since gas is so expensive I'd like to see if using premium gives me a little jump in mpg where the extra expense makes it worth while. I figure if I can get ~3mpg more (or 20% better fuel economy based on 15mpg mixed use) but the extra expense is only a 6% cost gain then that'll be worth it.
FWIW, I see no measurable difference in mpg between 87 and 89 (or 93 even). Certainly not 3mpg. I really don't see a performance difference between 89 and 93 either but do between 87 and 89. So I go with 89. The books calls for 91 for maximum performance but they don't sell that here. I'm averaging 18-19mpg on my normal commute and 21mpg on long highway trips. I used to get 22-23mpg on highway trips but since installing new tires (same size....) it has dropped.

dine52
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Postby dine52 » Fri Apr 08, 2011 6:41 am

cbacarisse wrote:I've never used anything but premium in mine. If the sticker says premium, that's what it gets. My OCD tendencies would melt my brain if I tried to use regular. I think I would actually lose sleep over it.
You could have checked the hologram to identify its originality.

netslacker
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Postby netslacker » Fri Apr 08, 2011 7:44 am

skinny2 wrote:FWIW, I see no measurable difference in mpg between 87 and 89 (or 93 even). Certainly not 3mpg. I really don't see a performance difference between 89 and 93 either but do between 87 and 89. So I go with 89. The books calls for 91 for maximum performance but they don't sell that here. I'm averaging 18-19mpg on my normal commute and 21mpg on long highway trips. I used to get 22-23mpg on highway trips but since installing new tires (same size....) it has dropped.
Hmm.. I had found another gas thread similar to this one where a few people had reported a mileage gain using premium. If it's truly not the case then yeah, no need to spend the extra.

Are people seeing "280 miles to empty" as typical after a fillup (on the information screen)?

dine52
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Re: What gas do you use? premium or regular?

Postby dine52 » Fri Apr 08, 2011 8:38 am

netslacker wrote:We just got our 2010 pathfinder and I'm curious to know what gas people are using. Inside the gas door it says "Premium gas is recommended for best performance" (or something like that) but it didn't say that premium was required. So I'm curious, what gas do people get the best mileage out of premium or regular?

Any harm in just using straight 87 octane? or should I keep it at premium (93 octace)?

Cheers!
Hi buddy
Using premium gas will not affect the engine that will get rusted or soon with low quality gas. Moreover, less carbon content will be less harmful when we consider environment. And even you can enjoy better mileage with such options. Hope you will have a better ride.

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SilverGhost
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Re: What gas do you use? premium or regular?

Postby SilverGhost » Fri Apr 08, 2011 3:19 pm

[quote="dine52Hi buddy
Using premium gas will not affect the engine that will get rusted or soon with low quality gas. Moreover, less carbon content will be less harmful when we consider environment. And even you can enjoy better mileage with such options. Hope you will have a better ride.[/quote]

I'm not following that, but . . . if you say so.

Regarding performance and mileage, I seem to get about 1/2 mpg increase using premium vs regular. I've done no mathmatical analysis on that, it's just a casual observance. And, yes, I do switch back and forth periodically, depending on fuel prices. Performance-wise, I rarely tow anything, so I can't speak to knocking / pinging with regular-grade fuel. In daily driving, though, I've experienced none.


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