Maxima . . . Premium? Regular?

I almost always use 87 octane and have never heard a ping with my 2000 SE. I live in the LA area at sea level. Of course, the car is pretty much exclusivly used for short drives.

Its a thread that makes zero sense anymore,,,91 octane,,which is what the manufacturer of the car recommends, and what the car is 'tuned" to run best on is only 4 percent more than 87.

Anyone who runs this car on 87 - and complains about preformance, and accuses Nissan of 'fraud", simply need serious pyschiratic help.

If you can hear pinging - aka the sound of your Grannies sowing machine, then you have mucho problems with fuel quality - the ECU and knock sensor can no longer retard the timing enough to stop the pre igintition,,,,,,you should never hear pinging; never,,,if you do you had better get better fuel or get to the dealer .

Running at sea level and in a cool climate does matter.

D>>> Man this topic is SUCH a Rage! I love it!

Short drives would suggest that your car may not even reach operating temperature. Does it? Also with short drives, your mileage must be terrible because while not running at optimal temps, the car is running rich.

Lastly, if this drive is that short then pinging wont even become an issue until the car has warmed up.

CD

I live at about 2200 feet. I "get-on-it" regularly. I live outside of the city and there is plenty of 'zoom room' for me. It DOES go better with premium though. It just doesn't ping with regular or 87 octane. I will be heading to the coast in a couple weeks and I will see what it does at sea level.

My commutes are tyically 8 miles each way on city streets five days a week, plus driving afterhours and on weekends within a 10-mile radius of where we live. We use my wife's newer car for long-distance driving.

No doubt the driving distance has something to do with the fact that I've never heard a ping in the four years that I've had the Max, which I bought "pre-owned." However I do remember pings in other cars I've owned and used similarly within the last 10-15 years.

I have to say that the Max SE is the car I've most enjoyed driving of all the cars I've ever owned!

Don

I can run 93 octane from Chevron and 89 octane from Chevron (from the exact same station) and the car (03SE) runs perfectly fine on

93, no problems whatsoever, great mileage, etc. If I get cheap and throw the 89 in, the sucker lugs, dings, pings and the mileage is worse by a good 40 miles a tank. I think that if the car had evident mechanical problems, they'd show regardless of the octane.

And would get better gas milage as well as not overheat the exhaust valves.

Of course it doesn't, it has a KNOCK SENSOR!

It does get better gas mileage with premuim but the 'cost per mile' is about the same.

What does octane rating have to do with valve temperature?

I KNOW that. I merely put it in as there are a couple people that say it WILL ping.

So why use the cheaper gas? You lose performance, damage the exhaust valves and manifolds, and then save nothing..

Nothing.

The ignition timing on the other hand does have a direct relationship to valve and manifold temps. The clue here is: what does the knock sensor do when the car has cheap gas in it? Retarded spark timing overheats the exhaust valves and the cylinder walls.

Actually it does ping until the knock sensor hears the detonation and retards the spark.