Matt4949

Unfortunatly, unless I'm mistaken, in the merry land of CT (where it's snowing 6 inches possibly today ) I'm pretty sure all gas, regardless of grade, contains "no more than 10% ethanol." Towncivilian, Thanks for that site. What a great resource! Now all I need to do is get out of this God forsaken state while I still can

Hey guys, Thanks for all the input in response. I feel I should clarify a little on my figures. Basically, my true-world mpg I would anticipate being a bit higher, considering numerous factors, but mainly my round figure of 18 gallons, being rounded up rather than down, decreasing my mileage. If the same figures were calculated using 17 gallons, they would look like this... Regular Fuel (87 Octane) 242.5 miles / 17 gallons = 14.268 mpg 254.1 miles / 17 gallons = 14.947 mpg 247.6 miles / 17 gallons = 14.565 mpg 256.9 miles / 17 gallons = 15.112 mpg Average: 14.723 miles per gallon Premium Fuel (93 Octane) 262.4 miles / 17 gallons = 15.435 mpg 261.6 miles / 17 gallons = 15.388 mpg 256.3 miles / 17 gallons = 15.076 mpg 260.7 miles / 17 gallons = 15.335 mpg 261.2 miles / 17 gallons = 15.365 mpg Average: 15.320 miles per gallon In all likelihood, running the tank dry (21 gallons) would get me over 300 miles on the premium fuel. Either way, the important figures to take from this post were the miles per dollar figures. This shows truly what value is held within each fuel type, regardless of anything else. Putting the mpg was really just another way to compare the fuels, in a figure everyone knows and recognizes. Back to my original point however, the statement "premium fuel recommended for maximum performance" appears on both my fuel door and in the manual. Let me tell you they are not kidding. While the knock sensor prevented any knocking with the 87 octane, it was clearly inferior in performance. Saving the $10 a week was just not worth it with how lazy the truck seemed to run. So it would seem to me by the knowledge imparted by these forums, that the VGs tend to run just fine with the regular fuel, while the VQs do not. BowTied, Appreciate your thoughts on the topic. I recorded 5 tanks before the miles per tank reached 260 and seemed to level out. Thanks for the suggestion, the injector cleaner will most certainly be part of this summer's tune up! Will let everybody know what kind of numbers I get after a little dirty fun under her hood!

Posted this on other forums, then found this one so I figured I'd post it up here as well. Hope it helps! I have 2001 Nissan Pathfinder LE 3.5 by the way. So since I've bought my Pathfinder a couple months ago, I've really been let down by the gas mileage. Locating any kind of specific info on what fuel I should use was surprisingly impossible, so I decided to run a little experiment and record my mileage first using regular 87 octane, then by running the "recommended" premium 93 octane (HOORAY CT). In the interest of keeping the figures represented here accurate, I would fill the tank when the gas light came on, only at Mobil or Shell, without topping off, approximately 18 gallons. Additionally, I made an effort to keep my driving consistent, 95% highway to work (cruise control at 62mph) and minimal city driving. Since I have bought the truck, I don't think she's seen 3k rpms. Now before anybody wants to jump down my throat, I realize there are many other variables that could have altered these numbers, especially with all the snow we got in the past few weeks, but I figured this process would give me at least ball park areas to make a more educated decision. Now bear in mind we still have that winter mix in the Northeast and I'd expect these figures to rise some in the summer. Using the equation: miles traveled per tank / price to fill tank = miles traveled per dollar Figures rounded to .100 where applicable Regular Fuel 87 Octane; Current Price: $3.81 18 gallons * $3.81 = $68.58 Price to Fill 242.5 miles / $68.58 = 3.536 m/$ 254.1 miles / $68.58 = 3.705 m/$ 247.6 miles / $68.58 = 3.610 m/$ 256.9 miles / $68.58 = 3.746 m/$ Average: 3.649 miles per dollar 242.5 miles / 18 gallons = 13.472 mpg 254.1 miles / 18 gallons = 14.117 mpg 247.6 miles / 18 gallons = 13.756 mpg 256.9 miles / 18 gallons = 14.272 mpg Average: 13.904 miles per gallon It is also worth noting that I waited a few tanks in between to allow the knock sensor to adjust to running the premium fuel. (Much thanks to Chuck Tribolet!) Premium Fuel 93 Octane; Current Price: $4.11 18 gallons * $4.11 = $73.98 Price to Fill 262.4 miles / $73.98 = 3.547 m/$ 261.6 miles / $73.98 = 3.536 m/$ 256.3 miles / $73.98 = 3.464 m/$ 260.7 miles / $73.98 = 3.524 m/$ 261.2 miles / $73.98 = 3.531 m/$ Average: 3.520 miles per dollar 262.4 miles / 18 gallons = 14.578 mpg 261.6 miles / 18 gallons = 14.533 mpg 256.3 miles / 18 gallons = 14.239 mpg 260.7 miles / 18 gallons = 14.483 mpg 261.2 miles / 18 gallons = 14.511 mpg Average: 14.469 miles per gallon So taking a look at these numbers broken down, we can see that although you most certainly get worse fuel efficiency running regular fuel versus the premium, you in fact are spending less money to drive any given amount of miles (albeit the actual difference is minimal) on the regular octane. With that being said, my truck has 119,000 miles on it now, and I will continue to run the recommended premium fuel. This is because I find the actual amount of difference in miles per tank (about 9) and cost to fill (about $5) to be negligible. Also, and here's the key reason why recommended is no longer in quotation marks, when running the regular fuel that VQ felt like a tired old engine with 100k+ miles on it. However with that premium fuel, she feels light on her feet and peppy from a stop. Personally, after driving with both fuels back to back, the difference is incomparable. This summer I'm planning to do a full tune-up as well as possibly a CAI to try to bump these numbers, but obviously I will strictly be running the premium fuel at that point. Thanks for reading! Hope it helps some who were unsure about what fuel to use like me.