Fuel Type

[RyanEvh]

I have a 2001 Pathfinder and in the owner's manual it says to use atleast a 91 octane gasoline. I've been using 89 because that's what I thought it took. Using an 89 octane gasoline won't damage my engine in any way right? Because I don't want to spend the extra money for 91.

[Pwnin O'Brien]

This has been a topic of debate for quite a while. The Pathfinder owners manual says to use no lower than 87 octane (unless in higher elevations, where you can use 85 octane), but Nissan recommend 91 or higher. I think that most of the Pathfinder owners on NICO use 87 octane without any problems. If you notice any knocking with 87 octane though, you should switch to a higher octane.
Modified by Pwnin O'Brien at 10:20 PM 11/4/2009

[Densetsu]

Like Pwning said, Nissan recommends 91 for "optimal performance", but also says that it'll run fine on 89 or 87 octane.

I usually only put in 91 when I'm exerting the Pathy, like towing a trailer. Usually the minuscule increase in fuel economy doesn't offset the extra cost of premium.