Gas for A/C 3.5 v6??

[Mattv609]

Just bought a 08 Altima Coupe 3.5 and just wondering if you have to put the 93 gas in it or can u get away with cheaper? What you guys think? thnxs

[BlackMamba08]

you can go with 91 octane....or 87 for that matter, just the manual recommends at 91. you'll just notice a performance difference with lower octane gas.

[DAAN.]

Would you need to retune for using 87 on a longer time frame / is the timing way off when using 87 ?

[Ferguson]

I don't think there's much you can do to change the octane requirement on a 3.5 engine.

Best performance is with 91 gas but the engine will run fine on 87. Just be sure the gas does not contain more than 10% ethanol - Nissan warns against it.

[phobs]

If you can afford a 3.5, then you can afford 91.

[Mattv609]

oh ye i could afford it but the guys at the dealer where so stricked sayin no u need to put it in, so i was just curious if it had to be that from som A/C owners.. thnx guys
Modified by Mattv608 at 9:53 AM 1/4/2009

[{WBK}Viper]

If you can afford a 3.5, then you can afford 91.

[rjdmmfl1]

If you can afford a 3.5, then you can afford 91.

.... if you wanted to "be more economical with Gas" you would have gotten a 2.5 right! THe 3.5 wants premium, it craves premium, soo... why not give it premium?

Funny, on the new Maxima, with a slightly higher tuned VQ35DE, I think it says premium unleaded only...

On the 2003-2006 G35's, with a similarly tuned VQ35DE, it says premium unleaded only

On the 350Z, with a slightly higher tuned VQ35DE, I'll bet it says premium unleaded only

So why they put it as "recommended" on the new Altimas with the VQ35DE is beyond me...

IMO, anyone that goes cheap on the 3.5 engine, getting regular, just to save $3.40 per fill up should be mamed.... you get a nice engine, and you then string it out on crack with 87 octane fuel

There is no discussion... PREMIUM IN THE 3.5!!!!!!!!

[MikeisSUPERBAD]

ill admit when the gas prices were astronomical ... reaching $4... where i was living.... i did opt for 91 (super) or even 87 (regular) depending on the prices.

to fill my car up a year ago on 93 cost me like $70today i filled my car up at sunoco down the street from my house with 93 for ONLY! $36. sweet

but i did notice the sluggish performance on the 87.. and definitely say if you choose to not go with 93.. at least go 91.. for whatever reason you have. im not going to crucify you for what economic choices you make... JUST please dont buy those pep boy fender fin/grill things that come in packs of 3 (look like 3 circles side by side by side lol) that looks funny.

[II Knucklez II]

i have a question? is it bad if u go back and fourth with 87 and 93 cause when the gas was almost $4 i was putting 87 and now that it has gone down i'm putting 93 but if the gas goes up again i'll be going back to 87 or 91

[rjdmmfl1]

Econimically... it just doesn't make sense... it's an extra $3.40 per fill up (20 cents/gallon @ 17 gallons)... at 5 fill ups per month, that's an extra $17 per month.... ever add up how quickly you spend $17 a month on junk?

so you'd risk possible engine knock and decreased performance for $17/month? What's that, 4 less value meals from burger king?

IDK, if we were talking $100 / month savings, or even $50, I guess but $17?

[Ferguson]

In the manual, it states that "87 MAY be used if 91 is unavailable". I think they mean the occasional use of 87 is okay but that 91 should be used whenever possible.

[marlin29311]

Premium only. Better MPG's and better performance. By using premium you acutally save money...I did a whole writeup on it in a thread somewhere, but I don't remember which one... you ended up saving like $70 a year by using premium over regular (when gas was at $3.50)

[spockrock]

.... if you wanted to "be more economical with Gas" you would have gotten a 2.5 right! THe 3.5 wants premium, it craves premium, soo... why not give it premium?

Funny, on the new Maxima, with a slightly higher tuned VQ35DE, I think it says premium unleaded only...

On the 2003-2006 G35's, with a similarly tuned VQ35DE, it says premium unleaded only

On the 350Z, with a slightly higher tuned VQ35DE, I'll bet it says premium unleaded only

So why they put it as "recommended" on the new Altimas with the VQ35DE is beyond me...

IMO, anyone that goes cheap on the 3.5 engine, getting regular, just to save $3.40 per fill up should be mamed.... you get a nice engine, and you then string it out on crack with 87 octane fuel

There is no discussion... PREMIUM IN THE 3.5!!!!!!!!

I believe it was because the same cars in its class for the V6 are all regular so the argument was made the accord uses regular why does the Altima need premium.

[rjdmmfl1]

I believe it was because the same cars in its class for the V6 are all regular so the argument was made the accord uses regular why does the Altima need premium.

that makes sense..its all about marketing.... its f*cked up though, because Nissan knows da*n well that this engine won't last as long if 87 octane is used everyday!

[Chiefster]

Would premium hurt a 2.5???cuz ive been doiing that and it seems like my gas never runs out till like 12 days later(and im all over the place)..

[rjdmmfl1]

Would premium hurt a 2.5???cuz ive been doiing that and it seems like my gas never runs out till like 12 days later(and im all over the place)..

quite the contrary! Premium will make your 2.5 engine perform better! Premium won't hurt any engine, unless you use like 106 octane fuel all the time, which most folks don't have access to anyway!

On my last Nissan 4 banger, I noticed the biggest difference when using prmium during highway acceleration, and acceleration in general when my air conditioner was running!

f you're using premium in your 2.5 KEEP DOING IT!!! Good for you and your car my dude! ... I know a guy that bought a Lexus SC 430 and complains that he has to put premium gas in his car... You can afford a $70K car, but you can't afford an extra $20 / month in gas??/

[marlin29311]

quite the contrary! Premium will make your 2.5 engine perform better! Premium won't hurt any engine, unless you use like 106 octane fuel all the time, which most folks don't have access to anyway!

Im going to disagree - the premium fuel is somewhat worthless in an engine that doesn't have that high of a compression ratio...it won't really do much for your engine seeing as higher octane fuels are designed to withstand ignition at higher compression ratios...

The only upside is that some fuel compaines use better/more detergents to keep your engine clean in their premium fuels (Shell V-Power, for example).

[Ferguson]

some fuel compaines use better/more detergents to keep your engine clean in their premium fuels (Shell V-Power, for example).

Not sure about the US, but most regular fuels here have up to 10% ethanol added while the premium fuels do not. So it is quite possible for a car intended for regular to actually perform better with premium.

[dangeris]

Questions like these always crack me up when I see 'em. People buy the 3.5 but asks the question should I put in regular or premium?

That's like buying a $50K custom Harley then asking should I buy the cheap or expensive saddlebags for it.

I've always ran premium on my AC and never ever wondered how it'd perform with regular gas. I once put regular in my wife's Acura TL type S and the performance stunk! It felt like it was pulling a big boat. Never again!

Premium FTW

[Chiefster]

haha

i love premium!!!

[CoupeSlate]

nothing buy Shell V-Power in mine

[spockrock]

that makes sense..its all about marketing.... its f*cked up though, because Nissan knows da*n well that this engine won't last as long if 87 octane is used everyday!

Well not quite true, I believe the engine does notice that you put regular gas in and becomes less aggressive to save it self, but its not really a good idea.

[SHIFT_COUPE]

I don't know about anyone else but I put race fuel in mine

I kid, I kid

[rjdmmfl1]

Well not quite true, I believe the engine does notice that you put regular gas in and becomes less aggressive to save it self, but its not really a good idea.

I didn't mean 5 years vs 10 years.. I meant more like 15 years vs 17 years...

there is no way that the VQ35DE engine given 87 octane fuel everyday will last as long as the same engine given premium over the life span of the engine... no way!

[spockrock]

I didn't mean 5 years vs 10 years.. I meant more like 15 years vs 17 years...

there is no way that the VQ35DE engine given 87 octane fuel everyday will last as long as the same engine given premium over the life span of the engine... no way!

I would definitely agree with you on that. Too bad the car didn't slap the **** out of the owner when ever they put regular gas in car.

Or cut the power in half and flash screw YOU on the HID. I think that would get the message across to the owner quickly.

I am going to beat a dead horse here and say 20$ a month for premium is a little price to pay.

[DAAN.]

Hurt , not to the extent you are thinking. THe timing and ECU are set for 87, so due to pressure you might encounter pre-detonation, knock retard

as for the feeling it is morepowerful, it is a feeling, You will not see 20 HP gains on you car, which would be a notable difference.

If you want your car to feel faster, remove rear seats, big woofers and extras that weight the chassis down

Would premium hurt a 2.5???

[Hussain]

I don't know about anyone else but I put race fuel in mine

I kid, I kid

theres actually a local gas station that sells 100 octane gas at the pump.... i've never gone to it before but a bunch of my friends and pretty much everyone at the track goes there before the track... it was like $1 more then premium so i'm only going to go there before i go to the track one of these days.... wait till my low fuel light comes on and then put half tank of it before i go to the track lol

i've always used premium except for 1 time when i was low on gas and forgot my wallet at home lol car died on me by a gas station and i put like 2 gallons of regular and went home

[rjdmmfl1]

there's a spot in Camarillo that sells 106 octane.... pretty darn expensive though.. but I know someone on these forums that filled his tank up with it

theres actually a local gas station that sells 100 octane gas at the pump.... i've never gone to it before but a bunch of my friends and pretty much everyone at the track goes there before the track... it was like $1 more then premium so i'm only going to go there before i go to the track one of these days.... wait till my low fuel light comes on and then put half tank of it before i go to the track lol

i've always used premium except for 1 time when i was low on gas and forgot my wallet at home lol car died on me by a gas station and i put like 2 gallons of regular and went home

[Zerep]

daan if i remember correctly top gear did just that (dynoed different cars with different octane fuels) and higher performance engines lost anywhere from 10-30 hp when regular was pumped so "feeling" the gain when coming from the lower octane gas is substantial. in my 2.5 i pump 93 just cause of the additives they put in the higher octane gas. and i do feel like the doc says improvement in highway responsiveness