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Premium vs Regular Gas???

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254K views 43 replies 27 participants last post by  neinfinci  
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#1 ·
Just picked up my new QX 60 and would like to know from you experienced users if you put premium or regular gas in the car. I know the owners manual says the premium is recommended, but is it really necessary?

Please tell me your experiences. Thanks.
 
#3 ·
I tend to switch between premium then mid-grade and occasionally regular. If I'm at COSTCO, I go with premium since its cheaper than commercial brand mid-grade fuels.

On our cross country 8,500 mile trip we pretty much stayed with premium unless it wasn't available. The best fuel milage was using premium at 24.5 mpg and the worse was 17.2 using regular. However during the low milage tank we were in the mountains and hitting severe head winds and had a fully loaded cargo box which I have no doubt made a difference.

I've never heard pinging or noticed a big difference between fuel grades but prefer to stay with the higher octane fuels.
 
#4 ·
I owned a 2001 Acura TL Type S that 'required' premium, just like the QX60, for peak power. I ran regular in it for the 4 years I owned it and never experienced an issue from running regular. Computers in modern cars adjust for running regular and it will not harm anything.

Biggest benefit to running premium is they add more detergents to premium so it'll keep things cleaner but you can just run regular and toss in a bottle of Chevron Techron purchased at Walmart every 3000-4000 miles and it'll do the same thing.

I own the hybrid QX60 and unlike the V6 model, the I4 in the hybrid only calls for regular in the manual.
 
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#6 ·
Non hybrid, salesperson told us didn't need to put in the premium so have been using regular (86 octane). Not happy with gas mileage at all; definitely not what salesperson and the sticker advertised. We are getting about 16-17 which is based on mix of both highway and city driving.

Will be following this thread as have been wondering if it would be worth seeing if can get better mileage (and then whether worth the cost increase)
 
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#11 ·
Sorry, but I can't resist...


So you believe the salesperson regarding the fuel suggestion, but not on the fuel economy? You need to pick a side. >:D


And if your salesperson really did tell you not to put in premium, and promised you'd get the mileage on the window sticker, I'd pick a better salesperson next time - one who doesn't lie.
 
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#7 ·
The most important to question ask is do you hear any pinging when you drive on regular gasoline? Engine pinging indicates severe premature ignition which can cause engine damage. Pinging can be caused by using a low octane fuel in a high-compression (high performance) engine.

Lower octane fuel will detonate sooner under high pressure then high octane fuel. Premature ignition will affect performance and the power output of the engine. If your vehicle is experiencing lower gas mileage using regular fuel then you're experiencing some degree of premature ignition, even if you don't hear engine pinging. Bottom-line that will put more stress on your engine(specifically the valves) than would otherwise occur using higher octane fuel. I 'd use 91 octane
 
M
#8 ·
To make it simple. You spend a little more for the premium up front, but in the long run I think you're doing your engine a favor, and it will pay off in the long run. You have a high performance engine in a luxury vehicle, and you want to put in the lowest grade of gas. Just doesn't make sense to me.
 
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#12 ·
I'm still on my first tank since purchasing my QX60 this Monday. Cap says premium recommended, I filled up with premium. Really, it's not a huge price difference and as some have said, we paid a premium for a premium car, why skimp on the gas?

I will say, I'm not particularly thrilled with the mileage. But then again, it wasn't even a consideration for me. I wanted the car for the third row, and for the looks. I reset all the stats when purchased, and I'm averaging 17.2 MPG ... but with an average speed of 22 MPH. Gotta love city traffic :-(
 
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#13 ·
Premium Brand but it's the same engine used in the Pathfinder and various other Nissan vehicles and they do not "require" premium. Most vehicles will run better on premium but it's not a requirement.

16-17mpg avg sounds like something else may be wrong. My 2015 is averaging 21mpg with mixed driving on 87 octane.

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk
 
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#15 ·
What is your average speed? My mechanic friend seems to think there is nothing wrong with 17.4 mpg average (as of today) with only 7 days of data driving in South Florida stop and go traffic. To date, my average speed is 23 mph. I would love to see how it does with more highway driving, but that's just not my daily drive. I'll keep an eye out for something else being wrong, but I'd love to know about your average speed and consider how that plays into the mpg average.
 
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#17 ·
I don't see how. Neither my home nor my work would allow me to charge, and there really isn't a ton of charging spots in Miami that I've seen. Not to mention, my reason for purchasing the QX60 was for the third row. Haven't seen any electrics that do that.

In any case, drove to my sister's today, which is about an hour drive via expressway. My average mpg shot up to 18 from 17.4. In one trip. So it does have a lot to do with my driving habits for my daily commute.
 
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#20 ·
Premium. I'm sure the engineers would not have suggested premium fuel if the vehicle was designed to run on 87 and not all fuel is the same quality regardless of what people tell you. You paid a premium price for a vehicle then bicker about paying $.20 more a gallon. Should have bought an explorer!
 
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#21 ·
I have only had mine a few weeks and I'm very interested because our delta here on Reg vs. Prem is $.50/gal. I have run 1 tank of each with no noticeable diff but going to go back and and test more because they were not apples-to-apples. I'm average 21.2 MPG with mix of city/highway but more city than highway. Either way it's a better option than my previous 2005 car that was doing 15 MPG (so still saving at least $450/yr on gas at a minimum.)
 
J
#23 ·
First two tanks of fuel I put in my QX60 (2015 model) after I got it were both low-grade 87 octane. Around-town driving mostly, only about 25% of either tank was highway driving to and from work. The MPG stats on the in-dash screen said both tanks were within a few tenths of 18.5 MPG. Three days ago I filled up an empty tank (gas light came on) with 93 octane premium. Had a 1.5 hour trip both directions to the in-laws house. Despite reading several articles with fairly concrete evidence indicating you would likely get no tangible performance differences between using low or high-grade gas, I still thought I would find some benefit to the 93 octane fill up. Yet, once I get home from said trip to in-laws, in-dash MPG gauge said so far on this tank I was getting like 19.3 MPG. VERY SLIGHT increase over the 87 octane performance. But I attribute that increase to the much larger percentage of time spent driving on the highway, as opposed to stoplights and stop signs around town. I found this to be interesting. One thing I don't know is if consistently running low octane fuel for years on end would cause damage to your engine's mechanicals that could otherwise be avoided by using higher octane. I'm really not sure if there is a real accurate way to judge that in the long run. But I will say that for all practical purposes, I don't believe I will be using premium fuel regularly. Most likely I will pour in a bottle of octane booster or fuel injector cleaner in every 4-5 fill ups whenever I can remember to. Here in Ohio (where we have notoriously crappy gas quality anyway), I see no real value added to paying about 30-40 cents more per gallon when it does nothing useful for my performance.
 
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#27 ·
jonesy84 said:
One thing I don't know is if consistently running low octane fuel for years on end would cause damage to your engine's mechanicals that could otherwise be avoided by using higher octane.
Click to expand...
Nope, as others have stated the motor automatically compensates and adjusts HP. If you'd not running it hard, you won't notice. 120k on mine and it still runs perfect.

jonesy84 said:
..pour in a bottle of octane booster or fuel injector cleaner in every 4-5 fill ups
Click to expand...
Don't waste your money, higher octane does not equal cleaner fuel. Exxon 87 and 92 have the same detergents. Octane is not a quality rating.
 
M
#24 ·
Don’t bother with premium, it’s only “recommended” not required. The pathfinder, which has the same engine, has regular fuel recommended and has a few less horsepower. You won’t get a mpg increase with premium. Use a high quality regular gas from a name brand and be done with it and save a few bucks per fill up.

Now, my 07 G35 which is a much different version of the 3.5 says “premium required” and I always fill that with premium.
 
V
#25 ·
Interesting. We also have a BMW X1, which has premium “required”. X1 owners report not just a loss of power, but worse MPG. So, it’s not a crazy idea to see if there might be a slight MPG difference here as well. Really nice to have the option of not using premium, though, as it is so much more expensive these days.
 
#28 ·
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#29 ·
to further the school of thought finding the high octane, premium to potentially be a waste of money, the tank I am currently on was filled up w/ 87 octane. And I'm just driving it around Dayton to and from work, kids activities, etc.... and halfway through this tank, my avg MPG currently reads 20.1.....
 
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