What is gonna happen if I stop using premium gas?

P

Problemsolver

Member
Location
Toronto
Car
2008 FX45 AWD
Name
Suz
Although my 2008 Infiniti FX45 "requires" premium gas, has anyone dared to go to regular gas? Premium gas here is 15% more. This is on the heels of the recent news reports stating that most drivers were just wasting their money on premium gas. Looking for first hand knowledge, and not posters admonishing me for wanting to save money.
 
How much more does it take to fill with premium? For me it is around $8 or so... but I know that I am putting what it indicated as required... I can save $8 per tank and if something goes wrong, the $300 I will be saving a year will not make a dent towards any engine repair.
I bought my FX45 because it has an 8 cylinder engine not because it was a gas saver. I could have gone with a 2.0l hybrid vehicle instead if I was searching for a gas saver.

I dont know if there are any benefits or not, but I dont want to save pennies to then have to spend dollars


Sent from my iPhone
 
It will run crappy, your engine was meant to run Premium, the news was referring to vehicles to which Premium is not required.
Don't cheap out, you will regret it with performance loses.
 
Yep, the recent news on the use of premium gas on car that is not required is a waste of $.

After a couple of tank of regular, your engine will probably ping or knock due predetermined timing settings from the manufacturer. The ping or knock is cause by erratic detonations of less octane gas. Prolong engine ping or knock will subject the head gasket, pistons, and rings to unnecessary overloads. You'll definitely see a decrease in performance.
 
I'm guessing you are in the US, if so, I feel that gas is very cheap to begin with compared to up north here in Canada. Don't skimp out, use whatever grade is required for your engine, in your case its premium. In fact, all Infiniti vehicles require premium as far as I'm aware.
 
I love how all the salesman and people at infiniti told me when i bought my car said putting premium gas is a waste of money and that you can use regular. :LOL: cracks me up.
 
I love how all the salesman and people at infiniti told me when i bought my car said putting premium gas is a waste of money and that you can use regular. :LOL: cracks me up.
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Would think that dealership fills all their cars on the lot up on regular then.. SMH.. Wonder how many dealerships do that with their premium required cars...
 
GFortFX said:
Would think that dealership fills all their cars on the lot up on regular then.. SMH.. Wonder how many dealerships do that with their premium required cars...
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They do! when i picked up the car they said they filled my tank up with gas. and i asked if they used premium and the salesman said no, we always fill all the cars here with regular gas.

I was like WTF. i would of told them not to fill it up if i knew that. It's messed up if you think about it
 
That seems really messed up to me. I mean I see how from their perspective it saves a ton of money (in a shady, shitty way), but why would they admit that to you?! I'd put money on a dealership denying warranty coverage for an engine repair if you ever admitted you used the incorrect fuel grade
 
I worked for a nissan/Infiniti dealer a long time ago. And on new cars, if inside the cap it said to use premium they always filled premium. Used cars was a bit hit or miss.
 
I have a 2010 FX35, It had 38,000 on it when I got it in 2013. I now have 84,000 on it and have NEVER put a drop of anything over 87 octane in it.
My theory and it is just my own unprofessional opinion, is that premium is necessary for max power, climbing under load, towing.
I do none of this. I live at sea level do not climb hills, or tow, and don't "put my foot into it". Even those rare occasions where I need
to excelerate I had no ping or knock. I do put a can of Seafoam in the tank every couple of months to clean out the injectors.
Don't say everyone should do this but in my case it works.
On the technical side the engine has knock sensors that tell the computer to retard the spark, which stops the knock but yes reduces the power.
I used to drive a C-5 Corvette and always ran 87 on the highway where the engine was making 80 HP. But on the track always ran 93 where full power was needed.
Yes 8.00 a tank extra is not much but I worked for .75 an hour once and can't spend money that I feel un necessary.
 
jaybar said:
On the technical side the engine has knock sensors that tell the computer to retard the spark, which stops the knock but yes reduces the power.
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You are correct. Most newer vehicles have knock sensors to mitigate engine knocks. When I put less than premium fuel (91), I do notice a slight reduce in power and MPG.
 
jaybar said:
I have a 2010 FX35, It had 38,000 on it when I got it in 2013. I now have 84,000 on it and have NEVER put a drop of anything over 87 octane in it.
My theory and it is just my own unprofessional opinion, is that premium is necessary for max power, climbing under load, towing.
I do none of this. I live at sea level do not climb hills, or tow, and don't "put my foot into it". Even those rare occasions where I need
to excelerate I had no ping or knock. I do put a can of Seafoam in the tank every couple of months to clean out the injectors.
Don't say everyone should do this but in my case it works.
On the technical side the engine has knock sensors that tell the computer to retard the spark, which stops the knock but yes reduces the power.
I used to drive a C-5 Corvette and always ran 87 on the highway where the engine was making 80 HP. But on the track always ran 93 where full power was needed.
Yes 8.00 a tank extra is not much but I worked for .75 an hour once and can't spend money that I feel un necessary.
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My'03 had 230,000 miles when I sold it, I used to be able to get gas without the damn ethanol added! 10% ethanol means 10% worse gas mileage!
Saving 20% on regular consistently will lose you another 20%, or at least 10% worse mileage as well as crappy performance.
Why'd you even get an Infiniti? A Rogue or Murano would likely be a better choice for some folks. Just sayin'
 
10% ethanol doesn't mean 10% worse mileage. E85 results in ~20-25% less mileage because of the lower energy density. So 10% ethanol blend is going to be a 2-3% lower mileage. 87 octane is going to result in lower mileage but it's going to be marginal. I've run E40 blends in my BMW to run more boost and mileage drop is in the 10% range but hard to say because I've upped the boost.

I've run 87 a couple of times when the premium pump was out or when the pipeline broke and regular was all most stations had. It's really unnoticeable unless it's a hot day and you get on it, then the knock sensor goes into overdrive and starts pulling timing noticeably. But in a regular commute, it would be hard to notice. Maybe someone wants to get an Infiniti because it's much more luxurious than a Rogue or Murano and doesn't care about acceleration. The difference in performance is going to be marginal and the FX isn't setting any speed records anyways.

Local Infiniti dealership here uses regular when they fill up. It's not going to hurt the car and it makes business sense as they're filling up a lot of cars for loaners and test drives. Doesn't really bother me.
 
shadow191 said:
10% ethanol doesn't mean 10% worse mileage. E85 results in ~20-25% less mileage because of the lower energy density. So 10% ethanol blend is going to be a 2-3% lower mileage. 87 octane is going to result in lower mileage but it's going to be marginal. I've run E40 blends in my BMW to run more boost and mileage drop is in the 10% range but hard to say because I've upped the boost.

I've run 87 a couple of times when the premium pump was out or when the pipeline broke and regular was all most stations had. It's really unnoticeable unless it's a hot day and you get on it, then the knock sensor goes into overdrive and starts pulling timing noticeably. But in a regular commute, it would be hard to notice. Maybe someone wants to get an Infiniti because it's much more luxurious than a Rogue or Murano and doesn't care about acceleration. The difference in performance is going to be marginal and the FX isn't setting any speed records anyways.

Local Infiniti dealership here uses regular when they fill up. It's not going to hurt the car and it makes business sense as they're filling up a lot of cars for loaners and test drives. Doesn't really bother me.
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I journaled my mileage faithfully, since I used it for work.™ I can't vouch for your arithmetic. It's Always hot here in South Tx.

My seat of the pants-ometer told me about the decline in forward thrust, every time I cheated out on 87 octane, I'd save maybe 30 cents a gallon @$3.00, and be back for a fill up 10% sooner. So it ends up costing the same to go 500 miles down the road, And the performance is lackluster.

I raced and seriously embarrassed a new Hemi Dodge Ram the other day...he thinks my FX is fast!

As far as running corn in my Infiniti, I drove it right through the ethanol transition here in TX, but in OK, they had gas without ethanol and my mileage that had dropped from 23 to 20-ish, returned to 23 as long as I could avoid ethanol. BTW when I find gas without ethanol today, it costs 10% more...negating any real cost savings.
 
Its a whole study on you tube this guy did about premium vs regular gas and he use regular gas in his corvette with no problems no mods its very interesting check it out,
 
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