R50 3.5 owners: Do you run premium?

[Martinjmpr]

I know people have strong opinions about gas grades but I thought I'd just see how many other R50 owners are actually running premium? I notice the little sticker on the gas door says that premium should be run "for best performance" which implies to me that running lower grades is OK, you just won't get the best performance.
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I'm only on tank no. 4 with the Pathy. First 3 I was running E10, 85 octane (here in CO regular is 85, the equivalent of 87 at sea level.) Performance seemed pretty good and MPG on my first two tanks were 16.1 and 17.1 (which was all around-town driving with some "urban freeway" thrown in the mix.) On Sunday, also running regular, wife and I took a road trip up to the mountains (Leadville), about 300 miles total. Filled up last night and MPG was a pretty satisfactory 21.5. This included some very mild 4 wheeling and a rough, very rocky dirt pass (Weston Pass, for those familiar with the central Rockies.) Weston Pass is passable by cars but it's so rough with rocks it's almost like driving on cobblestones. I was in 1st or 2nd gear for quite a ways just to keep my speed down (also a little worried about my el-cheapo Kumho tires, since I didn't have an air compressor with me that would have allowed me to air down and then be able to reinflate.)
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When I filled it up again I filled with premium (91 around here, equal to 93 at sea level) so I'll see if that makes any difference.

 

[proper4wd]

Not R-50 specific, but modern fuel injection systems with knock sensors and distributorless ignition can safely be run on all grades of pump gas. The engine management system will accommodate. Should you choose to run premium for other perceived reasons, that's your choice.

 

[broncobowsher]

Does it have a "premium fuel recomended" sticker inside the fuel door?
If not, don't expect much if anything. If it does, you may see a gain in performance and economy.

 

[Martinjmpr]

Does it have a "premium fuel recomended" sticker inside the fuel door?
If not, don't expect much if anything. If it does, you may see a gain in performance and economy.

Yes, it does, that's why I'm curious to see how many others out there actually use premium.

 

[DanF.]

Not R-50 specific, but modern fuel injection systems with knock sensors and distributorless ignition can safely be run on all grades of pump gas. The engine management system will accommodate. Should you choose to run premium for other perceived reasons, that's your choice.

A couple months ago I pulled a loaded 5x8' Uhaul trailer with a 3.5 R50 automatic and about 110,000 miles on it from NH to TX. Then about a month or so later, I drove back from TX to NH with no trailer, but loaded up the R50. I measured my MPGs along the 2000 mile route, and even though I got very similar MPGs when switching between 87 and 93 octanes, I absolutely had more interstate on-ramp acceleration after running a few tanks of 93 through the engine in order to allow the ECU to adapt to the better gas.

Nissan specifies premium gas in the 3.5 R50. Running 87 octane won't hurt anything, but you will lose some performance in the process.

 

[TowndawgR50]

I ran 91 on my 01 R50 when i first got it. Took a trip from Northern California to Washington towing our 18ft toy hauler and back using 91 and 93 when it was available. After that I started using 83 regularly with no difference in performance or mpg. I track everything with my bluetooth ODBII scanner via the torque app. I recommend getting this for a variety of reasons, including being able to track your fuel consumption real time. It will allow you to better determine if 93 is providing better performance on your particular rig.

 

[broncobowsher]

I ran 91 on my 01 R50 when i first got it. Took a trip from Northern California to Washington towing our 18ft toy hauler and back using 91 and 93 when it was available. After that I started using 83 regularly with no difference in performance or mpg. I track everything with my bluetooth ODBII scanner via the torque app. I recommend getting this for a variety of reasons, including being able to track your fuel consumption real time. It will allow you to better determine if 93 is providing better performance on your particular rig.

What motor did your '01 have? The 3.3 is COMPLETELY different then the 3.5 engine.

 

[NorthbyNorthwest]

I dabbled with premium for a bit when I first got my R50. The difference in performance was noticeable, along with seeing a very slight improvement in economy. In the end, it wasn't worth it - it takes a few tanks of premium to settle in and only one tank of 87 to mess it up and I usually drive with a light foot so I don't need the extra power. Add to that seeing as much as 15¢/l price difference and it just didn't make sense

Sent from my SM-G925W8 using Tapatalk

 

[Martinjmpr]

I dabbled with premium for a bit when I first got my R50. The difference in performance was noticeable, along with seeing a very slight improvement in economy. In the end, it wasn't worth it - it takes a few tanks of premium to settle in and only one tank of 87 to mess it up and I usually drive with a light foot so I don't need the extra power. Add to that seeing as much as 15¢/l price difference and it just didn't make sense

Sent from my SM-G925W8 using Tapatalk

Yeah, I'm not sure I can really measure any difference in power with the 91 I'm running now but I can darn well measure the $.50/gallon price difference! Being a manual I'm not sure how much I'd notice. Maybe if I started towing our trailer with the Pathy I'd be more inclined to run high octane but as a drive-to-work car, I'm not sure it's worth it.

 

[Martinjmpr]

I ran 91 on my 01 R50 when i first got it. Took a trip from Northern California to Washington towing our 18ft toy hauler and back using 91 and 93 when it was available. After that I started using 83 regularly with no difference in performance or mpg. I track everything with my bluetooth ODBII scanner via the torque app. I recommend getting this for a variety of reasons, including being able to track your fuel consumption real time. It will allow you to better determine if 93 is providing better performance on your particular rig.

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I had an Ultra-Gauge on my last two DD's and will probably get another one for the Pathfinder. Easy to use, easy to calibrate, and I like having a real time "DTE" (Distance to Empty) measurement, along with real-time MPG.
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I run a Scangauge II on my Suburban, mostly for the Transmission temp reading (though since I had my instrument cluster rebuilt and a trans temp gauge added, that's not as important.)

 

[TowndawgR50]

What motor did your '01 have? The 3.3 is COMPLETELY different then the 3.5 engine.

3.5