Im thinking of getting a new car in the near future and am wondering about this new CVT transmission. Everywhere you read it states that it requires HIGH GRADE PREMIUM fuel only. How true is this? That could be a drop dead dealbreaker if it only takes premium fuel. Could I just use a high quality reg. unleaded like Chevron or Shell?
Nissan Altima 3.5SE? If so, using unleaded lessens the performance (acceleration) of the car but MPG won't be affected as long as you don't have a lead foot. You can use regular 87 octane and not have to worry about messing up the engine/car.
I ran my Infiniti on Premium fuel for two years before someone told me it was unnecessary. I stopped using it, switched to 87 octane, and noticed no performance issues driving at high speeds (which considering I lived in traffic-jammed Houston then, meant the tollway and the strip of Memorial from the park to downtown)
I drive a Murano and i can tell the differnece in performance. I still use 87 only when i'm drving from home to park n ride. but for hway driving, i use premiuum.
I have a 2007 Altima 3.5SE, with the CVT transmission. Initially I only put premium in it, but over the past 6 months or so I've primarily used regular 87 octane. I notice a slight difference in acceleration, but the car still performs just fine.
It depends on what the manufacturer recomends. I have an Audi A6 with CVT. I think all Audis require premium. 2 or 3 years ago I switched to regular when gas started going up in price. After about 2 months, I saw an interview with a Mercedes engineer who said to use premium if the manufacturer recomends it because the car would get better fuel economy. I checked and I was getting about 1 mpg less with regular than premium. That difference makes up for the cost of premium. I have switched back to premium and never went back to regular.
Premium is the high grade stuff. If you're at sea level your car might not r****d the timing with the mid grade stuff, depending on temperature.
No. I mean CVT. It was the lowest level A6 in 2003. I don't think Audi makes an A6 with CVT anymore, which is a shame. The CVT transmission is great.
I love the CVT on my Murano, but man it sucks the gas.. and no, I don't pay extra for the premium, hell we're already paying three times what that crap is worth as it is.. Works fine with regular.
If the owner's manual recommends premium, you should check your gas mileage and then run on premium for a month and compare your gas mileage. I bet you will find that it is cheaper to use the premium.
If an engine was designed with high octane fuel in mind it will work better with that fuel. It might work with the cheaper fuel, but might not work as efficiently.
I have done that and have seen absolutely no difference in mileage. Now I might see a difference if I could find some gasoline that actually had GASOLINE in it instead of this idiot ethanol crap.
yea not only is gas more expensive but it seems to last way less than it used to and i think its that 15%ethanol. i mean thats ridiculous were getting screwed at both ends.
The difference would be negligible....and the cost would more than likely offset the benefit. Just get a can of STP...it is the Racers edge you know. DD
I use regular even though my car recommends premium...I thought once you switch to regular (assuming you use premium from day 1), there is no point in going back as the damage has already been done...I put in premium for long trips to clean out the system, but that's more for my own piece of mind...
modern engines have knock sensors and will change the combustion timing for lower grade fuels. PS: get a stick shift
