# 97 Altima - Anyone Running Octane Higher than 87? With Before and Afters?



## Chrisk0 (Dec 24, 2014)

I've been looking through the Owner's Manual on my 97 Nissan Altima. I saw the Fuel I should be using is Unleaded Gasoline with an octane of at _least_ 87 octane. I just filled up my tank with 87 Oct. 

My question is, because it said _at least_ 87 octane, is Nissan implying I can use higher grade fuel? I would like to simply just fill up with higher octane next time I fill up just to see the difference, but I know if I use the wrong octane it can cause engine knock or other issues because it wasn't designed for the much resistance to ignition. 

It states the AKI as being "_AKI (RON91)*1_" On wikipedia it states AKI as the average between MON and RON. So in my head that means I could run Unleaded 89 Oct and possibly get better gas mileage or horse power, right? I honestly have no idea because I'm not familiar with these terms. 

I just wanted to get some input from you guys, either technicians or just daily commuters with a mechanical sense that have tested this out already with results. Any responses would be much appreciated, thank you.


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## rogoman (Dec 16, 2004)

Unless your engine is knocking, buying higher octane gasoline is a waste of money. Premium gas costs around 15 to 20 cents per gallon more than regular.

It may seem like buying higher octane “premium” gas is like giving your car a treat, or boosting its performance. But the recommended gasoline for most cars is regular octane. In fact, in most cases, using a higher octane gasoline than your owner's manual recommends offers absolutely no benefit. It won't make your car perform better, go faster, get better mileage, or run cleaner. The only time you might need to switch to a higher octane level is if your car engine knocks when you use the recommended fuel.


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## Chrisk0 (Dec 24, 2014)

rogoman said:


> Unless your engine is knocking, buying higher octane gasoline is a waste of money. Premium gas costs around 15 to 20 cents per gallon more than regular.
> 
> It may seem like buying higher octane “premium” gas is like giving your car a treat, or boosting its performance. But the recommended gasoline for most cars is regular octane. In fact, in most cases, using a higher octane gasoline than your owner's manual recommends offers absolutely no benefit. It won't make your car perform better, go faster, get better mileage, or run cleaner. The only time you might need to switch to a higher octane level is if your car engine knocks when you use the recommended fuel.


Hey buddy, I'm all about saving that money. That's really good news haha. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing anything in terms of getting everything out of my car. I appreciate the reply bud. Informative.


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