What "brands" of gas (91 or more Octane) are recommended to meet the spec requirements listed in the 350Z owners manual page 9-3 ?

 

I use Shell (in Chicago) because it is by my house.

However, I used to have a '90 300zx that used to run like $hit from time to time (I used to tank it up at all the local crappy stations). At one point I happened to tank it at the Shell a few times & noticed how much better the car started running (I have no clue if it was the gas or not) & until the day I sold the car with 137K miles, the engine ran smooth like never before, while using Shell.

So, my 350z gets Shell 93 Octane, everytime......

Shell is my recommendation.

Marcin

 

I love Chevron!

 

I second Chevron!

 

With the possible exception of discount brands, gas is gas.

I use shell but only out of habit.

 

Info from old threads:

Gas has three basic flavors when refined -- regular, plus, or premium. Each retailer adds their own additives (which have a marginal impact at best). But it all starts as one of three or four basic crude oils.

The only (repeat -- ONLY) gasoline which has a totally unique refining process is Amoco Ultimate.

Amoco's unique process goes the extra step to remove PNAs from the gas, hence the clear color. It's not to say that it's light years better than every other gasoline out there, but it IS different.

Most of your modern refineries produce your basic three grades of gas, but the Amoco process is one that stands alone. If you ever have a chance to visit the "rack" at a refinery, (that's where the tankers fill up), you'd be surprised to see how many branded gasolines all come from the same place. Basically, nothing is different except for the additives that each puts in at the gas station.

 

Pretty much they're all the same: octane is octane.

Around me, Sunoco tends to be cheapest, so I usually use them or Mobil.

 

The 350Z Owners Manual on Pg 9-3, besides requiring above 91 Octane has specfic recommended fuel limits on "oxygenated blends (excepting menthol blend) of 10% oxygenate. MTBE may be up to 15%. Also if menthol blend is limited to 5%. The owners manual iseems little confusing on this topic.

Per Shell's FAQ web site, their gas may have:
Oxygentes of up to 15% MTBE and 10% ehtanol.
Shell US gas has no menthol. Appears to be OK but since the manual is little confusing, not real sure.

So gas may not just be gas, even though the octane is 91 or better.