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stereo system(compared to I30) the QX4 is
an excellant choice, especially at current
incentive that Infiniti is offering (3.9%).
-johnskev
Steve
Host
Vans, SUVs and Aftermarket & Accessories Message Boards
Demystifying Octane Ratings
A gasoline's octane rating quantifies its resistance to knocking and pinging. These two sounds are caused by abnormal combustion, which robs power and can damage an engine. Knocking and pinging are basically the same thing; knocking is louder and represents a more serious condition. When they occur, it is during acceleration, though higher engine speeds tend to drown them out. Knocking sounds like someone repeatedly rapping the engine with a hammer, and the quieter pinging resembles marbles being shaken inside a tin can.
Many conditions in the engine itself can cause or promote combustion anomalies, but when all other factors are equal, gasoline with a higher octane rating is more resistant to knocking and pinging than a lower-octane fuel. So why doesnt everyone just use high-octane gasoline? Because it is more expensive, and there is no advantage whatsoever in using premium gasoline in a car that doesn't specifically require it. At one time, only premium gasoline included additives that prevent fuel-injector clogging; now, all grades are basically the same in this regard.
If your car requires high-octane gasoline and you habitually use regular gas because the engine exhibits no sign of knock, you're outsmarting yourself. Most modern, computer-controlled engines include a knock sensor that detects knock and retards the ignition timing, causing the spark plugs to fire slightly later in the cycle. This typically prevents abnormal combustion and knock, which allows vehicles specified for premium fuel to run on lower-grade gasoline if it is all that's available. While this removes the immediate hazard, it's a bad idea to make a habit of running a vehicle on gasoline of lower-than-recommended octane. Retarding the spark causes a richer fuel/air mixture, which decreases fuel economy, increases emissions, causes the engine to run hotter, and reduces the longevity of both the engine itself and the catalytic converter. The money you save by pumping low-grade fuel into a car that demands higher octane is lost anyway, in decreased fuel economy and possibly gradual damage.
Your vehicle's owner's manual usually recommends an octane rating in terms of an Antiknock Index (AKI), which also is posted on gasoline pumps. The AKI is the average of two ratings determined in a laboratory: the Research Octane Number (RON), which corresponds with low-speed, mild-knocking conditions, and the Motor Octane Number (MON), which covers high-speed, high-temperature knocking conditions and part-throttle operation.
In general, three grades of gasoline are available in the United States: regular (AKI = 87), midgrade (AKI = 89) and premium (AKI = 91 to 94). The posted gasoline AKIs are lower in the Rocky Mountain states because less octane is needed at higher altitudes. Motorists whose cars require 91 octane fuel may find themselves at filling stations that offer only 89 and 93 octane, but nothing in between. In these cases, the options are to pay more for the 93 octane or to fill the tank halfway with 93 and the rest with 89. The resulting gasoline mixture, just like the average of their two AKI numbers, will equal 91 octane.
Edmunds.com True Market Value
Steve
Host
Vans, SUVs and Aftermarket & Accessories Message Boards
this is an EXTREMELY LOW DEMAND vehicle.
check the service records. this is probably an off-lease vehicle which may have been poorly maintained.
you don't mention any options, such as sunroof, htd seats, 2nd cd player etc????
the On star system can be installed rather than the navigational system that comes with the new models?
I have been in cars and SUB's with On star, and I think it is awesome to hear a voice directing you to exactly where you are going. This device also unlocks doors, and helps retrieve lost or stolen vehicle.
On the pre-2001 vs the earlier QX4: I would agree that the newer model is far superior, primarily for the engine (no comparison between laboring 167HP and 240HP for this heavy vehicle, although premium is now required), Xenon lights and better dash and gauge illumination. The pre-2001 leather seemed softer (but perhaps that's because it was used over time!) and that the pre-2001 had more of a stable feel (I thought it felt much less "tippy" than other SUVs and rather like sitting on top of a pyramid instead of a tall box), but perhaps that's due to the 2001's 17" wheels instead of 16".
Anyone out there have a Canadian model and get a MSO with theirs? Or did everyone use the NVIS to title the vehicle? This has been an ongoing battle for the last year. I'm going to have to now sue the state of MN to title it.
As an aside, anyone have a good recommendation for a trailer hitch? I need to pick up a bike rack and need a hitch for the rack to mount on. Don't need the ball type, just the square hole to put the rack's "peg" into.
Thanks for the help, and I look forward to joining the ranks!
Not sure if you've seen my name here before, but I've been touting the big savings of going to Canada to buy since I did it last fall (see a summary at post #641 above). By coincidence I also live in Minnesota. I was out of the MN registrars office with my title application in forty minutes including filling out all the paperwork. The NVIS is equivalent to the MSO for all practical purposes. The dealer I bought from (in Toronto too) changed the NVIS to an Ontario title to make it easier. But, I know of dozens of others who have used the NVIS in numerous states. Write me if you think you might like some more insight into this.
By the way to others - you can still easily save $5000 on a QX4 by going to Canada. I have lots of details written up and some good contacts to make the process real easy. I now know of 50 people who have done this. Toronto and Vancouver are a lot closer to many people than they think.
-Jon
Also, what color pinstripes look good on a silver sage and a tuscan beige truck? Thanks!
Mark
No idea about the other items, but I am considering buying some sort of cargo area barrier. I've heard too many horror stories from friends about separation bars rattling and the like. But I have seen some pet stores & catalogs selling a soft net barrier, similar in material to the cargo net.
Write me with questions.
-Jon
Did you deal with Kevin Hyland at New Country in Greenwich?
What was the price WITHOUT any $1000 Infiniti customer loyalty?
Was the car brand new or a demo?
Did you get 3.9% financing?
Did you get wood kit or a pinstripe?
I went to New Country and I showed them your previous post about 33,400 and they said no way could they ever sell the car for that. Considering this is a two-car deal, I thouight that at the very least they could match the price they gave you on a single car deal -- if not beat it sine we are buying two.
If they are giving me a song and dance I would like to know because I will not deal with a dealer without integrity.
I am seeing them on Monday ... if you can answer over the weekend that would be helpful!
Also, the safety data on the QX4 is based on the 1997 model which totally different than the current model using IIHS.Check the fine print
Earlier this year we added a second SUV, a 2001 QX-4. Shortly thereafter I went to the Pet Store and picked up a cage style dog barrier. You need to assemble it before installing it. It is resizeable, but you need to remove four screws from two side cages. When you go to install it, you need to be extra careful or the wires on the edges of the barrier will scratch the interior walls of your SUV, as I found out the hard way. The two support poles will put an indentation in your ceiling if you do not take precautions and put in some spacers to better distribute the pressure. Finally, this cage style barrier rattled and squeaked, loud and often.
I finally got fed up and removed it. As it turns out, our dog is so well conditioned from his Explorer days, that he knows his boundary and will not even attempt to venture into the front of the vehicle. A dog barrier was unnecessary all along.
Finally, enough is enough from the Nissan Pathfinder crowd. Why must I keep reading posts from these people telling us that for $5000 less, one can get "essentially" the same vehicle as the QX-4, in the form of a 3.5L Pathfinder SE with various options. One of the reason we buy our QX-4's is for the alleged "prestige" that the vehicle affords us. Yes, I'm sure this will be mocked as "stupid rich snobs throwing away money", but the need for prestige shows up, from Calvin Klien jeans to Halston dresses. Even the redneck crowd has prestige running through their culture - Stetson hats, Harley motorcycles, Bassmaster fishing gear, etc.. Give it a rest already.
Maybe those people are jealous?
But for some stupid reason Nissan decided to offer just about everything on the PF. You can get the leather, Bose, navigation system, etc., plus, you get the same peppy 3.5L engine. The only thing you can't get on the PF is rear heated seats (no big deal) and Xenon lamps (no big deal, not even self-leveling HIDS).
And we all know the build quality of both the PF and QX4 is great, so you're not gaining anything with the Qx4 in this respect.
Prestige? I've never seen a recent luxury SUV comparo (Car & Driver, Motortrend, etc.) where the QX4 even made the top 3.
So for a few thousand more you get extra insulation stuffed in the dash/body, some lower body plastic cladding, and an extra year of warranty.
Different strokes for different folks I guess...
If you've got an axe to grind, just admit it.
Your post is inconsistent.
It never ceases to amaze me how some people seem
to get their jollies by hanging out on the
vehicle boards of automobiles they do not own
and then trashing those vehicle owners' choice.
(Although I do not know what kind of vehicle tonychrys owns.) Happened when I owned a Toyota
Supra TT, it happens now that I own a QX4. And
I still don't understand it.
You imply that the Lexus ES300 is not just
an over-priced Camry because "the fact is that
there are luxury and safety features on the Lexus
that you just can't get on the Camry." But then
you go on to note that the QX4 offers luxury
(rear heated seats) and safety (xenon HID
headlights) features "that you just can't get
on the [Pathfinder]."
But much of what you say after that is equally
applicable to an ES300/Camry comparison. To wit,
"And we all know the build quality of both the
[Camry] and [ES300] is great, so you're not
gaining anything with the [ES300] in this
respect."
And your statement that "for a few thousand more"
all we foolish QX4 owners get is "extra
insulation", extra "plastic cladding" and
"an extra year of warranty" is pure crap. You
already mentioned two other things we get:
xenon headlights and rear heated seats. And
the PF cannot be had with 17-inch wheels.
Also, I do not believe that the PF LE comes
with a wood trimmed steering wheel, and I think
the color combination on the dash gauges is
unique to the QX4.
And since when have any of the major car
magazines been a model of objective analysis?
They've never been. There was a little blurb
in AutoWeek a few months ago about an ad in a
trade publication for auto manufacturers where
Motor Trend was advertising the publicity
exposure and increased visibility a manufacturer's
new vehicle could get by winning the COY/TOY
awards, and invited interested parties to call
Motor Trend's marketing director to find out how.
Face it, some of us bought a QX4 because we
wanted to. We liked it more than the Pathfinder.
Perhaps in some people's opinion (like yours) the extra $4000 or so between the PF LE and the QX4
is "not worth it," but you are trying to graft
purely objective analysis on a process (car
buying) that is not and has never been purely
objective.
People buy cars for lots of reasons. Some people,
because of financial circumstances or otherwise,
are forced to buy something inexpensive and
practical, and can afford to employ only objective
criteria in selecting a vehicle. But many
people, indeed most I would venture, are able to
devote some measure of subjective analysis to
their vehicle choice -- i.e., personal taste
and preferences. How much just depends on who
you are and how much you can afford to spend.
So we all have our reasons for buying the
vehicles we own. I have mine, and my reasons
led me to buy a QX4 over the Pathfinder LE. Sure,
I spent about $4,000 more than I would have spent
on a fully-loaded LE, but you know what? I DON'T
CARE! I have the SUV I want, I am absolutely
delighted with it, and to hell with anybody who
wants to rain on that parade.
[RANT OFF]
Like I said, different strokes for different folks.
Thanks for the correction.
tks
The sales person flung my credit card on the desk, after he put it though the machine to get my down payment. For a dealership in Greenwich which caters to the super wealthy, they dio not treat me or my brother with any respect.
I then went to Harte Infiniti in Hartford and dealt with a salesman named Adel. He was just great, matched the deal in Greenwich and I actually spoke to the owner of th4e dealer and he said he head the same stuff about New Country in Greenwich.
Anyway, I am happy, paid $35,195 for sport, sunroof, premium pacjkage, pinstripe and interior wood kit, rear deflector.
THANKS !
Thanks, metmdx