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What type of gas do you fill up with?

22K views 142 replies 64 participants last post by  TJH-5 
#1 ·
Just curious to know if any of you guys put below 93 grade in your 5's. I got a 535 and ive put nothing but 93 in them but seems like some have put 87. Any drawbacks to putting regular in?
 
#96 ·
To get back on topic, I just looked at the manual for my new 528xi and saw that, to mo surprise, BMW now recommends 91 octane gas but says that 89 octane gas can be used without a problem. It does state that 89 octane gas may cause some knocking in hotter climates when first starting the engine but will not cause any short or long-term damage to the engine and is fully endorsed as a fuel choice by BMW. Go figure. I also looked on the gas cap, and it states "89 octane minimum." Big change from my E46!
 
#102 ·
Jungle juice.
 
#103 ·
Recent customers at the Marathon gas station at 2275 Buford Highway near Atlanta were treated to a fill of diesel from the premium pumps :mad:
 
#104 ·
Oooooh, that's gotta smart.

That's one expensive insurance claim for that distributor.
 
#105 ·
That's why I don't use marathon or Thorntons :)
Shell for me all the way!
 
#107 ·
Thanks for the feedback. I ll try BP and see how it works :)
 
#108 ·
You guys do realize that all the gas is the same, it's just got different detergents in it, right?
 
#109 ·
With some detergents better than others? :p
 
#116 ·
Of course. But detergents won't make a difference in momentary running.
 
#110 ·
I always put Shell V-Power (91). I notice the fuel door actually says minimum 89. My previous X5 said minimum 91 on the fuel door.

I used to put Sunoco 93 (now Petro Canada) in my X5, but turns out that the extra octane rating is derived from adding ethanol. Shell V-Power has zero ethanol. I find that the BMW engines run better with fuels that have no ethanol.
 
#111 ·
BMW fuel requirement from F10 manual

I just thought it would be interesting to see what BMW says about it in the manual and I was surprised.

Take a look at the attachment.
 

Attachments

#113 ·
That is very interesting. No BP in Canada so do not know their fuel makeup. I wonder how much if any ethanol BP has in their fuels and if that is why BMW recommends BP. Shell in Canada says zero ethanol for V-Power right on the pump.

I will check the Canadian car manual and see if there is a similar recommendation.
 
#117 ·
Adding ethanol or other oxygenates is not related to any specific manufacturer. It is related to the region in which it is sold.
 
#114 ·
I've been using Costco 91 gas in my 335i since August and felt the engine getting progressively worse over time. Switched over to Chevron 91 a few days ago... and I'm convinced that it's much superior to Costco 91. The engine is quieter when idling, and the engine's much smoother on the freeway. The reason I switched is because the car would shake quite a bit at startup. Read on here that gas could be the problem. The shaking has gone now too.
 
#115 ·
My partner and I noticed the same thing. I went with two tanks of the Costco fule and we noticed the power response was different. Totally drivable and it still delivered acceleration, but just not as much pep. Switched to Shell and BP and pep was back. I won't go to Costco anymore for fuel.
 
#121 ·
You can feed it 91 and above and be perfectly fine.
There are knock sensors that will retard your timing
and do some other things when they sense pre-ignition ( knock)
when you use lower octane gas. But don't use 87 !
In a naturally aspirated motor you can feed it almost anything and
with knock sensors it will be fine .
However when you do this you lose power and have to push the
motor harder negating much of your savings by using the lower grade
87-89 octane gas.
HOWEVER in a TURBO - I would not use anything below 91.
Your power production will suffer dramatically and you just don't want
today's high compression turbo motors struggling with less octane than
they need. Back in the day before computers et al a turbo motor would have
a low compression ratio 7 or 8 to 1 on average. Today
the compression ration is pretty high- which is why we are seeing
such high power being wrung from these relatively small turbo motors.
Bottom line -no less than 91 for a turbo motor. If you chose to drive
a turbo BMW- feed it what it needs to get what you paid for from
the car. Cheers
 
#125 ·
Hype

I ran a 2000 Jetta for 140,000 miles and tried different grade fuels with no perceptable change - a dealer mechanic said it was a great idea because he would get paid to clean my injectors - never happened. My Harley calls for 93 - it burns 87 fine. The BMW doesn't seem to know the difference - we put 70K on it. If a modern vehicle with electronic systems can't adapt to different fuels (winter grade, summer grade, etc), fix it, jumk it or trade it.
 
#126 ·
I see a lot of mention of BP, Shell, Chevron, etc... but i haven't heard anyone specifically mention experience with Exxon or Mobil gas. Is anyone exclusively using it? Any feedback? I have a mild discount on Exxon and Mobil gas and am trying to understand if there is any appreciable gain/advantage by using someone else.

Similarly, I firmly believe in Mobil 1 motor oil and have been using it in my current (non-BMW) car. Is there any issue with continuing to use this on my BMW?
 
#131 ·
Well on my eclass Benz I used to always use Mobil 93 then a new citgo opened up near me and I started going there and used their premium gas. At a service appointment my tech said the car was running like crap and where I get my gas from. He said use Mobil 93 as that's what they put in the cars.

When I was in college long time ago I had a winter car that was old and had a carburetor and always pinged unless I used Mobil 93. So I try to only use Mobil.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Bimmer App
 
#127 ·
Our wonderful government has just approved E-15. 15% alcohol is not approved for use in our vehicles,so be careful at the pumps.
Seems counter-intuitive to me that it has been approved.
First, the higher the ethanol content the lower the mpg.
Second, it takes more energy to produce a gallon of the stuff than the energy it yields.
JMHO
 
#128 ·
federql gas

The safest thing to do is pay more and buy gas that has no ethanol. On the Gulf coast it is advertised sometimes as fuel for boat motors as the ethanol is so devastating to those motors. The added cost will be made up in part by the added fuel economy and the balance by lack of repair bills. I plan to fire my congressmen.
 
#129 ·
The safest thing to do is pay more and buy gas that has no ethanol. On the Gulf coast it is advertised sometimes as fuel for boat motors as the ethanol is so devastating to those motors. The added cost will be made up in part by the added fuel economy and the balance by lack of repair bills. I plan to fire my congressmen.
Unfortunately you can't around here. E10 is mandated by law here, and I pray E15 doesn't follow suit....
 
#134 ·
Correct me if I am wrong but, federal law called the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) mandates 10% ethanol in motor fuels. Passed in 2007
 
#136 ·
A reason to move to Iowa--with my 535!!!
 
#139 ·
Per Costco website:

Q: Why does Costco gasoline contain ethanol?

A: The federal Energy Policy Act of 2005 established the Renewable Fuels Standard, which required that a certain amount of ethanol be used in the nations' fuel supply. The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 increased this amount. Costco gasoline complies with this law, and if our fuel contains ethanol a pump decal will advise you of that fact.
 
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