What fuel do you use ?

Hey guys,
What fuel do you use on your 7s ?

i have 750i 06 and in the manual it says minimum 87 and that it will not break the engine but only will make the car knock louder when starting at high outside temperature.

This has been covered in detail. Search is your buddy

Originally Posted by sirstopher

This has been covered in detail. Search is your buddy

Agreed!

ethanol free 91. ethanol content more important than 91 vs 89?

Originally Posted by maninawhitecar

ethanol free 91. ethanol content more important than 91 vs 89?

ethanol free 91, or for that matter any other ethanol free grade is real hard to find in my area. I did find a place that sells ethanol free gas but when I went there to fill up, the nozzle would not fit into my gas tank. I asked the attendant about this & was told the nozzle is for filling boat gas tanks not cars. I guess I could have gone & bought a funnel that would fit into the tank & then just fill up from the nozzle to funnel but being that it was a fair drive to get to this place & it was going to be to much of a hassle I just filled up with Chevron 91 as I always will when available from now on. When I go back home to Canada in the spring I can find lots of ethanol free 91 but not down here in Florida.

Originally Posted by Rookie2008

Agreed!

All these threads about fuel burns my eyes.

I use Chevron 91 thats the best stuff around

Originally Posted by cmpcpro

I use Chevron 91 thats the best stuff around

ditto....has Techron added

Dude. 91 or 93 for sure. 87 is for civics.

Originally Posted by cmpcpro

I use Chevron 91 thats the best stuff around

That's the only gas I've ever put in mine

Here in the UK our "worst" fuel is 95, then we have a choice between 97 and 99 depending on where you go for super.

Originally Posted by Piers1989

Here in the UK our "worst" fuel is 95, then we have a choice between 97 and 99 depending on where you go for super.

95 RON is like 89-90 here.

ok, then forget the numbers.... get the highest octane availabel, besides race fuel

The whole thing with the numbers is the octane, which in lamens terms means how hot it burns. The higher octane gases (in US 89 and 91) burn hotter which makes them more powerful. Engines are designed with a certain fuel usage in mind.

AS far as that design goes: Compression Ratio. Thats why higher end cars get knock whne using low octane gas. It does get the reuired power from the burned fuel.

The terms regualar and premium or whatever is on the pump is a misleading.. Its a sales pitch. MOST people drive an aisian import or mid class american car that takes 87... but to get these people to pay more for gas they call 91 "premium" and people think its better for their cars... not true.

BTW, I use chevron and shell... chevron with techron, and shell has nitrogen enriched fuel... I dont ever use fuel additives...

chevron with techron what grade is it ?

Originally Posted by 7Rage

ok, then forget the numbers.... get the highest octane availabel, besides race fuel

The whole thing with the numbers is the octane, which in lamens terms means how hot it burns. The higher octane gases (in US 89 and 91) burn hotter which makes them more powerful. Engines are designed with a certain fuel usage in mind.

AS far as that design goes: Compression Ratio. Thats why higher end cars get knock whne using low octane gas. It does get the reuired power from the burned fuel.

The terms regualar and premium or whatever is on the pump is a misleading.. Its a sales pitch. MOST people drive an aisian import or mid class american car that takes 87... but to get these people to pay more for gas they call 91 "premium" and people think its better for their cars... not true.

BTW, I use chevron and shell... chevron with techron, and shell has nitrogen enriched fuel... I dont ever use fuel additives...

Originally Posted by 7Rage

ok, then forget the numbers.... get the highest octane availabel, besides race fuel

The whole thing with the numbers is the octane, which in lamens terms means how hot it burns. The higher octane gases (in US 89 and 91) burn hotter which makes them more powerful. Engines are designed with a certain fuel usage in mind.

AS far as that design goes: Compression Ratio. Thats why higher end cars get knock whne using low octane gas. It does get the reuired power from the burned fuel.

The terms regualar and premium or whatever is on the pump is a misleading.. Its a sales pitch. MOST people drive an aisian import or mid class american car that takes 87... but to get these people to pay more for gas they call 91 "premium" and people think its better for their cars... not true.

BTW, I use chevron and shell... chevron with techron, and shell has nitrogen enriched fuel... I dont ever use fuel additives...

Octane has zero to do with heat, btu output. Higher burns slower which leads to knock resistance. Static compression ratio is only one factor, has nothing to do with the price of the car and again, energy content is the same. In so far as octane is concerned, if it takes 87 then running higher is of no benefit. However, the premium tends to be blended with a better additive package.

Both shell and chevron are 'good' gas so you have that going for you!

Originally Posted by rdorman

has nothing to do with the price of the car

not what I said... i said higher end cars tend to take only premium fuels because they have performance specs that utilize that octane to run at peak performance, where as you will never see a civic read "use premium fuel only".. They take 87 becasue thats what grade fuel they were designed to use...

Originally Posted by rdorman

In so far as octane is concerned, if it takes 87 then running higher is of no benefit.

THis is true, I thought that I had implied this but re-reading it it seems to have been omitted.

Originally Posted by rdorman

However, the premium tends to be blended with a better additive package.

additives have nothing to do with it... different oil companies use different additives... they're marketing ploys good man... the car says "use premium fuel only" not "use chevron because it has techron, and that makes your BMW run the best"

Originally Posted by 7Rage

not what I said... i said higher end cars tend to take only premium fuels because they have performance specs that utilize that octane to run at peak performance, where as you will never see a civic read "use premium fuel only".. They take 87 becasue thats what grade fuel they were designed to use...



THis is true, I thought that I had implied this but re-reading it it seems to have been omitted.



additives have nothing to do with it... different oil companies use different additives... they're marketing ploys good man... the car says "use premium fuel only" not "use chevron because it has techron, and that makes your BMW run the best"

Just a little friendly poking.... Chevy volt recommends premium. How about the smartcar? Premium. Mini cooper? Not what I would call higher end! Which was kind of the point. Higher end generally = higher price. As for additives. The base fuel is blended as it is mixed into the delivery tanker. Not marketing.... At least not completely! Premium normally receives a higher additive package. And BMW recommends top-tier fuel which includes chevron... And generally premium ( no direct correlation between the two of course).

And just or fun, some civics read 'use premium only'

Is this true? I think your explanation may be misleading. The two ingredients that are of most concern where gasoline is concerned is octane and hepthane. Of the two, Hepthane is the bang component in the fuel and octane is what regulates how easily the fuel burns . . . the more octane in the fuel, the more controlled the explosion is at higher compression.

For example. In a high performance engine that has been running for a bit, and is therefore at its hot operating temperature, the compression itself can "detonate" the fuel in the cylinder before the crankshaft is in the right position and the spark plug has gone off if there isn't enough octane to control the explosion. These engines need higher octane gas to keep the gas from detonating (knocking) too early in the combustion cycle. The Octane is there to slow the combustion process down.

Best,
josh

Originally Posted by 7Rage

ok, then forget the numbers.... get the highest octane availabel, besides race fuel

The whole thing with the numbers is the octane, which in lamens terms means how hot it burns. The higher octane gases (in US 89 and 91) burn hotter which makes them more powerful. Engines are designed with a certain fuel usage in mind.

AS far as that design goes: Compression Ratio. Thats why higher end cars get knock whne using low octane gas. It does get the reuired power from the burned fuel.

The terms regualar and premium or whatever is on the pump is a misleading.. Its a sales pitch. MOST people drive an aisian import or mid class american car that takes 87... but to get these people to pay more for gas they call 91 "premium" and people think its better for their cars... not true.

BTW, I use chevron and shell... chevron with techron, and shell has nitrogen enriched fuel... I dont ever use fuel additives...

I only use 91 here in america... but all grades have the techron, it's their signature selling point

Top tier premium. Here shell is most available.

hrm so i guess everyone is staying away from 87, even though manual suggests it won't break the car.
I only use Chevron and put 87 in all my cars and never had any problems. when i do put 91 i see my consumption get worse for some reason when it should be better.

Originally Posted by ve39

hrm so i guess everyone is staying away from 87, even though manual suggests it won't break the car.
I only use Chevron and put 87 in all my cars and never had any problems. when i do put 91 i see my consumption get worse for some reason when it should be better.

There is a minimum and a recommended. Minimum will not 'break' your car but for it to perform at optimum parameters then you need recommended. As for worse when you switch, most likely perception and use by the one behind the wheel.

who says consumption should get better.... their is no difference in "quality" of different grades of fuel from the same station.... that is what they want you to think... but worse? maybe your injectors should be cleaned....?

Octane rating or octane number is a standard measure of the performance of a motor or aviation fuel. The higher the octane number, the more compression the fuel can withstand before detonating. In broad terms, fuels with a higher octane rating are used in high-compression engines that generally have higher performance. In contrast, fuels with low octane numbers (but high cetane numbers) are ideal for diesel engines. Use of gasoline with less octane numbers may lead to the problem of engine knocking. - Straight from wikipedia.... what I said in earlier posts was from my knowledge... wikipedia just backed it up

tho the heat thing was off, but only a little.... it can burns at higher compreesion and not heat....

and I am aware you said compression was only one factor, but is the biggest

Plain and simple Bruh


" price has nothing to do with the car "

generally is the keyword

high end or not high end our 7s do not read premium fuel only. this is my 3rd 7 series and 5th bmw and i used 87 on all of them without a problem. I'm not cheaping out but i just hate wasting when there is no need.
really wanted to see what you guys used for fuel but i guess i'm the only one using 87 so far...