Good morning all!
I've read a lot about octane ratings for my 1990 m20 e34 and cannot find the simplest of answers. Can someone tell me what the octane rating is for a 1990 525i m20?
Thanks!
You can use any kind of fuel on your E34. You are however only restricted to premium if you a running a chip that retards your timing...lower octane fuel would cook off under high compression and cause knocking in your engine, and i'm not sure if the M20 engine had any knock sensors in its cylinder head.
By the way, back to the octane question - We run 98 over here. Our LOWEST is 91 and I would only use that in my lawn mower. I'm willing to be shown wrong but I thought that the ECM 'learntl' as it went along and will produce the best with whatever it is given.
Maybe you have the same range of octane rated fuel but with different numbers. Our numbers are 'RON'. Could be it's like water freezing at either 32F or 0C. Same temperature, different way of measuring it. I run my older cars on 98 not so much for performance but to compensate (I hope) for no lead.
It certainly used to be that higher test fuels were availible outside the US, and it is probably so to this day.
I think you are right on when you say that we have the same range, just different labeling.
What our govt likes to do to screw things up these days is to put 10% ethanol into our gas lowering its energy content under the false pretense of cleaner air.
BTW did you realise that the British Clean Air Society (or what ever their correct name may be) WITHDREW it's support for unleaded petrol? Fat lot of good it did us. Of course they don't get photo-chemical smog. And another useless fact: Perth (my home town) is the smallest city in the WORLD that gets photo-chemical smog. Makes me proud to run my gas guzzler!!
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