Gas

hmmmm i havent receved our bimmer from the dealer yet but im already becoming anal about it lol anyways i use amaco gas cuz i have their little gas card and its the most convenient since there is like a million more of these gas stations than other places. well i have heard/read that the amaco is a very bad gas. i know i know gas is gas but it depends on the crap they put in it....right?!? well in the long or short run (however fast gas quality can affect ur engine) will your engine be dirtier than using someother gas or is this too much of what i call "preanalness" and speaking of dirty engines, my car is pretty old(over 10 years and +140k) and i used to use engine cleaners like seafoam regularily and it has helped my engine run more smoothly. is this ok to use at some point in the bmw ?? thanks

I think most people here (SoCal members anyway) use Chevron. Some people say to rotate between two or three brands every 1,000 miles. In short, by rotating brands the detergents/additives work against eachother and, according to the theory, the valves/combustion chambers will have fewer deposits as a result.

If you do a search here on 'gas stations' or something similar you'll find a rather involved thread on this topic. There is a link to a good article by a guy that allegedly used to formulate gasoline additives for a Big Company, and in the article discusses the rationale behind rotating brands in detail.

Hope that helps. As an aside, you might consider conducting a 'search' here before posting a thread... at least in my experience I have found that many times questions that I want to ask have already been answered.

Good luck!

--SONET

I use only BMW OEM gasoline.

Only use BMW OEM Halogen fluid, too.

Originally posted by Plaz
I use only BMW OEM gasoline.

Only use BMW OEM Halogen fluid, too.

Where did you hear Amaco, now BP, was bad? I used to own Hondas and the dealer recommended Amaco because it used less ethanol which is hard on rubber parts. I never had any problems and the cars always ran like a swiss watch. I'm continuing to use BP in my Bimmer.

In your area, any 93 octane gas from a new pump should be fine.

People who have to buy KaliCrapGas are just sort of screwed, since they can only get 91.

Originally posted by SONET
Some people say to rotate between two or three brands every 1,000 miles. In short, by rotating brands the detergents/additives work against eachother and, according to the theory, the valves/combustion chambers will have fewer deposits as a result.
--SONET

I love old wive's tales. I get a sneaky feeling that they all use the same general detergents. Even if they didn't, a detergent is a detergent. It's sole purpose is to remove deposits, not create them.

You're not necessarily going to like this answer IOHC.

I noticed you posted from MN. MN is one of those States that has its own unique requirements for gasoline. API used to publish a map showing which parts of the country get which formulations of gasoline (and at what time of the year). I haven't been able to put my hands on it this morning, but I distinctly remember MN had a 'gasoline' unique to itself.

What that means is there's not going to be very many refineries making that 'flavor' of gasoline so you're pretty much stuck with whatever it is your State government has decided is 'good'. I doubt which brand you use will have much to do about anything, but if you want to learn more about all the refiners, I'd check out API's site and the links to the Dept. of Energy data.

As for additives, I wouldn't use them in a new BMW. Just about any of the modern fuels already have plenty of detergents and other stuff in them. Why risk a compatibility issue. In your region a can of drygas might not be a bad idea every once in a while though.

The best tip you can get on where to buy gas is to buy it a station you know has brand new tanks. Leaky tanks and dirty and water-tainted gasoline is still a big problem nationwide --- though not as bad as a few years ago.

Originally posted by Ausgang
I noticed you posted from MN. MN is one of those States that has its own unique requirements for gasoline.

Yup, and here in MN we're damn proud of our "oxygenated fuel" that gets force-fed to residents every winter. *cough* *laugh* *cough*

I found one link to a dated map showing the different types of 'gas' used in the U.S. It still shows my region using the cancer-causing additives the EPA supported . . . then later banned.

It's a slow-loading pdf:

http://api-ec.api.org/filelibrary/US...ements_Map.pdf

oh ok so im stuck with amaco whether its good or bad. i guess i could get 93 octane from holidays or somewhere because amacos around here have only 92. this is not a biggie right? thanks

Originally posted by IOHC
oh ok so im stuck with amaco whether its good or bad. i guess i could get 93 octane from holidays or somewhere because amacos around here have only 92. this is not a biggie right? thanks

I've been using Amoco religously in my 330, and it works fine. It seems to run better than the crap you get from SA, or similar. Hard for the average Joe to really do a scientific study, and find out if it really is any better.

At the risk of sounding nieve here....Amoco gas is always a few cents/gallon more than anyone else. This *might* mean that they use a better quality mixture, or better detergents, -- or -- that they figure people will believe their gas is better simply because it's more expensive. LOL, who really knows.

Originally posted by Dave 330i
I use ARCO because it's cheaper and readily available. I'm beginning to think that changing oil/filter every 5K is a waste of money and my time. Come on guys, be serious, do you think paying more for gas and changing oil much more frequently than BMW's recommendation make a difference? I've been a fool and I admit it.

I still think it's wise to change the oil 2-3x more frequently than once every 15k, but I don't think it makes a bit of difference what brand of 91+ octane gas goes in my car. It's all CaliCrapGas anyway. Probably all from the same damned refinery, for all we know.

Originally posted by IOHC
i know i know gas is gas but it depends on the crap they put in it....right?!?

Hi-

FWIW, in my first 6000mi I have tried various premium fuels here in MN. Frankly, I couldn’t tell the difference in operation or drive-ability; however I also would be interested to know what affect our 'special' MN oxygenated fuel has on long-term engine wear.

Since I couldn’t tell the difference, I’ve just been using the gas from the Holiday station a few blocks from my house.

Ausgang is correct that leaky tanks are more likely than newer ones to have contaminants. However, not all detergents are equal, and Jon Shafer wrote about a seven series owner who suffered from serious engine deposit problems after consistently using a "bargain" gasoline.

Some oil companies employ specific strategies to ensure product integrity and quality. For example, some require the use of certain size filters to prevent contaminants and particles from entering the consumer's gas tank. Furthermore, some companies pump gasoline from the top rather than the bottom of the tank. Since gasoline is lighter than water, this helps to ensure that the gasoline is uncontaminated. Both of these strategies are costly and could be a factor in the retail price.

A suggestion is to call the public relations department of BP which owns both the ARCO and Amoco brands and inquire about the micron size of the filters installed at their gas stations, and also ask if the station tanks are pumped from the top or the bottom.

In my opinion, not all gasoline is equal. However, some people may believe that the differences are insignificant.

Okay, silly me, but I figured I would drop by the bp website and see if there were any answers on there. (www.bp.com)

I saw they have a faq on the front page... What luck! The first section doesn't answers every question with what year the CEO answered the question... I guess we should have payed more attention if we wanted to know.

Scroll down to the fuel area, and it just has the questions, no answers. How very sad. If I was an investor, I would be very afraid.

--nw

--- update ---

Looks like it was just a database issue when I first looked (over the holiday). Still no relevant information, but better than what it was.
--nw

where do you buy BMW OEM gas? Just bought a BMW, so not used to all the lingo yet.

Originally Posted by beamermike

where do you buy BMW OEM gas? Just bought a BMW, so not used to all the lingo yet.

You guys don't like BMW OEM gas? I even use that in my current car, which isn't a BMW.

I stick to Shell V-Power. There is a station down the road that gives 10 cents off on premium on Sundays. When I am on the raod, I try to sick to Shell or BP. I think that these are the 2 best fuels available.

I use BP/Amaco, 93

Originally Posted by E2R41L

I use BP/Amaco, 93

We don't get "Amaco" gas where I live. Is that a new brand?

Originally Posted by beamermike

where do you buy BMW OEM gas? Just bought a BMW, so not used to all the lingo yet.

Just take your car to the dealer and ask a mechanic to fill your car up with OEM BMW gasoline. Give him about $100 as its a lot more expensive than gas for domestic cars. Heck, in Munich I paid well over $5/gallon to fill up my car; it'd be more here since they have to ship it from Germany. Unfortunately, you can't get the OEM windshield washer fluid easily, so we suggest you just don't drive your car in situations that might require its use.