What Type Of Gas Should I Purchase?

[leetman]

Is it worth it to pay for always the most expensive premium gas for our bimmers?

[billB]

YES or whatever you save on the difference between good/cheap (Amoco vs. bulldog gas station) )will be paid in repairs one fuel injector is about $85 you have 6 or 8 of them, $75 to clear check engine light if no tool available; it is not worth the saving!!

good luck
billb

[CiscoKid]

i think all bimmers reccomend at least 89 or above... i just use 93 to be nice to my baby

[Torque]

Originally posted by ryanbaker123@Oct 10 2004, 10:40 PM
Is it worth it to pay for always the most expensive premium gas for our bimmers?

[snapback]208934[/snapback]

I believe that 89 is the minimum that should go in a car with a m20... I have used both 89 and 91/93 and I saw no difference in how the car performs, idles or anything else.

But I still use 93... that's the least you can do for that car. :P

[///Matt]

93 MINIMUM! You've already invested enough in a BMW, just pay a little more at the pump, otherwise, Like BillB said, you'll end up with problems. However, with older BMW's (E30's etc) a midgrade does quite well. Just be careful, any sign of engine trouble means its already too late.

[maci4life]

Regular gas for me. it's a misconception that the higher the octane, the better the gas. Octane is just an explosion retardant that allows for greater control of explosion ( better for higher compression engines, in general).

Go with the recommended fuel grade, and only go higher if you here pinging. You most likely will not notice an engine improvement otherwise.

injectors won't get clogged due to lower octane gas, they get clogged from low quality gas.

[sp0rky]

Originally posted by maci4life@Oct 13 2004, 05:26 AM
( better for higher compression engines, in general).

... A BMW Engine....

Either way, it's best to use 89 or higher. To everyone that says 93 only, what about us in California!? we only have 91 at the pump!!

But for the most part, I agree with maci4life, Its not necessary and isn't gonna cause engine damage as long as you dont hear it pinging or running differently between the two types of gas.

Also, at 240k miles, your compression is probably so low that you dont really need 91 anymore even if the car originally required it.

[rsn48]

From the 528i manual: "Because the engine-managment systems used in these cars incorporate predetonation-detection devices (knock sensors), you have the options of using fuels of different specifications.

Minimum requirements: Unleaded regular gasoloine (87 AKI).

Higher-octane fuels (premium unleaded, 90 AKI: super premium, 92 AKI) will provide slighly higher levels of fuel economy and performance."

Whenever I hear people talk about gases used and why, the "why" seems to differ. In the forum here, it is because of "clogged" fuel injectors (I agree with the above statement that it is poor gas or cheap gas not lower octane quality gas that will clog fuel injectors) that one should avoid 87 octane. Here in Vancouver at the dealership, by trusty salesman says to avoid 87 octane (availabe in Canada) and instead use 94 octane (available in Canada) so as to preserve one's catalytic converter for as long as possible if one is planning on keeping the car for a long time.

What I do is buy 94 when the gas is real cheap and when it climbs high put in 92. So in reality whats in my tank is a combo of the two and I let my "sensor" figure it out... lol.

[billB]

Another way to look at it and so independent from my argument on cheap gas and its davastating effect on fuel injectors to name one among other components!!!

I am not so sure if we ought to think $$$ per Gallon ONLY. Don't you think the HOW MANY miles per $$$ is also crucial?. Did you ever notice that you can get more miles per Galon (in effect more miles per your $$$) with some brands but not others using the same 92 octane; for example? Did anyone notice when using a super or mid-grade fuel it gave more miles per galon (per$$$) than using the regular octane.

The original question in this post was: Is it worth it to pay for always the most expensive premium gas for our bimme?

If our answer is to save $$$, then we ought to know how many miles we get for $$$ paid on the pump. Thus we will save money by buying the Premium fuel if our cars get more miles out of the super.

Needless to say and so often (at least in NJ) it takes longer idling to reach the pump at cheap stations than the more expensive ones. Take a look at what is happening here:
A. more people waiting in line to get their cheap gas; While you idling and burning gas to save 5 pennies or so.
B. Most cheap stations do charge 50-75 cents for AIR; while major brands give it as a free service.
C. Having said that and with computers controlling emission on your car the difference- I suspect- will not be great especially if you decided to add some air to your bold tires!!

But is still worth trying. Why not? It is possible to save money by changing brands or using different grades of fuel. But for the sake of my fuel injectors I would stay away from CHEAP brands; no BullDog gas for me either-- they do charge 75 cents for Air!!

regards
billb