12-14-2013, 11:35 AM | #1 |
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Petrol drivers: what fuel do you use?
Hi,
I'm mainly a diesel driver, have been for the majority of my driving time now around 10years. I wonder what fuel do you guys use in your petrol engines, especially higher powered (328i & 335i maybe even M3 & M5). Over here in europe we have choice of 95Ron and 98Ron. I do drive a bike for several years aswell now, and have tried periods with both fuels but don't notice that much difference in power. I wonder if its really worth it? Is it better for the engine in the long run? Does it give noticeably more power on high powered engines? Thanks for sharing!
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12-14-2013, 02:25 PM | #6 |
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I have always used 98 as in my previous turbo+supercharged direct injected engine there was a noticeable deterioration in responsiveness and fuel consumption using 95. I cant bring myself to using 95 and choose to stick to 98 for my high powered baby.
When petrol prices are so high any small improvement in fuel economy outweighs the incremental cost of the fuel. I have done the maths
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12-14-2013, 03:10 PM | #7 |
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When I took delivery of my car, the dealer filled it with 95RON. I then put 98RON and almost immediately felt a positive difference from the 98RON.
I have been using the highest octane rule available in Australia in all my BMWs since I took deliver of my first (320i I6 E36) in 1992. Best performance from the highest RON rated fuel without Ethanol.
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12-14-2013, 03:19 PM | #8 |
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Have you been tempted to try United's P100 fuel in your 328i? I have thought about it but have opted out, even though we can use up to 10% ethanol in our cars. You thoughts, if any please. Cheers
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12-14-2013, 05:48 PM | #10 |
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12-14-2013, 05:49 PM | #11 |
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In the US, they list by Anti-Knock Index (AKI), which is (RON + MON) / 2. I use 93 AKA which is 97 RON I believe.
For NA, see this - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octane_...ndex_.28AKI.29 ^ lol, beat me to it. |
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12-14-2013, 06:24 PM | #12 | |
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Apparently you do not get higher performance of a higher octane nr. You just get under performance when using a lower than specified octane number because the engine goes in some sort of protection mode against self combustion of said lower octane fuel. Does bmw state the preferred fuel type somewhere in the cars user manual?
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12-14-2013, 08:10 PM | #13 | |
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The ECU will adapt to whatever you chose to put in there, there is so much feedback control going on with advanced VANOS and direct injection systems...these just aren't the same cars as back in the day. |
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12-15-2013, 09:02 PM | #14 | |
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So for this reason i am just irrationally and emotionally hesitant to use united which i perceive to be an untrustworthy independent. Rationally i should just experiment and give it a go. I read somewhere BMW can use up to 10% ethanol. I think it was nrma. If i do decide to become rational and try it i will let you know. |
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12-16-2013, 12:07 AM | #15 | |
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I've been hesitant about United P100 pretty much for the same reason as yourself and also because I used Shell 100RON a few years ago in my E90. The fuel was not as good for the car as V-Power. May be different for turbo car, but I'll pass. Yes, you read correctly about 10% Ethanol. It's printed on the inside of the fuel filler cap as well. So is the RON recommended of 95 but it extends to 98. Another reason to be hesitant about 100RON. Cheers
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12-16-2013, 12:11 AM | #16 |
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Before I was always using Chevron 93, however given in our area, Chevron 93 isn't true 0% ethanol (they advertise it as 0% but seems to be a poor assumption), I've switched over to Shell 91 since that is a true 0% ethanol fuel.
Runs slightly smoother but still has cold start hesitation. |
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12-16-2013, 03:08 AM | #17 |
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Nothing less than 98 RON from Statoil, which WAS the only higher-octane fuel without ethanol until around a year ago, now they say "there can be up to 5% ethanol blended in".
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12-16-2013, 08:07 AM | #18 |
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Its been proven many times that in an untuned engine going from 91 to 93 gives virtually ZERO benefit...placebo. In some cases (Toyota I believe it was) MPG got worse and emissions went up when 93 was used instead of 89. Fun reading about guys whose cars are transformed when they get "the good stuff". Carry on...............
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12-16-2013, 08:59 AM | #19 | |
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I seem to recall a test on fifth gear where they tested several 'premium' fuels in controlled conditions with a golf gti and they did measure differences in power output. Not that much but +-5 hp or so.
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12-16-2013, 09:44 AM | #20 | |
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12-16-2013, 09:51 AM | #21 |
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What everyone else says. Use what BMW tells you. Actually, use whatever makes you feel better, but know that using higher than BMW recommends won't give any gains. We could get into a technical discussion as to why but that's probably not necessary or will be linked/explained shortly.
Now if you have tuned your engine to where it actually gains the benefit of the higher octane then go for it for that extra performance (I do). I use 93 octane but only because my car is tuned to use that fuel. Pre tune, I used 91 which is what BMW says. You can actually use 89 but there 'may' be a dip in performance or cold start issues in some circumstances. Short Story: Use 91 unless your car is tuned then use whatever it's tuned for. |
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12-16-2013, 01:23 PM | #22 | |
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