89 octane gas????

[xi guy]

Hey group,

The gas prices are friggin out of control here in NY. I broke down and put 89 octane (SPECIAL grade, rather than super, 93) in my 2004 325 xi. It seems to be OK, no knocking or anything.
I really dont notice any difference. Any of you using this type of gas? I know BMW recommends using 91 octane, and I usually filler up with 93 from Mobil, but like I said, the prices are getting ridiculous. Please let me know.....

 

[Big Daddy]

I would not put in less than the recommedned octane. At 20 cents a gallon difference between premium and special grade and a ten gallon tank your talking a whopping $2.00 difference, is your engines life worth two bucks?

 

[RuflessPhilly]

I would have to agree. There are special electronics inplace to prevent knocking when using lower than recommened octane. But I'm sure that savings will come back to haunt you down the road. Most likely when your car is out of warranty[fake]

 

[Maxer]

I've been putting 89 octane in my 99 A4 for the last 4 years and have had no knocking or performance problems. Audi, like BMW, recommends 91 or higher.

I'll probably put 93 in my 325i (still on order) for a while, but after the experience with my A4, I'm definitely switching to 89.

 

[andreyiv]

I don't know you guys. You have new cars and put 89 octane gas in it, I have a 95 and put 93 in it all the time unless I put 94. You paid that much for the car and save a few bucks on gas. All octane gas comes from the same oil but the higher the octane the cleaner the gas, that's why it gives more performance and costs more. If you know that youre running water is not that clean and you have money for a filter, would you put it in? I sure would or at least boil the water. Same for cars. But it's your car and I can't tell you what gas to put in it.

 

[epj3]

I started putting 89 octane gas in, since it does seem to run a little smoother and it idle's 100% better. As long as it stays under $1.669/gallon, I'll keep using it.

 

[Big Daddy]

Maxer you are not getting any knocks or performance problems because the engine management system is compensating for the lower octane. But you are creating dirty valves and carbon deposits on your valves and head due to the improper octane. This may never catch up with you, but my 84 733i at 265000 miles never had a problem (I always used 91+). It is your gamble, but a two bucks a tank maximum I do not care to take that risk.

 

[dpnguyen]

Maybe at high altitude would you consider going below the manufacturer's suggestion but you're taking a gamble doing that at sea level.

You will be spending dollars later on to make up for the pennies you are saving now!

 

[Bryan330i]

I sure would stick with what is recommended.

I buy gas about every 10 days and the price now is 1.87 for 89 and 1.97 for premium. This is about $1.30-1.40 more each time I stop.

And even if I were to buy gas twice as often, every 5 days, the difference would only be $102.20 for the entire year.

This yearly savings buys about 1 hour labor for service work.

 

[bmwrocks]

I sure would stick with what is recommended.

I buy gas about every 10 days and the price now is 1.87 for 89 and 1.97 for premium. This is about $1.30-1.40 more each time I stop.

And even if I were to buy gas twice as often, every 5 days, the difference would only be $102.20 for the entire year.

This yearly savings buys about 1 hour labor for service work.

Very well said!!!!

I'm sticking with 91+............

 

[Ghost]

I’m with Big Daddy, RuflessPhilly, andrey, Bryan330I and bmwrocks, premium is the way to go. When I bought my 540 the service engine light was on. It went out after I beagn to put in premium. The previous owner(obviously not the guy that did much of the mods) was using regular. This caused the light to go on and ruined two of the 02 sensors. Thankfully the sensors were still under warranty but using cheaper gas now is only going to cause expensive repairs later.

 

[codex57]

We had an 85 Mercedes 500SEL that finally died. The mechanic who was fixing it said ultimately, it looked like bad gas did the engine in and asked if we had used premium. We'd actually only put 87 (regular) gas in, and Arco or other cheapy brands no less. So, if you keep your car for a while, I'd stick with premium. If you trade in your car every 3 years, then go ahead and use regular cuz it'll be someone else's problem.

After that, we realized to not cheap out on the gas. Even our cheapy cars that say regular gas is fine get 89 mid grade. The German cars get Chevron Premium. Ok, I put Chevron regular in the Civic and told my sis to do the same when I handed it down, but that's just for a personal experiment of mine to see how long a Honda will run with the bare minimum of maintenance done to it (oil changes every 6000 miles, not 3K as well). It's doing fine at 120,000 miles so far. Cept my sister really should wash the car more than once a year.

 

[Maxer]

Maxer you are not getting any knocks or performance problems because the engine management system is compensating for the lower octane. But you are creating dirty valves and carbon deposits on your valves and head due to the improper octane. This may never catch up with you, but my 84 733i at 265000 miles never had a problem (I always used 91+). It is your gamble, but a two bucks a tank maximum I do not care to take that risk.

Interesting point. My A4 has 71,500 miles on it. It is only $2/tank. Maybe I should be me nicer to my new BMW.

 

[rob_z]

the 325 manual says 89 for the standard engine and 91 for the M engine. I have heard that using anything MORE than what the manf recommends is actually just wasting $$, and in some cases can be harmful.

as for brands, i have a neighbor with a 635 csi @240K miles. he swears by the techron additive, despite reports that the benefits are negligable. he is a physics professor, so i tend to listen to what he says.

so... chevron 89 it is for me.

 

[Kirby]

I’m with Big Daddy, RuflessPhilly, andrey, Bryan330I and bmwrocks, premium is the way to go. When I bought my 540 the service engine light was on. It went out after I beagn to put in premium. The previous owner(obviously not the guy that did much of the mods) was using regular. This caused the light to go on and ruined two of the 02 sensors. Thankfully the sensors were still under warranty but using cheaper gas now is only going to cause expensive repairs later.

At the risk of being a "ME TOO" post, uhh, well, me too.....

 

[Chakueem]

the 325 manual says 89 for the standard engine and 91 for the M engine. I have heard that using anything MORE than what the manf recommends is actually just wasting $$, and in some cases can be harmful.

How could using higher octane gas in your car be harmful?

hmmm... I never really thought of the consequences of saving a little $ on a tank of gas hurting me in the long run. I always fill up with 89. I think i'll spend the extra $2 on the gas and save my 323's engine.

 

[Chakueem]

the 325 manual says 89 for the standard engine and 91 for the M engine. I have heard that using anything MORE than what the manf recommends is actually just wasting $$, and in some cases can be harmful.

How could using higher octane gas in your car be harmful?

hmmm... I never really thought of the consequences of saving a little $ on a tank of gas hurting me in the long run. I always fill up with 89. I think i'll spend the extra $2 on the gas and save my 323's engine.

 

[Steve Neu]

I don't know you guys. You have new cars and put 89 octane gas in it, I have a 95 and put 93 in it all the time unless I put 94. You paid that much for the car and save a few bucks on gas. All octane gas comes from the same oil but the higher the octane the cleaner the gas, that's why it gives more performance and costs more. If you know that youre running water is not that clean and you have money for a filter, would you put it in? I sure would or at least boil the water. Same for cars. But it's your car and I can't tell you what gas to put in it.

You must be kidding--right? Cleaner gas?? Not really! The only thing you are getting is a more resistance to knocking--the higher octane does not mean higher power. In fact the higher octane fuel actually has LESS energy per unit mass. Any possible increase in power comes from the fact that with higher octane the engine can carry a bit more advanced ignition timing.

Steve

 

[karamian]

i used to have a Ford Explorer Limited Edition, I always put in Chevron. Sure it was a little more expensive, but it was worth it. I drove the Ford til 150000 and then i sold it. Great condition hard to belive isn't it. It was the gas probably, I put in 87 but it was Chveron with Techron

Anyway, with my new BMW 330i I put in the 91+ Chevron since the day I got it, by the way that would be two weeks ago alright! But today just for testing purpose i put in 89 and i felt the difference, the engine was sounding different. So no more 89.

As they say pay a few cents now save big bucks later! And don't put anything other than Chevron or equivalent.

Vk

 

[codex57]

the 325 manual says 89 for the standard engine and 91 for the M engine. I have heard that using anything MORE than what the manf recommends is actually just wasting $$, and in some cases can be harmful.

as for brands, i have a neighbor with a 635 csi @240K miles. he swears by the techron additive, despite reports that the benefits are negligable. he is a physics professor, so i tend to listen to what he says.

so... chevron 89 it is for me.

I believe the newer BMW cars tell you to use premium, not midgrade now.