Bad Gas??

[samlee4444]

have any of you had problems with Chevron gas? The other day I filled up my car with 91 Chevron. Right after i pull out of the station I pull up to a red light and the engine stalls! What the hell is up with that? Didn't have any problems before that and noticed that the engine wouldn't idle very smoothly after that fill-up.

I'm due for another fuel up, so hopefully the problem will go away?[???1]

 

[mscoins]

What is the octane rating for 91 Chevron? I believe BMW recommends a rating of 93 for the engine to run properly.

 

[Tom]

I use 91 Octane Chevron as well as its been fine. I've tried 93 before and get occasional cold starts.

 

[vlad]

I could be wrong, but I highly doubt that the new gas from the fill-up made it to your engine before you got to the red light, (unless it was a mile or more to the redlight or unless your were running on fumes to get to the gas station).

 

[jrt67ss350]

Nah, the new gas will make it up to the engine almost immediately in a fuel injected car. The way these systems work is that they pump much more gas up to the engine than it can use, and the extra gas gets recirculated back to the gas tank along with the vapor from the vapor recovery system. Remember, it's an electric pump - it doesn't run faster when the engine is running faster. Therefore, at idle, the volume and velocity of fuel being moved to the engine must necessarily be the same as or more than the engine needs at redline under full load. The volume moved by electric fuel pumps in a modern fuel system is staggering. So, it is possible that bad gas could have caused this.

 

[vlad]

Opps! My bad then!

 

[bmwrocks]

On my fuel door it states minimum 91 octane, and I believe the owner's manual states the same.

 

[Bryan330i]

I has a problem with Texaco/Shell or Shell/Texaco, whatever it is now. I was having problems with harder acceleration, under these conditions I would experience hesitation, or flat points where it way like the car was starved. The dealer said fuel; I said BS and took in my receipts that show premium. Sure enough, it was the fuel. Put new gas in and the car is good as new. The service writer told me that the 3 series are 'very sensitive" to fuel quality.

Oh, I don't think Shell-Texaco is a bad product overall, I am not sure what happened with the fuel problem.

 

[Bryan330i]

I use 91 Octane Chevron as well as its been fine. I've tried 93 before and get occasional cold starts.

How is 93 for driving? Is it safe to use?

 

[MyHarley]

I only use 93 from Shell........after listening to Big Daddy and alternating between fill ups with fuel injector cleaner and gas booster stuff, it purrs even better.....

 

[Bryan330i]

I am going to look and see if I can find 93. I have not seen it anywhere around here yet but I am sure someone must have it.

 

[bmwrocks]

All the premium gas around here is 93, so that's what both my BMWs have always gotten. I use mostly Hess as there is a Hess within 2 miles of my house and this particular station is also the cheapest around. This week I am paying 1.61 per gallon. A far cry from what I put in my Corolla (1.41 per) and BTW the Corolla gets 29/38 mpg and has amazing power for the little 4-banger in it.!!!! How about that?

 

[Big Daddy]

Or it is possible that when you filled up you stirred up some gunk in the tank and it went through the system causing the stall?

 

[mallards]

BMW recommended a minimum of 91 ... so therefore its ok to use anything about 91 ...

like Tom said, you may experience some strange engine vibrations for about a second if you use 93 .. but thats perfectly normal ... 93 or 92 will not hurt your engine ...

run some good engine cleaner through your system ... i recommend chevron techron concentrate ... its like 8$ at walmart ...

run that through your car with about 3/4 of a tank of gas (use chevron or shell 91+) and you should be good to go

Ben

 

[codex57]

BMW can't recommend 93 b/c in states like California, our premium is just 91. I always use Chevron. Never had a problem. Shell's ok too, but is usually more expensive. 76 is fine too. Only bad gas I've ever had was Costco gas.

 

[MyHarley]

Has anyone seen 91 octane gas in Houston? It jumps from 89 to 93 at all major stations.

 

[PuShAkOv]

My engine starts to shake sometimes when I come to a stop if I have anything bellow 93.

 

[Wadula]

harley, i did not pay attention to 91 or 93 but when i find one i will let you know.

 

[cyberlox]

I have alway used chevron never had a problem with it.

 

[mscoins]

I believe BMW recommends a rating of 93 for the engine to run properly.

When I said BMW recommended 93, I should have written "my dealer recommended premium", which in this area is 93 octane. The highest I remember seeing while living in Colorado was 91.

The Owner's Manual for my 04 330Ci states the minimum to use is 91.