[shoguniori31]

Ive been using premium gas on my f32 ever since i got it late last year, but i recently saw this vid on Youtube

According to the vid, premium gas has the same result as regular. Im also aware that the car is a chevy lol.

Even the gentleman in the corvette puts regular on his vehicle even the vehicle clearly states "premium gas only". According to him premium gas is pointless unless your going to the track but as far as having a "cleaner" engine, both regular and premium has the same effect on a car.

Does this apply to our cars??

What are your thoughts about the vid??

[Tyresian]

There is a reason your car says Premium or in the USA at least 91 octane (check your fuel take door or car's manual). You have a turbo high output engine. You want to run Premium.

Generally the rule is, run whatever the manufacturer tells you to run. If you're tuning you can tune for higher octanes.

If you run a lower octane than recommended you will see lower power and lower gas mileage. You may also notice knock in the engine, though the computers that control these systems should deter it and thus the realized lower power and efficiency.

[BlueCrabMafia]

Originally Posted by Tyresian

There is a reason your car says Premium or in the USA at least 91 octane (check your fuel take door or car's manual). You have a turbo high output engine. You want to run Premium.

Generally the rule is, run whatever the manufacturer tells you to run. If you're tuning you can tune for higher octanes.

If you run a lower octane than recommended you will see lower power and lower gas mileage. You may also notice knock in the engine, though the computers that control these systems should deter it and thus the realized lower power and efficiency.

Funny you mention the fuel door. I was filling up my car yesterday and looked at the decal on the fuel door that say PREMIUM UNLEADED FUEL ONLY but right underneath it in small print says 89 octane minimum. Rather contradictory wouldn't you say?

I use premium because of the reasons you stated. Cars are designed to run most efficiently on certain fuels. Follow whatever the manufacturer suggests.

[Tyresian]

Originally Posted by BlueCrabMafia

Funny you mention the fuel door. I was filling up my car yesterday and looked at the decal on the fuel door that say PREMIUM UNLEADED FUEL ONLY but right underneath it in small print says 89 octane minimum. Rather contradictory wouldn't you say?

I use premium because of the reasons you stated. Cars are designed to run most efficiently on certain fuels. Follow whatever the manufacturer suggests.

This could depend on where the car was originally sold. Elevation has an impact on the efficiency of fuel and from what I understand in some areas 89 may be the "premium" available. But you're paying money for a luxury / performance vehicle, so there is no reason to short-change car.

[lens]

Originally Posted by shoguniori31

Ive been using premium gas on my f32 ever since i got it late last year, but i recently saw this vid on Youtube

According to the vid, premium gas has the same result as regular. Im also aware that the car is a chevy lol.

Even the gentleman in the corvette puts regular on his vehicle even the vehicle clearly states "premium gas only". According to him premium gas is pointless unless your going to the track but as far as having a "cleaner" engine, both regular and premium has the same effect on a car.

Does this apply to our cars??

What are your thoughts about the vid??

Yes, for turbocharged cars, octane makes all the difference to hit a certain amount of boost. The lower the octane you put in your car, the lower the psi of boost you'll get.

For example, with JB4, I'm only able to hit 13psi of boost on map 5 with 91 octane, where with 93/94 I'm able to hit 14-16.5 no problems depending on the temperature outside.

It also will affect your gas mileage as well.

[CruzM3]

Originally Posted by chaungo

Yes, for turbocharged cars, octane makes all the difference to hit a certain amount of boost. The lower the octane you put in your car, the lower the psi of boost you'll get.

For example, with JB4, I'm only able to hit 13psi of boost on map 5 with 91 octane, where with 93/94 I'm able to hit 14-16.5 no problems depending on the temperature outside.

It also will affect your gas mileage as well.

The difference between regular and premium is like $4-5. You spent all that money to get a BMW why not make sure it's running as the manufacturer intended.

[MickAv8r]

This is really simple, the average driver (the idiots in the above video) doing nothing but commuting should run the minimum manufacturer octane rating. Most of the time that will be 87, including most of the modern DI Turbo 4 bangers out there in the beige Comutomatics only need 87. Just RTFM and if it says 87 is fine run the 87 you wont likely see any improvement when running 91 or 93.

If it says 89 or 91 or higher thats when you really must use the higher octane. High performance turbo engines or naturally aspirated cars with high compression pistons like the Toybaru 86/BRZ need high octane or the ECU pulls boost/timing due to detonation (knock). Its especially critical in hot weather or high altitude.

Just as critical is shit gas. Not all brands are the same. There really is a difference between Shell V-Power and the CheapGasRUS down the street. Its been proven on the dyno on several occasions. The ECUs will adjust and pull timing on the cheaper gas because they cannot protect against knock and are often dirtier.

Have I/Will I put the cheap discount 93 in my BMW? Yep. Of course. Do I do it in the summer months when I'm tracking my car and want all the power/performance possible? No way. In the winter time? all the time because I live near one and its convenient but I still run a tank or two of quality detergent gas ever few fillups.

[jamoka3]

Here is a copy of an email I received YESTERDAY directly from Shell gasoline. I asked if all tiers of there fuel (87/ 89 /93) all have the V-POWER additive. Long read but interesting info...

"Thank you for bringing your concerns to our attention.
Shell product AKI Octane ratings depend on the region, altitude and few other factors – but you should see them posted on the gas station dispenser label for all three grades. So, for example: our main grade octane rating is usually 87 (can be 85/86 at higher altitudes), V-Power NiTRO+/premium is between 91-93, and our mid grade lies between main grade and V-Power/premium.

In addition, all Shell stations should now be offering the “V-Power NiTRO+” premium gasoline product - which, again, is the highest octane product that Shell offers commercially.

We also must make note here that all Shell stations are independently owned and operated. And because Shell stations are all independently owned and operated locally, we would not have a listing of which stations offer which grades of fuel, etc.

In the USA, gasoline products are specified by AKI (Anti Knock Index) Octane ratings, and this is the Octane Number that is posted at US Pumps. AKI Octane is the average of the RON (Research Octane Number) and the MON (Motor Octane Number) – in fact, the actual formula is: AKI=RON+MON/2.

What this means in practical terms is that RON values are higher than AKI Octane values (as well as MON values,). Specifically, the RON number is usually about 5 numbers HIGHER than the AKI value, while the MON number is usually about 10 numbers LOWER than the RON value. (These values are measured in laboratory engine tests that use nearly identical single cylinder engines, but the two tests are run under different conditions).

So, for example: in the US, if a gasoline has an AKI Octane Rating of 93 posted at the pump, this would mean that the “RON” value of that product would be approximately 98, and the “MON” value of that product would be approximately 88.

Shell Premium V-Power NiTRO+ gasoline in the US has an AKI value between 91-93 (again, the exact AKI value depends on state and regional requirements). This would mean that the “RON” value for Shell Premium V-Power NiTRO+ is approx. 96 – 98.

Using premium fuel (91 to 93 AKI) burned in an engine that only requires 87 or 89 octane fuel will not produce more power or better fuel economy (even though there is an “expectation” of better fuel mileage when using a 93 octane fuel in an engine that only requires an 87 or 89).

Of course, if your vehicle does specify premium/93 octane fuel, then yes - we would recommend the use of that grade, which should then improve the mileage of your vehicle.

But remember - if your Owner’s Manual stipulates the use of an AKI Octane 87 product,then an 87, 89, 91, 92, or 93 octane fuel would meet the engine OEM’s requirements (of course, anything lower - like 86 octane - would not). And just to be clear - if your vehicle does indeed require a 93 octane fuel, then you should not use a gasoline product lower than a 93 octane

While ALL Shell gasoline grades contain the patented nitrogen enriched detergent package, Shell V-Power NiTRO+ Premium gasoline contains the highest concentration of the cleaning system (approx. 7X the amount of detergent required by the EPA). In fact, the 87 grade has approx. 50% of the amount of nitrogen enriched detergent add pack as the Premium V-Power NiTRO+ product. That would also mean that the mid-grade would have approx. 75% of the amount in the V-Power NiTRO+ product, etc.

Happy and safe motoring!

Regards,

Mitch
Shell Solutions Center"

[oceanview]

you guys are lucky. I pay more for the liter than you for the gallon!

With those high-tech engines, I wouldn't safe a few cent's on lower octan gas.
High octan will protect the engine from knocking caused damage that can occur under specific driving situations.

[Mike@N54Tuning.com]

You need to use the minimum thats on teh fuel door for the car. If car calls for 91 nothing will happen with 87 as the ECU are so advanced it will retard timing. You just won't be seeing the full benefit of your car with crappy gas.

Mike

[mbanks21]

I only use 96 octane

[dalrx]

I have ecu tune if I put 91 in it goes sluggish...when I run petro 94 all is well. 87 it would probably stall out.

[feng]

Interesting read. In AU, our labels use the ROZ/RON (research octane number) number and also references the AKI (anti-knock index) number that you guys use.

Ours recommends ROZ/RON95 (which is not actually premium here) and says that it's ROZ/RON range is 91-98). I use premium here which is 98 Octane (ROZ/RON 98)

Its AKI reference is 91 with a minimum of 89.

[BEM-S4]

Originally Posted by Tyresian

This could depend on where the car was originally sold. Elevation has an impact on the efficiency of fuel and from what I understand in some areas 89 may be the "premium" available. But you're paying money for a luxury / performance vehicle, so there is no reason to short-change car.

That's the same reason you can safely tune the engine. The car from factory is set to be fine at worst possible conditions including elevation and available fuel. There's a reason Dinan and others map for 93.

[F30inthe6ix]

I'm not sure if you've seen it yet on here, but based on the fact that you posted a local (for me anyway) news video, I think you may be interested in what people have said in a thread I created a while back.

Some good information has been shared on there to date - check it out.

http://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho....php?t=1239138

[jondaman]

Originally Posted by BlueCrabMafia

Funny you mention the fuel door. I was filling up my car yesterday and looked at the decal on the fuel door that say PREMIUM UNLEADED FUEL ONLY but right underneath it in small print says 89 octane minimum. Rather contradictory wouldn't you say?

I use premium because of the reasons you stated. Cars are designed to run most efficiently on certain fuels. Follow whatever the manufacturer suggests.

Note that the USA and the rest of the world used different method to measure the octane rating, 89 in the US is 91 in rest of the world I believe. Depending on where you are from, this number is different.

[feng]

Originally Posted by jondaman

Note that the USA and the rest of the world used different method to measure the octane rating, 89 in the US is 91 in rest of the world I believe. Depending on where you are from, this number is different.

Yeah definitely... if you have a quick look at my post 3 up, in the US etc it's actually an AKI rating not an ROZ/RON rating.

Wiki explains it pretty well.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octane_rating

<quoted>
Anti-Knock Index (AKI) or (R+M)/2
In most countries, including Australia, New Zealand and all of those in Europe,[citation needed] the "headline" octane rating shown on the pump is the RON, but in Canada, the United States, Brazil, and some other countries, the headline number is the average of the RON and the MON, called the Anti-Knock Index (AKI), and often written on pumps as (R+M)/2). It may also sometimes be called the Posted Octane Number (PON).
</quoted>

[jondaman]

Originally Posted by feng

Yeah definitely... if you have a quick look at my post 3 up, in the US etc it's actually an AKI rating not an ROZ/RON rating.

Wiki explains it pretty well.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octane_rating

<quoted>
Anti-Knock Index (AKI) or (R+M)/2
In most countries, including Australia, New Zealand and all of those in Europe,[citation needed] the "headline" octane rating shown on the pump is the RON, but in Canada, the United States, Brazil, and some other countries, the headline number is the average of the RON and the MON, called the Anti-Knock Index (AKI), and often written on pumps as (R+M)/2). It may also sometimes be called the Posted Octane Number (PON).
</quoted>

Gotcha. I always used chevron gas too knowing they are the best in refining. A habit left from my less reliable E46 days.
Over the lifetime of the vehicle, it may make a difference but who really knows.