BMW 3 series fuel requirements? regular or ..?

I know that these cars require mid-grade fuel, but I have driven my

318is (93) on regular with zero problems. I had a 79 323i and it would knock like heck if I didn't use at least 90 Octain. I think it is a little of trial and error. The difference in price between the grades is less important than the mpg the vehicle gets. That is why I went with the 318 over the 325. You have to figure, ten cents more per gallon averages out to about $1.40 per tank. If you get 30 mpg vs 18, well that is the big difference. Hope this helps

Thanks David,

Well, on average, in Canadian $$, a car with the same fuel economy one running regular and one super, well...

$3.85 CAD more per tank with super... works out to about $300 extra/year for me in fuel expenses.. not that much, but, every bit counts (I drive a lot!)

Cheers and thanks.

BMW recommends 91 octane but usually states that 87 may be used with reduced power & economy, so you might try charting your fuel consumption with both

87 and 93 octane. I'll wager that it's at least 10% better with the premium, so then it's a question of whether the increased consumption with 87 is worth the per litre cost savings.

In my area of the U.S, mid-grade is only 89 and doesn't that much less than premium. And the $$ difference between 87 and 93 is often only 5~7%, so the higher octane is the better buy for me. As they say, YMMV!

Tom K.

Quite good advice, Tom. One point to consider is that the pump rating for a particular fuel grade is the *minimum* octane that will come out of that pump. In most cases the actual octane will be marginally higher. How much higher will vary by brand, location, phase of the moon, etc...

By trial and error you could find a brand that has fuel that your car likes (in your location and at this time) without retarding the timing and the attendant loss in mileage that comes with that.

Well, basically, you can make big power with smaller displacement with higher compression, or you can go the route of the 4.6L Mustang engine...

300HP on regular.. Chrysler 300C 5.7L = 350HP on regular or the 6.1L 400HP, Chevy 6.0L LS2 I believe runs regular 400HP.

I'm not comparing them to BMW in any way, just that these engines put out decent hp for pump gas, and seriously low tech except the MDS Chrysler engine and Mustang (finally!!)

Whoever has time for that needs to get a life...

DAS

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Dori A Schmetterling wrote: >

Huh?

What time does it take to stop at a couple of different gas stations? You may actually *save* time by not driving out of you way to find the same brand all the time. In any case, it does not take any time, unless you are talking about the huge amount of time it takes to write down when you filled it... which I do anyway to keep track of mileage. So the added job of writing down fuel brand and pump octane would take what? about 3-4 seconds.

...guess I need to get a life.

Britain's (and West Europe's) forecourts are dominated by Shell, BP and other majors.

Do I care (on tech grounds) which one I use? Only question whether it is worthwhile buying the supermarket stuff.

DAS

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