I just bought a 2002 530 with only 21,000 miles on it. The owner's manual recommends 91 octane fuel and synthetic oil. I should be ok with Mobile one oil, right? I can get a decent price on it at Costco. My bigger concern is the gasoline. Is it ok to use 87 octane fuel? Does it just affect perfomance or does it affect the life of the engine? I've heard that the higher octane fuel is just a sales gimmick to charge more and I've also heard that high compression engines (whatever that means but I've been told the 530 has one) require higher octane or they will ping. Just because I bought a BMW doesn't mean I have money to burn but I intend to own this car a long to so I want it to last. One last thing, I also own an 87 325iC and I've always used the low octane fuel from Costco and I've never had a problem. Any suggestions greatly appreciated.
- posted
18 years ago