how many people use premium in their BMW? and who doesnt. When I had the 328I I used regular unleaded. Now I have the 04 and have put gas in it twice since I got it. It has been regular gas. Tonight thought I heard some knocking or something similar to that, Will there be a drastic difference if I use premium? or should I save my $$$ and stick with regular unleaded?

I always use premium. It is what the engine was was designed to run on. I mean you spent the extra money to buy a BMW at least spend the money to treat it right,:rolleyes

put what the manual recommends...from what i understand, the anti knock sensors will retard the timing if a lower octane gas is used, but it isnt healthy for the engine...the fuel maps are designed to be run with a certain octane, any higher is just wasted money...

the 325 takes premium??? i thought it would just need 89octane...

the low octaine gas will make the car bog down sometimes and not run at peak power....my first 328is only required 90 octane only reason here they say premium is becuase 90 isnt commmon. here in the states its 87 89 and 92....you can get away with the 89 but i wouldnt advise going any lower.....

put what the manual recommends...from what i understand, the anti knock sensors will retard the timing if a lower octane gas is used, but it isnt healthy for the engine...the fuel maps are designed to be run with a certain octane, any higher is just wasted money...

the 325 takes premium??? i thought it would just need 89octane...

I am 90% sure that the manual suggests 91 octane. I cant run out to check my car right now or I would. I agree putting higher octane in a car that does not recommend it just a waste of money.

Premium for our cars (except the Jeep). The 318 only calls for 89 AKI but not that much difference between 89 and 92, maybe $70 a year.

All modern BMWs require premium fuel. Remember the difference between premium and mid grade on a 15 gallon fill up is only $1.50 multiply that times 3 fill ups a month, $4.50 times 12 months = $54 a year. Treat your car right and use the correct fuel, its more than worth the ~$50 a year that you will save. Think of it this way, if you have to purchase a knock sensor because you have been using low grade fuel its gonna cost you more than that $50 you saved.

Depends on the motor and modifications.

My M20 takes regular as stated by the manual...no knock sensors:D

My M50tu takes mid grade as stated by the manual and the sticker on the gas cap.

My S38 takes premium as stated by the manual and the sticker on the gas cap.

The most important thing to consider is the quality of the gas and detergents you're buying.

No Costco, Aloha, Mahalo or generic gas.:nono

Aloha Petroleum meets top tier gasoline standards and Tesoro = Shell. And if this merger went through, Mahalo is also Aloha Top Tier. http://www.bizjournals.com/pacific/stories/2005/09/05/daily23.html

Not sure what Costco serves up. * Edit * Costco gas is also Aloha.

I thought Costco gas is Tesoro? From what I've seen military base gas is also Tesoro.

Either way, last I remember there are only two refineries on Oahu, which is Chevron and Tesoro. All the gasoline here is from those two refineries. Different brands just have their different additives. Aloha is supposed to be top tier gasoline, and we use it for work. However nothing but Chevron goes inside my cars, and if I don't have to put premium in it, I don't. Used to, but not anymore...

I thought Costco gas is Tesoro? From what I've seen military base gas is also Tesoro.

Either way, last I remember there are only two refineries on Oahu, which is Chevron and Tesoro. All the gasoline here is from those two refineries. Different brands just have their different additives. Aloha is supposed to be top tier gasoline, and we use it for work. However nothing but Chevron goes inside my cars, and if I don't have to put premium in it, I don't. Used to, but not anymore...

that is true of all gasoline. One of my good friend in CA works for a gas distributor and told me that all of the gas companies use the same pipelines to transport their gas. So it all gets mixed together and the only difference between one gas and another is the additives that get put in after the gas is taken out of the pipelines.

refineries may use the same pipelines, but the gas doesn't all get mixed together...a relatively small portion does at the end of one shipment and the beginning of another as it's pushed thru the pipeline...this is referred to as transmix and is sent to an off line tank... it's eventually brought back to the refinerey for reblending...sometimes a rubber separator called a pig is inserted in the pipeline between shipments...the same pipeline will be used for gasoline, jet fuel, and diesel fuel, all with different properties and we don't want 87 octane mixed in with our jet fuel, do we?...

JP4/8+87 octane=CRASH BOOM:nono

Aloha Petroleum meets top tier gasoline standards and Tesoro = Shell. And if this merger went through, Mahalo is also Aloha Top Tier. http://www.bizjournals.com/pacific/stories/2005/09/05/daily23.html

Not sure what Costco serves up. * Edit * Costco gas is also Aloha.

I use Aloha since it is top tier and no problems. I have filled up at Costco too and seen many a Pcar, BMW etc in line. I have not used Mahalo and don't use Tesoro except in the CR-V which will run on anything.:eyecrazy

I fill the P car up with premium from on Base. The gas is good here, cheap(er) and have not had any problems.

for me, chevron in the cars i care about, and costco for those that i dont...

Premium on Base, only a couple bucks more and I would never want to hear knocking!!!!

ran 87 in the 99 M3 since I've owned it, and NEVER had any issues even with the dinan tune...

run premimum during auto-x and track events here in the mainland during extended high RPM periods....

will end up running only premium when I get back from Iraq and get a custom tune and the other NA goodies ... MUAHAHA

ran 87 in the 99 M3 since I've owned it, and NEVER had any issues even with the dinan tune...

run premimum during auto-x and track events here in the mainland during extended high RPM periods....

will end up running only premium when I get back from Iraq and get a custom tune and the other NA goodies ... MUAHAHA

You didn't run 100+ octane? :eek:

The Cayman and the Truck only gets CHEVRON 92 OCTANE......:alright

The Cayman and the Truck only gets CHEVRON 92 OCTANE......:alright

Unless you have the supercharger on the Taco, giving it 92 octane is a waste of money, at least to those of us that has to work hard for ours.

run premimum during auto-x and track events here in the mainland during extended high RPM periods....

Where do you get "premimum" gas"? That must be better than 100 octane :lol

ran 87 in the 99 M3 since I've owned it, and NEVER had any issues even with the dinan tune...

run premimum during auto-x and track events here in the mainland during extended high RPM periods....

will end up running only premium when I get back from Iraq and get a custom tune and the other NA goodies ... MUAHAHA

Where do you get "premimum" gas"? That must be better than 100 octane :lol
http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/hh289/ZeroCool_CrashOverride/grammartime.gif

Unless you have the supercharger on the Taco, giving it 92 octane is a waste of money, at least to those of us that has to work hard for ours.


It's only a few dollars difference between the 89 and 92.....:rolleyes

http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/hh289/ZeroCool_CrashOverride/grammartime.gif


nice rich... hahahahahahahahahah

Where do you get "premimum" gas"? That must be better than 100 octane :lol

best you can buy for advanced timing.....

It's only a few dollars difference between the 89 and 92.....:rolleyes

A few dollars? I dunno about you, but it is usually a $.10 difference between 89 and 92 and I put in 12 -15 gallons. How big is your tank?

A few dollars? I dunno about you, but it is usually a $.10 difference between 89 and 92 and I put in 12 -15 gallons. How big is your tank?
A few dollars difference when you put in a FULL tank of 92.....:rolleyes

Due to the chips in both my cars...they need to drink the premium stuff.
I have only used Chevron in both cars.
From what an Aloha exec has told me, Aloha is Chevron without the Techron.

I hear Shell is just as good with their V-Power stuff.

The Avalon gets 89, but still Chevron.

How big is your tank?

24.6 gallons :eek:

24.6 gallons :eek:
That $100+ on a complete fillup! :eek:

I thought Costco gas is Tesoro? From what I've seen military base gas is also Tesoro.

Either way, last I remember there are only two refineries on Oahu, which is Chevron and Tesoro. All the gasoline here is from those two refineries. Different brands just have their different additives. Aloha is supposed to be top tier gasoline, and we use it for work. However nothing but Chevron goes inside my cars, and if I don't have to put premium in it, I don't. Used to, but not anymore...

Look at the pumps at Tesoro, it states 10% ethanol. Then go to an Aloha Petroleum and there is no sticker on the pumps saying up to 10% ethanol. I strictly use Aloha petroleum in my vette.

What is great with the C6 Corvettes is that they actually can run on regular gas with no problems. However I run 92 octane as my ECU tune actually requires 93 octane.

Look at the pumps at Tesoro, it states 10% ethanol. Then go to an Aloha Petroleum and there is no sticker on the pumps saying up to 10% ethanol. I strictly use Aloha petroleum in my vette.

Aloha gas is an ethanol blend as well, as required by the State. Aloha states all three grades of their gas are ethanol blends on their website.

I use Tesoro usually, always premium, since all my cars need premium to run properly. Every couple of months I put in a can of BG 44K fuel cleaner. The last time I had one of my engines apart it was nice and clean inside, so I guess it works okay.

The digs at Costco are not warranted. Costco sells high quality stuff because their customers (members) demand it and they tend to be very savvy consumers. If Costco sold inferior gas they would soon lose a lot of business, and eventually, membership fees.

This thread is getting as good as any oil, coolant or tire thread.

And almost as good as the one on the Waimanalo Sasquatch sightings.

I run 3ozs. RedLine Fuel System cleaner in with every tank of gas in the 540i.

And almost as good as the one on the Waimanalo Sasquatch sightings.


Sasquatch is here on vacation?

Sasquatch is here on vacation?

he was sighted body surfing at Sandy's this past Sunday...:D

he was sighted body surfing at Sandy's this past Sunday...:D


No, that was Chewbacca. I made the same mistake at 939 the other night. You can tell by the lack of a Canadian accent.

And almost as good as the one on the Waimanalo Sasquatch sightings.
:lol
It's not like people in Waimanalo have small feet to begin with, so there should be a lot of sightings there! :D

:lol
It's not like people in Waimanalo have small feet to begin with, so there should be a lot of sightings there! :D
:rofl:

Back on track, only premium gas for my car.

I put premium gas in the car and I did notice a difference. Guess it will be premium gas from here on out! time to buy a bike (harley) and cruise around on it using the car only on weekends etc..

e28/e30 fill up is 12~14 gal

premium is 20 cents more than reg per gal

12x .20 or 14x .20 = $2.50 or $2.80 per fill up

I'd rather have my car run better and cleaner for the extra 2.50

i put premium in both my cars

e28/e30 fill up is 12~14 gal

premium is 20 cents more than reg per gal

12x .20 or 14x .20 = $2.50 or $2.80 per fill up

I'd rather have my car run better and cleaner for the extra 2.50

i put premium in both my cars

Filled up the white turbo this evening. 13.78 gallons and I went 137 miles on that tank. :evil2

Filled up the white turbo this evening. 13.78 gallons and I went 137 miles on that tank. :evil2

Sounds familiar:devillook

So it all gets mixed together and the only difference between one gas and another is the additives that get put in after the gas is taken out of the pipelines.


This is 100% true, so think about what brand of gas goes into the tank.;)

e28/e30 fill up is 12~14 gal

premium is 20 cents more than reg per gal

12x .20 or 14x .20 = $2.50 or $2.80 per fill up

I'd rather have my car run better and cleaner for the extra 2.50

i put premium in both my cars

You could also look at it this way, if you get 17 mpg spending the extra $0.20 per gallon for premium over regular will yield an increase in just over $0.02 per mile driven.

i've been using shell v-power for about a half a year now and my knocking noise (happens at start up and while i'm rolling) hasn't gone away.

Any ideas what it could be?

i've been using shell v-power for about a half a year now and my knocking noise (happens at start up and while i'm rolling) hasn't gone away.

Any ideas what it could be?


Vanos?