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2Addicts | BMW 2-Series forum BMW 2 Series (F22) Forum BMW 2 Series Coupe and Cabriolet (F22/F23) General Forum What octane rating do you use?

View Poll Results: What octane do you use?
89 9 3.54%
93 153 60.24%
91 (I take it you live in NJ if you pick this) 74 29.13%
Other 18 7.09%
Voters: 254. You may not vote on this poll

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      05-31-2017, 10:22 PM   #155
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Originally Posted by rich8566 View Post
It's great to save money - I do it all the time, but I still question why someone who buys a car with sporting capabilities skimps on gas. So even with a 50 cent per gallon difference between regular and premium, that amounts to a savings of $250 per year. That $5 a week, or about 80 cents per day. This calculation assumes 12k miles per year at 24mpg. Your savings will vary.
Because $250 is still $250.. and if you're not tracking or racing your car, most people can't tell the difference when running 87 or 93 octane gas. So if you can't tell a difference in performance, but you have an extra $250 at the end of the year, it makes perfect sense to not use premium gas.

BTW, asking why someone skimps on high octane gas because they bought a car w/ sporting capabilities is like asking why everyone with said capabilities aren't racing their car at a track. Really.. how many sports car owners, of any brand, use their car for what they were designed for? And BMW didn't put knock sensors in these cars for nothing.. they did it because they know people will use reg gas.. and if I had to guess, there's probably just as many or more people in the general public that use 87/89 octane gas them Premium. A poll here is going to be skewed because we're not average car owners..
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      05-31-2017, 10:52 PM   #156
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Quote:
Originally Posted by crabu2 View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by rich8566 View Post
It's great to save money - I do it all the time, but I still question why someone who buys a car with sporting capabilities skimps on gas. So even with a 50 cent per gallon difference between regular and premium, that amounts to a savings of $250 per year. That $5 a week, or about 80 cents per day. This calculation assumes 12k miles per year at 24mpg. Your savings will vary.
Because $250 is still $250.. and if you're not tracking or racing your car, most people can't tell the difference when running 87 or 93 octane gas. So if you can't tell a difference in performance, but you have an extra $250 at the end of the year, it makes perfect sense to not use premium gas.

BTW, asking why someone skimps on high octane gas because they bought a car w/ sporting capabilities is like asking why everyone with said capabilities aren't racing their car at a track. Really.. how many sports car owners, of any brand, use their car for what they were designed for? And BMW didn't put knock sensors in these cars for nothing.. they did it because they know people will use reg gas.. and if I had to guess, there's probably just as many or more people in the general public that use 87/89 octane gas them Premium. A poll here is going to be skewed because we're not average car owners..
Sorry but it seems silly to me. I'm out. Thanks.
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      05-31-2017, 10:58 PM   #157
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Bmw says use premium so I use premium. I just get the best price. I am assuming that if BMW says it requires premium,there is a reason. One of the reasons I'm concerned about buying a used car. Who knows how your cars have been abused. My other car recommends premium. So I sometimes use midgrade. Never regular.
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      05-31-2017, 11:37 PM   #158
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In BMW's manual it says 89 minimum... But you have to remember this old article where BMW says it will still run happily on lower octane gas, but for best performance, use premium.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/03/au.../03OCTANE.html

BTW, I've seen another article where BMW stated there would be no problem using regular gas.... even though the manual stated a 89 AKI minimum... other than a slight decrease in performance..

All these modern cars just retard the timing...sure, you might lose a few horses, but if it does no damage to the engine because of modern engine controls, is there any harm in using regular gas for a daily driver?

Oh... another thought.. If Premium gas is so needed to get these engines to perform as designed, how come all these aftermarket tunes are able to squeeze even more power from these engines on the same premium fuel with no hardware modes? I'm guessing here, but BMW's stock tune is probably meant for lower octane gas than what they have in their manual.
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      06-01-2017, 02:19 AM   #159
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I buy as high as humanly possible.

No reason to fuck around.
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      06-01-2017, 06:23 AM   #160
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Does anyone use ethanol-free gas in their cars? It is a lower octane than premium but I am wondering if there are any advantages to it.

Last edited by Zandar; 06-01-2017 at 01:46 PM..
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      06-01-2017, 12:59 PM   #161
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Does anyone use ethanol-free gas in their cars? It is a lower octane than premium but I am wondering if there are any advantagest to it.
If I could find it, I would use it. Ethanol has less energy content.. So theoretically, you should get more miles per gallon on 100% gas.

BTW, who says non-ethanol has less octane? Until this Ethanol mandate happened, Premium was still 93 octane with regular gas.. But if I remember correctly, back then, they used something called MTBE as the additive.
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      06-01-2017, 01:49 PM   #162
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Quote:
Originally Posted by crabu2 View Post
If I could find it, I would use it. Ethanol has less energy content.. So theoretically, you should get more miles per gallon on 100% gas.

BTW, who says non-ethanol has less octane? Until this Ethanol mandate happened, Premium was still 93 octane with regular gas.. But if I remember correctly, back then, they used something called MTBE as the additive.
Our ethanol-free gas is 87 octane.
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      06-01-2017, 02:02 PM   #163
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Here in Ontario premium is generally ethanol-free. Bonus!
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      06-01-2017, 02:07 PM   #164
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Quote:
Originally Posted by crabu2 View Post
In BMW's manual it says 89 minimum... But you have to remember this old article where BMW says it will still run happily on lower octane gas, but for best performance, use premium.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/03/au.../03OCTANE.html

BTW, I've seen another article where BMW stated there would be no problem using regular gas.... even though the manual stated a 89 AKI minimum... other than a slight decrease in performance..

All these modern cars just retard the timing...sure, you might lose a few horses, but if it does no damage to the engine because of modern engine controls, is there any harm in using regular gas for a daily driver?

Oh... another thought.. If Premium gas is so needed to get these engines to perform as designed, how come all these aftermarket tunes are able to squeeze even more power from these engines on the same premium fuel with no hardware modes? I'm guessing here, but BMW's stock tune is probably meant for lower octane gas than what they have in their manual.
In warm weather I promise you the following is happening with your 2 series if you choose to run 87-89:

1) Excessive amounts of timing pulled under boost, which boost occurs way more than you think. With that timing drop comes more fuel dumped into the cylinder to cool the combustion chamber. Buy a OBDII data monitor and you'll see that the quick spooling turbos are ramping up constantly. With low rpm boost comes more load and if the octane is low, pre-detonation is eminent.

2) Reduced timing and fuel to cool the combustion chamber = lower fuel economy.
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      06-01-2017, 06:48 PM   #165
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I love this thread -it takes me back to my youth when the family thing was finding cheapest gas, and not getting ripped off for it. And it is so refreshing to see all the debates about cents on the dollar. Other threads are like people spending thousands on custom wheels, watch conversations about things I could by a house with, supermodels and whether that megabuck M car is really worth it. Here we have people gleefully risking engine damage, or at least poor performance, in search of a .50 price break.
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      06-02-2017, 12:13 PM   #166
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I love this thread -it takes me back to my youth when the family thing was finding cheapest gas, and not getting ripped off for it.
I can recall when gas broke through the twenty-someodd cent range per gallon to hit $.30 and it seemed like a lot!

I'm about to pull the trigger on a Dinan Stage 1. The point above about 93 being the base premium fuel, so how can a tune not need even higher is interesting. Any comments from tech-knowledgeable folks?
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      06-02-2017, 11:51 PM   #167
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sportstick View Post
I can recall when gas broke through the twenty-someodd cent range per gallon to hit $.30 and it seemed like a lot!

I'm about to pull the trigger on a Dinan Stage 1. The point above about 93 being the base premium fuel, so how can a tune not need even higher is interesting. Any comments from tech-knowledgeable folks?
Based on what some are saying, you're going to damage your engine if you're only using BMW's recommended octane while producing more power with an aftermarket tune, because Premium is what is needed on a stock tune.
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      06-04-2017, 02:33 PM   #168
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Will use 89 for first 1200 miles, 91 thereafter.
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      06-04-2017, 02:34 PM   #169
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Obviously people with certain mindsets cannot be changed. We each choose the grade and type of gas we put in our cars for our own reasons. Many will drive miles to save a $.20 a gallon which figure out to a $2.00 savings on a 10 gallon fill up and then buy a Starbucks Latte supremo for $5.

I have a buddy w/ a Challenger that wants to have as fast a car as he can. He has put headers on it, larger Injectors, Diablo, Tune, Ram air and a number of other performance add-ons and then put 30lb 20 inch Foose wheels on his car and runs 87 Octane fuel.

Can anyone tell me what's wrong with that picture?
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      06-04-2017, 03:54 PM   #170
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Quote:
Originally Posted by USA-RET View Post
Obviously people with certain mindsets cannot be changed. We each choose the grade and type of gas we put in our cars for our own reasons. Many will drive miles to save a $.20 a gallon which figure out to a $2.00 savings on a 10 gallon fill up and then buy a Starbucks Latte supremo for $5.

I have a buddy w/ a Challenger that wants to have as fast a car as he can. He has put headers on it, larger Injectors, Diablo, Tune, Ram air and a number of other performance add-ons and then put 30lb 20 inch Foose wheels on his car and runs 87 Octane fuel.

Can anyone tell me what's wrong with that picture?
My work buddy tried to save 20 cents/gal by going to the cash only station.. They were closed.. Was almost out of gas, so he had to go to the nearest station.. Premium there was so expensive, he said, he ended up paying $2.90/gal for 89 octane. He was pissed and I was laughing... because the day before I had gotten Costco Premium for $2.45/gal and rubbing extra salt into his wound.

There's a certain pain threshold for everyone, when it comes to spending... Until one hits that threshold, the price isn't a big deal.. But once the price crosses that line... well you know.. Oh, I don't think it has anything to do with the price difference between Reg/Mid/Prem.. I think it's what one feels a gallon of gas is worth.. So if that threshold is say $2.50.. They're going to be hurting if Reg is at $2.55.. and probably won't even look at Prem, even if it's $2.65, a 10 cent difference. But if Prem was $2.50 and Reg was $2.. They're going to pump Prem because it hasn't crossed their mental pain threshold.
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      06-04-2017, 08:18 PM   #171
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Quote:
Originally Posted by USA-RET View Post

I have a buddy w/ a Challenger that wants to have as fast a car as he can. He has put headers on it, larger Injectors, Diablo, Tune, Ram air and a number of other performance add-ons and then put 30lb 20 inch Foose wheels on his car and runs 87 Octane fuel.

Can anyone tell me what's wrong with that picture?
That he bought a MoPar to begin with.
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