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sovyanz @ Apr 17th 2008 4:09PM
which is nice about some of the fuel managment in the bmw cars. they detect octane and adjust timing accordingly.
Seoultrain @ Apr 17th 2008 4:22PM
I think almost any modern premium-gas car has knock sensors and adjust timing accordingly. That simple technology is not exclusive to BMW.
Rboyett @ Apr 17th 2008 4:25PM
Pretty much any car that has OBDII can adjust the engine for lower octane fuel.
The only reason manufacturers put a Premium Fuel requirement on their cars is because the EPA requires them to do so. The EPA requires it because the manufacturer submitted the car for CAFE testing with Premium Fuel. The Manufacturer wanted the car tested with Premium Fuel because it gives the car a bit more power and a bit better fuel economy. When it comes to CAFE ratings, every MPG counts.
My Nissan Murano required Premium but I never put a drop in it. My wife's old 2001 turbo beetle required it but we never used it. My buddies C6 says it is recommended but he's never used it. Not one of these cars has had a problem. Just do a google search for Premium Gas a Myth and you'll find that pretty much any car on the road can run just fine on 87 octane. You'll just see a dip in power and mileage. In most cases you won't even notice. There are very few cars that actually NEED 93 Octane.
Maxima98 @ Apr 17th 2008 5:29PM
I only use Premium fuel in my Maxima and have noticed a difference in fuel economy and power. Myth? I don't think so. On 88-89 I will get about 315-325 miles on a tank of gas. On 91-93 I will get 390-415 miles on a tank of gas.
Yeah, there is a difference in using Premium
Dan @ Apr 17th 2008 6:13PM
Additionally, what many people fail to consider is that the gasoline used to engineer and test your vehicles (manufactured in Germany or Japan) is of much higher quality than you can get in the States.
In Europe, the lowest grade fuel you can get is 95 RON (equivalent to our 90-91 octane rating in the States). Which means that all the performance numbers you see from German automakers, are most likely achieved on a much higher grade fuel like 102RON (96-98 octane by our standards).
Likewise for Japan, I believe 102 RON is the lowest grade fuel available up to 105 RON.
What does all this mean? It means your car was most likely engineered for optimum performance on the expensive jungle juice available to our across-the-pond brethren... but eventually detuned to survive on our noodle juice.
Do your car a favor if its European or Japanese... feed it the syrup its makers intended.
d3a @ Apr 17th 2008 6:25PM
This is the way I look at it. The $.20 difference between regular and premium back when gas was $1.50 a gallon was about 11%. Now, with gas being about $3.89 for regular, and $4.09 for premium, that differnce is only about 5%. you technically get more 'bang for your buck'
I drive a 325i and I only put in premium fuel from Chevron. At my nearest Chevron station today it was $4.09. Regular was $3.89. If i run on regular I only get 17mpg, and if I run on regular I get about 20 mpg.
Therefore, on regular unleaded it costs me about 22.8 cents per mile. On premium fuel it costs me about 20.4 cents per mile
Dave @ Apr 18th 2008 9:12AM
Most cars adjust the timing accordingly, not just BMW.