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      02-01-2014, 03:21 PM   #1
X6 Eddy
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What Kind of Fuel? Regular or Premium

I see articles like this:

http://www.consumerenergycenter.org/...s_premium.html

"The answer, according to experts who study fuel efficiency in detail, is both regular and premium gasoline. And it would be a waste of money to favor premium over regular, especially in these times when gasoline prices are high, according to the experts.

Virtually nothing is gained by filling up with a premium or more expensive grade of fuel than the vehicle manufacturer has recommended, the experts say. And many of the same experts explain that drivers may not lose much performance from their cars by using a lower grade of fuel than recommended by the car manufacturer."

And BMW X6 is on the PREMIUM (Required) list- http://static.ed.edmunds-media.com/u...red.061713.pdf

I am thinking I am gonna run regular..

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      02-01-2014, 04:06 PM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by X6 Eddy View Post
Virtually nothing is gained by filling up with a premium or more expensive grade of fuel than the vehicle manufacturer has recommended, the experts say. And many of the same experts explain that drivers may not lose much performance from their cars by using a lower grade of fuel than recommended by the car manufacturer."

And BMW X6 is on the PREMIUM (Required) list- http://static.ed.edmunds-media.com/u...red.061713.pdf
In essence, filling a Honda Civic (a car designed to run fine on regular) with premium won't do a bit of good. However, all newer BMWs are tuned to run on premium, and running anything less will give you reduced performance and likely some knock.

Premium required, means premium required.
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      02-01-2014, 05:55 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by X6 Eddy View Post
I see articles like this:

http://www.consumerenergycenter.org/...s_premium.html

"The answer, according to experts who study fuel efficiency in detail, is both regular and premium gasoline. And it would be a waste of money to favor premium over regular, especially in these times when gasoline prices are high, according to the experts.

Virtually nothing is gained by filling up with a premium or more expensive grade of fuel than the vehicle manufacturer has recommended, the experts say. And many of the same experts explain that drivers may not lose much performance from their cars by using a lower grade of fuel than recommended by the car manufacturer."

And BMW X6 is on the PREMIUM (Required) list- http://static.ed.edmunds-media.com/u...red.061713.pdf

I am thinking I am gonna run regular..

Ed
No way. Its a performance engine. Just don't try your luck
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      02-01-2014, 06:05 PM   #4
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Putting premium fuel in a vehicle not designed for it is useless. Putting regular fuel in a vehicle tuned for premium will damage your engine and fuel delivery system.
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      02-02-2014, 09:18 AM   #5
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I wanna believe.. but then I read from guys that know WAY much more about fuels than I do...

""Put a tiger in your tank," says a classic advertising tagline. In today's motoring world, what kind of fuel grade will have the power to place a beast in your gas tank?

The answer, according to experts who study fuel efficiency in detail, is both regular and premium gasoline. And it would be a waste of money to favor premium over regular, especially in these times when gasoline prices are high, according to the experts.

Virtually nothing is gained by filling up with a premium or more expensive grade of fuel than the vehicle manufacturer has recommended, the experts say. And many of the same experts explain that drivers may not lose much performance from their cars by using a lower grade of fuel than recommended by the car manufacturer.

There is little difference in energy content of regular versus premium gasoline. They both contain about 111,400 British Thermal Units of energy per gallon."
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      02-02-2014, 09:36 AM   #6
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It's not energy content, it's ability to handle compression and detonate when it supposed to. Feel free to so what you want. Just make sure to tell us when you trade it in so no one buys it.
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      02-02-2014, 10:32 AM   #7
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It sounds like you've made up your mind already, but I think it's crazy to spend $50k+ on a new vehicle then decide you're going to save $3 per fill up by not putting in the right fuel.
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      02-02-2014, 11:38 AM   #8
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You are riding in a luxury car, Not a 2008 Altima, I don't know why people think of fuel consumption when they have money to buy an expensive car that will ofcourse have expensive needs...sell it and buy your self a diesel mate
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      02-02-2014, 05:16 PM   #9
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I put super
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      02-02-2014, 05:21 PM   #10
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The piece you quoted seems to focus on fuel efficiency. It may be accurate in stating that you won't gain extra mileage by using a more expensive gas. But you probably shouldn't confuse efficiency with the requirements of the powerful high output BMW engines that just wouldn't performed as designed if you use a lower octane engine.
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      02-02-2014, 06:56 PM   #11
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On a related note, does anyone know where to get some nice hubcaps for my X6M?

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      02-02-2014, 08:16 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ddk632
On a related note, does anyone know where to get some nice hubcaps for my X6M?

How is that related?
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      02-04-2014, 08:06 AM   #13
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That was funny!! Let's see.... If you can't afford premium then why buy a car that requires it? I didn't buy are X6M for fuel economy! Fin...
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      02-04-2014, 09:08 AM   #14
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Most BMW nowadays, with turbo I wouldn't run anything below 92. Not only you risk engine damage from detonation (very small risk due to knock-sensor), but you loose mileage anyway due to advance timing to combat detonation. So at the end, no saving.
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      02-04-2014, 09:19 AM   #15
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If your car is designed to run on 87, then running it on 93 will do nothing except cost you money.

If your car is designed to run on 91 which I believe is what the label on my X5 tells me, then put 91 in it. 87 will knock and probably result in lower overall mpgs.

Here is a Car and Driver article: http://www.caranddriver.com/features/regular-or-premium

Here's a snippet: The turbocharged Saab's sophisticated Trionic engine-control system dialed the power back 9.8 percent on regular gas, and performance dropped 10.1 percent at the track. Burning regular in our BMW M3 diminished track performance by 6.6 percent, but neither the BMW nor the Saab suffered any drivability problems while burning regular unleaded fuel.

So you will be down on power too.

Frankly, I am driving a $75000 luxury SAV. Saving 20 x $0.30 = $6 per fill upto go slower and cause my engine to knock is not something I plan to do. But you go right ahead.
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      02-04-2014, 09:22 AM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HPIA4v2 View Post
Most BMW nowadays, with turbo I wouldn't run anything below 92. Not only you risk engine damage from detonation (very small risk due to knock-sensor), but you loose mileage anyway due to advance timing to combat detonation. So at the end, no saving.
Yes, the engine responds to detonation by retarding the timing which decreases power, and power was kind of the purpose in buying a BMW in the first place, and was certainly THE reason to get an M.

Don't forget the additional detergents in the higher grades that will hopefully keep the already suspect injectors operating a little while longer.

There are a thousand reasons to use the recommended fuel type, and only one reason not to - to save $4.00 a tank. If you are that cheap, a BMW is not the car for you.
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      02-04-2014, 10:54 AM   #17
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I see this all the time on car forums. Why don't people understand this stuff?
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      02-04-2014, 11:27 AM   #18
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I think the logical argument should be centered on gasoline brands, not which octane to use. You absolutely should use the factory recommended octane rating to avoid knock and power loss. The ECU absolutely will retard timing and adjust the A/F ratio if you run lower octane fuel in these engines. This results in lower power output, and lower fuel economy. It's simple math people...

Now if you want to save money? Consider fueling up at (well maintained) fuel depots like a Costco, which is TONS cheaper per gallon than Chevron or Shell. The fuel is almost always exactly the same, but you're paying $.30 per gallon more just for the fuel additives that Shell or Chevron drop in the reservoir before the truck wheels itself over to the cheaper station. And that additive does nothing but add detergent which keeps the injectors clean. Which is important, but there is more than one way to skin the injector kitty.

My mechanic adivses me to run Costco premium gas, and run a batch of fuel injector cleaner through it every few months. Been doing that for a while with no complaints, but have saved $$$ every time I fill up.
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      02-04-2014, 12:15 PM   #19
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It's not people don;t understand, it's cause many times engineers from big oil company (albeit retirement ones), keep coming to msn/cnn etc and tells people how to save money. yes if you drive a car that don;t take advantage the highest grade then buying premium gas is futile.

BTW, detergent on gasoline will be obsolete, most cars nowadays are direct-injection, the intake valve will never see a drop of gasoline passing through them. That's why BMW N54 (hope they fix it on N55 and latter engine) has carbon build up on the intake valves. It needs walnut shell blasting to get rid of, it's a flaw or oversight on BMW engineer part.
Hope the N63 doesn't have this problem.
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      02-04-2014, 10:25 PM   #20
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Thanks for all the feedback. There are alot of know-it-alls.. If I knew it all I would not have asked. I have made up my mind.. I will run premium, because I don't want to chance hurting my brand new 80k SAV. That said, I got 4 Private message from people that did not want to be part of the "public" discussion that say they run regular in their X6 with no problems or ping. So for the extra 6 bucks.. I will use premium.. it was JUST a question as I have a very knowlegeble friend in fuel production (while it is aviation fuel, 100LL) he knows alot... and he explained that motor fuels are "virtually" all the same.

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      02-05-2014, 04:01 AM   #21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by X6 Eddy View Post
Thanks for all the feedback. There are alot of know-it-alls.. If I knew it all I would not have asked. I have made up my mind.. I will run premium, because I don't want to chance hurting my brand new 80k SAV. That said, I got 4 Private message from people that did not want to be part of the "public" discussion that say they run regular in their X6 with no problems or ping. So for the extra 6 bucks.. I will use premium.. it was JUST a question as I have a very knowlegeble friend in fuel production (while it is aviation fuel, 100LL) he knows alot... and he explained that motor fuels are "virtually" all the same.

Yep, and BMW owns equity in all major oil production companies and so it recommends using premium fuel to make some extra money on a side.
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      02-05-2014, 04:25 PM   #22
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The service dept manager at BMW said using reg unleaded won't harm your X5. Remember last year during the gas shortage in NYC, only reg unleaded was available. I asked about using reg unleaded in my X5 and will it harm the engine? Everybody I asked said no!
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