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cars are tuned very safe these days. once you start pushing every hp out of car it becomes very important. i own a 1200hp c6 z06 corvette and if i ran 87 instead of 93 it WILL not last more than a few minutes at full noise without engine failure. the cot difference between 87-93 is about 30c a galon. 10 gallon a fill ur saving 3 buks. BUT 93 gets more miles per tank so ur saving maybe 2 buks at best. really worth running shit gas so ur car underperforms? why buy a luxury car and have it drive like a F150 to save 2 buks a tank??
I'd agree with Araris I've worked in this feild for 20yrs from the floor to r&d engineering auto and diesel. Newer cars compensate for pre ignition but to a point using knock sensors and ECU calibration set points. Your gas milage will decrease using reg gas under all driving conditions weather ur a lead foot or conservative. The harder u load on it more likely knocks will happen from pre detination. U won't harm the motor using reg. but if u use it all of the time and always run it hard u will. Crank bearings normally go 1st and spin or hot spots can develop in the cylinder and wipe out the piston or a combo of both. If you have a turbo or charger in a car its even more likely u will get predetination.
I definitely don't have the car related experience as everyone here . In my opinion, I would do what the instruction say. BMW put it there for a reason. Just my 2 cents
if its a newer care more than likely the computer will be able to retard the timing to make up for loss in octane when you use the regular. no big deal, you would see a huge different if say..you have a race car with high compression, like 11 to 1 or something..yes it would run like shit but since yours is a newer car it wont really matter, it would be cleaner for your engine for sure and might get a fraction better mpg's.
if it were me, Id just use the premium and have no worries...but all I have are diesels lol if its oily I can run it and be fine
I drive a new BMW 328 and wouldn't risk running regular. It's not worth the risk. As a mechanic I can tell you that it probably won't harm anything other than your mileage and performance a bit. If your leasing like 50% of bmw drivers then I would be concerned about any little damage that may be done to the valves by running regular. They may be able to hit you big time when you return it. BTW I love bmw and will always drive one for a commuter car.i'm sure if you used regular on your car it would not be good, but I'm asking about my car specifically. I don't buy American cars, nor will I probably ever so its not ever going to be a concern for me. the dude in the article from BMW said its fine to run regular, and would not effect gas mileage at all. only that it would effect HP by at most 2%.
to get more specific my car has 3 options.. eco, regular mode, and sport mode. I drive in eco mode most of the time. why do I buy a luxury car and drive it in eco mode? because it saves me gas. there is much more to a luxury car then speeding down the road, unless you have ever owned a BMW you wouldn't get it. never having to take my car into the shop is the #1 reason. I only take it in once every 15K miles for an oil change. that's it. for me that is very important... also never having to worry about something breaking and reliability
appreciate everyones input but I am specifically asking about MY CAR. when/if the day comes when I buy a different brand then I will worry about it then.
If ur car does shit an engine they will do a fuel test and ur warranty is fuked. To save 2-3 buks a fill??
again no such thing as 'knocking' on new BMW's. google it, it doesn't exist.. unless the car is 15 years old or something.
BMW mechanics make 6 figures because the cars are so computerized, its not like taking your car in for a $8 oil change at the redneck shop down the road.
Any new car equipped with turbochargers require premium fuel unless it's diesel turbo. High compression motors require premium. Almost every car records freeze frame data of its own operating parameters in the event of a catastrophic event. Long term fuel trim, short term fuel trim, timing, vehicle speed, engine speed (rpm's), and knock count. That data gives insight how the vehicle was being used.This would only be true if your vehicle is a "Premium Required" vehicle. As opposed to the "Premium Recommended" vehicles. I'm almost positive that most if not all new BMW's are recommended. In a recommended status vehicle they do not prohibit the use of regular, therefore your warranty is perfectly safe.
In the required vehicles they can just refuse to be responsible for any damage they can prove was caused by the use of unapproved fluids. But it has to be proven.
I was told by A GIRL that if you start using a certain grade of gas from the beginning you need to always use that grade. Even if your car needs 87 octane she says I shouldn't occasionally put premium in it?
Truth?
The VENOMpharma courses through my veins daily... Need a reference?