[jd_perspective]

So I get my car next week - so freaking excited!
Anyway, I have never owned a BMW before but have owned cars requiring premium fuels.

I was curious if I should only stick to "top-tier" fuels or should it not matter running high octane anyway? I currently exclusively go to a Wawa nearby that does not have top tier, but good prices. They aren't garbage gas like Sams Club or 7-11, but not top tier.

Thoughts?

[floydarogers]

Originally Posted by exl_ent_v6

So I get my car next week - so freaking excited! Anyway, I have never owned a BMW before but have owned cars requiring premium fuels.

I was curious if I should only stick to "top-tier" fuels or should it not matter running high octane anyway? I currently exclusively go to a Wawa nearby that does not have top tier, but good prices. They aren't garbage gas like Sams Club or 7-11, but not top tier.

There is no guarantee that an off-brand premium (octane) contains the same amount of detergents as a regular (octane) at a top tier station. They're only required to have as much additive as the EPA requires. And due to gasoline industry pressure that's not what most manufacturers would be happy with.

In point of fact, the only difference between the top tier/name brand gasolines and off-brand is the detergent package, so it's not a big deal. But there's the hassle of going to the dealer and getting a plugged injector replaced - my time is more valuable than $0.05/gallon.

[Mike_L]

Detergents don't burn and cause knock. They aren't a good thing for performance. BMW recommends BP (its in the manual), I recommend BP, DiabloSport recommends BP, thats what my car gets 99% of the time. The new stuff since they joined TopTier isn't as good as the old, but it's passable.

[USC2000]

Stick with Top Tier and your car will be happy.

[philbake]

Even Costco and Valero are now Top Tier. Isn't hard to find at a reasonable price.

[IndotagSwizz]

The car requires premium, can you get away with mid-grades.. maybe but cmon man at the most you will maybe save $3.50 a tank by using cheaper gas, and so in my opinion that is just not enough for the sacrifice in performance

[crono06]

Originally Posted by IndotagSwizz

The car requires premium, can you get away with mid-grades.. maybe but cmon man at the most you will maybe save $3.50 a tank by using cheaper gas, and so in my opinion that is just not enough for the sacrifice in performance

Op is not asking about regular vs premium. He's asking about Top Tier vs not.

Op, I've been using Costco gas for the longest time now (it is at a convenient location and close to where I park for work before hopping on public transport). I've been using them since before they were "Top Tier". Is there a difference in gas/performance between then and now? Probably not, and there is definitely nothing to suggest to me that there's been a change.

[casualDIYer]

Not to make choosing any harder but another factor, maybe more important than octane, is percentage of ethanol. Usually lower grades of fuel use more ethanol while top tier uses less or none depending on retailer. More ethanol generally means poorer mileage while less means better mileage. In fact, it seems the difference in cost is linked to the difference in mileage. I.e 10% higher cost may give you 10% more mileage. In effect, there's no 'gain' in cheaper fuel because you need more to drive the same distance you would on higher grade fuel

[Blubaron79]

I didn't use top tier fuel on my old E92 w/ the N54 engine. It needed a walnut blast at 60k miles. It was ridiculously caked with carbon.

[Orion4]

I burned top tier in my 08 335i and still had to do a walnut cleaning at about 45K.

[jd_perspective]

OK mixed opinions.... I looked on Google too and everyone's opinions are different. I'll just go to Wawa, not top-tier, and use premium.

[Crispykickz]

If it says 93, I put it in.

Lowest price wins.

"Top-tier" was and always will be marketing speak.

The only difference between gas companies are the detergents and additives, since the gasoline itself is federally mandated/regulated.

If you are that concerned about not using Top-tier, stick a can of BG44k in there once a year.

[instalher]

yup good call exl-ent v6, you wont experience and difference in drive from cheap junk 87 octane gas and top tier 91, your car has a knock inhibiter so it will automatically retart the timming once it sees a faster burn low octane gas, now less power and reduced gas mileage is a possible side effect, not gonna say it is 100 guaranteed to happen, but its a possibility, the biggest problem you are gonna have running lower octane gas is exhaust deposits, these don't happen fast but accumulate over time, and you don't want that 800 bill in 5 yrs when you have to walnut blast the exhust valves of your car, also if to much carbon deposits on the valves you now have a potential for valve burn which is really expensive to fix. sooooooooooooooo run cheap regular on non pay period weeks and give her the good stuff on pay period days. lol

[jd_perspective]

Originally Posted by instalher

yup good call exl-ent v6, you wont experience and difference in drive from cheap junk 87 octane gas and top tier 91, your car has a knock inhibiter so it will automatically retart the timming once it sees a faster burn low octane gas, now less power and reduced gas mileage is a possible side effect, not gonna say it is 100 guaranteed to happen, but its a possibility, the biggest problem you are gonna have running lower octane gas is exhaust deposits, these don't happen fast but accumulate over time, and you don't want that 800 bill in 5 yrs when you have to walnut blast the exhust valves of your car, also if to much carbon deposits on the valves you now have a potential for valve burn which is really expensive to fix. sooooooooooooooo run cheap regular on non pay period weeks and give her the good stuff on pay period days. lol

ummm.. maybe you missed the text but not debating regular vs premium. just the "top tier" verbiage on gas in general. Thanks tho

[philbake]

I've got to believe if BMW is recommending 91 AKI Top Tier fuel, there's a good reason. I think they, and not some government EPA employee knows what's best for their cars.

[dreamspeed]

I've only ever used top tier gas in all of my cars. It's actually much more convenient because top tier gas is much more prevalent than the off brand stuff around here.

[instalher]

top teir fuel means the detergents they use are safe for the engins as per there ratings, ie chevron is top tier rated for porche bmw, Mercedes ect. but ford chevy and dodge are not on this list, so the names on the list have looked at the additive techron, analysed it and stated that, techron does a good job cleaning out deposits and it has no side effects on there engine..

[Blubaron79]

Originally Posted by dreamspeed

I've only ever used top tier gas in all of my cars. It's actually much more convenient because top tier gas is much more prevalent than the off brand stuff around here.

Not in PA. The state is ran by Sheetz, Wawa, Turkey Hill, and GetGo.

It is so hard to find top tier around here.

[Damon44]

Originally Posted by instalher

top teir fuel means the detergents they use are safe for the engins as per there ratings, ie chevron is top tier rated for porche bmw, Mercedes ect. but ford chevy and dodge are not on this list, so the names on the list have looked at the additive techron, analysed it and stated that, techron does a good job cleaning out deposits and it has no side effects on there engine..

Whatever EPA recommends , do the opposite. Buy name brand gasoline when you can.
From the individuals who set out to destroy Detroit in 3 years or less, may they all drive honda civics and Prius
It is about performance and power not scraping every last pathetic mile. Enjoy your gas powered combustion engine in spite of their ridiculous global warming nonsense.

[nicknaz]

Originally Posted by philbake

Even Costco and Valero are now Top Tier. Isn't hard to find at a reasonable price.

+1

I use the Costco 91 and don't give it much thought otherwise

[DETSGTSTARSKY]

Not sure where in central Florida you are. But for me in the Orlando area I like Shell V Power 93 octane. I also will use BP premium when traveling around. Top Tier fuel means they have more/better additive than some of the junk gas around. Shell has a fuel rewards network card that you swipe at the pump that saves at least .03 per gallon and more if you link it with a credit card. It was free to do and saves me money. BP has a similar program that also saves you money. The bigger thing for BMW's is the ethanol in the gas. Check out pure-gas.org for a list of ethanol free stations in Florida or any other state in the U.S. or Canada that you may drive to. Also check out gas buddy.com where users can self report on gas prices in a given area.

[Mike_L]

Shell has been really bad for a long time. They use way too much detergents. Try logging knock on it versus the BP. Historically the BP would have a lot less. I was planning on logging a few different brands on the current trip I'm on, but with my laptop acting up, I'm afraid to hook it back up to the car, and my iPhone scan program can't log KR on BMW.