What type of gas does it take?

top grad fuel (93)

I have an 1998 audi a4 with the exact same engine do not run 93 that is too rich the highest u can run is 91 I run 89 in mine dont get cheap when it comes to gas for these cars

true dat rick d... u explained it..i say about perfect

Premium 92 or 93, it will run better and the valves will not stick or tap. The car will run properly.

i got a 2004 330ci smg. Put 91 in it at all times, once in awhile if you go to a 76 gas station they have 100 octane race fuel and fill up on it and you'll feel the difference and in the process clean out the crap thats left in your tank. Its around 5 or 6 dollars a gallon. It costs me about 85 dollars to fill up my tank.

You can use 93 if you want its not too rich, just too expensive haha. go for 91 or 89 for best performance/price mix

Rick D, how do you have an Audi with the same engine as a BMW... They both might be 2.8L 6 cylinders, but that's where the similarities end. For one the BMW is an inline engine and the Audi is a "V" engine, not to mention they are made by different manufacturers. But on to the question, I have the same car, just a 96, and I use 89 in it, which according to my fuel cap is the minimum. You can use 93 in it if you want, but its not really worth it... Nothing bad will happen if you do.

premium unleded only or hights octain available

premium..its a high compression motor

My '97 528i says 89 is the recommended octane. I use it regularly and never had any issues. 169,000 miles and still runs like a champ! On a fill up you are only spending about $2.50 more than you would using 87, so why not use what is recommended.

I have a Mercedes-Benz E320. BMW,VOLVO, and Mercedes recommend premium gas to avoid the cost the service. The car will running much better with premium and save more gas! NEVER USE d GAS on those cars!

switch off between mid and high, try maybe two tanks with midgrade and a third with highgrade it will run fine but never ever put arco in any engine

Only premium.

I am an ASE certified auto tech so i'll break it down for you, i'm rocking a 00 323ci right now with the 2.5 inline 6. But i've owened an E36 328 and a 96 740il as well as a 99 540i. You NEVER want to put UNDER what is recomended. In fact, if you get in the higher line cars they will actually either warn you that it is not the correct thing to do (by turning on the check engine light like my 7 series did) or it will just have poor detonation (which will cause the motor to shake a little bit, not to mention degrade your spark plugs quicker) Some people wont notice the motor shaking a little bit, but it will also hurt your performance greatly. Wheather you notice it or not putting under the recomended octane can take away as much as around 23 hP (in higher HP cars) not to mention just cost you alot more money down the road in nickle and dime repairs. And if you're driving a BMW or Audi or almost any other german/italian/British car you probably know that they can "nickle and dime" you to death. So if I were YOU, I would NEVER put lower octane than what is recomended, and When I can I put Higher octane alonge with some fuel system treatment in it to keep your engine not only running smooth and clean, but keep it running for a long time.

Agreed with Dan... Follow what the manufacturer says... Simplest explanation... Note: if the octane rating in your owners manual says 93 RON, it's the same as 89 Octane (R+M)/2 (US Standard). I'd assume that a late 90's import would show the ratings in (R+M)/2, but I'll be honest I haven't looked at a new manual for this, so I can't say either way. Hence why I let you know about this nearly useless piece of trivia, just in case it applies.

Go with the recommended octane. Using higher octane fuel is a waste of money; it does nothing for you. Using a lower octane fuel will cause the ECM to retard timing to compensate, resulting in a loss of HP and fuel economy. (This response is based on the assumption that you are operating at or near sea level.)

Have one- recommended that you run 89, but 87 will work fine and not knock so save yourself and use 89 with maybe a little 87 every once in a while.

It will run on 89 but for high performance use 93 octane. If you are in stop and go traffic commuting to work every day and not on the freeway working the engine why waste the money.

you have a audi with a BMW engine? id like to see that! pictures?

at the very least you run plus. run super as much as possible as that is what BMW recommends and has tuned the engine to run on. running regular unleaded causes performance lost and pinging (which is bad).

High grade 93 octane if you want your engine to hold up in the long run. In EXTREME circumstances you can use premium grade, but don't make it a habit. NEVER run anything below premium, though. You're asking for a very angry car. I have a German 328iC and it would be unthinkable to put regular in it. Stick with 93 if you can afford it. Your BMW will thank you - I promise.

Premium all the time - 93 octane

where do you get 93 octane fuel.......91 is the highest I can get? is 91 o.k. for a 2.8

Best advice, use what the manufacturer recommends or requires. They built the engine and have tested those engines with required and recommended fuels.The difference between premium and regular petrol lies in the blend of hydrocarbons used to make the fuel, and the package of additives mixed into it. The difference between premium and regular petrol lies in the blend of hydrocarbons used to make the fuel, and the package of additives mixed into it.

Watch the / special on the difference between hi grade gas and 87 grade. It all malarky! There is NO difference except you pay more.

Those of you who say that you can run lower octane without knock - you probably can. What is happening is that the knock sensor is feeding info into the ECU and the ECU is changing the timing to avoid the knock. The net result is lower performance, more combustion byproducts, shorter life on you catalytic converter and O2 sensors, and over the long run - higher maintenance costs. If you can't afford the gas and the maintenance on a fine auto, don't buy one.

Lots of good input here from mechanics and gearheads. I agree that you should use the minimum recommended octane value. But don't agree that more is better! If your high compression (insert performance car name) engine needs 89, to avoid early combustion in the high compression chamber, then that will do it. Putting 91 or 93 doesn't make it MORE better. (I know, bad grammar.) To the converse point, if your regular Ford Focus takes 87, then putting 91 in will NOT make it go faster. The only time it may help is if you have knocking due to pre-ignition. And then there are a host of other issues you should look into before just putting expensive gas in. Bottom line- the engineers design each engine for a purpose and all the fluids are specified for that engine and purpose. Follow the recommendations, and your engine should run fine past 200k miles. Happy motoring!

Team, Very good discussion, but i have other question.. I have BMW 750il twin turbo 2011 I have missed the power last month and I made ECM check and found coil and injector not working in piston # 6 Un frontally we have change them but after ECM check found cylinder 5,6,7, not working and sometime 5,6 and keep continue not all the time all not working..

I have a 2003 BMW 325i and the owners manual requires 91. Unfortunately the area I live in, in Virginia only has 87, 89, 93. I use 93 and have never had a problem. The engine is smooth and very powerful. Daniel Archer your review made a lot of since Bro!

I used regular gas in error and tje service engine light came on. If i use the right gas will it correct itself. Or how do i correct it?