Be careful.... Higher octane fuels are more resistant to ping.... You can google what happens to a turbo motor's pistons when the car experiences Knock/Ping...... see example below:
When you floor your car, it increases boost temperatures and advances timing, which leads to higher cylinder pressures (this is how a car makes power). Unfortunately this also leads to Pre-Ignition conditions if fuel or spark plugs are of inferior quality or damaged etc, this is commonly known as engine knock or pinging.
I'm not saying 93 will kill your motor, I'm saying in my opinion, it's not worth the risk. What does your owners manual say? Probably 98 Ron or 95 Ron minimum if I'm not mistaken? If something happens to your motor and BMW tests the fuel (it happened to an M Owner who's damaged motor was for sale here), your motor plan will be cancelled and you will be liable for the repair bill.
In my opinion, not worth the saving of 24C per litre....
individj said:
car will pull timing a bit I'm sure but you probably won't notice
Agreed, the ECM will pull timing once it detects Knock, the problem is, only once it detects the knock. So the knock prevention system will do it's job, but knock will take place each time before it kicks in. Also I'm not sure if it records these events? I would think it will, might be reason for BMW to investigate the cause, once again possibly losing the motorplan due to incorrect fuel?
Once again, merely my opinion.
BMW F30 Owners manual says and I quote:
"
The minimum AKI Rating is 89.
"
"
Minimum fuel grade
Do not use any gasoline below the mini‐
mum specified fuel grade; otherwise, engine
damage may occur.◀
"
AKI 90 is 95 RON (that's what our 95 is) by the way, so your minimum RON that you're "allowed to use" is 94 which we don't get. So the answer is 95 for the win.
I hope this helps with your decision.
