Fuel query

[Hellrot]

Hi all

I was talking to atleast three "so called" BMW mechanics although they are jacks of all trades and the general consensus amongst them is that unleaded 95 is not recommended for E36 models, esp the older ones.

They state that only unleaded 93 should be used.

This doesnt make sense to me....any thoughts on this?

 

[Nikhil]

Mine is a 1995 325i 380 000km ran on 95 only. I filled 93 once and it made the car heavier on fuel and sluggish. I have read on a few US forums that the stock Ecu is capable of handling 102 octane fuel with no issues, I have also used a bottle of Nf to half a tank of fuel once or twice and it worked wonders in terms of power, but you will probably get like a 100km of 30liters :flyfun:

 

[Hellrot]

Mine is a 1995 325i 380 000km ran on 95 only. I filled 93 once and it made the car heavier on fuel and sluggish. I have read on a few US forums that the stock Ecu is capable of handling 102 octane fuel with no issues, I have also used a bottle of Nf to half a tank of fuel once or twice and it worked wonders in terms of power, but you will probably get like a 100km of 30liters :flyfun:

Doesnt make sense that an M52 engine doesnt like 95. 95 has been around for yonks

 

[Nikhil]

Mine is a 1995 325i 380 000km ran on 95 only. I filled 93 once and it made the car heavier on fuel and sluggish. I have read on a few US forums that the stock Ecu is capable of handling 102 octane fuel with no issues, I have also used a bottle of Nf to half a tank of fuel once or twice and it worked wonders in terms of power, but you will probably get like a 100km of 30liters :flyfun:

Doesnt make sense that an M52 engine doesnt like 95. 95 has been around for yonks

I dont see the issue with using the highest octane available at the pump. :flyfun:

 

[akash]

Back when the E36 was around 97 octane was used at Durban pumps.

 

[S1NGH 911]

97 Octane was the bomb back then


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[akash]

97 Octane was the bomb back then


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Yepp and you could 102.5 octane from the same garage store.

 

[Doomsdaya]

Mine is a 1995 325i 380 000km ran on 95 only. I filled 93 once and it made the car heavier on fuel and sluggish.

Same here, I only fill 95 and ive noticed with Engen 95 I get decent mileage but with Shell 95 the throttle response is much quicker :woot:

93 in my car is like uke:

 

[Gizmo]

Tell those 3 'mechanics' to stop smoking their socks, haven't heard such BS in my life!
All cars will benefit from using 95 over 93. Even on old E36's the motor has knock sensors and the ECU will advance timing when higher octane fuel is run. If lower octane fuel is used the knock sensors pull back timing...The advance in timing gives you better power/torque, better fuel economy and better throttle response.

My white e36 has 11.6:1 compression so 95 is the lowest I can go. On 93 it bucks and has no power as the knock sensors pull the timing way back!

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I never use 93 on any of my cars, its crap.

 

[BuFFy_ZA]

Those guys don't know what they talking about. Car manufacturers have always stated that you must use the highest octane available.

My friend has '87 Mazda 323 egi, inside the door sticker it says do not use lower octane than 95 and always use the highest available octane - this is an '87 car, I think your e36 will be fine.

 

[Hellrot]

yeah it didnt make sense to me aswell.