Which petrol in your M

[Wills2]

Anything that is 98 or above will give full power in the M5 (that's from BMW not my opinion) anything else is pure conjecture and feelings from owners. (I have loads of my own but these threads tend to get cluttered with it)

[The Livster]

Thanks for the input guys , I know this subject crops up all the time and I have read loads of articles and reports. I am just asking what you M drivers use . People often feel their car runs better / smoother etc on a certain fuel . I will be using V as there is a shell station a couple of miles away on the route to my daughters, as pointed out , the cost is negligable .

[Wills2]

The issue for me is every M I've owned could feel different on different days with different fuel or the same fuel (especially my e92 M3's), so many variables including the wacky human "feeling" these differences it's impossible to nail anything down.

So for me it's best just to follow guidance from BMW.

[MarkwG]

Lefty said:

There's a thread about this on m3cutters just now and somebody has claimed he always uses 95 and doesn't notice a difference.

Thing is, he won't, it'll adapt to suit the lower octane rating, but he won't be getting the best from it. Ignorance is bliss, I guess...

[nick1275]

I just stick whatever high octane fuel is convenient in my e39, in my case mostly sainsburys. Don't notice a difference between any other fuel brands. My e36 328 always seemed a fraction smoother and more responsive, with v power than any other 97 or higher

[e21Mark]

Out of interest, what is the highest RON available in the UK?


I run Alpha N on my E30 M3 and it's really sensitive to altitude and weather conditions. To the extent that I have a different map for the Nurburgring. It also seems more sensitive to fuel types, hence my question above.

[Wills2]

From a petrol station, 99ron IIRC (Shell/Tesco) BP used to do 102ron for silly money but they don't do it now (I think)

[bitchstewie]

I thought BP/Tesco were a little higher than V-Power purely on RON numbers?

[Lefty]

BP is 97
Shell is 99
Tesco is 99

[Wills2]

bhstewie said:

I thought BP/Tesco were a little higher than V-Power purely on RON numbers?

As has been said "standard" super from BP is only 97. they trialled the 102ron race juice at a few stations but wanted daft amounts for it.

[r4_rick]

cant tell the difference in the way my e 90 runs between cheap fuel and the premium stuff, it comes down to how flush i'm feeling when at the punps

[JMBMWM5]

I use ESSO 97: Sainsburys 97 or TESCO 99, all seem the same to me, my cars never seem to like Shell V Power.

[bosshog]

I use 95 and 97 (Esso) as thats all I have in my neck of the woods. I don't notice any difference what so ever between the two. Isn't the highest RON in the USA 95 and the car made for that market. I read the engine management just adjusts for whatever RON you have (at least on the E46 M3), I suppose you should in theory get more performance on higher RON but I cannot notice it.

[velocgee]

ratty6464 said:

BP ultimate is the fuel my e92 runs best on..

+ 1

[Rick448]

I've been using standard unleaded in my F80 M3 but as I'm getting a remap installed this week I'll be going for super unleaded as the map is tweaked for that. The standard car runs at a minimum of 95 Ron with 98 recommended. I've not noticed any lack of power. There is a lot of BS talked about petrol although if a car is mapped for higher Ron fuel then it's worth paying for it.

[RichardM5]

bosshog said:

I use 95 and 97 (Esso) as thats all I have in my neck of the woods. I don't notice any difference what so ever between the two. Isn't the highest RON in the USA 95 and the car made for that market. I read the engine management just adjusts for whatever RON you have (at least on the E46 M3), I suppose you should in theory get more performance on higher RON but I cannot notice it.

The USA use AKI and not RON. Their 'premium' grade of between 90-94 AKI is 95-99 RON.