With Gas prices so high, has anyone used any other grade but Premium in an X3??

[Larock22]

Hi,
I'm just wondering if anyone has tried 89 or even 87 octane in their X3?

Would this cause a major problem?

The difference between regular and premium by me could be as high as .30 cent a gallon.

It's a lease so if it won't cause permanent damage I might switch (if I lose a slight bit of performance olny or something like that)

Please let me know if you've tried this.

Thanks.

[motordavid]

Do "Search"...a dozen threads with
all possible opins to be found.

I run 89 half the time on long road trips...
91/93 when I'm in mood.

You won't damage anything with 89, imo.
Some of the gang here love 93 "because";
pick your poison. Welcome to the Board.
GL,md

[Wagner]

Originally Posted by motordavid

Do "Search"...a dozen threads with
all possible opins to be found.

I run 89 half the time on long road trips...
91/93 when I'm in mood.

You won't damage anything with 89, imo.
Some of the gang here love 93 "because";
pick your poison. Welcome to the Board.
GL,md

This topic has been beaten do death.....and you will find a ton of info on it.

[Rick in Prescott]

Here, 91 costs a whopping 10 cents a gallon more than 89 and 20 cents more than 87. If you drive 15,000 miles a year get about 22 mpg, you'll save 68 bucks a year in gas. Costco has 91 for 3.17 a gallon here in Prescott. If you can afford a new BMW you can afford the extra 68.00 a year for gas. If you buy 2, 3 dollar cups of coffee a week at Starbucks you'll spend 156.00 a year on coffee. Buy one a week and you're even, so you can buy Premium Gas.
What will you notice on lower grade gas? According to the manual, reduced performance and reduced gas milage. How much it doesn't say. Could you notice it, maybe. I'd be ok using 89 on the open road but as I said the 68.00 a year extra in gas just doesn't make a hill of beans at the end of the year.

[JCL]

Agree with the suggestion to search. Lots of posts.

Short answer: No you won't hurt anything.

With 87, you will likely notice a performance decrease. With 89 you may or may not notice a performance decrease. You are unlikely to notice any mileage difference (my best mileage is always on 89). Actual octane ratings vary greatly with location within North America, so try 89 and see if you can notice a difference. Entirely your call.

I agree also with the suggestion that whatever you do, it doesn't make much difference to annual fuel bills. I turned 48,000 km on the X5 in 3 years. Assume 12 litres/100 km (blend of city and highway). Premium here is $0.12 per litre higher than 87, more than the difference posted above, considering US gallons and current exchange rates. 89 is half way between in cost, $0.06 per litre spread. For me, that means $230 per year, per vehicle on 87 (but the other vehicles have lower annual mileage). I don't like 87, I can feel a difference, but 89 works great for me. So, I split the difference and use 89 most of the time. Like MD, it depends on my mood sometimes. Again, and this is the most important point, your experience will depend on your local fuel quality. Just don't expect to save much money. Ain't gonna happen.

Jeff

[MADT]

The cost difference would be minimal. If you can afford an X3, but not the best fuel to put in it....well that raises some questions!!

The lower the octane the greater risk of detonation so there fore the cars ECU will retard the timing and the effect will be less performance!

[Larock22]

Thanks for the responses. Sorry to bring up a clearly "Beaten down" topic.