What petrol to use

[skubez 0]

Well I have been running the BMW on 96 or 98 (whatever is available where I am) and it has started to blow smoke. I switched to 91 the other day and the car seems to run smoother, and from my patented "seat'o'my pants meter" it seems to have the same amount of power if not more.

I will need to get the timing looked at for sure, it is still running rough when cold.

Can anyone suggest some good places to get BMW's looked at in Auckland that aren't the official BMW people - I can only imagine they will be hellishly expensive.

[Dnz 0]

Which suburb ya live in?

COz everyone is gonna send you to the shore (coz bimmersport has a bigger following there..)

[Gus 5]

shore rocks! Ernst at bavarian motors 4445312 is my mechanic, prices are good (labour same as my mums holden mechanic) and does good work, dunno bout their receptionist though......

[Viking 0]

aren't the official BMW people - I can only imagine they will be hellishly expensive.

Depends on your definition of hellishly expensive

I take mine to BMW Christchurch, and they charge less an hour for certian age cars (E46 being more than E36's) and then a discount ontop of that for BMWCC members. works out being bout $55/hr which I find very reasonable because, well, they are bloody good

Not to mention they always clean my car and blacken the wheels and everything for me so it always comes out looking fantastic.

I love my car

[Dnz 0]

He just gets it fixed so he doesnt have to clean it!

[Napier_E36 0]

works out being bout $55/hr

granted it aint Jeff Gray European (BMW dealers here in HB) but my mechanics a dab hand wif his bimmers - he only $40 an hour... and hes bloody good - does me good deals on parts too!

[a13antichrist 0]

I've once managed to get 600km on one tank.

Though, there's no point trying to read numbers from the fuel gauge. The infallibly accurate way is to note your odometer reading when you fill up, & then note it again next time you fill up & note how many LITRES it takes to fill up - that'll tell you exactly how many Ks you've done & exactly how many Ls it took to do them.

Over easter I averaged around 10.5K/L, though that was highway driving. round town I seem to get about 540km per 60L so about 9km/L. This is an M52 engine & have only ever used 96.

[skubez 0]

My 318i has a 55L tank, so the gauge states anyway. Since running on 91 it does seem a lot smoother so I will continue running this until something changes.

I live in Mt Eden, but the shore isn't that far away and I should be able to get over there during the day. I will try Bavarian motors and see if they can fix up the timing etc.

Also, when I am cruising around town, I notive the petrol monitor gauge say I use around 7-8L per 100km on average. Open road driving at 100km/h it goes up to around 10L per 100km, and if I back off to around 90km/h it will then go down to around 6L per 100km. I don't know how accurate the gauge is however, it does jump around a bit.

[RichardM 0]

Well I used to travel between Tauranga and Hamilton a lot. I thought I'd try 91 and 98 (BP) and see what works better and lasts longer. *Note: Both (91 and 98) was from BP). Straight away I noted that 91 wasn't giving me the power I needed, but with 98 it could give me extra power, also when I stop driving, I noticed that I had a lot less petrol with the 91. So your not saving any money, the only thing your saving is the power from your car. Get 98 (Gull has the best fuel).

[bravo 35]

Hi, do you realise this discussion is from 2004?

[RichardM 0]

Hi, do you realise this discussion is from 2004?

LOL..... ehhh now I do.

[no_fat_chicks 1]

2004, when the petrol was $1.20, if I remember correctly.

[Mark 178]

Holy thread-dig Batman!

[Apex 693]

Hahah I started reading and thought great, we have tones of new members, then realised its 4 years old!!!

I wonder if there would be a considerable difference between 95 and 98?

[briancol 3]

Hahah I started reading and thought great, we have tones of new members, then realised its 4 years old!!!

I wonder if there would be a considerable difference between 95 and 98?

I always used 98 in my E36, however since the price rises and the fact that I had to travel 5-6 kms out of my way to get 98, I've reverted to 95 and quite honestly I can't tell the difference. Mind you, I don't know how 95 octane has affected my fuel economy.

[OLLIE 26]

Get 98 (Gull has the best fuel).

Doesn't Gull have that biofuel crap!? and it's 96/97 octane?

BP 98 is the best fuel IMO

[no_fat_chicks 1]

I wanted to fill up the other day when I was returning from the movies in botany. I went into Gull and filled up on $50 98 (biofuel). It contains 10% ethanol. Since then, my car has been playing up big time during idling. I tried putting mobil 95 in but it made no difference. I am taking the car to botanymotorworx friday morning to get it checked out.

It might or not be the petrol that started the problem. Still, I wouldn't try that stuff again.

[JiB 2]

According to Gull, only post 2000 BMWs can take the ethanol mix.

Gull's compatibility chart