[sorin1987]

I just bought a BMW 325i 2011. I was wondering what type of petrol are people using for the N52(B30) engine.
Is it worth using Premium fuels (Shell VPower, BP Ultimate) for this engine? Does it make a difference in performance, fuel economy, engine wear?

Thanks

[larrysing]

We JUST had a story in the USA about how AAA did a study saying that people in the USA waste 2.1 billion dollars putting in premium when not required.

Basically, the rule is this:

If your owner's manual says "Premium REQUIRED" then that generally means that your engine has been tuned to use (and benefit from, performance-wise) a premium fuel. Higher compression engines which were designed and tuned to use Premium WILL benefit, slightly, from using it.

One car testing company did some speed tests and the cars which were tuned with higher compression got a 4%-10% performance benefit from using premium fuel over regular unleaded.

That being said, I do have friends with high compression Lexus vehicles who DO NOT use premium, even though the engine is tuned for it, and they do not have any performance or knocking complaints.

So you can test it on your own car, if you have a good spot for running 0-60 times.

Best of luck !!

[sorin1987]

It's not just about performance. I am more interested in whether or not it reduces the engine wear. I read an article where they showed that shell vpower actually makes a difference.
They say it improves the economy as well.

[Wolf 335]

Originally Posted by sorin1987

It's not just about performance. I am more interested in whether or not it reduces the engine wear. I read an article where they showed that shell vpower actually makes a difference.
They say it improves the economy as well.

Was the article sponsored by Shell?

[Phil325i]

Comparisons with the USA aren't really appropriate as their fuel is different, and generally held to be inferior to European fuels. IMHO the main influence on engine wear is the quality of your lubrication and the frequency of oil and filter changes not the fuel you use.

But for what it's worth, I always use VPower Nitro or BP Ultimate.

[Chappers 71]

I only use shell V Power in my 335i, have been doing so for 4 years.
Fifth gear did a fuel test a while back with a golf gti using different fuels, the V Power came first giving a gain of just under 5bhp

[larrysing]

Originally Posted by Phil325i

Comparisons with the USA aren't really appropriate as their fuel is different, and generally held to be inferior to European fuels. IMHO the main influence on engine wear is the quality of your lubrication and the frequency of oil and filter changes not the fuel you use.
But for what it's worth, I always use VPower Nitro or BP Ultimate.

Well, yes, comparisons are valid, taking your comments into consideration.

The difference between our fuels is the same, octane-wise and additive-wise.

What I mean by that is the Euro fuel might be "cleaner" but the difference between Euro premium and Euro regular unleaded is the same in regard to USA premium and USA regular unleaded.

The only reason IMHO to NOT use Premium in a car that calls for it is to save money.

If you can AFFORD it, it is ALWAYS better for the engine and all around to use premium in engines that the manufacturer recommends premium.

If you absolutely don't want to spend the money, it's fine.

[Dann]

I only use V Power in my 335i.
I do Fuck all mileage (2.5/3k a year) so the extra cost doesn't bother me.
Does it make the car go better? Probably not.
Do I care? Nope

[SteveC]

Originally Posted by Phil325i

Comparisons with the USA aren't really appropriate as their fuel is different, and generally held to be inferior to European fuels. IMHO the main influence on engine wear is the quality of your lubrication and the frequency of oil and filter changes not the fuel you use.

But for what it's worth, I always use VPower Nitro or BP Ultimate.

Actually they both matter, oils and filter for lubricated parts like bearings, camshafts etc and fuel for items associated with fuel feed and combustion like fuel injectors, valves, pistons, cylinder heads etc.

Poorer quality fuels can cause ignition problems, which can have a devastating effect on engine life, create deposits on valves and piston crowns and can actually damage certain alloys in the engine over the long term (especially when water dissolves in the fuel)

Modern engine ECUs will usually adjust for different fuel types, dialling back the ignition for lower octane ratings.

You're correct about US fuels....generally octane ratings are overall lower in the US vs. Europe. Also fuels are sold based on a different rating AKI (Anti-Knock Index) rather than the UK RON (Research Octane Number). US high octane fuel (92 AKI, 97RON) is usually a blend with 10% ethanol.

[The_Bear_Yid]

I'm pretty sure it says in the manual to use Premium or it will run lower power on purpose.

My 325i never had anything else and I didn't have any issues with it in 5 years.

[HighlandPete]

Originally Posted by sorin1987

I just bought a BMW 325i 2011. I was wondering what type of petrol are people using for the N52(B30) engine.
Is it worth using Premium fuels (Shell VPower, BP Ultimate) for this engine? Does it make a difference in performance, fuel economy, engine wear?

Thanks

N52 is designed on 98 RON fuel, (but lower octane fuels can be used) so best performance (possible improvement in economy) will be on the premium fuels. Whether that is important in all driving conditions is another issue, for some users it is as much the additive package, for added cleaning, etc.

[HighlandPete]

Originally Posted by The_Bear_Yid

I'm pretty sure it says in the manual to use Premium or it will run lower power on purpose.

My 325i never had anything else and I didn't have any issues with it in 5 years.

Lower octane requires engine timing to be retarded to prevent knock. Hence the reason for developing less power. Knock sensors will adjust the timing to cope with lower RON rating. Higher octane rating allows optimum timing and higher cylinder pressures, resulting in more power.

[hazkirby]

Don't forget the additional cleaning agents which are present in vpower etc, these help retain the life of your injectors, especially in diesel models.

You can go real deep with this stuff. Eg vpower and Tesco momentum are both 99 ron, however vpower has a higher calaroric value and Tesco has a higher ethanol content, so they do perform differently. I know someone who had a tuned evo who used to fill up with Tesco because higher ethanol content suited the evos forced intake more than a higher calorific value.

With na cars it's therefore the opposite. Not that you would ever notice in the real world between the two, but if you are like me then I go with the science

[Rustymage]

I have only run on V Power in my E90 330. I dare say I'm not sure of the difference because I've only ever run with standard once. Before I got the care I don't know what it was fed on.

I'm going to continue with V Power until finances say otherwise, it's a car that is capable of adjusting it's timing to accommodate the higher octane fuel and therefore it will see some benefit. Cleaning agents, we will never know if they help unless we run a side by side test.

[Redguy]

Another 330 V-Power filler here.

I don't do mega-mileage either, so it's not an issue. Even with more miles, I'd stick with it.

Potential gains look good...and I get double points on my Shell loyalty card, LOL!

[mob17]

As above use v power only on my 335d. Not sure if it makes a difference but at least i'm putting good fuel in

[Tr1ppy]

@ OP: I would have thought that a 2011 car had the later direct injection N53 engine, not the port-injected N52? I may be wrong as I know that they still used the N52 in the Z4.

If its direct injection then I would recommend using VPower etc. in order to allay problems with HPFP, inectors etc.

Thats what I use in my 330i anyway and as someone said before, double points at Shell can help!

[Wavey 335i]

My 35i is mapped to use 99 RON so I only use Tesco Momentum 99. Occasionally V Power if I need to, I find BP Ultimate makes the drive abit rough.

[Etxp]

when I had my E46 325i, I always used to use V-power. That was when I lived in UK, now I live in Ireland and there is no premium fuel here that I know of . Shell sold all petrol stations to Topaz and they just have standard fuel.

[sorin1987]

Yes it has the N53. My bad. I will use premium fuel anyway but I was just wondering if using normal petrol has any impact. I guess I will not risk it.

Originally Posted by Tr1ppy

@ OP: I would have thought that a 2011 car had the later direct injection N53 engine, not the port-injected N52? I may be wrong as I know that they still used the N52 in the Z4.

If its direct injection then I would recommend using VPower etc. in order to allay problems with HPFP, inectors etc.

Thats what I use in my 330i anyway and as someone said before, double points at Shell can help!

[djgandy]

Originally Posted by sorin1987

Yes it has the N53. My bad. I will use premium fuel anyway but I was just wondering if using normal petrol has any impact. I guess I will not risk it.

Octane wise it will just mean your timings are less aggressive. You won't notice most of the time unless you are driving flat out.

The bigger issue at play is fuel quality. People generally believe that V power is a higher quality fuel than normal unleaded and normal shell is far higher quality than supermarket fuel.

Then there is also the energy value too. Cheaper fuels are watered down with ethanol which has half the energy content of gasoline.

[Dace64]

I use BP in my mapped 335D. I notice the difference, particularly in economy. I have compared the top three and in my opinion, BP is the best.