GT Premi

I've read here recently that some of you feel that octane boosters are merely snake oil. I'll agree to that concerning some brands. But that aside, with the gas "crisis/shortage" in my area, I'm forced to put 87 octane in my baby since that's all that's available for the time being and foreseeable future. I put some 104+ octane booster product (black bottle, almost ten bucks!) in my tank a week ago and it actually seemed to work. I don't believe it was the placebo affect because I've used those additives in previous cars and noticed no difference whatsoever.

Luckily, because of the shortage, I've only been letting my tank get to 1/2 between fillups, so there should be some booster still in the tank with this latest low-grade fillup. I also added some el-cheapo STP octane booster. I'm pretty sure that one is snake oil since it had "Made with jet fuel" proudly emblazened on the label. I didn't even notice it until I was throwing the bottle away. It was very disheartening considering that jet fuel is just A-1 KEROSENE! Then again, now that I think about it, kerosene has a higher flash-point than gasoline, so I guess it really does boost the octane since 93 octane is "less volatile" than 87 octane.

Anyway, I'm rambling but I hope you guys get what I'm saying. So what are your thoughts on octane boosters?

advancedlogic

Just be careful. We had this discussion some time ago - well, I actually raised a question regarding NOS octane booster - and had lots of good arguments against using it. But the real clincher for me was the wonderful brown crusts discovered on my spark plugs from the metals (MMT) in said booster. It might simply be safer to continue using 87 without the additives and allow the car to simply account for it through its engine management solutions (timing retardation, etc). At least until you can find a place selling good stuff again. Good luck!

luigi524td

First you should adjust the title of your post. IF you are buying low-grade gasoline - it doesn't matter what octane you're putting in the tank - you are still risking damage to the fuel system.

Now that that's said, IMHO running 87 octane for a short period of time will reduce performance slightly but if you're purchasing from a tier1 supply the additive package - even in lower octane gasoline supplies - should provide adequate protection to the fuel system components and the engine. The electronics will dumb-down your engine to compensate for the lower octane.

I still feel that "octane boosting" additives are snake oil.

Iceman

There's no need for octane boosters.
The enigine can handle the lower grade.

GT Premi

I know that, but I don't want the loss of power or fuel economy that goes along with using lower than recommended octane.

And why was this moved from the E60 Discussion to Parts, Accessories and Mods?? It doesn't fall into any of those categories, and I'd like for it to be discussed...

Iceman

It falls into this category and can be discussed here.

GT Premi

So much for a discussion here...

Iceman

You can't force people to discuss.

Fafafoooey

I would say drive a little less or don't be so hard on the pedal. The difference you would pay at the pump over the year vs. premium octane gas is not much compared to the potential price you would pay for needing maintenance sooner or detonation causing problems in your engine. Granted the engine management system might "downtune" the engine a little to compensate, your engine would still experience detonation a few times before that would happen.

Also, you have an 08 550i. If you can afford the car, but the $0.10-$0.20 difference in regular vs premium gas is causing you monetary issues, you need to get a cheaper car.

akirax

Yes, having the same issue here in Atlanta. Can't find Premium anywhere. Yes I know my car will run off of regular unleaded but care not to risk damaging anything. The way I see it, if the owners manual says premium then thats what i'll use.

I care not to imagine being told by BMW that the fuel system was damaged by putting regular gas in it and that that's not covered under warranty.

A relative use to put 87 octance fuel in a Mercedes that also only used 93 octane and they had to replace the fuel system after sometime.
I think 87 was used for over a year.

Luckily I have a spare car and can wait it out.

I just called a local BMW dealership about the gas issue, They said everyone is in the same boat and regular gas is ok to do a couple times but not more than that.
Says they have been bombarded with calls about this.

What I heard:"Using regular is ok for a tank or two but any damage caused from doing it more than a few times isnt covered under warranty"