[ice_nyne]

With our bimmer's inclination towards heavy carbon build up in the valves, I'm wondering if some brands of gasoline go better than others in our vehicles. I am a creature of habit and have been using Exxon/Mobil 91 octane religiously for the past 10+ years for no other reasons than a) having the gas card and b) believing their press about the formula of gas being superior (that in itself I am sure is marketing and not based on any scientific proof).

What are you using and what have you heard about the brands out there? I have heard ARCO/BP gas is low end - again, word of mouth and not based on any studies. But interested in knowing if I should consider another brand of gas when I need to stop at the pump.

I should mention that I already supplement the regimen about every 3 months with Chevron techron additive to clean the valves.

[Dustz]

I used to use mobil religously on my previous cars, now I have switched over to shell since I have seen multiple Lamborghinis there xD

[BMWfromSD]

I use Chevron but thats just personal prefrence

[SSW]

Lots of threads on this. As they say, all you got to do is

A quick view of these threads will tell you that there are people who swear that Chevron or Shell makes their cars run better and that there's nothing better. I have no clue which is better and I really don't care.

My 335i runs fine at all speeds using any kind of 91 octane gas. I most often fill up at my local Valero but will just as soon go to a Quickstop or Valero as I will to a Shell or Chevron station. It all depends where I am and whether I need to fill up or not and I don't notice any difference in "performance" from one tank to another.

BTW, I normally drive my 335i (which currently has 87k miles on it) at 80+ on the freeway and, when I can, I'll punch it up to 120 without any indication of a misfire or hesitation.

If I start having "problems," my guess is that it will have something to do with the engine and not the gas and I'll just have to figure out what's "wrong" and fix it to get it running smooth again.

[ice_nyne]

Yeah, used the search and found a few threads filled with "I use whatever is closest to me." Was hoping for something more.

[SSW]

Originally Posted by ice_nyne

Yeah, used the search and found a few threads filled with "I use whatever is closest to me." Was hoping for something more.

I didn't mean to be flip but you really won't get a definitive answer about this from anyone here or anywhere else for that matter. Everything I've read comes down to personal opinion, including so-called "scientific" tests of the results of the use of different types of gasoline.

FWIW, the supposed "standard" for the best engine performance is "Top Tier Detergent Gasoline." Here's a link to the list of gasoline retailers who provide such gas:

http://www.toptiergas.com/retailers.html

The list basically includes all the major gasoline retailers. However, it is NOT universally agreed that Top Tier gas is "better." Valero (which is a major oil refiner and gas producer) does not produce Top Tier gas, but that's for a "reason" as explained by the company's response to the following question:

Does Valero Premium Unleaded contain more detergents than the regular grade? Does the detergent quantity just "meet" EPA requirements, or exceed them? Thanks

"Thanks for being our customer. Great question! Premium contains the same amount as regular and midgrade. We target 110% of the EPA requirement, but do not make claims that it is better. Nearly all of the fuel we sell is 10% Ethanol, which boosts the octane even though we try to compensate for it.

We are cautious about spiking fuel to top tier, which is usually 2 X the EPA requirements. The reason being there is little research data supporting "no harms" on engines with over additized ethanol blended fuel at this time. We cannot justify the cost of top tier status, since only a small percentage of customers will actually benefit. Top tier of any over additized fuel only really benefits high performance engines."

See: http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums...Number=2192391

As I've already said, I've had no problem whatsoever using Valero gas in my 335i or any other vehicle for that matter. So, no one really seems to know which gas is better. If you're worried, just buy gas from one of the gas retailers on the Top Tier list BUT it probably won't matter because . . .

Do you think that all of the guys here who are walnut shell blasting (cleaning) their intake valves are using sh*tty gas? I don't think so. They are probably mostly using Top Tier gas and they still have dirty intakes. So, again, I don't think that it really matters.

[ice_nyne]

This is helpful. Thanks.