RON 97 or RON 95? What brand?

[silvy]

Hey guys, this is my first time owning a BMW. Would like to ask all BMW owners, is it advisable to use RON 97 over RON 95, considering the price gap of RM1 per litre.The cons of 97 is of course its expensive price.What about the pros? Is it worth?What brand is best ?Btw, my car is 328i. Thanks for all the feedback. If this thread is repetitive and answered elsewhere, i do apologize and moderator please delete this post.

 

[eau-rouge]

I believe it had been discussed several times already

 

[MarcoMeswara]

Hey guys, this is my first time owning a BMW. Would like to ask all BMW owners, is it advisable to use RON 97 over RON 95, considering the price gap of RM1 per litre.

The cons of 97 is of course its expensive price.What about the pros? Is it worth?

What brand is best ?

Btw, my car is 328i.

There is one thread here but not with comprehensive comparison ...
http://www.bmwclubmalaysia.com/foru...Primax3-vs-Shell-Green&highlight=petrol+brand

The best i like if from user "alantiong"
at http://www.bmwclubmalaysia.com/foru...ron-95-or-ron-97/page2&highlight=petrol+brand

which i quote below

Its funny to see this discussion here. A good argument and make us think a bit. To be honest, all of them are the same within 1.2% tolerance in terms of content. (between the brands). The integrity of the fuel depends on the logistic and storage of the fuel. The fuel will deteriorate and contaminated in storages and transfers. I know this as I am supplying the systems to them.

All our UDMs run perfectly on 95. Anything more is waste of $$. Unless you tune your car up to limit on the advance of your ignition, you will not experience much benefit by going 97. Infact if we have 92, i will run 92.

For that 25% more in fuel price to compare with, it is a no brainer. By the way, non of BMW engines will be harm by not using 97. Absolutely no harm at all.

I am saying all these for the benefit of all and not just picking something down from the air. I am trained and educated in this topic so i do know a few things when it comes to Petroleum Products, physical and chemical properties of it.

I hope this can let more people understand the myth about 95 and 97 and even Vpower.

Would be more than to answer any doubts on this matter.

We are paying lots of taxes for income and cars.. so why pay more? 25% for questionable improvement?

Cheers
Alan

And bro, my own experience on my f30 328i, i have hit 244kmh on RON 95 ( petronas / shell ). I am planning to hit 250kmh when i have more time ( waiting for a freeer Sunday ).

Note : I am not saying petronas or shell is better. For a performance kick , put yr money on a tuning box.

 

[mizhan]

Shell V-Power Racing.

 

[glock_8]

picked from Fifht Gear episode a few years ago of the UK car programme

Anyway, they tested "normal" supermarket 95 fuel, BP ultimate and Shell optimax.

Three new cars (2004) were used - Clio, GTI golf and Subaru WRX.

Results:

Clio

Supermarket - 81 BHP
BP - 81 BHP
Shell - 81 BHP

GTI

Supermarket - 172 BHP
BP - 174 BHP
Shell - 177 BHP

WRX

Supermarket - 235 BHP
BP - 248 BHP
Shell - 249 BHP

Also tested torque:

Supermarket - 232 pounds
BP - 248 pounds
Shell - 258 pounds

It seems that Shell is the clear winner, but only in performance vehicles.

And since our n20 turbo rated power is based on ron 98, i can see an advantage of using a vpower racing or atleast any other ron 97 for that matter.

 

[tIANcI]

High RON only sees a substantial increase in HP when the engine is a high performance one. If normal saloon ... not much most of the times. A mere few HP la ...

 

[Donovan]

MarcoMeswara:"And bro, my own experience on my f30 328i, i have hit 244kmh on RON 95 ( petronas / shell ). I am planning to hit 250kmh when i have more time ( waiting for a freeer Sunday )."

Bro, where did you hit 244, i also want to feel the rush !!!:top:

 

[glock_8]

i'd be happy to have 5hp more than the rest just by using vpower racing (based on golf gti performance figure as a reference to n20 328i)

High RON only sees a substantial increase in HP when the engine is a high performance one. If normal saloon ... not much most of the times. A mere few HP la ...

 

[MarcoMeswara]

MarcoMeswara:"And bro, my own experience on my f30 328i, i have hit 244kmh on RON 95 ( petronas / shell ). I am planning to hit 250kmh when i have more time ( waiting for a freeer Sunday )."

Bro, where did you hit 244, i also want to feel the rush !!!:top:

Latest MEX - few days ago , KL-Sban. Previously LEKAS. Wait - i need to get someone to sit beside me and verify the speedometer. I get too excited stealing glances at the speedometer....Need to aim for Sundays. Less traffic.

I hope to hit 250 kmh sustained on ron 95 soon. Gimme some time buddy .... its a tough job but somebody's gotta to do it... :wink:

 

[eter]

It's a bit misleading the figures.

GTI in overseas are tuned for premium petrol 98. It's written in the brochures if you use 95 or 91 the performance will drop. Hence the figures above.

F30 328i in Malaysia is tuned for Ron of 95 or lower and the overseas model is tested with ron 98/100. Hence you can see the 0-100kmh of 6.1secs vs overseas of 5.9secs. Since it's been tuned for lower Ron, the question is if it will still benefit from from Ron 98 or above petrol.

 

[eter]

Sorry the figures above aren't misleading. The perception from reading the figure is misleading.

 

[glock_8]

the figure is irrelevent, simce vpower in uk is ron98 whereas here in msia is ron 97...
my point is for high performance engine it is always good to have a higher ron... btw our car rated power is based on ron 98 not ron 95... so even if we r using shell vpower racing here we might not be getting the power as advertised.. let alone using ron 95.


btw a e90 325i can reach 245-250km/h... i know bcos i hv driven my e90 at that speed many times... i'd be surprised if f30 328i find it hard to reach that speed on wateva ron being used

It's a bit misleading the figures.

GTI in overseas are tuned for premium petrol 98. It's written in the brochures if you use 95 or 91 the performance will drop. Hence the figures above.

F30 328i in Malaysia is tuned for Ron of 95 or lower and the overseas model is tested with ron 98/100. Hence you can see the 0-100kmh of 6.1secs vs overseas of 5.9secs. Since it's been tuned for lower Ron, the question is if it will still benefit from from Ron 98 or above petrol.

 

[splee]

I have used 95, 97 and Vpower Racing on my Golf GTI and I can confirm that there is definitely a difference between them. If the older TFSI engine in GTI created in 2004 can extract extra HP from premium grade fuel, I am very sure the newer N20 can extract the same if not more from the same premium petrol. Besides higher octane that prevents premature combustion before achieving the optimum compression in high performance turbo engines, premium grade petrol also contain better grade additives that reduce friction and cleanse your engine. In addition, premium grade gasoline is more combustible compare to lower grade fuel and this gives you a better response. All these adds up to give you a better driving performance. You pay for what you get.

 

[Morganl]

It's a bit misleading the figures.

GTI in overseas are tuned for premium petrol 98. It's written in the brochures if you use 95 or 91 the performance will drop. Hence the figures above.

F30 328i in Malaysia is tuned for Ron of 95 or lower and the overseas model is tested with ron 98/100. Hence you can see the 0-100kmh of 6.1secs vs overseas of 5.9secs. Since it's been tuned for lower Ron, the question is if it will still benefit from from Ron 98 or above petrol.

5.9 is on Manual, 6.1 is on Auto transmision... not related to fuel....

 

[Morganl]

Latest MEX - few days ago , KL-Sban. Previously LEKAS. Wait - i need to get someone to sit beside me and verify the speedometer. I get too excited stealing glances at the speedometer....Need to aim for Sundays. Less traffic.

I hope to hit 250 kmh sustained on ron 95 soon. Gimme some time buddy .... its a tough job but somebody's gotta to do it... :wink:

broke 240 kmh easily on LEKAS.... had to back off at around 244 and didn't manage to hit 250 as I got distracted... RON 95 with 1 passenger on board.

 

[MRsamdol]

Well... i feel the difference between ron95 and ron97 and vpower racing.

 

[silvy]

Thanks for all the replies. Actually, I am more concerned in how RON 95 affects the reliability of the car engine rather than how it affects its output performance. I know F30 can use RON95. But i have also heard that RON 95 in Msia is actually like RON 93? If that is true will the low octane level affect the engine in a long run?

Quote from wikipedia:-

The higher the octane number, the more compression the fuel can withstand before detonating
......
Self-ignition leads to inefficiencies (or even engine damage) if it occurs during compression prior to the desired position of the piston in the cylinder as appropriate for valve and ignition timing. The problem of premature ignition is referred to as pre-ignition and also as engine knock, which is a sound that is made when the fuel ignites too early in the compression stroke.

Severe knock causes severe engine damage, such as broken connecting rods, melted pistons, melted or broken valves and other components. The octane rating is a measure of how likely a gasoline or liquid petroleum fuel is to self ignite. The higher the number, the less likely an engine is to pre-ignite and suffer damage.

........

During the compression stroke of an internal combustion engine, as the air / fuels mix is compressed its temperature rises.

......

If during the compression stroke the air / fuel mix reaches a temperature greater than the auto-ignition temperature of the fuel, the fuel self or auto-ignites. When auto-ignition occurs (before the piston reaches the top of its travel) the up-rising piston is then attempting to squeeze the rapidly expanding (exploding) fuel charge. This will usually destroy an engine quickly if allowed to continue.

......

In a forced induction engine where at the start of the compression stroke the cylinder pressure is already raised (having a greater volume of air / fuel) Exp. 2 Bar (14.7Psi), the starting pressure or air / fuel volume would be 2 times that of the normally aspirated engine.

 

[Morganl]

Thanks for all the replies. Actually, I am more concerned in how RON 95 affects the reliability of the car engine rather than how it affects its output performance. I know F30 can use RON95. But i have also heard that RON 95 in Msia is actually like RON 93? If that is true will the low octane level affect the engine in a long run?

Simple maths here...

Let's make the following assumptions on Fuel price & consumptions:

1. Fuel price for RON 95 in Malaysia remain stagnant at RM 1.90/litre for the next 7 years
2. Fuel price for RON 97 in Malaysia fluctuated by averaged to be RM 2.90/litre for the next 7 years
3. Average mileage per annum of 30k km or 210k km for 7 years
4. Average fuel consumption of 12L/100km over a period of 7 years

Fuel price differences alone amounting to RM 25.2k over a period of 7 years

Let's also make the following assumptions on car depreciation:

1. 328i brand new bought at 272.6k (list minus 6%) at year 1
2. 7 years total depreciation of 66%
3. 328i 7 years old resell value at 92.68k at year 7

The total fuel $ you saved over the period of 7 years would be 27.20% of your car resell value at year 7. Thus by using RON 95 and changing your car every 7 years (7 years cycle on BMW model anyway) you added a total of 27.20% to your car resell value.

 

[jason]

Thanks for all the replies. Actually, I am more concerned in how RON 95 affects the reliability of the car engine rather than how it affects its output performance. I know F30 can use RON95. But i have also heard that RON 95 in Msia is actually like RON 93? If that is true will the low octane level affect the engine in a long run?

The new n20 can run on fuels from RON89 upwards. The engine management has knock sensors that can advance and retard ignition timing as required. So I think the reliability is assured from this stand point.

What you may want to do is avoid changing octane levels with every tankful. This saves the engine from having to adjust the ignition timing every so often. YMMV

Jason

 

[jennypenny]

Simple maths here...

Let's make the following assumptions on Fuel price & consumptions:

1. Fuel price for RON 95 in Malaysia remain stagnant at RM 1.90/litre for the next 7 years
2. Fuel price for RON 97 in Malaysia fluctuated by averaged to be RM 2.90/litre for the next 7 years
3. Average mileage per annum of 30k km or 210k km for 7 years
4. Average fuel consumption of 12L/100km over a period of 7 years

Fuel price differences alone amounting to RM 25.2k over a period of 7 years

Let's also make the following assumptions on car depreciation:

1. 328i brand new bought at 272.6k (list minus 6%) at year 1
2. 7 years total depreciation of 66%
3. 328i 7 years old resell value at 92.68k at year 7

The total fuel $ you saved over the period of 7 years would be 27.20% of your car resell value at year 7. Thus by using RON 95 and changing your car every 7 years (7 years cycle on BMW model anyway) you added a total of 27.20% to your car resell value.

after 7 years only 66% about 8% per year depreciation? very interesting take.

i think the point you are trying to drive is interesting. however, fuel cost in Malaysia is always an oxymoron. its too too too cheap. its almost cheaper than water.

i dont think you add additional 27.2% onto your resell value as your maintenance cost for the first 2-3 years may be a false dawn. with the quality of F30, your projection may be inaccurate.

that said, the fuel in Malaysia is Ron 95. it is good enough for our cars.