Fuel

F

flybobbie

Elite
 Stourbridge
I know there has been lots of discussion on fuel, but this last month i have only been putting in my 23i car Shell superunleaded.
Some say a waste of money, but with the throttle adapter fitted I would not now drive on any other fuel.
My poor wallet is going to think it's on Ozempic :o
 
M40i drives not one bit different between supermarket fuel and the VERY expensive food you’re feeding yours :wink:
 
Well my car does.
Each to their own experiences.
My car manual says minimum 91 RON.
Recommends 95 RON.
Super at Shell is 99 RON.

It might be the throttle adapter i fitted which brings in more throttle at lower pedal movement is causing the cars tuning to accept the higher octane fuel.
I know my motorbike without fancy electronics didn't really like high octane fuels up to using Avgas.

Before the throttle adapter i didn't notice much of a difference with higher octane fuel.
I wonder if anyone else has the adapter and found similar experience.

Also the car would pop on Super, it doesn't appear to do that now.
Which would suggest optimum burning of fuel.
 
The ethanol content of cheap fuels makes them rubbish.
Some vehicles tolerate them better than others but fuel with a high ethanol content can break down and cause problems in your fuel system.
I learned this lesson on a Triumph Bonneville bike that I stored over the winter with some cheap fuel.
Now I only use the better grade fuel and also add a stabiliser if the vehicle is not used much in winter.
Same with garden machines, drain them if possible if not in use.
 
When you say throttle adapter are you talking about the digital box that plugs in between the wiring and the throttle peddle?
My experience with those across multiple cars is that they simply do nothing other than change the throttle input curve to the ECU ... they have no effect on fueling or mapping of the actual performance of the car, your car will not go any faster or accelerate faster.
 
firebird said:
The ethanol content of cheap fuels makes them rubbish.
Some vehicles tolerate them better than others but fuel with a high ethanol content can break down and cause problems in your fuel system.
I learned this lesson on a Triumph Bonneville bike that I stored over the winter with some cheap fuel.
Now I only use the better grade fuel and also add a stabiliser if the vehicle is not used much in winter.
Same with garden machines, drain them if possible if not in use.
Click to expand...

I remember a few years back when it switched it to 10E, basically old cars and bikes were susceptible to the higher ethanol going through pipes but most modern cars built in the last 20 years are usually fine.
 
coldel said:
When you say throttle adapter are you talking about the digital box that plugs in between the wiring and the throttle peddle?
My experience with those across multiple cars is that they simply do nothing other than change the throttle input curve to the ECU ... they have no effect on fueling or mapping of the actual performance of the car, your car will not go any faster or accelerate faster.
Click to expand...

That’s correct on a N52 :thumbsup:

They change the relationship between accelerator peddle and throttle body position and maybe rate of change of response of the ECU to change in accelerator peddle position..
 
coldel said:
When you say throttle adapter are you talking about the digital box that plugs in between the wiring and the throttle peddle?
My experience with those across multiple cars is that they simply do nothing other than change the throttle input curve to the ECU ... they have no effect on fueling or mapping of the actual performance of the car, your car will not go any faster or accelerate faster.
Click to expand...
Yes one of those.
I know it does(not) directly effect or alter the cars tuning, but the electronics adapt to make best use of the fuel.
Reason there are knock sensors.
My thought if it sees a earlier demand for power, it adjusts accordingly.
We don't know unless we are BMW fuel technicians what is programmed into the brains of the system and what it can adapt to.
All i can say is it goes like stink now.

I had a tuner as a customer, he saw the maps of the dodgy WW scandal on cars where a different tune was seen on rolling road, of course car was stationary for emissions tests. Another German fuel tech. customer left under a cloud after WW scandal.
 
When I took my E89 3.0 to a BMW specialist for its service, he recommended running it on super unleaded because he was getting a lot of cars in that were having trouble with the injectors when run on E10. For the amount of miles I do a year, decided it wouldn't hurt.
 
When I had my 35is the higher grade fuel felt noticeably different, in the current 2litre no difference so whatever is cheapest. Sometimes shell sometimes Morrisons.
 
For some reason BMW recommended at least 98RON whenever possible for the E85/86s with the N52 engine, and for my 2005 330i so that's what they all got. They must have changed something for the E89 which may be why the quoted power output is slightly down. :?

But if your runs better on Super it won't do any harm to keep using that - apart from to your wallet at Shell prices! I tend to use Tesco Momentum most of the time as it's 99RON but much cheaper than Shell or Esso Super. :)
 
A normally aspirated engine will possibly slighly improve it torque and power if fed for a while on higher octane..though not by much compared to its turbo cousins which run at the ragged edge of timing corrections more agressively..

These guys got a few more BHP by going from junk american fuel to race gas on a 3 lite N52
 

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Well it just might be the fuel is cleaning the injectors now it's been in for a month or so.
Always run on Sainsbury's super unleaded.
Only problem now dam awful first to second gear change.
 
flybobbie said:
coldel said:
When you say throttle adapter are you talking about the digital box that plugs in between the wiring and the throttle peddle?
My experience with those across multiple cars is that they simply do nothing other than change the throttle input curve to the ECU ... they have no effect on fueling or mapping of the actual performance of the car, your car will not go any faster or accelerate faster.
Click to expand...
Yes one of those.
I know it does(not) directly effect or alter the cars tuning, but the electronics adapt to make best use of the fuel.
Reason there are knock sensors.
My thought if it sees a earlier demand for power, it adjusts accordingly.
We don't know unless we are BMW fuel technicians what is programmed into the brains of the system and what it can adapt to.
All i can say is it goes like stink now.

I had a tuner as a customer, he saw the maps of the dodgy WW scandal on cars where a different tune was seen on rolling road, of course car was stationary for emissions tests. Another German fuel tech. customer left under a cloud after WW scandal.
Click to expand...

OK. So yes, there wont be any impact on your tune, fuel mix or anything. All it does is advance the input signal from the throttle peddle position to the ECU. It really is no different to you driving the car without it and just slamming your foot to the floor on the throttle pedal every time you pull away.

The reason manufacturers generally have an S curve style input signal for the throttle is to prevent jerky driving by people so when they press the throttle they for instance only get 25% of throttle go to the ECU when the pedal is 50% of the way down.

So when you say it sees demand for power, it would deal with it in exactly the same way as it would if you just mashed the pedal.
 
Yes i know it's just shifting the demand curve, but definitely makes the car accelerate quicker than without the throttle adapter.
I'll try take video one day.
I would not now have the car without the adapter or std. fuel.
Just cleaned the filter, goes even better.
Beginning to wonder if it will all damage the engine.
 
Completely agree - those throttle boxes can make the car feel like it has had +100hp added. And yes - I do know how they work, just changing the throttle map with no actual difference in power.

I reckon it's easier to change this map than it is to reprogram 30 years of delicate throttle activation in my brain :)

And they are usually cheap - what's not to love?
 
They honestly do not make the car accelerate faster, its purely a placebo effect of the signal change.

To accelerate faster you need more power, a map change, or something more substational. These do nothing other than move the throttle signal further up the throttle pedal position. The only real gain you get is going to be absolute tiny fractions of a second i.e. the difference in time it takes for you to press the throttle that extra few inches down. If you can measure that very small difference then you should be test driving F1 cars :thumbsup:

These things have been around for decades, since electronic throttles have been in existence, never seen any evidence that a signal change can create a noticeable change in acceleration.
 
Anyway on the fuelling issue, I use the Tesco Momentum as its only 5 mins away from me and can be at times significantly cheaper than branded forecourts. My mate always ran 95 in his 03 3.0i and I always put in super in my 3.0si. we then both enjoyed belting down country lanes. I think its personal preference really, the higher octane has by definition, a better burn efficiency for high ratio cars. I put in 99 RON simply because it was relatively cheap in the Tesco and I didnt do many miles. I can imagine though for an lower compression ratio car, which does a lot of miles, its really not worth it.

Lets not get on to the subject of 'quality' of fuel by brand though :rofl:
 
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