[zambarossa]

Sticker on cap says 93 is recommended and 91 min, but then says recommends Sheel V-Power. Here Shell V-Power is only 91. Is it different in the US? or just inconsistent messaging?
Has anyone found any difference with 91 vs 93 or issues using Shell Vpower in Canada?

[Forzanerazzurri]

Youre opening a can of worms here. I would say if you don't want ethanol in your fuel than 91 will be good enough. If you dont care about ethanol you have other choices in Canada that are higher octane. I, personally use shell vpower in Canada because it has no ethanol and don't care about the lower octane.

[mgokev]

Shell V Power is 93 octane for me. But it varies state by state I believe.

[PK1]

Doesn't need to be Shell, any high quality brand gas with the right additives will be just fine for your car. I would personally use 93 if available.

I believe BMW and Shell have an agreement in place where Shell supplies all oils to BMW, and I'm sure BMW recommends their gas as some part of that agreement. I think the recommended gas was a different company (BP?) a number of years ago, I guess they had an agreement with that company at the time. It's marketing.

I think Petro Canada has higher octane gas. Sunoco used to also have 94 Octane gas, but it's been a long time since I lived in Canada.

[BMWRacer523]

go with the AKI rating, not the brand.

[zambarossa]

Originally Posted by Forzanerazzurri

Youre opening a can of worms here. I would say if you don't want ethanol in your fuel than 91 will be good enough. If you dont care about ethanol you have other choices in Canada that are higher octane. I, personally use shell vpower in Canada because it has no ethanol and don't care about the lower octane.

That is the main reason I have been using Shell on my BMWs for as long as I can remember, don't want any ethanol. I hate it when I go to the US and it seems all/brands grades have it.
Also the shell app tbh makes fueling much simpler.

[M0J0]

I used to work in this industry. I can tell you that all fuel runs over the same pipelines. They additives are then blended at the terminal and into the fuel trucks before delivery. There is little difference between them. Techron goes into most gasoline brands. It is just a cleaning detergent. All the major brands are fine. V-power is not better than techron. It is just marketing. Don't even get me started on octane. People throw away thousands of dollars a year because of a sticker on their car. Ethanol is the worst thing you can put in your car, but lobbying and politics make sure we get lots of that in our fuel. BTW, Shell puts ethanol in their fuel. It is mandated by law. The only places you can get ethanol free is usually on the water. Ethanol has an affinity for water. Spend your money how you want. I shove 87 into my Q7 which recommends 91. Modern engines has knock protection. It won't damage it. It won't get dirtier. It won't lose fuel economy. Higher octane does not give better economy nor is it cleaner for your engine. For every day driving a low octane is fine for just about any car. I would not use below 91 for my M3 unless I am driving long distance.

[zambarossa]

Originally Posted by M0J0

I used to work in this industry. I can tell you that all fuel runs over the same pipelines. They additives are then blended at the terminal and into the fuel trucks before delivery. There is little difference between them. Techron goes into most gasoline brands. It is just a cleaning detergent. All the major brands are fine. V-power is not better than techron. It is just marketing. Don't even get me started on octane. People throw away thousands of dollars a year because of a sticker on their car. Ethanol is the worst thing you can put in your car, but lobbying and politics make sure we get lots of that in our fuel. BTW, Shell puts ethanol in their fuel. It is mandated by law. The only places you can get ethanol free is usually on the water. Ethanol has an affinity for water. Spend your money how you want. I shove 87 into my Q7 which recommends 91. Modern engines has knock protection. It won't damage it. It won't get dirtier. It won't lose fuel economy. Higher octane does not give better economy nor is it cleaner for your engine. For every day driving a low octane is fine for just about any car. I would not use below 91 for my M3 unless I am driving long distance.

In Canada, Shell V-Power has 0 ethanol according to their claims which I tend to believe. I do not think we have the sane lobbying as .in the US.
And also my experience kinda contradicts your claims. When I once accidentally put 87 octane in my 340, I got check engine light in no time (I assume due to knocking being detected). Went though a half tank and filled with 91 and all was good afterwards

[Limegrntaln]

I run premium (91 in California) its a few dollars more, for better gas mileage, and better performance. I've been using only Premium in all of my cars, since I can remember. I actually switched to 87 in my 21 2 liter accord, and it made a huge difference in mileage, and power, and Im not talking about gimmick.

With the handheld, the Accord runs 2-3 degrees more timing, and you can actually feel it. These cars that have higher compression turbo engine, you can really tell. I can also tell that flooring it, the engine wants to hesitate, not physically, it just doesnt react as quick as it does with Premium. I switched back to 91, last week, and now on the highway, Im back to averaging 31MPG on the highway, and for months, I couldnt get it over 26-27.

[codestar]

In BC shell is transitioning to 93 octane with 10% ethanol. I believe the plan is for all shell stations to have 87, 91, and 93. Not sure if the 91 is going to continue with 0% eth like before though

[chicagofan00]

Near impossible to find anything higher than 91 octane here in AZ.

[zambarossa]

Originally Posted by codestar

In BC shell is transitioning to 93 octane with 10% ethanol. I believe the plan is for all shell stations to have 87, 91, and 93. Not sure if the 91 is going to continue with 0% eth like before though

that would suck (adding ethanol) :-(. Hope Ontario would not follow suite.

[M0J0]

Originally Posted by zambarossa

In Canada, Shell V-Power has 0 ethanol according to their claims which I tend to believe. I do not think we have the sane lobbying as .in the US.
And also my experience kinda contradicts your claims. When I once accidentally put 87 octane in my 340, I got check engine light in no time (I assume due to knocking being detected). Went though a half tank and filled with 91 and all was good afterwards

I ran 87 and 91 in my E92 for nine years and never had an issue. I did not see you are from Canada. Good to see you don't subsidize corn farms to get votes.

[BEAR-AvHistory]

Originally Posted by mgokev

Shell V Power is 93 octane for me. But it varies state by state I believe.

93 is very common on the east coast. Our stations in NC have 87,89,90 no ethanol & 93.

About ethanol. Lots of people here don't seem to like the 10% in their gas.

Interesting thing when turbos are tuned & people can't get high octane gas (over 93) its pretty common to mix 93 & E85 to increase resistance to knock & timing pulls.

BMW's will run a 35% mix with no issues. Get much over that & you start to need fuel mods, higher capacity pumps etc.

M3 on E30

[BMWRacer523]

I always run 91 and up on BMWs but yeah the brand doesn't matter (in the USA). Canada may vary eh?

[evilalien]

Originally Posted by zambarossa

Sticker on cap says 93 is recommended and 91 min, but then says recommends Sheel V-Power. Here Shell V-Power is only 91. Is it different in the US? or just inconsistent messaging?
Has anyone found any difference with 91 vs 93 or issues using Shell Vpower in Canada?

Shell has a new ethanol 93 octane V-Power fuel. Probably a phased roll-out. Compression in the B58 engine, much less S58, is enough to make use of it. Not sure I've really noticed much difference (recent fill-up with 93), 91 is good enough. That said, I'll be feeding my M3Cx V-power 93.

[zambarossa]

Originally Posted by evilalien

Shell has a new ethanol 93 octane V-Power fuel. Probably a phased roll-out. Compression in the B58 engine, much less S58, is enough to make use of it. Not sure I've really noticed much difference (recent fill-up with 93), 91 is good enough. That said, I'll be feeding my M3Cx V-power 93.

where are you located?

[MachinesWithSouls]

Originally Posted by M0J0

I used to work in this industry. I can tell you that all fuel runs over the same pipelines. They additives are then blended at the terminal and into the fuel trucks before delivery. There is little difference between them. Techron goes into most gasoline brands. It is just a cleaning detergent. All the major brands are fine. V-power is not better than techron. It is just marketing. Don't even get me started on octane. People throw away thousands of dollars a year because of a sticker on their car. Ethanol is the worst thing you can put in your car, but lobbying and politics make sure we get lots of that in our fuel. BTW, Shell puts ethanol in their fuel. It is mandated by law. The only places you can get ethanol free is usually on the water. Ethanol has an affinity for water. Spend your money how you want. I shove 87 into my Q7 which recommends 91. Modern engines has knock protection. It won't damage it. It won't get dirtier. It won't lose fuel economy. Higher octane does not give better economy nor is it cleaner for your engine. For every day driving a low octane is fine for just about any car. I would not use below 91 for my M3 unless I am driving long distance.

If the car calls for a higher octane, it's because it has higher compression. Every engine has a knock sensor, but the whole point is to have the engine NOT knock.

Most people don't even want to put premium in, you think manufacturers want to recommend it? It's a selling deterrent.

This is a precursor to "my rod bearings/crank hub went"

[evilalien]

Originally Posted by zambarossa

where are you located?

BC, Canada

[Pantagathus]

Originally Posted by zambarossa

That is the main reason I have been using Shell on my BMWs for as long as I can remember, don't want any ethanol. I hate it when I go to the US and it seems all/brands grades have it.
Also the shell app tbh makes fueling much simpler.

They have to have it in the US. Blame government regulations

[JennyPenny]

Originally Posted by MachinesWithSouls

If the car calls for a higher octane, it's because it has higher compression. Every engine has a knock sensor, but the whole point is to have the engine NOT knock.

Most people don't even want to put premium in, you think manufacturers want to recommend it? It's a selling deterrent.

This is a precursor to "my rod bearings/crank hub went"

Can I use AKI 91 long term without issue? Since, it is the minimum?

[zambarossa]

Originally Posted by JennyPenny

Can I use AKI 91 long term without issue? Since, it is the minimum?

Been using Shell vpower 91 with no issues so far.