Updated at: 30-06-2022 - By: Lucas

Driving a BMW is a luxury, so you want to take good care of it. From the extra time it takes to wash it right to the type of gas you use in a high-performance engine, there are a lot of things to think about.

What if you can’t put premium gas in your BMW? Even though it might not seem like a good idea to put regular gas in your BMW, that doesn’t mean you can’t do it.

A BMW’s engine can change itself so that regular gas can be used in it without hurting it. This means that you can fill up your tank with any kind of gas you want to pay for without worrying about how it will affect the engine.

But there are more things to think about than you might think when deciding whether to use regular or premium gas. We will tell you everything you need to know about each type of gas so you can decide which one to use.

Differences Between Premium and Regular

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Different kinds of gas have different levels of octane, which means that premium gas can handle more compression than regular gas.

If you drive a car with a high-compression engine, you need to use premium gas to fill the tank. If you don’t, you could damage the engine.

This is because low-octane fuels will make the engine knock, which will do a lot of damage if you don’t use premium gas from then on.

Since BMWs are known to have engines with high compression, it makes sense to use only premium gas.

Can a BMW Take Regular Gas?

Well, there are some models that do need you to use premium gas, but not all of them do. But it is usually recommended if you want your car’s engine to run as well as possible.

If the owner’s manual for your BMW says that you should use premium gas, you can use any kind of gas you want. If regular gas is used, it won’t hurt these models.

Other models with high-compression engines will need you to use premium gas to keep the engine from getting damaged. In this situation, you would have to use premium gas or the engine could break down.

If your BMW is a M model, was made before 1996, has a turbo or high-compression engine, or is an older model, you will need to use premium gas. If your car doesn’t fit into any of these categories and the owner’s manual doesn’t say to use premium gas, you can choose to fill up with regular gas.

Even though it’s not required, there are some reasons to use premium gas instead of regular gas in your car.

Benefits To Using Premium Gas

If you like to drive and like it when your engine runs well, the benefits of premium gas will make you want to use it every time. When you put premium gas in your car’s engine, it helps it run at its best and most powerful level.

If you have a car like a BMW that is easy to drive, you might choose to use premium gas to keep that feeling at its best. This will keep your rate of acceleration high and let your car use all of its power.

If you only use your car to get to and from work or to go out at night, you might not care too much about its power and performance, since you’ll be driving on busy streets and crowded freeways most of the time.

But if you only drive it for the engine power and performance, then the point is to get the most out of it. This means that if you want to get the most out of your BMW, you should fill it up with premium gas.

Benefits To Using Regular Gas

The fact that regular gas is much cheaper than premium gas is one of the main reasons why people choose to fill up with regular gas instead of premium gas. This might only save you about 30 cents, but when you fill up your gas tank, the difference will be bigger.

This price difference adds up over the course of the year!

Some people don’t want to deal with this because gas prices can already be expensive. So, if you want to save money on gas, you might choose to use regular gas instead of premium gas, which costs more.

If you live in an area with a lot of people and traffic, you won’t often be able to use your car’s full power. This could be another reason why people choose to use regular gas instead, since they would pay more for power and performance they couldn’t use.

When you live in a big city with lots of traffic, you don’t get to zip around on open streets and watch the high-performance engine at work.

So, if you can save money by filling up with regular gas, it might be a good idea, since premium gas wouldn’t be used to its full potential anyway.

Using Regular Gas in Your BMW

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Even though you couldn’t always put regular gas in a BMW’s engine, many BMWs now have engines that can change how well the car runs based on what kind of gas you put in it.

Your car can run fine on regular gas if you add things like knock sensors that keep the engine from knocking when you put in regular gas.

The upgraded electrical parts can tell what kind of gas is put into the engine so that the performance and power can be changed to match. With this new feature, you can use regular gas in any new BMW that normally needs premium gas.

But it’s important to remember that if your car needs premium gas, you shouldn’t try to use regular gas in it. If you do that, you could hurt your car’s engine.

You can look in the owner’s manual to see if your car needs a certain type of gas or not.

If you don’t have it anymore or don’t know where it is, you can check online to see if the year and model of your car need premium gas or if you can get by with regular gas, which is cheaper.

Before Switching

If you checked your car’s make and model and found that you can switch to regular gas without any problems, you might want to do it slowly. If you don’t ease into it, the power and speed of the car will make it much more obvious.

So, if you want to switch to regular gas slowly, you can start by filling up your tank every other time you need gas. If you mix regular gas with premium gas, you won’t notice the difference in performance loss as much.

If you like to drive and want your car to perform better, but you also want to save money, this will help you not feel like you’re losing so much at once. Getting used to it slowly will make the whole change a lot easier to deal with and help you feel better about it.

Bottom Line

Driving a BMW is a lot of fun, but due to traffic in the area, not every driver will be able to get the most out of the engine. So, you can choose to save money on gas when you’re not using your car to its fullest potential.

Many BMWs can now run on regular gas without hurting the engine. This is because they have an electrical system that checks how the car is running and makes adjustments. This gives you the freedom to choose the type of gas you want to use instead of being forced to use what is suggested.

But as of right now, the BMW models that need premium gas still need that type because regular gas can’t handle the high compression of the engine and will damage it if regular gas is used.

But, with the exception of a few models, most new BMWs can now use regular gas in their engines. This can save you a lot of money when your monthly budget is tighter than usual. Or if you just want to put away a little extra money in case of an emergency.

You can choose any kind of gas you want, whether it’s the recommended premium gas or the cheaper regular gas.