quote:
Originally posted by Russell:
my 95 BMW 525i performance chip is tuned to at least 91. However I run 93 Chevron. Seems to have bit more pep. However, the engine has two knock sensors that help the engine take advatage of extra octane.
I wonder what the advance limit actually is for such a setup. I have a dinan chip inmy E30 318i M42 engine, and it must have 91 octane or better. I tried a little bit of 89 once as an experiment, and anything more than 1/4 throttle would knock... fair enough, it really does need 91+... however, there has to be a finite limit of what octane it will take before it hits its max advance. Otherwise I dont think it would ever actually learn a proper advance setting and adapt correctly to the conditions.
For example, I learned from a saab engineer how the trionic 8 system works on my 04 9-3. The system is CAPPED at aqdvance for 90 AKI. What happens is that the engine originally defaults to the timing for 87 octane fuel (its actually set up for the euro numbers, but they translated them for the US system). If no knock is sensed, it will advance the timing just up to the threshhold of knocking. This way the engien maximizes power under the use of any fuel. However, when it hits the advance programmed for 90 octane fuel, it stops advancing, so I could put in 91, 93, sunoco ultra 94, etc., etc. and still have the same power output. However, if a significant knock is sensed during operation, the advance will revert to the default 87 level, and then have to advance slowly but surely forward again, to adapt to the new fuel in the tank.
For the BMWs that we both have chipped and enjoy driving, I have to believe that there is a similar cap. There has to be a limit for them as well before the advance gets too far ahead and other bad things happen in the engine. What that cap is, I dont know, and wish I did
JMH