M30 Engine / 87 Octane

[JMI]

I run 87 octane in my 1989 535i automatic. The engine sounds fine to me, not even sure what a ping sounds like.
Is a ping something that can be missed or is it very obvious?
Is it possible I'm doing damage to the engine?

Thanks

[calmloki]

I also ran regular grade gas in my '83 533i for about 5 years (been parked for 4 months now) with no ill effects - never heard it ping under load with heavy throttle. Suspect you are ok.

[Qube]

Mine's shipped and I run 91 ;) It gets fickle with 89, and tells you if you run 87.

In a very, very general sense, older engines like slightly higher octane to be optimum in both performance and MPG.

[Rustam]

I run 87 octane in my 1989 535i automatic. The engine sounds fine to me, not even sure what a ping sounds like.
Is a ping something that can be missed or is it very obvious?
Is it possible I'm doing damage to the engine?

Thanks

I'd like to know about pinging too...