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premium or regular fuel??

36K views 19 replies 15 participants last post by  Blessed_Badger 
#1 ·
I have an '09 that has the only U.S. engine choice, 2.0 turbo 4. Also have an '07 Passat with the same engine. Both seem to run well on regular fuel, with no noticeable MPG loss. What have others experienced?

Looks like my fume problem has been fixed......small fuel line leak that the dealer finally found.
 
#3 ·
Your car probably seems like it runs okay on regular 87 octane [~91 RON outside the U.S.] However, the engine ECU is likely retarding the advance and/or reducing boost to prevent knocking. You're probably not getting the best performance out of the car, and not realizing it.

The gas filler door placard on a '09 USDM Eos recommends a minimum of 91 octane [95 RON]. Since you're driving a car with a high-performance turbo motor, why not fill the tank with the recommended fuel? The difference in cost is a few dollars per tank. If you can't find 91, put in 93 [98 RON like SiJ2000 mentioned]. Or mix half a tank of 89 with half a tank of 93.

My truck has a high-performance ECU, and I did notice a difference in performance when I accidentally ran a lower grade. I've never put anything in our Eos but 93 octane because I had the APR 93 Tune done.
 
#6 ·
You can afford the car but not the petrol?!
It says in the handbook that you can use regular for the turbo engine but you won't get the max performance out of the car and you will need to put 98 oct in the tank once every 4 or 5 fill-ups.

Why buy the turbo if you're then not going to put the right fuel in to get the best performance out of it?

You could always move up north where 97 oct (we can't get 98 here) is 'only' abt £1.15 per litre.. It is £1.25 on motorways where filling stations are the ones who wear the masks and rob the motorists these days (of course it used to be highwaymen on horseback who robbed stagecoaches back in the old days!)
 
#5 ·
Recommended to use 95 RON in the manual for the V6, actually states that there is no benefit on using the premium fuel. Maybe its different for normally aspirated engines versus turbocharged?

Tim
 
#7 ·
I dont really care for speed, oomph and and stuff... Perhaps should have gone for the non--turbo one! my commute to work along the country lanes will be more fun with gentle roof down fun! And ten pence a litre cheaper at least! Sickens me when I go abroad and see fuel on sale for a tenth of the price...
 
#8 ·
For the USA, VW recommends 91 octane for most if not all their current models that run on gasoline, and the grades that are sold here are 85, 87, 89, 91, and 93. VW rates acceleration performance specs using 91 octane but the engine control system will automatically adjust to the lower octane levels but will retard the spark firing point based on the knock sensors so that the acceleration time will be less on the lower octane fuel. Fuel economy is not related to octane level, unless the higher octane level is gained by adding ethanol to the fuel in which case the fuel economoy suffers since ethanol does not have the same energy content as gasoline does.

In my 2.0T, I often use 87 or 89 octane vs. 91 and for the way I gently drive my Eos I can't even tell the difference. 85 is not available in my part of the country so can't say what would happen if you put 85 into the Eos.

The main thing I do is look for fuel without ethanol so I get the best fuel economy possible.
 
#10 ·
Yes wadzee, you can go abroad and find fuel at less than 12.3 pence per litre, so which of these desirable destinations is going to furnish your next holiday?

Cost of fuel in litres, courtesy of The Sun.....

Venezuela 1.6
Iran 5
Saudi Arabia 6
Turkmenistan 8
Kuwait/Qatar 11
 
#13 ·
Canada .. $1.25 per litre for the top grade used by my EOS .. yes it is a bargain .. but then the wind deflector is a pricey option here!
And I think we pay more for Krytox too! I saw that the Brits can get it from Rover much cheaper!

Talking about the wind deflector, I was pleased that it came with my car when I bought it. Had no idea it was so brutally expensive!
 
#12 ·
Just filled up with 98 octane at 1,489 euro / litre, had a really empty tank and the total scared me a bit. I have been running my 2.0 Fsi with Shell 99+ octane V-power, but that is currently going for 1,514 euros / litre and that is a bit too expensive for my taste.

There is a real differense when running on the V-power stuff. Have filled up couple of times with 95 octane, car felt fine but it clearly was not happy to rev as it is on 98/99+ in the tank.
 
#14 ·
My god. We need a QE2 bridge that goes to Venezuela!!! It'll be cheaper to drive there, fill up all my recyclable milk cartons with fuel and drive back... than to pay for fuel here! (Although, factoring in the sodding Dartford toll charge, it may not work out cheaper...!)
 
#16 ·
I use premium fuel in my TFSI and find I get better fuel mileage which just about makes up for the difference in price.

Has to be Shell V-Power or Esso Premium for me though. None of that supermarket rubbish.

Fuel snobbery. Whatever next :eek:
 
#17 ·
My local Sainsbury's or Morrisons don't even sell the high octane stuff. Believe Tesco do though.
Total Excellium is the other one I use as well as BP Ultimate.
 
#19 ·
That's the correct fuel for that engine so using higher octane would be a complete waste of money!

It tells you the fuel flap which one to use; believe only the 2.0 Turbo needs the higher-octane stuff.
 
#20 ·
I used Tesco 99Ron for 9 months - averaged 31mpg with a 2.0T. After it broke the £1/litre barrier (and Tesco stopped the 5p off a litre offer) I went back to Asda bog standard 95Ron (the cheapest stuff in the area!). Have been using that for nearly 2 months now and noticed no change in performance at all and the mpg I'm getting is still the right side of 30!

Therefore, in my experience, not worth the extra for the 97+ petrol! I also found the same in my Golf GTI (although this admittidly did have the same engine).

Have just sold the Eos for an Audi A5 (3.0TDi) so will be experimenting with supermarket v premium brand diesel soon!
 
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