1.4 150ps COD V-Power?

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J4MMYz

J4MMYz

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Okay guys/gals - I decided to make this thread as I have been speaking here and there about it, I've seen absolutely millions of S3 questions of would it benefit V-Power which yes it would, I know there are some questions dotted around about other engines but since they are difficult to find through all of it, I thought i'd make a thread to stand out for anyone who's interested in looking at the answers for the non performance turbocharged engines.


So here it is: Would V-Power benefit/run better in the 1.4 COD or is it totally pointless? I know the 1.4 COD is 95 but a lot of people say it'd benefit. So leave your opinions below, and also if your a 1.4 COD owner it'd be great to hear what you use to fuel up - premium or regular.



Cheers!
 
I couldn't say if it's any more beneficial to use the higher octane petrols.

I stick to cheap and cheerful supermarket stuff and I've never had any problems with any of my cars. Round by where I live you're looking at an extra 0.15p a litre extra for standard shell petrol and probably 0.30p more for v power. I just don't see how it can benefit you all that much?!?
 
I have always used regular 95 petrol in my 1.4 COD, with no problems after nearly 8k miles.
 
Havent we already had this discussion?

The ECU wont advance the timing so you wont gain any power, unlike an ecu programmed to take advantage of this, S3 for example.

If there are any additional detergents in vpower, I dont know. Probably nothing extra from Fuelsave unleaded. Nothing stopping you from putting high octane in, but you wont gain any extra ponies, and will spend extra pennies.
 
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When I first got my 1.4 COD I started putting in premium fuel.. didn't know any different until the Mrs started using it, we went to fill up one day with her driving and she put in 95.. I said I always put in premium stuff and she replied with ive always put in standard stuff when I fill up.. and I hadn't noticed the difference :/ What could I say... lol
 
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Ive started running my 1.6fsi on shell premium fuel and I've noticed a very slight improvement on economy, but mainly its its a lot quieter and smoother.
 
she replied with ive always put in standard stuff when I fill up
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She put's petrol in your car when she drives it! Does she have a single sister?
 
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Hmm, so all in all it's down to preference.

If you do put V-Power in, it shouldn't alter the timing or make the engine run differently (worse) would it?

I am tempted to use it, only for the cleaning power.
 
I use Super in my 1.8, the only benefit I believe I am getting is possibly 5% better economy. At present the price difference is less than that so I keep using it!
 
So, I was filling my Civic up the other day and put V-Power in it as I always do out of habit and was thinking about the various threads on here about S3's running better on 98RON vs 95RON and other engines it making no difference as the ECU is not programmed to adjust timings etc to account for the higher RON which got me thinking...

The question is always will 98 RON make my (insert engine type here) car faster? To which the answer is no.
So my new question is will putting 98RON in my (insert engine type here) have an adverse affect on the engine due to it expecting 95RON and being programmed to run on 95RON??

My thinking being, and I'll admit I really need to read up on this a bit more, that running 95RON on a car that expects 98RON may cause detonation and knocking unless the timing is changed by the ECU to compensate for it. But if you go the other way the ECU isn't going to compensate for 98RON so will the engine experience what ever the opposite of detonation and knocking is?
 
elpaulio said:
So, I was filling my Civic up the other day and put V-Power in it as I always do out of habit and was thinking about the various threads on here about S3's running better on 98RON vs 95RON and other engines it making no difference as the ECU is not programmed to adjust timings etc to account for the higher RON which got me thinking...

The question is always will 98 RON make my (insert engine type here) car faster? To which the answer is no.
So my new question is will putting 98RON in my (insert engine type here) have an adverse affect on the engine due to it expecting 95RON and being programmed to run on 95RON??

My thinking being, and I'll admit I really need to read up on this a bit more, that running 95RON on a car that expects 98RON may cause detonation and knocking unless the timing is changed by the ECU to compensate for it. But if you go the other way the ECU isn't going to compensate for 98RON so will the engine experience what ever the opposite of detonation and knocking is?
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Plenty here on the 98RON v 95RON subject :thumbs up:
http://www.audi-sport.net/xf/thread...stions-on-the-8v-chassis.198794/#post-2286197
 
Cheers BH, but I've read through those and as I say they are all aimed at the will 98RON make my car faster question.

I'm looking at it the other way which is something I can't see having been asked before and thought it may stir up a different discussion with some interesting questions...or it may just be a load of cack!!
 
elpaulio said:
So, I was filling my Civic up the other day and put V-Power in it as I always do out of habit and was thinking about the various threads on here about S3's running better on 98RON vs 95RON and other engines it making no difference as the ECU is not programmed to adjust timings etc to account for the higher RON which got me thinking...

The question is always will 98 RON make my (insert engine type here) car faster? To which the answer is no.
So my new question is will putting 98RON in my (insert engine type here) have an adverse affect on the engine due to it expecting 95RON and being programmed to run on 95RON??

My thinking being, and I'll admit I really need to read up on this a bit more, that running 95RON on a car that expects 98RON may cause detonation and knocking unless the timing is changed by the ECU to compensate for it. But if you go the other way the ECU isn't going to compensate for 98RON so will the engine experience what ever the opposite of detonation and knocking is?
Click to expand...


Well, a few years back I had a 1.2 Polo that was 10 years old (at that time) and had a good 100k on the clock, it inherited a strange kick, the engine would jolt/missfire sometimes when accelerating, when I put V-Power in it never did it, very strange. In the end I used V-Power permanently until I got my new car a few months later as it became a little problematic. Still miss that car!
 
elpaulio said:
Cheers BH, but I've read through those and as I say they are all aimed at the will 98RON make my car faster question.

I'm looking at it the other way which is something I can't see having been asked before and thought it may stir up a different discussion with some interesting questions...or it may just be a load of cack!!
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It's all been stated before and in my 'opinion', plus there is no scientific proof, of any performance gain with such an engine isn't just pure cack, as you say, or anecdotal evidence of a pub talk nature...
 
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cuke2u said:
It's all been stated before and in my 'opinion', plus there is no scientific proof, of any performance gain with such an engine isn't just pure cack, as you say, or anecdotal evidence of a pub talk nature...
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I wasn't trying to say that the lack of performance gain was a load of cack. I am firmly in the if your car is not designed for 98RON then it wont go any faster on 98RON camp!!
Having programmed my own megasquirt ECU for my track car I am quite offay with the fact that a certain grade of fuel is only beneficial if the ECU has been programmed to accept it but I have never thought about it the other way around and it was that which I was referring to as possible cack that it may be detrimental to an engine to have 98RON when it doesn't expect it for the opposite reason that poor fuel in a performance car can be detrimental if the ECU doesn't account for it.
Does the above make sense?? I'm starting to confuse myself now lol
 
5th gear did an in depth comparison video that was fairly comprehensive. Rolling roaded each car on different fuels after resetting the ecu each time. Think there was a 25-30 bhp difference for the Scooby. Obviously it had little to no effect on the econoboxes.

Its pretty simple, if the manual says use 98 ron to get the full perfomance then use 98 ron, to get the full perfomance. Using a higher octane in any petrol isnt going to harm it, its just going to continue to not knock like it was doing before...
 
elpaulio said:
so will the engine experience what ever the opposite of detonation and knocking is?
Click to expand...


Very brief reply as I don't want to go into it too much here, one of the ways S3 generates power is by increasing compression ratio in the cylinders. When you squeeze the fuel/air mixture more/harder, it is more prone to igniting - so a fuel with a higher RON is more resistant to pre-ignition/pinking/knocking (2 separate events) than a lower RON fuel. This is why 98 is needed in a S3 with a higher compression ratio.

Your ordinary 1.4 with a lower compression ratio only needs a fuel that is resistant to knocking at that compression ratio, so 95. Putting 98 in doesn't cause the opposite of knock ;) : It will still ignite at the correct moment with the spark plug. But this is only a brief outline, there is much more at play.

(Fundamentally though, your 1.4 with it's comparatively low compression ratio, isn't going to magically generate more power through this method, if you put in 98RON fuel - simply because it isn't compressing the fuel/air mixture as much as a S3).
 
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I had my 1.4 COD for 9 months and used to fill it with v-power ever 4 tanks or so. Not for any expected performance increase, just to keep the engine a wee bit cleaner.

Must've done something for performance though as a year on its turned into an S3 :)

Si.
 
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... with mono.pur, of course ;)
 
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I've seen the cleaning claims for the V-Power, however, if it is really true, then I'd be concerned that whilst cleaning my vlave stems and bores that it isn't removing vital lubricants causing increased wear.
 
J4MMYz said:
So here it is: Would V-Power benefit/run better in the 1.4 COD or is it totally pointless? I know the 1.4 COD is 95 but a lot of people say it'd benefit. So leave your opinions below, and also if your a 1.4 COD owner it'd be great to hear what you use to fuel up - premium or regular.
Click to expand...
Run better....yes, it will run smoother and drive better generally certainly as a petrol and give you a bit more power. Fuels are quite important.

However, VW (and others) have had enough problems with these low capacity engines over many years that reducing knocking is paramount. Unless of course you're going to drop the car like a hot potato at 60,000 miles and let someone else buy the new engine ;-). That's where my concern lies. Ask yourself just how they're getting that horsepower out of a 1.4.
 
cuke2u said:
I've seen the cleaning claims for the V-Power, however, if it is really true, then I'd be concerned that whilst cleaning my vlave stems and bores that it isn't removing vital lubricants causing increased wear.
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Petrol detergents are designed not to trash your engine, unsurprisingly. ;)

There was a false advertising claim lodged against shell with the ASA a while back which determined (amongst other things) that claiming improved cleaning for optimax (as it was back then) was not false advertising (i.e. it did clean better than their standard 95 RON).
I wouldn't worry about adverse effects of vpower in a 1.4, other than on your wallet.
 
There was a huge worldwide problem with Shell V-Power (as it was then) in the late 1990's, destroying engines with Nikasil coatings.

It literally ate away the cylinder walls, BMW were the most affected, but other marques, Jaguar etc. that also used Nikasil also suffered.
 
Saying about knocking noises, I'm not sure but when my engine is cold it seems to have a slight tap you can hear from the cabin. I'm not worried but also slightly am lol. Think it did it since new anyway, only got 300 miles on the clock now
 
Flibble said:
Petrol detergents are designed not to trash your engine, unsurprisingly. ;) I wouldn't worry about adverse effects of vpower in a 1.4, other than on your wallet.
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However these are added cleaning agents not normally found in the more common forms of fuel and are added by the companies. But I will never worry because I will never use this product anyway...
 
J4MMYz said:
Saying about knocking noises, I'm not sure but when my engine is cold it seems to have a slight tap you can hear from the cabin. I'm not worried but also slightly am lol. Think it did it since new anyway, only got 300 miles on the clock now
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High pressure fuel injectors make a loud tapping noise especially when the engine is cold...
 
veeeight said:
There was a huge worldwide problem with Shell V-Power (as it was then) in the late 1990's, destroying engines with Nikasil coatings.

It literally ate away the cylinder walls, BMW were the most affected, but other marques, Jaguar etc. that also used Nikasil also suffered.
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Which does kinda support the theory that the products aren't really tested thoroughly and the claims could be seen as false...
 
I tried a tank of Shell Nitro in my 1.4 COD and didn't notice and difference in refinement, power or fuel economy.

So it will be 95 only from now on.

I'll be sure to post on this thread if I ever get engine trouble caused by using 95.
 
OliJ said:
Havent we already had this discussion?

The ECU wont advance the timing so you wont gain any power, unlike an ecu programmed to take advantage of this, S3 for example.

If there are any additional detergents in vpower, I dont know. Probably nothing extra from Fuelsave unleaded. Nothing stopping you from putting high octane in, but you wont gain any extra ponies, and will spend extra pennies.
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They tested this on fifth gear you get 5 extra ponnnies with v power
 
cilurnum said:
Run better....yes, it will run smoother and drive better generally certainly as a petrol and give you a bit more power.
Click to expand...


I don't even know why you are saying this, just to confirm, you are saying that his 1.4 CoD engine, optimised and setup for 95RON, will "give you a bit more power" if he fuels it with 98RON?

That is blatantly not true. That engine/ecu will not utilise the increase in octane to produce more power.

http://www.motoring.com.au/news/2011/98-ron-fuels-are-they-worth-the-extra-coin-25725



Fifth Gear ran a feature on a standard Renault Clio. In terms of power developed on a dyno:

Supermarket Fuel - 81 bhp
BP Ultimate - 81 bhp
Shell Optimax - 81 bhp

 
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Everyone knows that. Thats why you never see anyone putting v power in a 1.4
 
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