Premium unleaded vs normal unleaded

Alex TT

Alex TT

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I've come from a 2L TDI Golf to a 2L petrol TT this weekend and seen in the manual it recommends to use premium fuel.

Honestly I probably wont be using premium for every fill up but is it worth it to do now and again? or should I actually be using it every fill up? thoughts or other comments welcomed :)

Alex
 
Stay clear of BP Ultimate, it is an awful petrol. Personally, I use either Shell vPower or Tesco Momentum in both mine and the wife's Corsa turbo.
 
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Alex TT said:
I've come from a 2L TDI Golf to a 2L petrol TT this weekend and seen in the manual it recommends to use premium fuel.

Honestly I probably wont be using premium for every fill up but is it worth it to do now and again? or should I actually be using it every fill up? thoughts or other comments welcomed :)

Alex
Click to expand...
If it says in the manual to use the higher octane stuff then use it. Its a few pennies extra per tank and its what the engine has been designed to run on. You might never see the effects of running it on the lower octane stuff but years down the line the a future owner will fall victim to to the consequences. If you won't run it on the correct petrol are you going to neglect the maintenance & servicing aswel?
 
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I use tesco momentum every time, it’s usually the same price as diesel or cheaper at my nearest Tesco’s so why wouldn’t you?
If you do some reading about why some cars need higher octane fuel, you won’t hesitate to put it in, every time...
 
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Regular fuel is a false economy, i always use tesco momentum its the highest octane out there and like bryant said its basically the same price as diesel so its a no brainer, plus it will make the car run better (power wise) and keep then engine cleaner which will improve mpg.

Do yourself a favour and use it every time and before you know it your forget about the price and treat it as the norm.
 
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Everyone will be pleased to know I filled up with premium, thanks for the replies.
 
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So, people saying it’s only a few pennies per tank, it’s not. The price difference where I live between Shell regular to Shell V power per litre is nearly 20p. On line comparison shows it’s about 15p as an average

A tank, in the SQ5, is 60+ litres so that’s a potential £12.00 difference each fill up.

I also see absolutely no discernible difference in performance or mpg.

I did see a slightly better mpg figure when using French 98 octane fuel recently, but only perhaps 1 mpg across a 650 mile trip.

Therefore if you are running an OEM boost map I can’t see its actually worth it.
 
Dan_G said:
So, people saying it’s only a few pennies per tank, it’s not. The price difference where I live between Shell regular to Shell V power per litre is nearly 20p. On line comparison shows it’s about 15p as an average

A tank, in the SQ5, is 60+ litres so that’s a potential £12.00 difference each fill up.

I also see absolutely no discernible difference in performance or mpg.

I did see a slightly better mpg figure when using French 98 octane fuel recently, but only perhaps 1 mpg across a 650 mile trip.

Therefore if you are running an OEM boost map I can’t see its actually worth it.
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Shell is expensive fuel to start with and v power is the most expensive high octane fuel as far as I know, tesco momentum 99 is just as good as v power for octane rating.

You really need to do some research on the purpose of higher octane fuel, this really isn’t a matter of opinion, it’s fact that some cars really do need higher octane fuel.

If you look in your fuel filler cap or in your manual it’ll tell you what it wants. The majority of performance cars are mapped from factory to be run on high octane fuel, I’m not sure if your SQ5 is diesel or petrol, but if it’s petrol I’d urge you to look into the purpose of the fuel and to find your nearest Tesco’s

Also worth noting it’s not good to mix 95&97/99 fuels, if you run a lower octane fuel and you’re going to start using higher, run your tank to as close to empty as you dare before filling, change your fuel filter too
 
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Bryant1998 said:
Shell is expensive fuel to start with and v power is the most expensive high octane fuel as far as I know, tesco momentum 99 is just as good as v power for octane rating.

You really need to do some research on the purpose of higher octane fuel, this really isn’t a matter of opinion, it’s fact that some cars really do need higher octane fuel.

If you look in your fuel filler cap or in your manual it’ll tell you what it wants. The majority of performance cars are mapped from factory to be run on high octane fuel, I’m not sure if your SQ5 is diesel or petrol, but if it’s petrol I’d urge you to look into the purpose of the fuel and to find your nearest Tesco’s

Also worth noting it’s not good to mix 95&97/99 fuels, if you run a lower octane fuel and you’re going to start using higher, run your tank to as close to empty as you dare before filling, change your fuel filter too
Click to expand...

Too many people get hung up on extra power , extra mpg or saving a few pennies per liter and not whether or not its actually what your meant to run the car on.
 
All Audi’s (inc turbo charged ones) can happily run on standard unleaded. It says so on the fuel filler flap and in the manual.

Maybe if you’ve had a remap, and removed some of the safety margin, it might make a bigger difference.
 
Dan_G said:
All Audi’s (inc turbo charged ones) can happily run on standard unleaded. It says so on the fuel filler flap and in the manual.

Maybe if you’ve had a remap, and removed some of the safety margin, it might make a bigger difference.
Click to expand...

Yes they can run on 95ron, the same as you can also survive by not eating for 5 days and not drinking water for 20 days, but it’s not recommended.

Your car will probably run on 85ron, but it won’t do it any good.

Again... do some research on the purpose of high octane fuel instead of just assuming things
 
My EA133 really doesn't like 95, you can feel how much it's pulled the timing, even when it's not particularly hot.
 
After living in Scotland and driving to the Midlands I can say I saw about 50 miles extra using better fuels, I always used boot Tesco...

If you Youtube fifth gear - do performance fuels make difference, it shows the effects of better fuel and which brands are best

Kind regards in SC.
 
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So I’m running a 67 plate V6 S4 and the fuel flap says 95ron. (“min 91ron”)

Needless to say I’m running on 95 with no discernible ill effects.
 
imo unless your car is tuned (whether thats from factory ie a sports version / high end performance vehicle or remapped) then running non premium prob wont make any noticeable difference

why? because from factory they have to be able to run on all qualities on pump petrol / diesel. If you're an enthusiast or have a performance car then you'll know that using premium fuel comes with owning the car

from experience i know that using tesco 95 vs tesco 99 100% makes a difference (iirc 7hp 9ftlb on my 2.0 NA build) and it even makes a difference in my other halve 900cc TCE thats mapped :)
 
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