Premium fuel vs Regular fuel

[JaswinderSingh]

I want to know is there any benefit(Mileage wise, Performance wise) of Premium fuel instead regular fuel.

[Guest001]

Well as VW specify it the difference may well be that running lower grade may stuff your motor.

Im not game to try.

Interestingly in the USA the standard grade is only 87 Octane and in one place 86. Premium is 91. Must be slightly different rating to here perhaps. Maybe a US member can tell us.

I did 13700km in a rental Hyundai Tucson and it went like the clappers on it.

[team_v]

VW requires a minimum of 95 Ron.
I would reccomend 98 Ron as it is better for the car and the cost difference is marginal.

If the car is tuned or has a high output it should only run 98 Ron.



The US has a completel different system where they have 91 compared to our 95 and 93 compared to our 98.

[Guest001]

VW requires a minimum of 95 Ron.
I would reccomend 98 Ron as it is better for the car and the cost difference is marginal.

If the car is tuned or has a high output it should only run 98 Ron.
The US has a completel different system where they have 91 compared to our 95 and 93 compared to our 98.

Cost is over 10c a litre where we buy it but cheaper than a new motor LOL

Yep thats the ratings in US rental company said run it on the cheapest so I did

[The_Hawk]

I haven't done the tests in a long while (and not in a modern VW), but everytime I have done it in the past it works out that 98 gets more KM per tank and the cost difference works out to be almost NIL or slightly in your favour AND you get to have cleaner burning fuel which is theoretically better for your car...

So at no additional cost in the long term, it's a no brainer for me.

[Amalgam]

Engines are designed to perform at specific octane rating. Most Europeans require 95RON as that is the lowest RON fuel that is available in the EU.

Running your engine on a lower RON fuel may cause your engine to detonate or ping especially under load and acceleration. Most engines can compensate for a lower RON than specified. This should be used only in emergency and only to get you to a petrol station with the correct fuel. Long term use may cause severe engine issues, even failure.

Running your engine on a higher RON fuel may or may not provide any improvement in terms of power or fuel economy.

Premium fuels, especially diesels may or may not contain fuel injector cleaners and other magic potions.

[Creampuff]

tested this many times, 98 gives better fuel economy. Tests were done on TV show 5th gear and only Shell 98 had better performance. I am on my 5th car and will only use 98.

[fred27]

+1 on all the feedback provided, 98 no brainer....

[greg32]

The difference here in Orange is 5c. I haven't noticed any difference between the two. The other point is that 95 is a high turnover at some stations and 98 can be a slow mover and goes stale at the station and no better than 95. The other factor locally is there is no discounting and price cycles so fuel is always at the premium end of the cycle. I see price differences of up to 25c when I go to Sydney.

[stefcio007]

Didn't see too much of a difference between 95 and 98 for fuel economy. I've always filled up 98 at BP, is Shell any better? Is there really a difference between the two 98's?

[kaanage]

Interestingly in the USA the standard grade is only 87 Octane and in one place 86. Premium is 91. Must be slightly different rating to here perhaps.

Our octane numbers are RON (research octane number) while the US use (RON + MON) / 2. MON (motor octane number) is usually about 8 - 10 points lower than RON so their 87 is about the same as 91 here and their 91 is equivalent to 95 here.

[dylan8]

I always try to put 98 in the bora.
Feel there is better economy and performance.

Same in the 6n, will put 98 in for long drives back to the country with better results. I can only imagine the gains are better again if you had a' performance engine'

[warrick]

have to go along with the others,98 = more klms per tank.used it on my last 3 cars with positive results. also being cleaner cant hurt the engine in the long term. performance wise i dont think there is any real advantage unless you have a modified motor.
cheers
warrick

[brad]

OP hasn't actually said what car / engine he has.

When I had the 2.0L NA Mk3.5 it ran best on 95ron e10.

The 1.8tsi has always given the best cents per kilometre with 98ron - in stock or tuned form. For me, best mileage is from Shell 98 but the others aren't far behind.

If I want maximum power then 100ron e10 is fantastic. E85 is even better but eventually you get a CEL because the o2 sensors don't like the oxtgen rich nature of ethanol.

[JustCruisn]

I did the test in my Mazda 121.
From 91 to 95 not much better KM, but resulted in higher overall price per KM.
Then to 98 I found the extra KM reduced the cost per KM. 20% increase in KM but only 12% increase in price. So I stuck with that.
I only run the VWs on 98 as per the sticker.