Premium vs BP Ultimate

[mickofoz]

Wow, never realised people can get so emotional about which fuel to use. People certainly have strong opinions in this group. I also never realised I was gifted. Anyhow, before we end up in a fist fight here, let me remind everyone that all I wanted was to see if anyone else had noticed similar results. Since I am now a cruel and uncaring person for not using 98RON, I better go and lock my doors, hide under my bed and hope that the monsters don't come and get me. Better buy a Diesel next time...

[Diesel_vert]

Wow, never realised people can get so emotional about which fuel to use. People certainly have strong opinions in this group. I also never realised I was gifted. Anyhow, before we end up in a fist fight here, let me remind everyone that all I wanted was to see if anyone else had noticed similar results. Since I am now a cruel and uncaring person for not using 98RON, I better go and lock my doors, hide under my bed and hope that the monsters don't come and get me. Better buy a Diesel next time...

Lol, yes, I think there has been a bit of an overreaction here in this thread.

However, understand that fuel consumption is dependent on many and varied factors. Unless you're able to replicate the exact same conditions as when you ran 98 (very difficult I imagine), I think two fill-ups is not enough to establish a trend. Also remember that fuel quality can be inconsistent - there is every chance you may pick up a batch that is better or worse than what's currently in your tank.

Continue your experiment over several weeks/months, and keep us updated on the outcome.



EDIT - out of interest, which statement best fits your sticker on the fuel flap?

1. "Unleaded petrol 98/95 RON"

2. "Unleaded petrol 95/91 RON"

3. "Unleaded petrol min. 98 RON"

4. "Unleaded petrol min. 95 RON"

[mickofoz]

My sticker says Unleaded min 95RON.
To me this says it is perfectly fine to use Premium or Ultimate. The engine can adjust to both types of fuel. My question though, if the engine adjusts itself to the type of fuel I put in, and I was told that these TSI engines are very clever, in the end does it really matter which type you put in as the adjustments take away any advantage you would normally gain with a 98RON type of fuel? I am still getting around 550 km out of one fuel tank no matter which type of fuel I use. I have not experienced a large enough gain/advantage using 98 to warrant the extra cost. My brother works for VW in Germany and he never understood why I would spend the extra money for 98 fuel as the adjustments in the engine mangement computer negate most advantages you would normally gain using 98 fuels. I sometimes wonder if the hype about BP Ultimate is just a marketing ploy.

[Transporter]

Hm, I understand it that as long as there is a 98RON fuel you should use it.
There is also min. oil level line on the engine oil dipstick and it is expected that you don't run your engine with the minimum oil in the sump.

However, if you decide to use 95fuel all the time, lets us know from time to time how the engine is doing.
Who knows.

[ethosguy]

Not that in this case, due to 3yr turnover, this matters but...

BP Ultimate is promoted to offer particularly high quality cleaning properties, which if realised will make a difference to engine performance and consequently efficiency not to mention longevity???

[Diesel_vert]

As I have previously said, "Unleaded petrol min. 95 RON" should be interpreted as, "Use 95. You may use 91 only in emergencies". And according to VAG literature, you should see no benefits from using fuel with a higher octane number than 95.

But if the sticker had said "Unleaded petrol 98/95 RON", then that should be interpreted as, "Use 98. You may use 95, but with reduced performance". So vehicles with this sticker may notice a decrease in performance when using 95.

Be aware that while fuel stickers will of course vary from model to model, they can even be different within the same model of the same engine.


However, 98 RON fuel can often contain better or higher dosage of additives compared to 95, which can and do help keep the engine running well (e.g. BP Ultimate). This, in addition to 3 extra octane points, is what your extra $2.75 buys you, which I reckon is not bad.


Now in Sydney, 98 is almost always 5 c/l dearer than 95, so filling a 55 L tank means a difference of $2.75 per fill. Or in the case of a Tiguan, $3.20 per fill for a 64 L tank.

But in Germany, the difference between 95 and 98 is around 10 Euro cents/litre (which translates to 15 c/l ). With a typical price of $2.20/l for 95, and $2.35/l for 98, you don't have to be a genius to see why our German neighbours wouldn't fill up with 98 unless absolutely necessary!

[Captain Bungers]

Ok, I'm going to shift this to the side a bit...

Does anyone know if the APR upgrade has the same smarts as the standard chip i.e. detecting fuel and changing performance? This is purely out of interest.

I tend to try to get the 98 RON BP most of the time because I think it is more efficient (I am basing this on my fuel report from my fuel cards, frequency between fill ups and kilometers travelled), however I have the luxury of driving quite a lot - around 500km a week, so it is pretty consistent. Sometimes I get caught out and have to use the local which is only 95 RON Caltex, but I do this infrequently so it is a bit hard to compare to the BP 98, but it appears to be less efficient.

Hey mickofoz, I am guessing that you are going by your computer? I reckon that perhap, just perhaps, because of the smarts in the TSI the reduced performance etc means that it is pumping less fuel through and engaging the turbo later...

Finally, the nudge bar is not doing anything great for my efficiency

[mickofoz]

So far I have not noticed any reduced performance and I have not changed my driving style. I am doing mostly city driving. There is absolutely no difference apart from the slight better fuel consumption. Even if the consumption settles back to where it was when I was filling up with 98, it shows that the computer adjustments have negated any advantage over 98, just what I have been told for years now by my brother in Germany.

[Diesel_vert]

My question though, if the engine adjusts itself to the type of fuel I put in, and I was told that these TSI engines are very clever, in the end does it really matter which type you put in as the adjustments take away any advantage you would normally gain with a 98RON type of fuel?

No, because...

My sticker says Unleaded min. 95 RON

Which would explain this...

I have not experienced a large enough gain/advantage using 98 to warrant the extra cost.

and this...

So far I have not noticed any reduced performance and I have not changed my driving style. I am doing mostly city driving. There is absolutely no difference apart from the slight better fuel consumption.

... which is a big difference of operation compared to a model with a fuel sticker that says, "Unleaded petrol 98/95 RON".

I sometimes wonder if the hype about BP Ultimate is just a marketing ploy.

No, BP Ultimate isn't a marketing ploy, because there is more to fuel than just octane ratings. But like all high octane fuels, if the engine can't take advantage of it, then you don't benefit from the higher octane. However, that doesn't mean you can't take advantage of the additive package, cleaner formulation, or whatever.

[TRGTI]

I have had the reverse effect with BP ultimate.
When my engine was first rebuilt, I always used ultimate, but I noticed that I could only get 400 - 450 kms from a tank.
I switched over to vortex 98 and now I can get 550 - 600 kms from a tank without driving differently.
And I have GIAC STG3 to

[MGV]

Don' want to seem like a doubting Thomas, but 35% better economy from a different brand of 98??

[TRGTI]

It only seems to be from BP that I get bad economy. I've used mobil and shell before and still manage the same distance.
It only seems to be BP that I get poor economy from. Hence I've stopped using it.

[manol]

My car seems to run like an absolute jerk on Ultimate 98, but gets good economy.
The car runs a whole lot better on V-Power but the economy suffers.

I don't ****ing know, I put in Mobil 98 today and I'll see what that gets me.