# Regular or premium fuel?



## Macauley (May 31, 2017)

I've been doing a bit of research on the difference and I'm getting all sort of answers, which fuel is better for my 1.8 petrol TT? Does it make a difference?

Would love to hear your thoughts


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## Nyxx (May 1, 2012)

Now I will say am no expert.
But I believe that it's better to use 99 Tesco for me. What the ECU does is advance the timing to match the better fuel.

If you look at APR/REVO etc maps you will see you get better performance from better fuel.

From day one of my first TT I have used nothing but Tescos prem 99.


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## Hoggy (May 8, 2002)

Hi, It will run on standard 95 but more efficient & more power using 99 ron, Shell VPower.
It should tell you the best fuel to use for the lower power 1.8T under the fuel flap.
Hoggy.


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## can_quattro (Jun 11, 2009)

The correct gasoline grade is stated on the inside of the fuel filler door.


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## ZephyR2 (Feb 20, 2013)

This has been thrashed out many times before with lots of conflicting opinions being posted. 
If your car is designed to run on 95 octane then it will NOT run any better on 98 / 99 octane. In fact in some cases it can run slightly less efficiently. 
A car that is designed to run on 99 octane will run on 95 octane but not as effectively as it would on 99. 
The 1.8 TFSI is designed to run on 95 octane.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Hoggy (May 8, 2002)

ZephyR2 said:


> The 1.8 TFSI is designed to run on 95 octane.


Hi, There we are & now will all know, even 1.8 TFSi drivers 8) 
Hoggy.


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## Nyxx (May 1, 2012)

APR tests say it all. But this is the 2L not 1.8


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## powerplay (Feb 8, 2008)

Can't comment on anything other than my previous mk2 RS which I always fed Tesco99. On the one occasion when my local Tesco had a tank problem and were out of 99 for a couple of months (shock horror) I tried Esso super and Sainsburys super.

The car was definitely less responsive and felt a bit lacking in top-end. Finally getting the 99 back in was like a mini remap :lol:


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## Reasty (Feb 6, 2015)

powerplay said:


> Can't comment on anything other than my previous mk2 RS which I always fed Tesco99. On the one occasion when my local Tesco had a tank problem and were out of 99 for a couple of months (shock horror) I tried Esso super and Sainsburys super.
> 
> The car was definitely less responsive and felt a bit lacking in top-end. Finally getting the 99 back in was like a mini remap :lol:


Vpower is the only fuel that goes in all 3 of my cars,unless in an emergency


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## GoodThunder (Jul 19, 2016)

can_quattro said:


> The correct gasoline grade is stated on the inside of the fuel filler door.


+1
It's there for a reason


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## powerplay (Feb 8, 2008)

Reasty said:


> powerplay said:
> 
> 
> > Can't comment on anything other than my previous mk2 RS which I always fed Tesco99. On the one occasion when my local Tesco had a tank problem and were out of 99 for a couple of months (shock horror) I tried Esso super and Sainsburys super.
> ...


Vpower not available within 20 miles of me so Tesco is the only choice really :lol:

Besides, I tried v-power when I had my last car mapped at MRC, they got slightly better results from Momentum99


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## Nyxx (May 1, 2012)

can_quattro said:


> The correct gasoline grade is stated on the inside of the fuel filler door.





olly2016 said:


> can_quattro said:
> 
> 
> > The correct gasoline grade is stated on the inside of the fuel filler door.
> ...


Well on mine it says MIN 95 not you must use 95, MIN as in minimum then says Super/Premium

So it will run on 95 as a *minimum* quality.


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## Hoggy (May 8, 2002)

Nyxx said:


> Well on mine it says MIN 95 not you must use 95, MIN as in minimum then says Super/Premium
> 
> So it will run on 95 as a *minimum* quality.


Hi Nyxx, What engine is in your TT ?
Hoggy.


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## Nyxx (May 1, 2012)

Hoggy said:


> Hi Nyxx, What engine is in your TT ?
> Hoggy.


1.2 L  or 1.4 not sure :wink:


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## Hoggy (May 8, 2002)

Nyxx said:


> Hoggy said:
> 
> 
> > Hi Nyxx, What engine is in your TT ?
> ...


Hi, Not a 1.8 TFSI then as original question ?
Hoggy.


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## ZephyR2 (Feb 20, 2013)

Here's mine, from a 1.8, -








The manual says :- 
The following headings relate to the sticker on
the inside of your vehicle's tank flap: (the first relates to the 1.8 )

*Unleaded fuel only RON/ROZ 95 Super, Premium or min. RON/ROZ 91 Normal*
The use of premium petrol (95 RON) is recommended.
If that type of fuel is not available, regular petrol (RON 91) can be used with a slight loss of power.

*Unleaded fuel only, min. RON/ROZ 95 Super, Premium*
Premium petrol (at least 95 RON) must be used. If premium petrol is not available, the engine can be run on regular petrol with 91 RON as an emergency measure. In this case only use moderate
engine speeds and a light throttle. Fill up with
premium or Super Plus petrol as soon as possible.

*Unleaded fuel only RON/ROZ 98 Super Plus or min. RON/ROZ 95 Super, Premium*
The use of Super Plus petrol (98 RON) is recommended. If that type of fuel is not available, premium petrol (RON 95) can be used with a slight loss of power.
If premium petrol is not available, the engine can be run on regular petrol with 91 RON as an emergency measure. In this case only use moderate engine speeds and a light throttle. Fill up with premium or Super Plus petrol as soon as possible.

It also says :-
Note
- You can use higher octane fuel than your engine requires.
(But don't expect to get increased performance or mpg as a result.  )


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## Nyxx (May 1, 2012)

ZephyR2 said:


> It also says :-
> Note
> - You can use higher octane fuel than your engine requires.
> (But don't expect to get increased performance or mpg as a result.  )


But also says


ZephyR2 said:


> premium petrol (RON 95) can be used with a slight loss of power.


That's clear!



Think 99 is best for 2 and 2.5L personally, I don't want any lose of power. but 95 probably is fine for the 1.8 as it shows you can even use lower Ron, but 95 is min for 2L unlike the 1.8.


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## Hoggy (May 8, 2002)

ZephyR2 said:


> It also says :-
> Note
> - You can use higher octane fuel than your engine requires.
> (But don't expect to get increased performance or mpg as a result.  )


Hi, That's because using a higher octane in an engine that's not designed to use it gives much the same combustion conditions as retarding the Ign timing. Less power & less efficient.
Hoggy.


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## ZephyR2 (Feb 20, 2013)

99 octane is best for the 310 PS TTS engine (the 3rd item in the manual list) and "the slight loss of power" comment relates only to using 95 in the 310 PS engine.
If you have the 230 PS 2.0 (the 2nd item) then 95 is the recommended grade.
As it says you can safely use higher grade octane but you *won't* get any more power go any faster for it other than for the fact that you're making your your wallet lighter. 

Pinking or knocking normally arises as a result of using lower grade fuels and it can cause damage to the engine. Most modern engines have knock sensors to protect them. If pinking is "heard" by the sensor then the ECU retards the ignition to counter this. As a side effect there is usually some slight loss of power.
The sensors look for the effects of lower grade fuel, they can't detect the grade of fuel so the ECU is not going to change the ignition to take advantage of any higher octane fuel you use, even if it was possible.


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## ZephyR2 (Feb 20, 2013)

Hoggy said:


> ZephyR2 said:
> 
> 
> > It also says :-
> ...


Correct. I did an extended test on my Mk2 1.8 and found that I got less mpg when using 99 octane. As opposed to the same test on my Scirocco, which was designed for 99 and showed that I was getting 3.5 mpg better with high octane.


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