95 or 98 RON

JT-007

JT-007

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Hi,

Couple of weeks until I take collection of my S3 SB and was wondering if anyone had any advice on what fuel to put in it? Are there any noticeable advantages to using 98 fuels over 95?

Cheers
JT
 
Yes, your car won't run as smoothly and you'll lose some BHP in the process.

It mentions in the instruction manual that altough you can stick in 95 octane, you will lose some performance.

My dealership stuck 95 octane in mine on collection (*******s) so it took a few full tanks of 98 for the ECU to adapt, but now i can feel a noticeable difference.
 
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Well as i said dealership stuck 95 octane in my tank but since then I stuck to 98 octane - Shell VPower 98 to be precise, it's recommended by many, although i'm pretty sure all 98 octane based petrol will do fine.
 
No worries mate, i'm sure you'll enjoy your beast, it goes like stink :p
 
Can't wait mate, been 5 long months since the test drive! Planning trips with it already!
 
I can imagine, it was the same for me, but you'll have a huge grin on your face every time you take it for a spin ;).
 
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Shell and tesco are 99 octane. Most other garages are 97. For Turbo cars super is always a good move. For run of the mill n/a engines you won't notice any difference.

I've used Shell V power for the last 3 cars all petrol Turbo's. I had to use normal 95 during the panic buying a year or so ago and the engine didn't seem so eager. Might be all in the mind though? My main reason for Shell is I use the points for air miles.
 
98 (or 99) it is for me then. Paying more for diesel at the moment anyway and not getting the benefit of it as not doing the miles these days. I'm also the kind of person who prefers to pay for quality if it benefits in the long run............guess that's why I'm getting an S3!!!!!!!
 
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In my last n/a car I definitely noticed the difference! Both in power and economy
 
Anyone got any thoughts if this would make any difference to a 1.8TFSI?
 
If handbook/filler cap say 98 then yes, otherwise, probably not.
 
I mixed mine and have felt a loss in power, now strictly only tesco or shell versions of 98/99 Ron will be in my car
 
andywil13 said:
Anyone got any thoughts if this would make any difference to a 1.8TFSI?
Click to expand...

Yes it will. You should see an improvement in power and perhaps even better economy (only slight though). Plus its better for your engine in the long term as it contains more cleaning additives. I used Tesco momentum 99 in my last 2 cars (Mitsubishi Colt CZT 1.5 Turbo and a Seat Leon Cupra) and you definately notice a difference.
 
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andywil13 said:
Anyone got any thoughts if this would make any difference to a 1.8TFSI?
Click to expand...

Yes it does make a difference.

My current 8V 1.8TFSI lives on VPower. My old A3 T-Sport ran better on 98 RON as well as better economy. The increase in miles per tank also balanced out the increased cost.

Large NA or fair sized especially turbo charged engines would show a benefit; the exception being the tiny 1.1/1.2 turbo Eco cars where you'd never notice it.

The ability to advance the timing, slower more complete (& hence cleaner) burn, coupled with the higher proportion of cleaning additives all contribute.

Generally speaking, 98 RON is also better for almost any older engine once they get deposits in the cylinders as it is less likely to pre-detonate or pink.


John.
 
Interesting thread. The 5th gear video was good. Up till now I have thought such fuels - although having some benefits - we're just a money spinner for the fuel firms! I didn't realise there was such a potential difference in power and torque figures. That test was done a few years ago - I wonder if there are any more up to date tests?
 
The car only car in that video to have any real noticeable gains though was the Subaru, old engine technology. The film was made in 2010, thus there wasn't much in the way of the technology we now commonly have in our car engines. To be conclusive the tests would need repeating on present day cars and under a greater scientific more controlled conditions.
 
Recent film using a 2012 Edition 35.

Shame they didn't test Tesco Momentum99 this time around, it's very keenly priced around here, and there is a definite power spike on acceleration compared to 95RON. However I do notice a slightly rougher idle on Momentum99 when compared to V-Power in a S3.


 
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I take it 95 is shell fuelsave and 98 is shell v power?
 
veeeight said:
Recent film using a 2012 Edition 35.

Shame they didn't test Tesco Momentum99 this time around, it's very keenly priced around here, and there is a definite power spike on acceleration compared to 95RON. However I do notice a slightly rougher idle on Momentum99 when compared to V-Power in a S3.
Click to expand...

As I suspected with tests on a more modern car, absolutely nothing worth spending the extra money on...
 
It doesn't say whether they gave the ECU time to advance the timings, etc, or whether they just put it in and tested right away. May explain why v-power was noticeably better than Ultimate?
 
Gazzz said:
It doesn't say whether they gave the ECU time to advance the timings, etc, or whether they just put it in and tested right away. May explain why v-power was noticeably better than Ultimate?
Click to expand...

I'd be concerned if the ecu didn't do that instantaneously, because it should....
 
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cuke2u said:
As I suspected with tests on a more modern car, absolutely nothing worth spending the extra money on...
Click to expand...

This is proven.
Would I bother with VPower on a 1.4, probably not, but I'll always use it on a car I want to maximise the performance of and have done in my cars over many years.
 
cuke2u said:
I'd be concerned if the ecu didn't do that instantaneously, because it should....
Click to expand...

My understanding is that it would detect knock and adjust quickly if 'inferior' fuel was used, but that it took time for it to gradually get more adventurous and advance timing when using 'better' fuel. I don't claim to understand any of this stuff though, so somebody with more knowledge might tell me that's rubbish! ;-)
 
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Gaz you are absolutely right. I've built engines for my previous kit cars with knock sensors and mapped my own ecus previously.

Knock sensors feed back knock ping to the ecu and the ignition is advanced until there is ping then pegged back a bit. If ping occurs then it pegs back again. 95 Ron will cause more ping than 98, ergo a car running on 98 will run more ignition advance allowing for better cruising mpg and more power on WOT.

Any petrol engine could benefit from 98 Ron, it depends on the ecu hardware, knock sensor(s) and ecu programming.
 
Given I spend roughly the same on diesel with similar MPG, I'll be using V power as I'm not looking to reduce my fuel bill.

Same fuel bill but S3 fun over a freelander, it's a nobrainer, scientifically proven or not!!!!
 
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