Regular or premium gas

[MadJay]

So got the wife an All track & noticed the gas door says regular unleaded. I always was told to put premium on high end cars & turbos. Did some research online & a few articles I read says, ?VW figures out how to use regular gas on a turbo?
Should I go by what VW says or start putting premium?
No plans on modding this car, but definitely keeping it for 5-6 years.


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[AlltrackMike]

Congrats, I've been using premium since new.

 

[Winchy]

Agree. Premium.
I received a letter from the dealer
"welcoming me to the family" a week or so after purchase. In that letter they recommend using premium unleaded.

 

[Miks7]

You may be causing engine harm by using Premium, while wasting your money at the same time.

The way an efficient combustion flame takes place inside of a cylinder, you need to compress the fuel/air mixture for optimum burn (flame speed). If you are running a higher octane, you never get that energy to complete the temperature needed to prevent deposits from being left in the cylinder.

THAT is why the manufacturer "recommends" the proper grade of fuel, and that grade is for optimum combustion. It can be a debate like oil change intervals that never can be solved, but the minimum octane recommendation is all you need to think about.

 

[Winchy]

That's an interesting point of view, but one would assume the manufacturer would have a maximum octane rating inside the filler cap as well as the minimum if that was the case? Pre ignition or pinging from low grade/ octane fuel is the damaging factor isn't it ?
Here in Australia, we have premium 95 RON and premium 98 RON. Both have solvents and lubricants added, and the 98 has more added than the 95.

 

[ATXGolf]

I just stick with regular unleaded from Costco and never had any issues. This is actually a good topic, I may bring this up with my service advisor the next time I'm at the dealer.

 

[Winchy]

I've probably been barking up the wrong tree, as our "regular" is 91 RON down here which is a no no according to VW who require a minimum of 95 RON.

 

[Miks7]

That's an interesting point of view, but one would assume the manufacturer would have a maximum octane rating inside the filler cap as well as the minimum if that was the case? Pre ignition or pinging from low grade/ octane fuel is the damaging factor isn't it ?
Here in Australia, we have premium 95 RON and premium 98 RON. Both have solvents and lubricants added, and the 98 has more added than the 95.

Winchy,

The manufacture does in fact, take those conditions into consideration. Because a turbo charged engine has a lower compression for the detonation margin, they can control this either electronically or less boost for the margin. When you are talking pre-ignition, you are talking about a timing problem, which will never happen on an electronically controlled ignition system.

I had a Mazda 3 with the SkyActive motor, had 13 to 1 compression and ran on 87 Octane! You should YouTube that technology, various cam profiles and electronic mapping of the fuel system gave good horsepower numbers AND fuel economy was close to a diesel.

 

[Craig1]

My owners manual ( Owner's Manual, Golf Sportwagen, Golf Allltrack, U.S. Edition, Model Year 2017) states on page 327 "If Regular gasoline is recommended for your engine, you may be able to enhance engine performance by using Premium gasoline."
Many newer cars will tune themselves and adjust timing for optimal performance using whatever fuel is in the tank.
My wife's 2013 Tiguan (2.0 Turbo gasoline engine) will run on regular with no problems, but we see a definite increase in power when we use premium.
Just got the Alltrak, so cannot say from experience, but it seems to be the same.
I like the extra power, and don't mind paying 30 cents a gallon more for Premium fuel.

Craig

 

[PaulGiz]

I just stick with regular unleaded from Costco and never had any issues. This is actually a good topic, I may bring this up with my service advisor the next time I'm at the dealer.

Your car will run just fine with regular. It may make more power with premium, but no harm in regular.

It is important, however, to use "Top Tier" gasoline. Look it up.

Costco is fine for toilet paper, diapers and rubber bands, but I wouldn't buy fuel for a high-compression, turbocharged, direct-injection motor.

Once again, regular ok, but use Top Tier brands.

 

[jsun98294]

Top Tier brands is what I was told too...from the dealership, regular "quality" gas, he said stay away from Arco and the like. Shell, Texaco and Chevron are the brands around these parts.

That said I've been running Shell premium the last few tanks just to see if there's a mpg increase and honestly I haven't noticed any difference. The car is still new (to me)
and haven't really paid much attention, I've just been enjoying the newness.

I'll probably switch back to regular next tank.

 

[Nokian]

ARCO and Costco ARE Top Tier brands.