Vehicles that require premium gas

[Diamondpilot]

My experience is you MPG will suffer with regular and yield no savings

 

[buickanddeere]

Curious about your opinions. I'm a diesel guy, but recently bought a VW Tiguan SUV. It has the 2.0 liter turbo engine. It says it requires premium gas.

I rarely drive it as I am always using the trucks, and when I do, I'm not throttling on it. Nor does it get really hot here in the summers compared to the south.

So I'm wondering......is it really necessary? We also do not have ethanol here.

I have been putting premium in it, but a couple times filled it with regular when it was WAY cheaper. I noticed no difference in fuel mileage or power. Actually it seemed harder on gas with premium.

Thoughts?

Plug in a scan tool and watch the detonation sensor and timing ******.
I would assume that the manufacture speced premium for a reason.

 

[buickanddeere]

I don't know if you should use premium or regular but I'm pretty sure that almost all gas stations in Ontario are selling gasoline mixed with ethanol.

Crappy Tire 91 octane is no ethanol. 87 and 89 may contain up to 10% ethanol

 

[buickanddeere]

When towing with my old 2003 sierra in the summer time. The cost per mile was lower with premium vs regular. When just putting around empty summer or winter, 87 octane tractor gas was cheaper per mile.

 

[MrFoPow]

I always use premium in everything. Required or not.

 

[LD1]

My experience is you MPG will suffer with regular and yield no savings

Experiences in what? My gassers consist of a 2001 saturn SL, a 2005 ram 1500 hemi, and a 2008 nissan sentra. I notice NO increase whatsoever using premium.
Just for kicks, I bought some 93 no-ethanol fuel to run in my saturn. Which is about a buck more than 93 that has ethanol. so ~$3.69/gal last I drove by. Went from ~35 MPG to 37MPG. Using the numbers above......At 1.99 for 87 and 2.86 for premium.....I'd have to get 50 MPG for what say about no savings to hold true. And that just aint gonna happen. Heck, even if I could get 10% or 20% better fuel mileage with premium.....it aint worth spending 45% more for it.

I always use premium in everything. Required or not.

Any reason to do that other than extra money burning a hole in your pocket?

 

[3930dave]

What you NEED to do is use a quality injector cleaner every 10K miles or so. I replace a bunch of injectors in that engine and when they fail the engine will misfire when it just starts for a few seconds or so.

Techron, Liqui-moly LM2007 or BG44K all work quite well.

VW has had so much trouble with fuel injectors that there is extended warranty on them.

http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/acms/cs/jaxrs/download/doc/UCM463188/CSC-10056164-3276.pdf

Regards, Fred

How a typical engine computer compensates for octane has been well covered here. Some engines may throw a code, if timing has to be pulled back all the time/extensively. Not a big deal usually, and many variables like driving style can come into play as to whether a code flags.

I'll second that Fred. I was also thinking of the detergent aspects of Premium when I started reading this thread, that can be a much bigger deal than just resetting an engine code.

Rgds, D.

 

[Paystar]

Well so far like I say, I have not gotten any more mileage running premium in it. It all seems the same except paying extra for premium. That's why I was wondering.

Our trucking company now also owns a truck stop/gas station. As far as ethanol in Ontario Canada, our fuel supplier told us all the gas that is loaded at the Sault Ste. Marie tank farm is non-ethanol. Anything loaded out of Finch Avenue by Toronto is ethanol.

 

[not2old]

My Volvo V70R runs on both but makes more power on premium. My Cadillac CTS V says to use premium only. Volvo is turbo, the Caddy is supercharged. It's important with both to have no detonation or you risk engine damage more than with a naturally aspirated engine. Most premium around here has no ethanol.

 

[ultrarunner]

Premium here is 10 cents of mid which is 10 cents more than regular...

 

[LD1]

Premium here is 10 cents of mid which is 10 cents more than regular...

Even at 20 cents more on an average $2/gallon.....thats 10%. If you dont see 10% economy increase.....your still loosing money. And an engine designed with 87 in mind.....is NOT gonna see a 10% increase in ANYTHING. Only a 10% reduction in your wallet.

 

[Copperhead]

Exactly. Any analysis of what a fuel delivers should be based on a objective criteria like cost per mile. If a fuel is not going to deliver a lower cost per mile, even if it does deliver a better mpg, then why use it? I know higher mpg does have a psychological positive effect, but that is hardly worth it if the cost per mile is now higher. Numbers and keeping my costs low a possible is all that matters to me.

 

[Garandman]

When I bought my 325iT in Munich back in 2002 I asked BMW why the HP is slightly higher in Germany as opposed to the North American export model...

BMW said the premium fuel in Germany is higher octane so they can get more out of the motor...

One would have thought they would have told you that SAE HP is 98.6% of DIN PS. DIN is a German standards organization and PS stands for "Pferdestärke."

 

[ultrarunner]

No... the factory team at the delivery center emphasized using only premium fuel to obtain full performance...

I asked what happens if I can't buy premium and was told the engine management will compensate which will be very noticeable.

Then asked about driving Stateside and there was a specific comment about California formulated fuels...

I have several vehicles designed for high octane... the 62 Corvette, 1976 BMW, 2002 BMW and 2005 Rover...

Also notice better mpg with the 2011 Corolla using mid grade over regular 87 octane...

My Model A and T run fine with any fuel...

 

[JDL538]

I drive a newer Vette and use regular never had a problem...If it pings you need to go higher otherwise not..

 

[ClaySlayer]

I run premium in my 3.5. EB. It costs about 10% more and I get about 10% better mileage (the way I drive anyway) so cost is a wash plus it has a little more pep especially when towing. My wife's Envoy gets regular as it has an aftermarket tune that's designed to squeeze the most from regular so anything higher is a waste. Small engines and my 150 Optimax get 87 Ethonal Free.

 

[uglyboywith11fingers]

Our 2009 Chrysler Town & Country has a 4.0 liter V6, with mid grade recommended. I buy only regular, but on occasion the Petro Canada station up the road is out of regular and offers Ultra 94 at the price of regular.
When I fill up with Ultra 94, I get noticeably poorer fuel economy than with regular 87.
As I said, I have not used mid-grade, but in this vehicle, Ultra 94 is not worth buying, even at the price of regular.

Pete

 

[Diamondpilot]

Crappy Tire 91 octane is no ethanol. 87 and 89 may contain up to 10% ethanol

In Indiana and many parts of the country even 91 contains upto 10% corn.

 

[Diamondpilot]

Experiences in what? My gassers consist of a 2001 saturn SL, a 2005 ram 1500 hemi, and a 2008 nissan sentra. I notice NO increase whatsoever using premium.
Just for kicks, I bought some 93 no-ethanol fuel to run in my saturn. Which is about a buck more than 93 that has ethanol. so ~$3.69/gal last I drove by. Went from ~35 MPG to 37MPG. Using the numbers above......At 1.99 for 87 and 2.86 for premium.....I'd have to get 50 MPG for what say about no savings to hold true. And that just aint gonna happen. Heck, even if I could get 10% or 20% better fuel mileage with premium.....it aint worth spending 45% more for it.


Any reason to do that other than extra money burning a hole in your pocket?

Because none require premium like the OP. We had a Lincoln and a BMW that requires premium. If I ran less the MPG suffered to the point it was more expensive to drive on 87 than it was on 91 or 93.

Again, the OP vehicle required premium as did mine.

 

[LD1]

My experience is you MPG will suffer with regular and yield no savings

When you make a vague statement such as this, it can confuse people, and continue propagating the nuts about octane. Perhaps next time don't be so vague, and include the facts that your vehicle's required premium fuel.

Running fuel that is several octane points less than required.. yea I can see that as being more expensive to drive.

If your vehicle's only required 87, and you still claim cheaper to use 40% more expensive Premium fuel, I'd call BS all day long