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my two pence woth is that i have to agree with dolby. as standard the turbo cars are recommended to run on 98 octane min. obviously on the odd occasion you might have to but 95 ron but on the petrol cap in a mark 1 leon cupra and cupra r it is recommended to use 98.
for a person using 98 on the odd accasion or vpower octane 99ron they would need to run a few tanks to really notice it but believe me the difference is apparent. crisper throttle, smoother power delivery and and better economy. on my cupra r mapped i run nothing less than 99 tesco or shell v power.
i can notice that the car feels more sluggish on a 95 fuel and 98 makes it feel much sharper. high revving also benefits from higher octane as the car is less likely to knock and retard its timing due to high cylinder chamber temps. this can all be logged on vagcom on block 020 if i remember correctly .
cheers, gulzar ;-)
Interesting discussion. Its worth remembering that its people's own money and they do what they choose with it!
For what its worth I've just done 4 weeks (4 tanks) with BP ultimate (97). TBH I couldn't detect any performance advantage (std car) but did see a very minor mpg improvement (1 - 2 mpg).
Its not enough to offset the higher price, but I did feel that the car felt smoother and a bit more driveable.
I am sure however that one of the advantages are the better detergents and addatives that are in these more expensive fuels,paricularly as I do a lot of short stop start journeys.
That's purely opinion though and I wouldn't criticise anyone for making their choice either way.
If you think its good for your motor then go for it, if not don't. Its called choice!!!
For what its worth I've just done 4 weeks (4 tanks) with BP ultimate (97). TBH I couldn't detect any performance advantage (std car) but did see a very minor mpg improvement (1 - 2 mpg).
Its not enough to offset the higher price, but I did feel that the car felt smoother and a bit more driveable.
I am sure however that one of the advantages are the better detergents and addatives that are in these more expensive fuels,paricularly as I do a lot of short stop start journeys.
That's purely opinion though and I wouldn't criticise anyone for making their choice either way.
If you think its good for your motor then go for it, if not don't. Its called choice!!!
Maybe the answer is to change fuels a bit depending on what type of driving you do. A lot of my driving is town driving, stop start. When I am in town I will buy premium but when I go on a long journey and I'm just cruising and not bothered about power or cleaner fuel then change to 95.
Just to bring the post back, I have used v-power from the start but have just been a bit curious about what you're actually getting with it.
I think there maybe other advantages to using posh fuel but I suppose I began to get suspicious when one of the reasons the petrol companies say it benefits us is that it will give us more power/performance.
Evidently this is so marginal that no-one would notice it with a TFSI (running at a GTi spec) according to that original "5th gear" clip. Maybe you do get more of a performance gain with a Cupra.
The other thing is that a few people have mentioned that they have tried a tank of 95 but said it felt bad. Well, I suppose the ECU will have to adjust over a few tanks just the same as it would the other way round.
If the only advantage to my FR is 5 HP on a 200HP car then I can roll with that. Talk of cleaner engines seems a bit vague too.
I have to say, I am playing devils advocate here a bit. I have always used expensive fuel and do agree they probably confer some sort of benefit. I can't help be a little bit cynical of the petrol companies that's all.
Just to bring the post back, I have used v-power from the start but have just been a bit curious about what you're actually getting with it.
I think there maybe other advantages to using posh fuel but I suppose I began to get suspicious when one of the reasons the petrol companies say it benefits us is that it will give us more power/performance.
Evidently this is so marginal that no-one would notice it with a TFSI (running at a GTi spec) according to that original "5th gear" clip. Maybe you do get more of a performance gain with a Cupra.
The other thing is that a few people have mentioned that they have tried a tank of 95 but said it felt bad. Well, I suppose the ECU will have to adjust over a few tanks just the same as it would the other way round.
If the only advantage to my FR is 5 HP on a 200HP car then I can roll with that. Talk of cleaner engines seems a bit vague too.
I have to say, I am playing devils advocate here a bit. I have always used expensive fuel and do agree they probably confer some sort of benefit. I can't help be a little bit cynical of the petrol companies that's all.
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Performance is good with either Tesco 99 or V-Power, but I'm sticking with the latter as it gets me about 3-4mpg extra and there's almost no difference in price. (In fact, Tesco is currently more expensive near me, because they put the prices up by 5p so that they could offer "5p off per litre when you spend £50"... complete rip off!)
It's good to be cynical but I reckon it's worth buying quality fuel. Just my 2p.
It's good to be cynical but I reckon it's worth buying quality fuel. Just my 2p.
I ran vpower ever since my first map, mainly because of its cleaning ability.
30k later and the head was off. It was noted that the engine was very clean and there was very little bore wear. So it does help keep things clean.
if your running a car mapped to take advantage of higher ron then its daft not to. youll get less miles per tank on 95 and the car wont run as well as it could, the more modified you are power wise the greater effect it will have. It will make a difference.
On a standard car id still use vpower or a similar fuel with detergents. Less coking, longer engine life, piece of mind.
30k later and the head was off. It was noted that the engine was very clean and there was very little bore wear. So it does help keep things clean.
if your running a car mapped to take advantage of higher ron then its daft not to. youll get less miles per tank on 95 and the car wont run as well as it could, the more modified you are power wise the greater effect it will have. It will make a difference.
On a standard car id still use vpower or a similar fuel with detergents. Less coking, longer engine life, piece of mind.
I use Millers all the time in my Cupra TDi. I can confirm that car definatly feels better. When I run out and have a week or two before I add some more to the fuel mix the car feels horrible and smokes more in comparison.
On my old 106 Gti which was modified up from 120BHP to 143BHP I ran Optimax (no V-power at the time) and didn't notice a huge difference from the normal 95ron. This may have been due to the fact the car was not a turbo.
When my Bocanegra comes I’m seriously considering getting an APR remap (after a few thousand trouble free miles). They have a fully loaded offer at the moment where you get more than one switchable map (via cruise control). You can have Standard, Stage One 95 and Stage One 98/99. Not 100% on the power output at the moment but think it will be in the region of 205/210 for 95 Ron and 215/220 for the 99 Ron map.
In situation like that where the map is made for the fuel I think it will be great. Due to worries with my 7-Speed DSG I certainly won’t be running the 99 Ron map 24/7 but will be nice to know its there when I need it.
I will defiantly be running on V-power for the first few tanks then will try half a tank with the normal stuff and have a look at the difference in drive, power and mpg.
On my old 106 Gti which was modified up from 120BHP to 143BHP I ran Optimax (no V-power at the time) and didn't notice a huge difference from the normal 95ron. This may have been due to the fact the car was not a turbo.
When my Bocanegra comes I’m seriously considering getting an APR remap (after a few thousand trouble free miles). They have a fully loaded offer at the moment where you get more than one switchable map (via cruise control). You can have Standard, Stage One 95 and Stage One 98/99. Not 100% on the power output at the moment but think it will be in the region of 205/210 for 95 Ron and 215/220 for the 99 Ron map.
In situation like that where the map is made for the fuel I think it will be great. Due to worries with my 7-Speed DSG I certainly won’t be running the 99 Ron map 24/7 but will be nice to know its there when I need it.
I will defiantly be running on V-power for the first few tanks then will try half a tank with the normal stuff and have a look at the difference in drive, power and mpg.
Naz
www.naz-computers.co.uk
Interesting debate- but each to their own!
from experience i have used V-Power and Total Excellium which i think is 98 ron,
and yes i did find that my car ( Cordy 2.0 16v ABF) was definitely smoother and more responsive.
Not sure if anyone else has compared these two fuels, i find that the Shell V-power doesn’t last as long as the Total stuff and definitely get slightly better MPG than regular 95 ron.
I’m not really that concerned which fuel goes in but if i had to use higher octane from personal experience i would use Total Excellium.
from experience i have used V-Power and Total Excellium which i think is 98 ron,
and yes i did find that my car ( Cordy 2.0 16v ABF) was definitely smoother and more responsive.
Not sure if anyone else has compared these two fuels, i find that the Shell V-power doesn’t last as long as the Total stuff and definitely get slightly better MPG than regular 95 ron.
I’m not really that concerned which fuel goes in but if i had to use higher octane from personal experience i would use Total Excellium.
Personally, I run my car on Tesco Super 99 - I haven't ever tried standard unleaded in it.
The reasoning behind this is that the manufacturer specifically recommends 98 RON fuel and the price difference is negligible - especially with the low mileage I do in the Leon
The reasoning behind this is that the manufacturer specifically recommends 98 RON fuel and the price difference is negligible - especially with the low mileage I do in the Leon
I ran vpower ever since my first map, mainly because of its cleaning ability.
30k later and the head was off. It was noted that the engine was very clean and there was very little bore wear. So it does help keep things clean.
if your running a car mapped to take advantage of higher ron then its daft not to. youll get less miles per tank on 95 and the car wont run as well as it could, the more modified you are power wise the greater effect it will have. It will make a difference.
On a standard car id still use vpower or a similar fuel with detergents. Less coking, longer engine life, piece of mind.
If one really wants to know if higher octane will bring any benefits, log your timing advance correction factors. If ECU detecs knocking and pulls your timing, then there is something to be gained with higher octane fuel. For aftermarket sw, it completely depends on the person who did the mapping that how heavily engine is leaning on the knock sensor. The more its done, more hp & tq can be gained with higher octane fuel. This would also result in better fuel economy during normal driving.
BTW it doesnt take thousands of miles for ECU to do this like some people say, ECU is checking the knock sensor status constantly and will respond to higher octane fuel as soon as it hits the injectors and burns in engine.
BTW it doesnt take thousands of miles for ECU to do this like some people say, ECU is checking the knock sensor status constantly and will respond to higher octane fuel as soon as it hits the injectors and burns in engine.
SimonM
Guest
not missed anything mate, just meaning that i agree with your post and share that view. especially about mapped cars.
meant no offence or confusion. was just meaning that i liked and agreed with traumapat's post.apologies.
gulzar
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