16V Octane Requirements (Was "fleecing")

[16V JASON <jason@scirocco.org>]

Okay, on my 87 16v:
The fuel flap says "Premium Unleaded Fuel Only"
The owner's manual says:

The 91 RON Octane rating which you will find on the inside of the fuel tank
flap is based on the research method.  (This is 87 AKI in the US)

Premuim Gas instead of regular:
Your engine runs equally well on premium gasoline, but, with the exception
of the 123 hp engine, neither fuel consumption nor engine performance are
likely to be affected.

Regular gasoline with low RON/AKI rating:
Your engine will run but avoid full power as engine can be damaged.  Fill
up with correct fuel as soon as possible.

----- My experience:

I run 93 only on my 16v.  I have also used 92 when 93 is not available, and
noticed no difference in the engine's performance, or fuel economy.

I ran one tank of 89, and will never do it again.  I'd rather call AAA and
have them bring me 93.  The engine's exhaust note was flat, the car felt as
if it was running 3 A/C Compressors at the same time (i.e. sluggish), and
my fuel economy SUCKED (around 23mpg when I'm usually over 30mpg.)

The 16v is designed to run on anything over 87.  Anything over 91 is a
waste, as the ignition can't advance itself further (with stock timing
settings, of course).  Running anything between 87 and 91 is just fine and
dandy, provided (a) your KS system is working correctly, and (b) you don't
mind the loss of performance.

My $0.02

Jason






At 03:17 AM 5/4/99 , Wm. Josiah Erikson wrote:
>    Actually, I think 16v's were designed to run on 89. I could be wrong,
but my
>understanding is that the "93" rating on the gas flap is a European rating
>system, which translates to 89 on US pumps (this is assuming that you're
in the
>US). My 8.5:1 QSW says to use "91" on the gas flap, and then in the owner's
>manual that this translates to 87 on US pumps. Why they didn't just use
the US
>rating on the sticker for cars that they sold in the US, I don't know. Crazy
>Germans. : )
>I think the Euro method is ROZ/RON and the US method is (R+M)/2 but I
could be
>wrong.
>    -Josiah
>    '84 GTI
>    '87 QSW
>    http://bork.hampshire.edu
 



----------
1987 Scirocco 16v
1989 Mercedes 190E Sportline


http://members.aol.com/rocco16v  

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